Writing at least 1k words every day until I can confidently claim that I'm consistent.

[waderer]

It was the same room, the administrative office still smelled of glue and floral scent of air freshener. The leaves on the potted plant by the windowsill swayed by the gentle drift which drifted in through the lightly open window. Like the other day, he had a wrapper in his hand, and both Illia and him had their cheeks slightly bulged by the candy.

The man in rimless glasses, Mr. Fujioka Hachemon, sat opposite them, browsing through what Issac presumed was his test results. That was the whole point of this meeting. Mr. Hachemon was supposed to give out the results, ang give private counsiling to the children and parents.

It was already afternoon, the tests had ended by noon.

The test was a breeze in Issac's opinion. There were a lot of children taking tests with him there. A lot. In his own hall there were at least thirty children. No, he didn't count. He had seen the teachers ledger.

He was sure he had aced all the questions. He had even concentrated all his life surplus life on his brain, just to remember the name of that Hero Public Safety Commission president. Takamura Genzō it was. He had even slept through the group playtime so that he would be more prepared for the individual assessment after. It wasn't like the brats wanted to play with him anyway.

And he was damn sure he had aced the individual test. Of course he would, even the examinator, Miss. Naegi had praised him.

Issac was well and confident that he'd be accepted.

"I must say Mrs. Isumi, Itsuki is such a brilliant prospect. Basic numeracy, quantity concepts, shapes/geometry, pattern recognition, and logical reasoning, he aced every other candidate. Even the kid with the cognition enhancing quirk got left behind."

Celia face bloomed with a gentle smile. Her hands unconsciously sneaked to rub Issac's hair.

Of course he would be, she had made sure to drill everything in the preparation material into him. It helped that he was such a good student. Well, he may have cheated with his qurik after she stormed off the first day, but still, the end result was what mattered.

"Even during the individual test, he performed remarkably well. He may hava had a stutter, but his answers were still well thought out. And according to Miss Naegi's evaluation, who is the, by the way, homeroom reacher for class 5B, he'd even fit right into grade 5!

"I was thinking more of a 3rd or 4th grade prospect. It's just beyond my expectations."

"..." Celia didn't speak. Her hands now rested on Issac's thigh. The man had skipped the group section entirely. And his plsentaries sounded a little long winded.

Issac had indeed talked to her about how his tests had went, and with the mark she had placed on his little bracelet, she had observed a little. Okay, maybe the entire thing, but what mattered was, she knew full well what went on.

He may have had some trouble mixing with the children, and he may have indeed slept throught the entire thing, but she didn't feel like that was such a problem as to disqualify him, especially with what was just said.

Celia didn't speak, instead, she had her eyes fixed on Mr. Fujioka. And the man could indeed understand her unspoken meaning. And that gaze had a quiet intensity that made him sweat. Even though he had done meetings like this a hundred times, even with pro heroes, this was the tirst time he was feeling this uneasy.

He looked back at the report, loosening his tie a little. "I see you've already purchased the apartment on our area."

"Of course, my childs education a priority of mine."

"Naturally!" Fujioka cleared his throat,"As you know Mrs. Imai, our school only accepts a limited amount of students every year, and we value overall abilities of the student more than anything. As I have already said, Itsuki is an excellent child. Any other school would be clamouring to get him into their care–"

"He failed?" Celia interjected, she wasn't liking how the man was going around in circles.

"Yes, unfortunately, he failed our final assessment. Well, it was more of a tie between another brilliant student whose name I will not disclose, and Itsuki. But he won the lottery."

Issac looked at Celia.

"I Understand," Celia rose to leave, "If that is all, we'll take our leave."

"Allow me to give you a recommendation letter, along with Itsuki's results. You would find it quite easy to get into any school with this. And if I might add, letting him interact with his peers more would do wonders in-–"

The man went on to advise Celia on what Issac could improve. But Issac didn't hear a lick of it.

His ears buzzed. He felt his face growing hotter. His eyes blurring.

He had failed. He hadn't expected to. Yet, he had failed. It was like that time he promised to help Grandpa Junkie. He had tried his best, yet, in the end, grandpa had died in his hand. He had done his level best to control his quirk yet, he first person to show kindness to him in that cursed rust town, had died in his hand.

Celia had trusted him. She had trusted him enough to spend all that time helping him prepare. She had helped him enough move all three meals of these weeks to Aunt Euiko's.

Yet, he had failed. What next–

"Thank you," Celia spoke as she stood up. Issac reacted, and he too stood up, hastily wiping away the tears that threatened to spill. Illia who had worried about about issac and climbed onto his shoulder, gently wiped at the tears that stained his face after he wiped.

"Please don't hesitate to call me if you need any help, Mrs. Isami."

"I won't be calling you, but, I appreciate it."

"..."

…

It was crowded outside the office building, people waiting to hear the results. CElia walked past them, issac clinging to her arm.

There wasn't the unusual lightness to his steps and that worried her.

As they reacehed a secluded hallway, she picked up Issac from the ground, placing him on her hips as she walked toward theparking lot.

It surpsirised Issac, as she hadn't held him like this before. Sure he was smaller than the usual 8 year old, but it still made him feel embarrassed.

"Are you sad?" Celia asked in english.

Issac nodded, wiping away the tears that once again threatened to spill.

"Well, you should be," Celia looked at him, and smiled, "you just failed to get into a prestigious elementary school."

Issac sniffled, tears spilling like little pearls. And even Illia looked at Celia disapprovingly.

"But let me ask you something," Celia once again smiled, wiping his tears with her free hand, "Why, are you sad?"

"..." Issac didn't answer, and his face morphed into the most ugly expression issac had ever made, at least infront of Celia. But he didn't make a noise. He stayed still obediently, waiting for the judgement. Even Illai's gaze turned hostile. The stoats gaze did not show a hint of the warmth it had in it's eyes mere monets earlier.

"Is it because you failed, or is it beacuase you disappointed me?"

"Because –I–dissapointed you," Issac struggled to speak the sentence throught the hiccuping.

"Look at me Issac. Do I look disappointed?" She asked once again, the calm smile still on her face. She ignored how Illia's paws spread, her nails glinting in the afternoon sunlight.

Issac struggled to see though the tears blurring his eyes.

He had to see it. And he did. It was same eyes with which she looked at him in rust town. It was the same eyes with which she had handed him that sandwich. It was the same eyes that had made him trust her.

That gentle gaze that remind him of his older sister.

"Yes," he answered, eyes blinking away as the tears once again blurred his vision. He knew, adults almost never showed what they felt in their face. His father never did as he sent both him and Illia away. Grandpa Junkie never did as he held his hand, withered like a skeleton.

".." Celia bit her lower lip. She bit so hard her lips bled.

Indeed, Celia was disappointed. Indeed, Celia was angry. But not in Issac. Not in a million years.

She was disappointed in herself. She was angry at herself.

She had never realised how much pressure she had put on Issac these few weeks. She had indeed seen his unusual enthusiasm as he tackled those materials. She had seen him tense as she stormed out of the study in frustration.

Yet, she'd thought it was his enthusiasm. She had thought it was her inability to teach. Even as she saw all those tutorials to understand how to patiently teach children, she hadn't understood. Even as she saw Issac sweat thorough those tests she hadn't understood.

Not until she had felt Issac's muscle tense as Mr. Fujioka confirmed his failure, not until she saw how Issac had looked at her at that moment.

Celia felt as if a knot in her stomach was twisting. Issac was never worried about him passing. He was only ever worried about disappointing her.

Celia's back hit the wall as she hugged Issac close to her chest. The tears she was so desperately holding back fell like waterfall, staining Issac's jacket.

"I'm sorry," she pleaded, sliding down the wall, plopping on the ground as she held him tighter.

...
..
.

[A/n: I'm so sorry! my brain went a little weak as I reached the end!!!! I'm crine!!!!]

 

[waderer]

Conner kicked at the body. The eyes remained wide open, mouth hung agape, the dark brown blood formed a puddle around his body. Ants slowly crawled on his body, forming a neat line toward the crack in the corner.

Conner, rubbed the base off his boot against the line of ants. The line was disrupted, and the remains of the ants were smeared on the cement floor.

He felt himself biting down on his cigarette.

Luca was dead. Undeniably, irriversibly.

He turned around, looking at the kid rolling on the ground trying to untie himself from the stretchy fingers of his subordinate. The kid had a scorched mark on forehead, which occasionally glowed red.

Conner squatted down. Gesturing to his subordinate, who removed his stretchy thumb wrapped around Thomas' mouth. Conner brought the unlit cigarette toward Thomas's forehead, lighting the cigarette on red hot charred skin.

"Tell, me everything you know about this 'Issac'," Connr took a drag from his cigarette, speaking in a deliberate, slow tone.

"Wi-cough, Will you let my friends go if I answer?" Thomas asked, fighting through his sore throat.

"Naturally," Conner gestured with his fingers holding the cigarette, and the man loosened his fingered on Thomas, "I have no enmity toward you, now do I?

"..."

"Answer the question, corporate well, and you shall work directly under me from now on."

Thomas lowered his eyes. Issac had, in al intents and purposes, spared them. He understood it very well.

Thomas stayed silent for a beat longer. He had though it through.

He spoke.

…

The cafe was quiet. The air smelled of the distinct smell of air from an air conditioning unit. There were few coustomers in the cafe most of them with their overcoat hanging on their seats.

The inside was a bit warmer than the chilly outside, and the ice cream tasted particularly tasty. The creaminess of the butterscotch, the bits and pieces of the nuts floating around… it was wonderful.

But Issac was having a hard time savoring it's the multitudes of tastes assaulting his tounge.

Illia sat on the table savoring her bowl, she didn't seem like she had a hard time savoring it though. She was even deliberately looking at the staff in the counter who had tried to kick her out saying they had a strict no pet policy.

Celia had just made eye contact with the man, the man had said, 'Maybe there's an exception? Let me check real quick!' and had scurried off.

Celia was amazing to him and illia, and yet. Celia sat opposite Issac. She too had a bowl in front of her, but she was playing with the food more than eating. She seemd to be deep in thought.

Just then, the cafe door opened, a woman and a child walking in. The kid had a swollen lip, her head wrapped in a muffler, and her lips a bit swollen, her mascara a bit smudged down her eyes. The older women was fussing over the kid, her voice alternating between that of scolding and that of concern.

They sat on the table next to them.

Issac felt like he had seen the face somewhere, he took another look at the lady. Indeed, it was Mrs. Usagiyama.

Their eyes met.

Mrs. Usagiyama let out a delighted gasp as she recognised Celia. The kid, too, looked over. She had removed her muffler, revealing her rabbit years which looked a bit dusty.

Celia looked over, she instantly recognised the woman. She smiled, and the woman. Abandoning her table, walked over, dragging her child with her.

"Tao, was it? It's such a delight to see you here!"

The woman extended her hand, and Celia shook it.

"Mrs. Usagiyama."

"May I?" The women in professional attire asked, looking at the empty seat at their table.

"Of course," Celia gestured, while she wasn't in any mood to entertain anyone at the moment, Mrs. Usagiyama had walked over with her child, and the overcoats they had hung on the seats. It was hardly appropriate to refuse them.

"And how are you, little Itsuki?" Mrs. Usagiyama asked, ruffling Issac's hair.

"I am fine, Mrs. Usagiyama! How about you?" Issac tried to put on a happy front, but the lady saw through the hidden sadness in his face.

"I was doing fine," Mrs. Usagiyama looked over at her daughter who had dipped her head, "Until the homeroom teacher of little Rumi here called me, asking me to pick her up."

Mrs. Usagiyama sort of? glared at her. Isaac couldn't tell.

"Look at that little troublemaker's lips. It's like a bee bit her. Now, It'd been fine if some bee bit her. But no. She had beat up a whole group of her seniors. Every last one of them were at least a head taller than her!! Can you believe that?!"

Was it a proud or concerned look she was giving? Issac still had a hard time understanding.

The lady went on, talking about how the homeroom teacher had narrated the fight. She stopped to order once the waiter had arrived.

Then she went on about how her husband was hell bent on getting the money from that lawsuit where she nearly died.

The order arrived, and afterwards, there'd been pauses between her one sided narration. All this time, Celia entertained her with "hums" and some superficial responses. Even Issac understood Celia's lack of enthusiasm.

And finally, her gaze landed on Illia who was nibbling on the newly ordered snickers bar.

"And what is this little cutie?" Mrs. Usagiyama asked, rubbing the chin of the fluffy white stoat.

All this while, Illia and Rumi–the rabbit eared girl, as Issac came to understand– were having a contest of staring at each other.

They both had their ice cream while not taking their eyes off each other. It was odd to say the least. Illia's stare was prefatory, while the rabbit haired girl seemed meek at first, her gaze hardened after a while. It was apparent that Rumi wasn't one to go down without a fight.

"Her name's Illia, a stoat," Celia answered, petting Illia, "She's part of our family."

"Such a cutie!!" Mrs. Usagiyama exclaimed, but her eyes were fixed at Celia's expression.

Was it sadness?

She looked at Rumi, "Rumi, be a dear and take Itsuki with you to play in the park, us adults have something important to discuss here."

"Why m–" Rumi started defiantly, but a glare from Mrs. Usagiyama silenced her. She leapt off from her chair, putting on her coat.

"..." Issac looked at Celia, the woman while friendly, was acting a bit suspicious. Should he be worried? Celia smiled and held his hand.

"Go play with little Rumi, I'll be right here."

Issac nodded.

The cafe was next to the children's park. Rumi led the way, and Issac followed, with Illia jumping onto his shoulder.

Looking at the children as they walked off, Mrs. Usagiyama asked, "You don't look so well."

Celia who had her head turned at Issac's figure as they walked off, looked back at Mrs. Usagiyama.

"Did something happen?"

The concern in Mrs. Usagiyama's voice was apparent. Just like at that time in that traffic jam. Celia had felt the slightest bit of suspicion, she was like that, of course she would. But like last time, the woman's concern was genuine, without malice.

"Nothing much. You know, parenting stuff."

"Of course, it's hard being a parent!" Mrs. Usagiyama nodded, "Especially for someone as young as you. When the child isn't even yours."

"..." Celia's expression hardened, her spoon pausing.

Mrs. Usagiyama was startled at how fast Celia's expression changed. It was like that time. She unconsciously swallowed her ice cream. Her expression grimacing from the brain freeze.

"W-was I wrong?" Mrs. Usagiyama stuttered, "You looked so young, and Itsuki doesn't look anything like you. I-I just assumed…"

"No, you're not wrong. I was just surprised you knew," Celia calmly said, "I'm Itsuki's father's cousin."

"So, his parents?"

"Died in a riot," Celia had a melancholic look on her face, "I'm his guardian, and have only been taking care of him for little over six months now.

"Oh, poor thing, must've been hard on you," Mrs. Usagiyama looked on the verge of crying herself.

"..." Celia went on to speak a story of how they had fled from Canada to escape a riot which had claimed the lives of Itsuki's parents. Blending in a little bit of truth about how she wanted him to get into the best school he could and how much pressure she had unwittingly put on him.

"Look, I know this might sound harsh. It will," Mrs. Usagiyama hardened her resolve as she spoke, "You two have such a long life ahead of you, and you, you barely look a day past twenty. You haven't even properly experienced adult life."

"..."

"Have you ever thought about p

utting Itsuki up for adoption? It might be better for the two of you."

...

..

[A/n: Sorry for not updating yesterday! I was on a trip, and wasn't really in a position to write anything. Today, I had a bit of free time, and wrote the chapter on phone, so formatting might be a mess. I'll take care of it once back home and have access to my laptop. Bye...

Wait! Thr first part of the chapter was supposed to come up just as celia and Issac set off to japan. But I forgot about it. I'll edit it in the finished work though. Biee for real this time.]

 

[waderer]

The door to the cafe opened at that time, Issac running up to Celia.

"Can I have your phone for a moment?" He asked.

"Sure?" She took the phone out from her pocket, handing it to Issac, "What are you guys doing?"

"We were playing by the swing and she didn't know what a stoat was," he leaned in and whispered, "She doesn't know stoats eat rabbits, I'mma show it to her."

Celia chuckled, rubbing his hair, unconsciously.

Issac ran off with the phone, all the while Celia and Mrs. Usagayima looked on.

"Mrs. Usagiyama."

"Please call me by my name!"

"Umm, Esumi?" Celia remembered her mentioning her full name while reporting that incident.

"Yes." Mrs. Esumi chuckled.

"I understand you mean well. But Issac was never forced upon me. It was me, and my choice alone to take care of him. There were plenty of options, and I chose to bring him up. And I will see through it to the end.

"He'd never been a difficult child, it's just, my inadequacy that caused my distress at the moment."

"I understand," Mrs. Esumi spoke, looking at her bowl, and looking up at Celia with a radiant smile. She only ever wanted to make sure the young, kind lady before her handn't been taking on unnecessary burden upon herself. Especially alone. And the sad and thoughtful expression she had on before had worried her.

"I apologise for overstepping my bounds," She spoke, dipping her head a little, "It's just, you know… I know this lady form my hometown who got pregnent while on highschool–"

…

"..." Rumi sat on the swing, squinting at the phone showing the video of a stoat killing a rabbit five times its size in a single bite. She looked at the stoat, who leaned on the metal post that held up the swing, crossing it's arms and biting onto a piece of grass it had picked up from the ground.

"No way," Rumi refused to believe it. She pushed with her leg, swinging away.

"Well, you saw it," Issac put the phone into his pocket and helped push the swing faster.

"Yeah, I saw that. Maybe she can take down some rabbits, but no way she can take down a human!" Rumi shook her head, her ears swinging.

It was the logical conclusion, but Issac refused to back down, "She can though! I've seen her do it with my own eyes!"

"She fought a human before?" Rumi asked skeptically.

"No," Issac quickly denied it, he absolutely couldn't speak of the past, "Illia is a pacifist, she absolutely hates fighting," that wasn't true, "But what I'm saying is, in an emergency, she can absolutely take down a human."

"And how exactly would she do it?" Rumi asked defiantly, stopping the swing with her legs, and getting off, "Your turn."

"I don't know," Issac got on the swing, "She can give some mean bites." He wasn't guessing, he still remembered the piece of marco's ear that Illia had been nibbling on.

"..I can bite."

"Then, should we do it?"

"Of course!" Rumi was, of course, on board. She was just a bit worried about the boy and the rat. Well, maybe not the rat, the stoat.

Illia looked ready.

Issac got off the swing.

"Let's do this."

Rumi rubbed her wrists with a grin.

…

"Ya know? I never got to properly thank you for saving my life. I mean, that was my original reason for approaching you today." Esumi spoke, looking through her handbag.

"Think nothing of it! And you really helped he unravel my thoughts today. That's more than enough." Celia said softly, paying with her card. The younger man attending the counter had a hard time looking her in the eye.

"Oh, I insist! How about dinner? Tomorrow? Will you have time?"

"If it wouldn't be too much trouble, we'll be there." Celia smiled as she pushed open the door, "Those two seem to be getting along well!" she'd caught sight of the children.

"Hmmm?" Esumi looked up.

There they were, Issac, Rumi, and Illia standing atop a pile of children, proclaiming themselves the heroes.

Interestingly enough, Illia was standing on top of Rumi's head, holding onto one of her ears like support.

"No Villain shall escape while I reign as the hero." Rumi proclaimed and the children hiding behind the slide trembled.

Issac was a bit more coutious, he was using the mout as a vantage point to lookout, constantly keeping an eye on the surroundings. And it payed off.

While Rumi was busy intimidating the kids behind the slide, a boy had snuck up behind the sandbox, using the pile of sand as a distraction. The kid even had a shield in his hand.

He had jumped, screaming, "I shall end your terror, Daemon disguised as Hero!!!!", intending to slam Rumi into the ground. But Issac was faster.

He tackled the boy two head taller than himself with terrifying ease.

"What are you all standing there for!!!" the tackled boy screamed, "We are the masters of our own destines! Subdue the wild daemons and restore peace!!!"

And that, surprisingly enough, served as a motivation for the group hiding behind the slide.

One by one, they stepped out. One by one, they charged. One by one, that chanted!

"Take down the Daemons!!!!"

Rumi grinned ear to ear. Illia cracked her knuckles, and launched herself off of Rumi onto the hair of the one leading the charge, tackling the kid who stood a head taller than Rumi onto the ground.

Rumi too charged.

Several kids who were hiding themselves in the multi playstation, slid down the side.

"Help the daemon! We shall achieve salvation!!!!" they screams.

Several parents, who were looking on from the side, whispeirng in concerned voice, also charged. Even a few security guards!

To the side, Celia looked on, covering her mouth as if enlightened.

"Now I get it!!!" Why hadn't she thought of that!

"What?" Esumi looked at her, a bit absent mindedly.

"I know how to better understand Issac!"

"Please don't tell it's by pitting him against other children!" Esumi looked suspicious.

"Of course not!" Celia would never do that!, "I don't want anyone else to get hurt!"

"That's a relief!" Esumi looked back at the children.

"I'll fight him myself!!"

"Hmmm?!!"

...

A/n: it's day 27. I'm ashamed. this was supposed to be a daily thing. But I've been taking breaks often. I'm a bit discouraged to say the least. No matter. I will continue. But before that, should I break up the streak and start from day 1? or should I continue like this?

 

[Despacitoleo]

A/n: it's day 27. I'm ashamed. this was supposed to be a daily thing. But I've been taking breaks often. I'm a bit discouraged to say the least. No matter. I will continue. But before that, should I break up the streak and start from day 1? or should I continue like this?

Click to shrink...

Do it till day 30 cause even numbers are cooler

jk though if your getting burnt out I would stop the streak as its a very good milestone to get nearly 30 days of consistent writting

shit is nearly 30k words if you feel like you gotta ask us to stop then you should take a breather and a small break for a bit before writting again

 

[waderer]

Ahem. To no one's surprise, I have failed in my daily writing thing. Thank for your encouraging words @Despacitoleo . I am ashamed to have failed your expectations.

There wasn't much of any reason, really. I just got lazy over the holiday week, and another week went past just like that.
Anyway. I edited the Elf and Human short story! And it was supposed to have an epilogue, but I had a bit of an accident.
I'm losing my mind here, dealing with that asshole of an owner who came on the wrong side of a bend, and my insurance company. I'm uninjured, but it has been a mess.
Well, the epilogue will be updated shortly, in a few days, maybe.
Anyway, I'm not planning to give up, I will be back, with another daily series shortly! See ya'll!

I will be posting this story on RoyalRoad

Chapter 1: The promise

The library was draped in a comfortable silence, underscored only by the soft rustle of pages and the rhythmic scratch of pens. A gentle breeze drifted through the open window, fluttering the silky curtains that filtered the sunlight. In those shifting, golden beams, tiny motes of dust danced, stirred from their rest among the library's centuries-old collection.

A human boy and an elven girl sat opposite each other, heads bowed, immersed in their own respective books.

The librarian sat behind the desk, scribbling down in a ledger.

A fluffy cat wandered around the place like a patrolman, its soft, padded paws making nary a sound against the sandalwood floorboards.

After a while, Mr. Ivans closed his ledger and stood up, pausing to gaze at his pupils. His eyes held warmth and contentment.

It always brought a smile to his face to see law-abiding, knowledge-seeking young children.

In his humble opinion, Elizabeth and Jonah were miles ahead of the brutes who only ever trained in martial arts, barely even bothering to learn how to read.

Careful not to disturb his pupils, he walked toward the exit. The cat, however, noticed his movement and turned to watch him. Mr. Ivans offered a curt dip of his head at Mr. Kregils, and the feline reciprocated.

The door closed with a slight thud, making the young Elf's sensitive ears twitch involuntarily.

A long moment passed, and Jonah gazed up from his book.

He tutted, and the cat, who was steadily patrolling the library, abandoned his post and trotted over, jumping onto his bench.

Jonah didn't dare pet the fluffy creature, no matter how much his entire existence yearned to do so. Mr. Kregils showed no kindness toward whoever dared to sully his perfectly pruned hair.

Instead, he retrieved a pouch from his pocket and slid it across the bench.

The feline sniffed it, nodded toward Jonah, bit onto the fabric of the pouch and sauntered away.

Only then did Jonah dare to exhale aloud, promptly diving back into his book.

The library required absolute silence, and Mr. Kregils enforced the rule. However, even the mighty Kregils wasn't above temptations. Premium catnip always worked.

Elizabeth, who had been covering her face with the book and peeking at the interaction, smiled in relief as the cat walked away and put down her book.

She stood up and stretched with an audible groan.

Jonah peeked over his book. The way Elizabeth puffed out her cheeks while stretching… he'd always found it cute.

Aaand there she was doing handstand pushups. Her form was less shaky now than a few days back. Evidently, she'd been practising. And the way her silky skirt stayed upright even while upside down showed she hadn't been slacking off in her mana control practice either.

Jonah focused back on his book.

For everyone else, Elizabeth was a perfect student, always immersed in her book, the sweet pupil of Mr. Ivan's. But Jonah knew just how much she hated studying, and just how much she loved martial arts. At least she didn't absolutely hate magic.

"I thought he'd never leave," Elizabeth said, lowering her form just enough to tap her nose against the sandalwood floor.

"Yeah," Jonah agreed, turning the page, "I thought he caught on."

"Nah," Elizabeth snorted, "You're worrying too much. I don't think he even cares."

"Nop!" Jonah looked up, "I'm very much sure he hates even the thought of his student pursuing martial arts. The other day, I saw him fighting with Mr. Verslis, arguing whether martial arts or magic were superior."

Elizabeth paused, her hands upright, leaning to one side, trying to balance herself in one hand. Her form, which had been perfect up until now, began shaking, and she had to give up. However, she still stood on her hands, her form slowly stabilising.

A bead of sweat rolled down Elizabeth's nose, dripping onto the sandalwood floor.

"Bah," she spat finally, letting out her frustrations at once, "Who cares about his opinion anyway?" There was a high note to Elizabeth's voice as she once again slowly lowered her form.

Jonah shrugged, not looking up from his book.

A comfortable silence passed as Elizabeth's breathing, Jonah's turning of pages, and the rustle of Mr. Kregil's playing with the catnip pouch remained the only sound in the library.

A soft wind blew from the open window, rustling the silky curtains, breaking the silence and cooling Elizabeth.

Jonah, still focused on his book, spoke casually.

"You remember my uncle, Divan?"

"Uha."

"He got married the other day?"

"Really?! He got married? I thought he said he never wanted to marry!"

"I know, right?! I asked him that too!" Jonah looked up from his book, "and he said, Ahem–"People change with time, boy.""

Elizabeth chuckled at Jonah's weak attempt at imitating Uncle Divan.

"I don't get it!" Jonah continued waving his arm around, "Do you know how much it costs to arrange a wedding? I heard the engagement rings alone cost around a grand. I mean, why would anyone spend that much money on a damn ring! How many books could we buy with that?! I bet I'd be able to fill my bedroom shelf!"

Elizabeth paused, her breathing a bit rapid, "So you're against marriage?"

"No, but one could do it cheaper!" Jonah dove back into his book.

Elizabeth couldn't really pinpoint why, but she felt really annoyed at that moment.

She pushed up against the floor and leapt, landing directly on the table, crouching, looking directly into Jonah's–who had looked up from his book in start–eyes.

Jonah looked straight into Elizabeth's emerald eyes with a raised eyebrow.

She jiggled, the sweat on her face fell on the book infront of him, her long ears twitching slightly.

She asked;

"Say, If we, we both remain unmarried for the next, wellllll, thousand years, how about we marry each other?"

"Hmmm," Jonah hummed, "Alright, but only if you agree to do it frugally."

"Let's hold off on the details. Who knows, maybe people really will change with time," Elizabeth leaned over, her forehead touching Jonah's.

Jonah was a bit annoyed at the touch of her sweat-soaked forehead, but he grinned at her.

"Oh, trust me, Elle, I'll never change!"

…

Chapter 2: Time That Flew By

"Time's a funny thing for the elfs, in fact, they have so much of it in their hands that most stopped counting entirely! By five hundred, who would care about years? Seasons passed while they slept! Dynasties crumbled while they perfected a single spell! Why would they track a concept mortals invented just to make peace with their own mortality?

"Turns out? There are plenty of reasons!

"Because even — and listen closely folks, you'll want to hear this — even the GREATEST ARCHMAGE KNOWN TO MORTAL AND IMMORTAL KIND ALIKE!

"The one and only GODSBANE!

"She before whom the MIGHTY DRAGONS BOW THEIR ARROGANT HEADS!

"The UNCONTESTED MASTER OF THE ELEMENTS!

"The MONARCH OF THE REALM OF ASHVENIA!

"Her Most Illustrious Majesty — ELIZABETH SOLMARYN….keeps track of every single year that passes!

"Every. Last. One!

"And you want to know WHY?!

"Get your copy of this month's most sought-after read, featuring an EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW with the Left Hand of Her Majesty herself, the incomparable, the untouchable,

"EVANA VAELINDRA!

"One copper, folks! One copper and the secrets of the greatest mage who ever breathed are YOURS!"

"He's cute," Dina, an elegant old lady in her own right, spoke to the woman next to her, biting off another piece of the sugar figurine.

"He's young enough to be your grandchild, Ma!" The lady next to her spoke, her eyes never leaving the newsboy waving around the paper, showcasing his incredible charisma.

"Huhu," Dina took another bite of her candy, "And young enough to be your child."

"This and that are completely different things," the woman rolled her eyes. She took out a coin from her purse and handed it to the candy vendor. Yet her eyes never left the young man.

"Maybe I should get a copy of that?" The young woman mumbled. But a swat to her bottom by the old lady made her turn her head.

"Get a move on already, the university won't keep their gates open for you," the old lady turned around and walked, savouring the sweet candy.

"They will, though! I'm a faculty there!"

They both walked toward the old building surrounded by skyscrapers. The city had developed a whole lot over the years, yet the Old building close to the city square never changed. No one knew the reason why, but few, like the city's old Magistrate and the owner of the old antique store, knew.

Old Lady Dina pushed open the door and entered; she did not use a key. Instead, the door had recognised her in on itself. It wasn't like the new lacklustre technologies like biometric recognition, no. It had recognised her soul. Unlike modern biometric technology or the old mana signature technology, which could be hacked using a simple spell, it was practically impossible to disguise a soul.

One might ask, if an antique store had a door with such security, how would regular customers come inside to shop? Well, they don't. There was a reason Old Dina didn't make a single sale in the last year.

The young woman, Old Dina's youngest daughter, slid past the door as her mother held it.

"Didn't you say you have a lecture today, Cinderella? Why don't you get going for the world's sake?"

"It's Cin Ma! C-I-N! Simple, elegant!"

"I have no daughter named," Dina spat the rest out with contempt, "C-I-N."

"Well, you do now! I changed my name at the gusset! Why did you even name me that anyway! It's so cumbersome to speak it aloud!!!"

"Don't change the subject, Cinderella. Get out already!"

"NO!" Cinderella sat down on the nearest sofa, angrily crossing her hands across her ample bosom, "I already asked Professor Erman to cover my class. I'm not going anywhere today."

Old Lady Dina felt her eyes twitch, "Fine, you're not a little girl anymore. Do you need coffee?"

"Thank you!" Cin let out an exasperated sigh, "A decaf would be nice. I plan to sleep for the entire day today."

"I have robusta, lightly roasted."

"..."

…

"Mom, when are you going to retire and hand the shop over to me?"

"I'm not going to retire, and even if I do, I will not hand the shop over to you."

"Who are you gonna give it to then? Rebecca?" Cin scoffed, "She'd sell the whole thing at the first opportunity.

"And Christy? I don't think he'd care! That leaves only me, right?" Cin rolled on the sofa, propping up her chin on the Sofa's handrest, "Unless, of course, you have illegitimate children not recorded in the official registry. By the way, that is a crime."

"I'm not going to retire, problem solved," Dina spoke, drying the mugs, as the lightly roasted coffee beans floated around, grinding themselves and placing themselves in the oldschool expresso machine, "Besides, it's not like I can just hand over the shop. Either I have to die, in which case the ownership will go to the person I have already agreed on with Mr Door,"

Cin looked back at the door, and for a moment, it felt as if the engraving of the Deer with vines growing on its antlers gave a dip of its head.

"Or," Dina continued, pouring steamed milk into the honey brown substance in the Mug, "That door has to open." Dina gestured with her chin at the Door, at the back of the shop.

"Gasp!" Cin gasped, "Are you finally gonna tell me what's behind that door?"

"Obviously not!" Dina scoffed.

"It's a secret I will gladly guard with my life. Unless, of course, I die, in which case Mr Door will tell my successor."

"Then I have no choice but to kill you, ma!, and hope I'm lucky enough to be chosen as your successor!"

"You're certainly welcome to try," Dina handed Cin the coffee.

"Do you have cookies?" Cin asked, taking the mug from Dina's hands.

"They're in the counter, get them yourself if you want."

"Maaaa!"

"Tch."

"Tch." Cin reluctantly set the mug down on the coffee table and got up, whining all the way to the counter. Dina got herself busy with the newspaper Cin had discreetly brought from the newsboy, turning to the article the boy was so passionately advertising about.

"Maaaa?!"

"It's in the top counter, Cinderella! Grow up!"

"No, not that!" There was nervousness in Cin's voice, "Is this Door supposed to glow?"

Dina looked over, and the sound of a Mug clattering to the ground rang out across the old rustic store.

…

…

The Earth split open, swallowing the City of Autsberg whole into the ground. Young Elizabeth watched with her eyes wide, holding onto Mr Evan's trousers. She looked up at her teacher, her mentor, her father.

Mr Evans had both his hands clutching his hair, his expression, as Elizabeth came to understand later in life, showing despair. Uncontrollable terror and despair that could not be put into words.

She looked at the widening chasm, like the maw of the earth opening, solely to bring despair to every living being.

Elizabeth's legs didn't move at that time; she had frozen, just like her dad, not knowing what to do. Elizabeth still remembered the warmth of her father's tears that had smudged on her face. He had hugged her and cried till the Empire showed up, till their kind came to bring them home.

…

…

Elizabeth's eyes fluttered open, the musky scent of old books and the vibrant colours of her spirits cluttering around overwhelming her senses for a moment. Her rocking chair stirred lightly, with enough gentleness to put even the roughest children to sleep.

The spirits, little furballs of different vibrant colours, gathered around her like little chicks to their mother bird. They pushed and shoved, made little squeaks like chiks, rubbing themselves against the elf.

For a moment, Elizabeth closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of it all. Her cold elven body slowly warmed up, memories like a waterfall sprinting past in her consciousness.

People change with life. It was a truth Elizabeth accepted long ago.

Elizabeth had set her sights on becoming the greatest martial artist who ever lived. She had declared so, and had even made a bet she thought she'd keep with her life.

Yet, here she was, the Greatest Archmage of the world, surrounding herself with books, cooped up in a library, finding comfort in stillness.

'How long has it been?' Her mind asked itself.

'Three years and thirty-two days, four hours, twenty-one minutes,' her part of the consciousness that kept track of time answered.

It's been more than three years since she'd cooped herself up in this library.

Her mind hadn't alerted her. She had such an important appointment in three days, yet her subconscious didn't bother.

She was the greatest mage in the world. She simply did not have the need to keep an alarm clock or activate any magic of the equivalent.

Her mind was perfectly capable of keeping track of time. Yet, she had overslept.

Sure, there was an overwhelming, landslide of a possibility that the day wouldn't go as the two naive children had planned.

Logic dictated that he simply wouldn't be there, waiting for her. The day would end with her sitting alone, mourning, wallowing, despairing in the fact that even with all the power she now possessed, she would never be able to get everything back to where it once was.

The swaying of the chair ceased.

The little furballs of various colours clung to Elizabeth's clothes and hair as she rose.

The shelves parted ways for her. They pulled apart like curtains drawn by invisible hands, those impossible towers of wood and paper, tall enough to shame Krathsha, the imperial marvel of a skyscraper.

Her pristine white robes flew over, draping itself over her, sweeping away the spirits that clung to her. Her hat fell through the ceiling, painted like the impossible wonder of the night sky, gently settling on her head. Her staff summoned itself, firmly floating behind her.

The spirits followed, grumpily trotting behind them, some even transforming and raising their fists at the robe.

The fire spirit shook itself away from the group, transforming into a little butler with a suit made of fire. It floated beside the door, twisting the door open with a bit of effort, and bowing toward Elizabeth.

She hadn't halted as she stepped out onto the old antique store, her staff following her.

The fire spirit followed behind her, but not before blowing a raspberry at the other spirits. The spirits, transformed ones and the little furballs, clamoured to get out before the doors closed. They'd been stuck inside this library for who knew how long. They'd be damned if they didn't use this opportunity to get out and stretch their bodies.

"Morning, Dina," Elizabeth spoke plainly as she spotted the old woman. She completely ignored the young woman next to the counter, clamping her mouth shut, white as paper, as if she'd seen a ghost, "I see you've aged."

"Wonderful morning, My Lady," Dina, regaining her composure, stood up and bowed deeply, "It has been 10 years, indeed, I have aged."

"Ten?" Elizabeth raised an eyebrow, standing infront of the old woman. Dina was half a head taller than her, and she hated it. She was a goddamn elf! A pure one that that! Yet, a human was taller than her, bigger even, "Didn't I see you the last time I got out? During the Rosmar rebellion?"

"No, you didn't even use the door," Dina shook her head, her face filled with melancholy, "But I heard about your feats from Evana. You were amazing, my lady, to think you would slay Osdes and wipe out the cult of messages."

"Oh," Elizabeth looked down at the newspaper Dina's hand clutched, "I didn't kill him, I sealed him. Is that today's?"

"Yes," Dina handed over the newspaper, and Elizabeth took it, reading through the front page, "It had an article about you."

"Uha, does Evana has nothin better to do?" Elizabeth flipped through the page, "Wait, Monarch of Ashvenia? Did some idiot emperor crown me as their empress again?"

"Nothing like what you're imagining, my lord, and after the example of Zelros, I'm sure no one would dare pull such a stunt."

"Heh, you'd be surprised to see how idiotic some bastards can be," Elizabeth shook her head, as she turned the pages and walked toward the Door. Little fire spirit, ever the competent assistant he was, had already cleaned up(Incinerated) the Mug and the coffee spill off the floor, making it spotless so that his Leige's boot didn't get sullied. Little nature spirit, who had snuck away from the chaos the transformed spirits were causing, was already conversing with the will of the Door, the depiction of Deer in the Door moving with lifelike vigour, "Where's Ashvania again?"

"It's referring to the moon."

"The moon? When did it become my domain?"

"When you came back from the moon?"

"..." Elizabeth quietly turned back to look at Dina.

And Dina knew what that look meant, "Evana disclosed the information, My Lord, she even declared it your domain. Last I heard, several nations have ended their Moon-faring research."

"...Make's sense," Elizabeth sighed, flipping through the page. Something interesting had caught her eye, a Daemon was sighted in Brighwe Pass, "Did she name it Ashvenia?"

"No, the name started with a bard? Should I prepare the investigation results?" Dina pushed up her glasses.

"Nop," Elizabeth was now completely focused on the Newspaper.

Daemons, in a way, hadn't been sighted in the world for more than a thousand years. The gate to the daemon realm was said to have been closed once the great rift tore apart the earth. With a possible connection existing between the two events, Elizabeth had investigated, and indeed, the gate had closed a few years after the great rift. And to her disappointment, the two events had no further connection. The Daemon realm had simply changed rulers, and the new king had just closed off the world to better organise the internal situation.

Elizabeth had indeed wanted to dig further, but the lack of daemons in the world had exposed the Gods' corrupt influence among the populace. Her attention was led elsewhere. Now, after all these years, there was a sighting. And an Elf had even gone missing. Elizabeth's staff, which had been quietly floating behind her, floated toward the pile of newspapers stashed in the corner, floating over them, scanning them.

There were papers dated more than 15 years. Indeed, there were no publicly reported sightings of any Damon before this. She had to check it out herself. She could just take a detour on her way. It wasn't like she was pressed for time.

"Aargh," an oddly manly yet, feminine sound echoed from where the spirits were fighting, close to the door to the library, followed by the sound of something crashing. Both Elizabeth and Dina looked over.

The Counter with the espresso machine was now knocked over, wet. Even the wallpaper was peeling off due to the moisture. The cookies were scattered on the floor, covered in dirt and soil of various colours.

The various transformed Earth spirits and water spirits who had caused the commotion ceased their clumsy attempt to fix the broken things once Elizabeth looked over. The various other spirits just huddled on the corner, brawling while still being fur balls.

Cinderella had run off to her Mom's side, an ugly expression on her face. It was more than surprising, astonishing….it was beyond words when the greatest archmage the world had ever seen came out of the mysterious door in her mother's old antique shop.

She was unable to make a noise when she saw her mother talking soo casually to someone even the Gods bowed to. She was soo in her mind, geeking out when she saw the elemental army that followed the Greatness.

The various spirits that could only survive in specific regions around the world gathered in one spot and fighting like little thugs, the various furballs of elements she couldn't even begin to guess the origin of, their spiritual energies churning as they struggled to keep their powers in control while having a fistfight.

It was all a lot to take in. Her mind had just frozen, thinking of all the things she could do if she were to possess even a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of the power the greatest archmage of the world possessed.

"Get back here," Elizabeth ordered, and the hat slightly floated upward. The spirits, dejected, turned back into little furballs and flew into her hat, "Everyone."

There goes their vacation.

Now, even the fire spirit and tree spirit flew back, settling inside the hat.

"I'll pay for the damages."

"That would hardly be appropriate, my lady. I and everything in my humble establishment is of service to you and your army. Please don't take it to heart," Dina bowed her head with a constipated heart.

"Can you stop that? I hate it," Elizabeth didn't like it. Over voluntary subservience was just… creepy.

Dina lowered her head once more.

"...And this is? She looks a little like you."

"My youngest daughter, Cinderella."

"It's Cin mom,

"Cinderella. Nice to meet you," Elizabeth nodded.

"It's my lifelong pleasure to me–" Cin looked ready to kneel down and worship.

"Yeah, see you later," Elizabeth turned around.

"Are you leaving already, my lady? How about some coffee and cookies?"

"Give them to your daughter. I'll be out for a while this time. No one is allowed to enter my library."

"I will guard this place with my life, my lady." Dina enthusiastically shouted.

"Sure."

"My lady! About my retirement!"

"Ring me up once you find a successor. We'll do a ceremony."

"Wait!! An autogra—"

Elizabeth disappeared.

…

The grand hall seemed to stretch endlessly, and rows of officials stood in formation, one by one submitting their memorial to the Eternal Emperor.

But the man seated on the throne was bored.

It was the same old same old. If not for the need, he wouldn't be listening to the nonsense suggestions, appeals and impeachments.

The nation was stable and firmly in his hands. But he couldn't just overexercise that authority.

He needed the nation to function as smoothly as it always had, and with minimal input from his part. For that, the pretence was necessary.

At that moment, the candle beside the emperor fluttered, its flame taking on a hint of red.

It caught the attention of the man's drooping eyes, making the sleepiness on his face vanish instantly.

He waved his hand, his majestic old voice echoing through the walls of the great hall.

"Dismissed," the voice was cold and rational, devoid of much emotion.

The Young official, reading aloud his memorial on disaster relief, stopped and bowed, along with all the officials present.

They withdrew in an orderly fashion.

Only once they left the great hall did a commotion erupt among the highest echelons of the empire.

What was so important that the emperor would dismiss them so abruptly? Many among them had, however, noticed the flickering of the candle. And they knew what it meant.

A great upheaval was about to assail the world.

..

Inside the hall, the emperor listened as the candlelight once again flickered, and a voice as ethereal as the stars in the sky spoke out.

"That witch is out of her lair, with her army. What do you intend to do?"

The emperor remained silent for a moment; a moment later, a grin spread across his features. With the long moustache and beard, it looked positively terrifying.

"What else? We've prepared for all these years; it's about time we get rid of that tree hugger.

"I'm expecting your assistance if needed." The emperor rumbled.

"Naturally."

…

Chapter 3: The Mundane

The street wasn't as she remembered. There were changes. Buildings she remembered as new were weathered and stained, some were getting maintenance done, scaffolding set up, mages flying around.

The street now had a wider footpath, yet the road didn't seem to have grown smaller. Trees she remembered as saplings along the side of the footpath now stood taller than her, the old leaves and petals littering the walkway.

A man, likely younger than Dina sweeped the sidewalk, wearing an outfit with the city's emblem on it. It wasn't the old woman from the nearby stall that doing voluntary work.

There were guards sporting the same emblem on their chest walking around with their batons, yet, the uniform wasn't the same as she remembered.

It wasn't new to Elizabeth.

A thousand years was a long time; kingdoms popped up and disappeared every decade, and change was the constant.

Aside from some stable old countries which the Gods oversaw, there was nothing that time couldn't change.

She had grown to ignore these details over the years, yet she was noticing things.

Elizabeth, her spirits taking refuge in her hat, slowly walked toward the city gate.

If she so wished, she could appear in her hometown anytime she needed.

It was a matter of a mere thought.

But there was still time before the agreed date, and Elizabeth fully intended to once again experience the dullness of mundane travel.

As the colossal city gates grew fainter in the distance, Elizabeth noticed the rattle of a carriage. However, there was no rhythmic noise of horse hoves hitting the cobblestone road.

Elizabeth turned around and noticed a cart being pulled by one spider the size of a horse, with what appeared to be moss growing on it's back.

Horse mat spider, used as a substitute for horses among the neutral nations. It was best for traversing rough terrain. Although people used it because of how cheap they were to maintain.

It had a fungal mat on its back, in which aphids were housed. The spider sucked on the mana produced by these aphids to survive, and it ate almost anything.

Elizabeth waved the carriage down, and the old man manning the carriage was kind enough to give her a ride to the next town.

This was it.

This was the kind of mundane experience she was hoping to enjoy.

The hills, trees, grass, and livestock all whizzed past slowly.

The carriage continued to crackle, and the old man continued to cough intermittently.

The sun shone brightly on her cloak, and whatever bugs were in the hay mat of the carriage crawled out, hoping to bite the traveller.

Right.

This was the mundane life she wanted to experience.

'I should've flown straight!' Elizabeth sighed, took out what seemed to be a rubber ball, and started squeezing it like a stress ball.

What seemed like squeals came from the rubber ball with every squeeze, and Elizabeth felt herself growing calmer.

Gods were the most fun to play with.

They didn't have the ability to give up on themselves. They were resilient like that.

…

…

"I thank you for the ride," Elizabeth said, dipping her head gracefully at the old man. Although the ride was bumpy and slow, it was undeniable that the man, likely younger than herself, had shown her kindness.

"Don't mention it, young lady, it was nothing," the old man said, smiling with his few teeth.

The sight made Elizabeth's stomach churn.

'Right, humans are so fragile, there's no wa–' A crisp sound of a slap echoed, making the old drivers' smile vanish. Some onlookers passing by also turned their gazes.

"Are you alright, young lady?" The old man's voice was full of worry as he looked at her with concern.

An uncomfortable reality she was trying to shove into the back crevices of her mind was now surfacing. She didn't like it.

"It's alright, I'm just having an episode!" Elizabeth replied cheerfully, waving her hand, her swollen cheek healing as a green tint surfaced on her skin.

But the old man's face stiffened, and he looked at Elizabeth with a look she didn't particularly like. The onlookers weren't concerned enough to stick around as they dispersed. There was so little time in a day. No way they were sticking around to see some crazy bastards duking it out.

Elizabeth smiled once again. Without further ado, she held out a pouch to the old man, coins jingling.

"Once again, thank you for your trouble." Elizabeth was fully ready for a back-and-forth exchange of the old man rejecting and her insisting, to experience the mundaneness of humble exchange, but the man quickly pocketed the pouch.

"Hohoho, it really was alright! You needn't trouble yourself."

The old man's smile was sooo, for a lack of a better word, bright.

Elizabeth chuckled a bit awkwardly as she rubbed the head of the Horse mat spider, feeling the tingling sense of its fur one last time as she vanished in place.

The Spider and the old man alike were startled, but feeling the weight of the pouch in his pocket, he was more than content.

…

Elizabeth flew straight toward the Brighwe pass. The terrain was as one would expect, a road settled between two forested mountains, nestled on the side of a river.

There were scarce settlements, with only official buildings sticking out of the norm. Elizabeth felt like she wouldn't be able to handle another social interaction that day, so she didn't even bother stepping into the small town. Instead, she flew over to the mountain estate where the sentries had spotted the daemon chasing the elf.

She landed in the forest. Her senses swept outward, and sure enough, there was residual daemonic energy, the pure kind.

She touched one of the trees in the vicinity.

A polite suppression with her overwhelming soul, and the tree was willing to string together the details of what had happened in the mountain over the last few months, and with it's root networks stretching over the entire mountain, every tree in the vicinity helped out.

There was a lot of data, but Elizabeth filtered through it instantly. Indeed, as she had suspected, it was the Elf who had drawn the summoning circle.

The circle drawn from pig blood and sprinkled with elven blood had indeed summoned a daemon, but the chant the Elf had uttered while running around the circle like some barbarian was something Elizabeth wasn't familiar with.

'A new chant and ritual?'

She was confused, but the fluctuations the portal gave off as it opened and the daemon that came out of it all contained the unmistakable aura of the underworld she was familiar with.

'And,'

It all seemed off.

The daemon seemed like it didn't have any intention of killing or complying with its summoner's request.

It had just chased the elf around the woods as soon as it came out, doing all it could do to supress it's overwhelming aura. It had captured and restrained her, tossing her into the portal with all the care a motion of tossing could achieve. It had even erased any traces of the summoning as it went back.

Well, it was pretty meticulous for an Ogre Daemon. Elizabeth would give it that much credit. If the daemon wasn't sighted by the guards, she would've even given full marks.

It was all suspicious. The whole thing looked like a planned abduction. And why would daemons even kidnap elves into their realms? Any elf that touched the miasma of the daemon realm would wither and die in minutes. She needed to get to the bottom of this.

"Evana," She lightly called out, and an elf woman instantly materialised to her left.

The elf had a towel wrapped around her and had another one on her head. Her mascara even looked smudged by the sudden interruption, but as soon as she materialised to the left of Elizabeth, she fell on the ground, prostrating herself.

"My Liege!!!! Please use this slave as you wish!!!" There was a plea in her voice that sounded sickening to Elizabeth.

She never liked that tone, but Evana was just like that. Even Dina had picked up on her habits, just to show her annoyance toward her.

If not for the half-elf being weirdly competent, Elizabeth would've replaced her long ago. Indeed, usefulness overruled certain character traits.

"Do you know this woman?" Elizabeth asked without acknowledging Evana's actions. She had constructed a perfect replica of the elven woman who had been abducted, down to the smallest pore on her body. She had the data from hundreds of trees to work with after all.

"No, my liege!" Evana had looked up, her eyes filled with fervour, "But I swear on my honour! I shall find her whereabouts by tomorrow! If not, I shall feed myself to cows. "

"Yep, that'll do," Elizabeth waved her off. As interesting as the case was, she had an appointment she needed to keep. And she hated nothing more than getting somewhere late.

"Are you going back to your homeland, My Leige?" Evana asked as Elizabeth was about to disappear.

Elizabeth nodded.

"I wish you the luck of the entire world, my liege!" Evana thumped her chest with her fists, her towels slightly loosening up, "Fret not, my liege, if the meeting doesn't go as planned, I will lend you both my shoulders to cry on."

"..." Elizabeth was distracted by the jiggling globes of flesh. She didn't like it, yet it was mesmerising. "Sure," she uttered as she vanished.

…

Tomorrow was the day. She had plenty of time. Yet, it didn't feel right to delay things any longer.

She flew straight to her hometown.

Before long, what seemed to be a chasm, thousands of kilometres long and hundreds of kilometres wide, appeared before her.

It was like the world had split in half, gaping the pathway to the underworld.

Elizabeth landed on the cliff, the crimson glow of the setting sun behind her, peering down into the abyss.

It was one of the greatest disasters that had assailed the continent about a thousand years ago.

She was still young back then, when the sky wailed, and earth screamed as the chasm ripped open.

Hundreds of human settlements were lost that day, and an unknown number of lives were extinguished. The continent was divided, and the two great seas connected. Seasons changed, people's lives were affected, numerous flora and fauna went extinct as a consequence.

Elizabeth could still vividly remember the day.

She hadn't gone to the library as she usually did, instead sneaking away to watch the martial tournament.

Why didn't she invite Jonah back then? She didn't… Right, he was preparing to move town with his family.

She'd been upset then.

They should've cherished their time together.

Both of them could've been saved then.

The memory was all a bit hazy.

She had understood the power of nature that day.

And that no matter how much the body tried, infront of nature they were nothing but…

The sun had set, and the faint illumination of the moon fought to overwhelm the starlight.

A sigh escaped Elizabeth's lips.

She outstretched her hands, and the staff, the most ordinary-looking staff, floated into her hands.

She slammed it on the ground. The world shifted and the stars aligned, creating a blend of starlight that illuminated half the world.

Her mind cleared to an almost supernatural clarity. She remembered her hometown clearly, the city wall, the gate, the trees the library had sponsored to be planted, the bushes, the paved roads, the buildings that grew despite the city planner's complaints, every misaligned street, every stall…

With time as her guide and memories as her anchor, she remembered every nook and cranny of her hometown.

Every piece of soil, every molecule, every atom that comprised her hometown, she remembered.

The starlight individually illuminated every one of them. Across the continent, scattered throughout the abyss, throughout the ocean.

Her hat stirred, and a brown, elongated fur ball crawled out from it.

It landed on the ground and expanded, becoming a wyrm that pulsed with the aura of earth.

It roared at the sky, and the earth shook.

It soared into the sky, and the earth calmed, only to dive back down into the earth and disappear.

Time passed.

The starlight continued illuminating the ground.

With a thud, the world shook around Elizabeth.

A giant made of rock and mud climbed the cliff from the abyss, shaking the world with every movement.

It struggled as it crawled onto the cliff face. It walked into an open space in the plateau and sat down.

A second later, it broke down, the rocks and soil it comprised making a pile.

The Earth Wyrm resurfaced from the pile, and in another moment, the soil started rearranging itself.

First, the city walls. Every detail was the same, every brick, every rock, every stroke on the mortar.

The pavements formed, the houses, the barebone trees… everything.

Elizabeth's hometown, as she once knew it, materialised.

But it lacked life.

Another puff of ball rolled out from underneath Elizabeth's hat, transforming into an ethereal beauty with antler horns as it hit the ground. She seemed to wear a dress made of moss, and life itself seemed to bloom around her.

She blew a breath, and it washed over the city.

Life bloomed, the barebark trees pulsed with life, the leaves growing, the grass peeking out of the ground, the flowers blooming, and the city wall covered in moss.

The city seemed to regain its life…or maybe not.

Elizabeth once again sighed as her staff vanished.

"Thank you," she said softly. The Wyrm and the Woman, both with satisfied smiles on their faces, transformed back into little furballs and crawled back into the hat.

Elizabeth walked through the open city gate.

It was empty.

No matter how powerful she was, undoing the causality of a thousand years was something she was unwilling to do.

But there was something else she could do.

Once again, the stars aligned. With time as her guide and her memories as her anchor, she projected her hometown from her time into the city.

In an instant, the streets turned lively.

Nightlife was bustling, and Elizabeth walked, taking in every detail.

It was…as she remembered.

She walked through the familiar path, spotting their library.

As it was nighttime, it remained closed.

However, he phased through the door and entered.

She found the table that she and Jonah used to study in.

She took a seat at the adjacent table, overlooking their place.

The Library was silent, except for the soft purring of Mr. Kregils as he slept.

She waited in silence.

Dawn broke.

The church's bell rang in symphony with the small doorbell as the library door opened, and Mr. Ivan walked in.

"Good morning, Kregils!" he greeted with the same smile Elizabeth was tired of seeing.

The cat nodded back, already grooming his fur.

Mr. Ivan popped a can of cat food into Mr. Kregil's bowl and set himself to dusting the shelves.

The hum of toneless elven music accompanied the chores.

Before long, the doorbell once again rang as thit was pushed open by two noisily chatting children.

"Good Morning Mr. Ivan, and Mr. Kregils," they both greeted.

"Welcome! My pupils! Have a seat! Did y'all have breakfast?"

Mr. Ivans exchanged pleasantries with the children, and before long, they were seated at the table as Ivans started the lecture.

It was language, one Little Elizabeth wasn't particularly interested in, but one Jonah listened to attentively.

Elizabeth felt her heartbeat quicken as she heard the lecture.

Her young self did not care. But she of now understood. With just how much care and patience her dad had taught the two of them.

For the first time in her life, Elizabeth listened to the lecture wholeheartedly.

The events replayed, just like in her memory.

Eventually, Mr. Ivan left, and Jonah bribed Mr. Kregils.

They talked about Jonah's uncle.

Elizabeth's heart pounded as her younger self pushed off the floor, onto the table, looking at Jonah.

She asked, with bashfulness Elizabeth of now could plainly see.

"Say, If we, we both remain unmarried for the next, wellllll, thousand years, how about we marry each other?"

"Alright, but only if you agree to do it frugally."

And the boy answered.

"Let's hold off on the details. Who knows, maybe people really will change with time." Elizabeth had hoped.

"Oh, trust me, Elle, I'll never change!" Now, all she wanted was for him to remain unchanged.

Elizabeth held back her tears that threatened to overflow, her neck muscles twitching, her jaws clenched, blood vessels clearly visible on her face.

Opposite her, observing the two children's banter, sat a skeleton, his hands folded, draped in jewellery and fine clothing that would put royalty to shame.

Interlude: A Daemon's life

Heiden walked briskly through the dungeon. Despite being dead as he could be, he still had perspiration forming on his forehead.

"Is it true?" he asked for what seemed like the hundredth time. The prisoners rattled against the cell bars, screaming, cursing, flailing their hands out to reach, clawing. The dungeon smelled of rot, yet none of it phased Heiden and his secretary.

"On my lord, yes. Yes. Yes. A hundred times, yes. It. Is. An. Elf. Woman. She summoned Dedora to help wipe out a village or something during the testing phase, but he, seeing as the summoner was an elf Woman, broke off the contract then and there and dragged her back through the pathway," Heiden's secretary spoke, pushing up her glasses.

She sounded a bit tired.

"And she is still alive?"

"Yes, Lady Achlys is keeping her isolated from the influence of the realm. She shouldn't be claimed by death for a while."

"Good, yes, very good. Finally, I can take a break!" Heiden muttered.

'Finally!! I can shift the blame if it doesn't work out.'

Heiden knew very well just how much his liege was looking forward to this day.

He, as his liege's most loyal subordinate, had to show that he did his very best. And this elf was the perfect tool and a scapegoat.

Before long, they arrived before a cell. The dungeon was relatively clean on this side, with less of the smell of rot and sulfur, and less weird moss covering the rocks. Pure life radiated out from inside the cell, making Heiden and his secretary hesitate to step inside.

Inside was an elven woman, trembling in fright, a weeping mess, not daring to look up, even as the footsteps sounded ever closer to her.

Heiden nodded to the guard beside the cell, and he opened the door.

The woman trembled, crawling backwards with the wall behind her back, at the groan of the iron-barred door opening.

"P-please! Please!!! I beg you! Please let me go! I just want to return home. I won't ever dare go near a summoning circle. I-I just wanted revenge. Please!!!"

"Relax, young lady!" Heiden spoke, his voice filled with demonic charm that oozed persuasion, "We mean you no harm. If you would help us with this just one task, I promise you, on behalf of the entire daemon realm, you will get your revenge. In fact, we can even help you with overthrowing the kingdom if you want."

The young elf looked up.

The daemon looked terrifying to her every sense, yes, but with each word he spoke, he seemed to look less and less terrifying. Her body was still tensed, yet her mind betrayed her.

"Is- is it true?" she asked with hope she hadn't dared to have just moments earlier.

"I promise in the name of my lord." Heiden smiled gently.

"What do I have to do?" The elf asked in a daze, yet at the next moment, her old self returned, "Please, please don't tell me to betray my race!" she cried.

…

…

"Now, young lady, I want you to be honest with me,"

Hearing the first words his lord spoke, Heiden sighed in his heart.

"How do I look?"

Sela had already made up her mind to lie through her teeth and get the most terrifying instance of her life over with.

'You are the most dashing person I have ever seen, my lord.' She would say.

Looking at the skeleton wreathed in dark robes that pulsed with an aura that promised the sweet relief of death, she choked back her tears and said;

"Y-you look like the grim reaper–!!!!!" Sela, the elf, desperately covered her mouth with her trembling hands, choking back a scream of despair.

She felt like her knees were giving out, but the rush of adrenaline from just now helped her stand.

"Naturally, ka-ka-ka," The skeleton cackled, closing its mouth rhythmically to imitate laughing.

He continued, imitating a motion of wiping tears from his eyes, "Now, what I want to know is, how would you describe my look from an elven aesthetic standpoint?"

Sela desperately clutched at her mouth, but she spoke anyway, "You look terrifying!!"

Sela wailed through her covered mouth. It was over, it was all over. She was going to end up becoming one of his undead bottom feeders, like the ones she'd seen sweeping the floors down the hallway.

"Acceptable." The skeleton nodded, waved his hands and shouted, "Daisy, bring my wardrobe!"

A giant ogre pulled a loooong bellboy trolley behind her back, setting it in front of the skeleton.

The trolley was so long that Sela momentarily forgot about her damp trousers.

The skeleton nodded at the ogre.

"Much appreciated, Daisy. You may leave."

The Ogre dragged itself back, and the skeleton called out behind her, "On your way out, ask someone to bring Mrs Elf here a set of clean clothes. Thank you, dear!"

The skeleton looked back at her.

"Now, Mrs…?"

"Sela." Sela spoke, her hands clawing her cheeks.

"Nice name," The skeleton nodded, "Sela, you will be helping me choose an outfit for a meeting with a nice and beautiful elf. It should be aesthetically pleasing to–forgive my words–your kind.

"Now, I don't want this to go wrong. I really don't. This is a very important day in my life. You got that?"

Sela nodded.

"We don't have all day now, how about we hurry up?"

…

...

The skeleton, or as she now knew Lord Jonah, wasn't a bad person. He was kind and patient with her, unlike his subordinates, and Sela felt really at ease.

So at ease that, Sela asked him a question that she had in mind.

"Lord, you are such a powerful being. If you're so insecure about your skeleton form, why don't you mould yourself a body of flesh, or use magic to alter your form?" Sela looked at the changing skeleton curiously as she asked that question. Somewhere deep in her mind, her cautious self was screaming at her to stop.

"..."

Aside from the rustling of Jonah changing clothes, there was no other noise.

The yawning Heidan froze like a statue, even the ever-present breeze in the grand hall seemed to have frozen.

"A good question," Jonah began, buttoning his shirt over his skeletal frame, "The person I'm going to meet is very special to me.

…and I don't wish to deceive her."

The skeleton looked himself over in the mirror.

The shirt hung loosely on his ribcage, but it didn't look all that bad.

Heiden brought over the vest and helped Jonah put it on as he continued.

"Well, I don't think I'll be able to deceive her even if I wanted to, but still. I wanna be honest with her, with who I am at the moment."

"And if, if and only if, things work out the way I think they will, I don't want myself to be cornered," Fully suited up, Jonah did a twirl in front of Sela, "How's this?"

"It looks magnificent on you, my Lord, but…an overcoat would be nice?" Sela couldn't help but ask, "And who is this lady?"

Jonah answered, draping the overcoat over his shoulders, which promptly slid down his shoulders.

"...Well, her name's Elizabeth."

Chapter 4: Wager

Noticing the skeleton in ornate robes sitting opposite her, Elizabeth's battle instincts honed through a millennium flared.
Her drooping ears flared, the earrings gingling. Her pupils narrowed, muscles tensed, and her staff appeared in her hands.

Her clothes flared, the ever-present protective layer reinforcing itself. Her hat stirred, the numerous spirits housed in there stirring.

It all happened in an instant, and for that moment, the projection of the past, overlaid on the city of Autsberg, flickered as if preparing to vanish.

The Skeleton stirred at that moment.

It didn't seem startled.

With its hands still crossed, it raised one of its skeletal fingers adorned with jewels of unimaginable powers. The world seemed to dim.

In the next instant, the flickering figure of Young Jonah and Elizabeth stabilised.

The children seemed unconcerned. Young Elizabeth still tried her best to pull Jonah out of his book, and Young Jonah still tried his damnedest to stick to his spot. The cat still rolled around with his pouch of catnip, and the city outside played out like normal.

And that reminded both the skeleton and the Elf that the city, as grand as it was, was indeed only a replay of the past.

"Haah!" Elizabeth let out a breath that dispersed into the air like mist, visible to the naked eye.

It was highly saturated Mana, brimming with life. The skeleton was no stranger to it.

Elizabeth stood up.

Her staff vanished, her combat readiness seemed to disappear, and for a moment, the skeleton didn't feel the sense of creeping danger deep in his barebones spine.

For a moment, the skeleton didn't know what to do.

It, too, stood up, untangling its arms, only to regret it when it didn't know how to proceed. All the preparation he'd done prior with that Elf woman didn't seem to matter.

As the business came, he didn't even know where to put his damned hands!! He should've brought his staff!

"Jonah?"

As his mind was a mess, he heard the whisper.

It was faint, as if coming from a choked person.

His cluttered mind settled down. He raised his hollow eyes to look straight at the woman opposite him.

At that moment, his mind was calm, calmer than it'd ever been in the last few years.

"Yes," he replied, "Have you seen an old woman around, young lady? I'm supposed to meet someone-"

He wasn't allowed to finish his icebreaker.

He was enveloped by the figure of a crying elf.

The hat had flown off Elizabeth's head at some point. It lay on the floor, close to the children, with the furballs peeking out from it.

Jonah could see the snowy white hair on the elf and the twitching ear from his vantage point.

Elizabeth clung to his bony frame, her face buried in his chest. He couldn't imagine it being comfortable.

He didn't shy away, placing his hand on her back.

He felt tongue-tied. Not that he had one.

He didn't know what to say anymore. The calmness he had felt just moments ago felt distant, yet it didn't return to the chaotic mix it was.

Mere moments had passed, yet time seemed to stretch for both.

Elizabeth looked up from Jonah's bony chest, upward, looking at the skeletal head looking down on her.

Her pearly white hair clung to her snot and tears, sticking to her face. Coupled with her expression, it was a messy sight. Yet, it reminded Jonah of their childhood. She'd always been a messy crier. It hadn't changed, just as her face hadn't changed much.

"I thought you were dead!" Elizabeth squeezed out through her breath, sniffing.

Aside from having grown taller, Elizabeth hadn't changed much. No one would mistake her for being older than twenty. Yet, her voice reminded Jonah of the years that passed. It was hoarse, a bit low.

Jonah felt himself reaching out even before he had settled his thoughts. His bony fingers traced her hair from her face, unconsciously trying to wipe away her tears.

"I kinda am."

Elizabeth sniffed once more, burying herself back into Jonah's arm.

…

Elizabeth felt the chaotic mix of energies that had mingled with her own to stabilise the mirage.

It was filthy, reeked of death, sin and chaos. However, tethering this chaotic mix of energy was a stream of mana that Elizabeth felt entirely too familiar with.

She had just sensed it earlier, on the scene replayed in the library.

However, contrary to the young and vibrant mana full of life, this one felt old and withered. It still showed signs of life, yet, one could feel the unmistakable effect of time on the mana.

She unconsciously stood up.

"Jonah?" She called out.

"Yes," and Jonah answered.

That instant, Jonah's face, at least what she imagined he looked like as an adult, overlapped with the skeletons. That gentle, yet analytical gaze. That warm smile that always felt welcoming.

Her mind cleared, and she rushed forward.

Her hat, which she always had tethered to her head with mana, fell off from the motion.

But she didn't care.

Maybe, in all throughout her life, it was at this moment that she was the most vulnerable.

…

'Why did you never look for me?'

This question was on the tip of Elizabeth's tongue. She wanted to question him, she wanted to understand, she wanted to know what he had experienced in his life.

Yet, she didn't ask. Now, he was here. Now, he was with her. She could ask him anytime.

There was only silence in the library.

The children were yet again back on their book. Mr. Kregils looked tidy, patrolling the library like a guard, his catnip pouch having been tucked away. Mr Ivans was back, preparing the material for the next lecture.

Overlooking them, Jonah and Elizabeth sat on the bench. Elizabeth leaned on Jonah's bony shoulders. She didn't feel the slightest bit uncomfortable.

They didn't speak, instead letting the comfortable silence and the replaying of the library play out for them.

It felt comfortable. Elizabeth felt comfortable, more than she'd ever felt in her life.

Of course, she couldn't think about having the source of her comfort by her side for eternity. Jonah looked and felt like a lich, despite having that signature of life within his mana. And the aura of death and sin about him. She couldn't mistake it. It had to do with the daemon realm.

Who knew what kind of life he had lived? Lichs were known for their undead minions after all.

Who knew how many undead companions–which could arguably be his taste at the moment–he had?

What promise from a thousand years ago? It was just a childish promise with no weigh–

"Have you ever been married?"

Jonah's calm voice interrupted Elizabeth's chaotic thoughts, and she couldn't help herself from a chuckle.

She looked up at the skeletal head, which desperately tried not to look her way.

He was as blunt as ever.

"No."

She replied, her eyes hiding a smile.

The bony head turned, and their eyes met.

"What about you?" She asked.

"Never." Jonah's voice was firm and urgent. Elizabeth felt it.

She held out her bare hand at him.

"Are you going to keep your promise?" She asked, still looking him in the eye.

The bony hands of Jonah reached around his neck and broke off a ring tied to a golden string.

He removed the string. He held it up, looking at it for a moment.

Elizabeth, too, looked at it.

It was an old-fashioned ring, and the designs on it were something familiar to her.

"It's my mother's ring, the only thing I have left in memory of my parents."

Jonah held the ring in his palm.

"I want you to have it."

He held out his other arm, turning over Elizabeth's cold, soft outstretched hands, and placed the ring on her palm.

"But, I don't want to rush you into making any decision–" Jonah couldn't complete his well-thought-out sentence.

Elizabeth took his hands, made him hold the ring, and she unceremoniously slid it on her ring finger.

"Fuck that, you're stuck with me now, whether you like it or not."

"..."

Jonah looked down, his bony jaws opening and closing repeatedly, but no sound came out.

Elizabeth was beaming, looking at Jonah with a smile that stretched to her eyes.

At last Jonah's boney jaw's clacked together, mimicking laughter. It was an unconscious reaction.

Back when he had just transformed into a skeleton, he hadn't many ways to express himself. Mimicking laughter through clacking jaws was something he had done in his early days, and something that stuck around.

His hands reached out, cupping Elizabeth's cheeks.

He leaned forward, his forehead touching hers.

They stayed like that for a while.

They separated, looking each other in the eye.

"Please give me a minute. I got something to take care of regarding my long-time stay here."

Jonah stood up, but Elizabeth held his arm.

"Is it the rat outside the city?"

Jonah nodded.

"I'm kinda infiltrating the world of the living right now, and I haven't gotten the time to get Yggdrasil's approval. I planned to do it the right way, but… it didn't go the way I planned it to."

"I'll go with you," Elizabeth stood up as well. "She's an unreasonable bitch despite being called the mother of all. I'll help you 'persuade' her."

Jonah felt reassured.

They walked out of the library together.

…

Outside the library door, Heiden stood guard.

Seeing as his liege and an incredibly terrifying existence walking out through the door, Heiden just wanted to keep his distance.

Yet, duty bound him, and he leaned over to his lord's ear to ask.

"What should I do with the prisoners?"

Jonah looked as if he'd just remembered.

"Heiden caught these people skittering outside the city." Jonah pointed, and in the ground where there was nothing before, materialised a dozen people, bound, "Do you know them? They did say they were quite influential and all.

"Do you think they'll fetch anything if I ransom them? I mean, I don't have much influence in the real world, and I am a bit tight on funds."

Elizabeth once again giggled.

"They'll sure will sell for a lot.'

The Emperor and his entourage. Even the God that backed the conglomerate that spanned its influence across the entire world.

And judging from the mana signature on the dozen people, they were highly specialised to counter her magic, and spirits known to the world.

"That's a relief to hear."

Jonah nodded.

…

 

[Despacitoleo]

Its good man, as long as you try again and dont burn yourself out your way better at consistency than me


Stand proud your strong reliable

 

[waderer]

I am back with another daily series. I've even upped the objective to 1.5k instead of 1k. let's see how this goes. This is still the MHA fanfiction, after a timeskip. Most of the plot I had planned will be explored in the coming chapters, and I feel like I have enough content to write straight for at least a week.

Anyway. have a nice day!
...

Azai looked around the perimeter as he walked toward the lockers. The place was as lively as ever, and the dirty blonde hair or the bunnyears he was looking for was nowhere to be seen.

He sighed in relief as he the put the books in his own locker.

He looked around, once again confirming the absence of the dirty blonde hair guy, then looked at the pot hired guy with glasses on.

Azai smiled a gentle smile. He hated sushi. The raw and slimy texture, the smell. He hated everything about it. And he was fairly certain his mother knew of it too. Yet, she would pack sushi on his bento, every. Single. Day.

He hated it, he hated how the sushi stunk up the other dishes, even his backpack.

In the end he had even confronted his mother about this. Yet, the old crow never listed. Packing convenience store sushi was easier she said.

It wouldn't matter today anyway. The pothead guy was here, and the blonde devil was nowhere to be seen.

He would get his hands on those delicious tempura. No, it was a thursday, it would most likely be Soboro don! Azai mouth overflowed as he pushed the guy with glasses against his own locker.

Truly, aunt Hori made the best bento.

"Hey pothead," he snarled at the feeble boy. Normally this much of a display would be more than enough for the glasses to tremble and hold out his lunch. He'd done it for years, he knew the routine.

Yet, glasses didn't seem flustered as he should be.

"C-com'on Azai," Glasses still stuttered, yet, there wasn't the usual fear in his voice, "you'll be toast once Itsuki get your hands on you. Why must you put yourself through s-such suffering."

Hearing the name of that devil, Azai felt his resolve waver. Yet, the deliciousness of aunt Hori's bento made his resolve harden.

With one hand gripping Ichijo's collar, Azai lashed out with his other hand. His forearms bulged beyond normal, and he delivered the punch with lethality.

"Eep!" Ichijo screamed like a little girl as the locker door bent inwards, the deafening sound making any of Ichijo's defenses crumble.

Sure, Issac would mop the floor with the bully, but he wasn't there at the moment, and he needed to keep his life.

"Where's my lunch?" Azai asked with a nasty snarl.

Ichijo's hand had unconsciously taken out his bento from the backpack, and with trembling hands, he held it out.

Azai didn't wait to snatch it, "That's what I thought," He added with a grin as he let go of Ichijo. The kid slid to the floor, covering his face, looking at Azai through the crack in his fingers with resentment.

Azai threw his own lunch box at Ichijo as he walked away, opening the box a tad bit to see what was inside.

His guess was correct. Fluffy white rice, thin pieces of chicken, and scrambled agg. The aroma of it all made Azai's mouth water.

He had to find a secure spot, and fast.

He turned left, toward the cafeteria, only to hear the voice he so dreaded.

"If it isn't brother Azai!"

Azai froze, perspiration forming on his forehead in an instant.

He didn't want to turn around, and didn't have to. The person had walked up in front of him, looking at the bento box he was clutching onto with his dear life.

"Look what I found in the hallway!" The person held up a bento box of his own, and Azai felt a drop of sweat rolling down onto his lips. It was his bento, and it meant that the devil had already met Ichijo.

Well, he was toast.

He, without a word, slowly raised the bento box toward Itsuki.

"No, no, no! I can't accept this!" Itsuki vehemently shook his head, "how could I claim credit for you finding Ichojo's lost lunch?!"

Itsuki put a hand on Azai's back and led him toward the lockers, "Come on, let's give Ichijo his bento back. Oh, by the way, Azai, how did you lose your own bento? It's fortunate that I found it right? ! Isnt' it wonderful how fate works!"

Despite being more than a head taller than Itsuki, Azai felt himself being pulled, and before long, he was before a resentful Ichijo, holding out the bento box with obedience.

Ichijo didn't say much of anything as he grabbed his Bento. The kid with glasses on nodded at Itsuki once before walking past them, onto the cafeteria.

Azai turned to look at Itsuki, who was looking at Ichijo's disappearing back with a blank expression, "To the roof?" he asked.

"Of course!" Itsuki chuckled as he patted the taller kid's back, "We have such a perfect spot on the roof where we can have our lunch in peace. Why wouldn't I invite you?"

"Of course," Azai joined Itsuki with his own nervous chuckle. He was doomed.

…

"Go to the corner and don't make a sound," Itsuki shoved the taller kid to the side as he walked toward the water tank, Azai's and his own bento in his hand.

Azai, walked toward the corner, facing the fence as he kneeled down next to the others, raising and placing his hands on the back of his head.

He turned to look at the kid next to him, and whispered.

"Why are you all kneeling," the punishment was usually to stand in the corner silently till the bell rang. Why were the bastards kneeling instead? Now he had to do it too, lest he stood out like a sore thump, and got his ear bitten of by that rat–No! Stoat.

"Hehe," the guy chuckled through his swollen lips, "We tried forming a united front against Rumi while Itsuki was away," he lowered his head, "We got our united asses kicked."

"Silence." Came a roar of a statement from behind them, and they fell silent.

'United ass,' Azai couldn't help his trembling as he tried his damn best to control the laughter bubbling up from his stomach.

"Nice on–" he couldn't help but comment, only clutch at his back as a shoe flew over.

"What are we ever going to do with them." Sitting on top of the platform built for the water tank, rumi sighed with a melancholic heart. Her leg's swung back and forth, a shoe on her leg missing, and there was a small cut on her lips.

"You know," she looked at Issac, "This almost makes me appreciate how my mom disciplined us both."

"Intuitably." Issac nodded along, even Illia, perched in their middle, sifting through her own little lunch box, nodded, "We should be grateful for our upbringing."

It was true. Mrs. Usagiyama was always in the forefront to dish out disciplinary actions. It was a fact that she disciplined even Issac and Illia, even though they were both guests in the Usagiyama house. Celia never said a word of protest, infact she even encouraged Mrs. Usagiyama, saying Issac needed to learn the social norms.

As Issac came to understand, it was Mrs. Usagiyama's wish that such a quiet and rational kid like himself would make the trouble kid Rumi turn over a new leaf once they got acquainted. Little did she know that she misunderstood.

Issac was never a quite kid, if anything, he had all the potential to be a troublemaker. What he wanted was a peer, who would take the lead. And Rumi, inevitably corrupted him, coupled with Tao's spars, Issac was energetic than ever before.

That was enough to break him out of his shell. His stutter had vanished as they mingled and raided more parks. Celia even put Issac in Rumi's school, hoping his lively self would remain as it is.

"Are you coming to my house today?" Rumi asked, looking at Issac, taking a piece of tempura from Illia's lunchbox.

"No." Issac said bluntly, avoiding eye contact.

Rumi smiled through her eyes as she fought off Illia with her chopsticks, saying, "It's alright, I can come to yours."

"Ahem," Issac coughed a little. He knew Rumi knew that he was hiding something. Well, he handn't been the most discreet, "I don't think that's a good idea."

There wasn't anything wrong, Issac could host Rumi on their apartment in Hiroshima just fine, buttttt.

"Why not?" Rumi's eye smile was a bit unnerving.

"It's nothing serious. I mean, well," Issac, swallowed the tempura he'd been chewing and said, "Alright, I will tell you, but I'll have to ask ce- Tao. How about tomorrow, you can ask me for anything if I don't tell by you tomorrow."

"...Alright," Rumi spoke after a small pause, looking back at her tiffin, only to find her boiled egg was missing. She looked to her side, and Illia was nowhere to be seen. Feeling something falling on her head, she looked up to see Illia perched on top of the water tank, the egg skewered on a chopstick.

Issac was looking at Rumi, the Rumi he knew wouldn't agree just like that. Maybe she had matured?

Rumi snarled at Illia, "I don't like eggs anyway!"

…

Issac looked at his watch.

"Alright ladies and gentleman," he called out, and the bullies lined up against the fence all stood up, but they didn't turn around, they all knew the drill.

"You have exactly five minutes before the bells ring. Now, no one is to leave the premises of the roof without finishing your lunch. Principle had complained about food wastage among middle school students, and we don't want our reputation stained. Is that understood?"

"Yes!" came the roar in unison.

"Alright, on my mark, get, set, go!"

As soon as the go dropped, the bullies all ran toward their lunch boxes piled by the shade of the water tank. They didn't push or shove, as they orderly took their own lunch boxes, and sat by the shade, digging in like hungry piranhas. The sun wasn't feeling merciful these days, and kneeling down on the rooftop with only the shade of grilled fence wasn't the most relaxing activity, especially since they hadn't eaten their lunch. And most of them had blown off any chance of them being released of this punishment next month by ganging up on Rumi today.

Understandably, they were hungry, frustrated, hurting and tired. Yet, they were so orderly.

"Hah, look at them being so disciplined," Issac sighed, "I think I should become a teacher! I can see myself doing well."

"Uhuh," Rumi wasn't in the world, she was planning a little something.

Illia patrolled around the bullies with a chopstick on her hand, held like a rifle.

 

[Despacitoleo]

Lets see how far this one will come and YAY

 

[waderer]

Right as I sat down to write todays chapter, some guests came. I had no choice but to entertain them, especially with my sister absent. My mental battery had ran out by the time they left, yet, a commitment, is a commitment. I wanted to complete todays objective.

I'm not satisfied with this chapter. Honestly, this isn't' what I imagined. it seems like the whole characters changed a lot, and without proper explanations, it feels too abrupt. I should've added more content in between.
Haah, I'm exhausted. I'll fix it while editing ig. there'll be explanations tomorrow though, hopefully without too much exposition. I know I'm a few words short of 1.5k, but haaahhh, I'm dead. see yall tomorrow. I did read this once, but I'm not confident in my proofreading today! Bytt
...


Rumi hid behind the parked car as Itsuki rounded the corner, into their residential district. She stalked him with practiced caution, not appearing in his line of sight.

Walking briskly, she peeked over from the property wall as he walked.

Issac slowly looked around, and making sure there was no one in the area, he took out his old-fashioned flip phone from his pocket, placing it on his ears after a few clicks.

He walked into a shady looking alleyway, talking to someone in a muffled voice. Rumi couldn't hear the details, despite her enhanced hearing, and her ears pointing like satellite dishes.

Rumi's brows furrowed. It was suspicious. There was at least another kilometre from here to Itsuki's apartment. What was he doing in the shady alley? Who was he calling? What had gotten himself into? And without telling her? She found it incredibly suspicious.

She had intended to surprise visit him in his apartment since he'd been turning down her invitations for the last few days.

But now, things were taking an interesting turn.

She practically tiptoed through the empty street, peeking around the alleyway.

It was a dead alley. And there were no signs of Itsuki. She even looked behind and inside the trashcan, yet, he wasn't there. Her nose twitched.

Indeed, his scent had disappeared around the alley.

"Itsuki?!" she called out, feeling a little worried. She looked up the fire exit on the side of the building, making sure he wasn't pranking her.

Did he disappear into one of these doors? She got curious and even knocked on one of the doors.

Yet, no one answered.

She focused her sense of smell once again, filtering out the unpleasant smell of the alley.

She sensed Itsuki's and Illia's familiar scent, and mingled with Tao's.

Tao was here?

No, it was her scent on something else.

She looked down to where her sense of smell led her, and indeed she saw a small earring on the floor. It looked pristine, sticking out from the rest of the things in the alley.

She picked it up, a sense of unease welling up inside her.

She recognised the piece of jewellery. She had seen it on Tao, and she even remembered her mother once complementing the scary woman on her taste in jewellery.

What the hell was happening? Itsuki and Illia had disappeared, and there was now a piece of Tao's jewellery? Were they all in the building?

A scraping sound of metal on metal echoed off the walls off the alley, starling Rumi, who was moderately racking her brains, trying to connect the dots.

It was the door she had knocked earlier. The metal door groaned like it hadn't seen a lick of oil in a century, making Rumi hair stand on end.

A hulk of a man with bull horns in his head popped his head out, looking straight at Rumi.

"Did you knock just now?" The man asked, his voice low, his breathing reminding her of the steam engine they'd seen at the park.

"Yes," Rumi pocketed the stud, about to continue, but the man cut her off.

"What do you want?" His impatience was clear to see as he stepped out of the door, adjusting his trousers.

Calling the man a hulk wasn't an understatement. He was bigger than the iron door, and his wife beater could barely hide his rippling muscles. Even Rumi felt a little intimidated. Yet, a grin spread across her face as she asked.

"Have you seen a boy here? He's around my height, has dirty blonde messy hair and should be wearing the same uniform as mine?"

…

A few munites back.

Issac pulled out his phone as he pulled into the alley. It was kind of the shady part of the neibhorhood, and there wasn't many security cameras around. Issac figured this would suffice.

He dialed Celia and she answered without much delay, "I'm in position." He spoke with impatience.

He was met with a sigh, "Issac, you're not at the apartment."

"That's right, but I'm in a secure position. I'm by that Ox guy's workshop. There no onlookers, no security cameras, nothing."

"...."

Celia didn't reply, and even Illia shook her head.

"Please," Issac sweetened his voice as much as he could, "It's another 12 minute walk to the apartment, you're the one who sent me that photo, no?"

"Ugh fine!" Celia sighed, and next second, Issac vanished from his spot, in his place appearing a stud earing.

Issac reappeared on top of a hill, with hills sectioned off for terrace farming as far as the eyes could see.

It was a breathtaking sight, no matter how many times he had seen it.

Celia was down by one of the terrace, in her rubber overalls, covered in mud, weeding the paddy.

Issac didn't even greet Celia as he ran off toward the lonely cherry tree on the the hill, hugging it like it was his own child. It had worked. His small experiment in which he had no hopes on, had worked. It meant a lot of things, and he could hardly contain his joy.

"Really? Not so much as a greeting?!" Celia yelled.

"Good morning!" Issac replied.

"Morning?" Celia sneered, "Whatever." she got back to weeding, but she paused after a moment.

"Really Issac?I thought you said there wasn't anyone around!" She yelled once more, and Issac came back from his stupor, looking down from the hill?

"What?" He hadn't heard her fully, and the scolding tone made him worried.

Celia looked absentminded for a moment long, and yelled once again.

"Really? What did I drill into you all these months?" Celia shook her head and in the next moment she vanished.

"Huh?," leaving behind Issac and Illia, who had climbed onto the plum tree to sniff the flowers, looking confused.

"Aw shit! I knew she was up to no good." Issac swore, he was connecting the pieces.

…

"I've seen my fair share of boys, little girl, what's that got to do with you?" The man with the horns stepped forward in an intimidating manner.

And that only made Rumi's grin widen.

"I just happen to be a concerned citizen," she started, only to stop as she sensed a familiar yet unfamiliar scent.

"Is that how you talk to children?"

A rubber gloved hand was placed on her shoulder.

Rumi winced at the wet mud that splattered onto her uniform. She looked up at the hand's owner.

"Aunt Tao." she called out with not much enthusiasm.

Rumi grumbled inside her heart. It was the scary woman, and her expression now looked positively terrifying. Even the hulk of a man took a few steps back. Even his neck muscles seemed to have lost their stiffness.

Rumi would've rather taken care of the trouble herself. Wherever Tao was involved, things seemed to end on an odd note. She didn't like that.

"She was sneaking around, I just," the hulk of a man tried to defend himself, lowering his head further.

"And? Your parents never taught you basic courtesy?"

"Um—" the man looked around nervously, rubbing his hands together, "I'm sorry?"

"Are you apologizing to me?"

The man turned toward Rumi, "I'm sorry little girl!" The bowing figure of the hulk of a man was just pitiful. It was amazing how fast the atmosphere had changed.

Rumi just nodded at the man.

But the man wasn't finished, "I didn't see any kids today, but judging from your description, you seem to be describing Itsu–" but the man was cut off.

"Now you're gonna go around revealing intel on my boy ya bastard?!" Tao was furious.

Rumi falt pity rising in her heart as the hulk of a man, on the verge of crying, stumbled back in the building, closing the heavy groaning iron door shut behind him.

Rumi had heard scolding her entire life, there was not a day that passed without her mother yelling at her. There would always be a reason, yet, today she flet real pity toward the guy. It must be tough getting yelled at even though you were an adult, especially from an unreasonable person.

"Oil that thing, will'ya?!" Tao once again called out.

"Yes ma'am!" came the hurried shout as the door closed.

Celia looked down at Rumi. And Rumi nervously looked back.

The scary woman was scary as ever.

"Does your Esumi know where you are?" Celia asked.

"I told her I'll be spending the night on yours." Rumi answered obediently.

Celia took one hard look at Rumi, and the rabbit girl shifted a bit uncomfrortably.

"Eeh, guess you're family now."

With that, both Celia and Rumi vanished, leaving behind the same stud earing as the one Rumi had found, but now covered in wet mud.

 

[Despacitoleo]

Nice

 

[waderer]

Mr. never late than never is here ya'll!
and this chapter is worse... I think. how do these authors do this! mann! Well, see you tomorrow!

...

"Whoa!!!" Rumi patted herself down, looking around in panic. For a moment, she felt like she had ceased to exist. The sunnden quietness all around, the smell of wet earth, the tingling sensation on her eardrums, freshness of it all made her senses go heywire for a second.

"Easy now," Celia patted Rumi on her back, helping her take off the backpack, "try taking a deep breath."

Rumi calmed down quick enough as she looked around, "Where are we?" she asked, taking in the scenery.

"It's our rice terrace. Neat right?"

"Huh? Yeah?" Rumi once again looked around, spotting the lone cherry tree on the hilltop, and Itsuki hugging it, "Um, Are we in Hiroshima?"

"Hmm, more like Shimane," Celia smiled.

"Huh?" Rumi had even more questions in her mind.

"Hah! I knew you were up to no good!" but she was interrupted by a yell. Issac, still having one hand on the tree yelled while pointing, "Why'd you follow me?! Didin't I tell you I'd tell you tomorrow?"

"I wanted to know what you were upto!" Rumi yelled back, pointing a hand on her own. Then she whispered to Celia, "Why is he holding the tree like that?"

"Well," Celia seemed to reminisce, "It all started with a small experiment."

"Didn't I tell you I'll fill you on the details tommorrow! I was even prepared to go with you to that fighting club you were menitioning," Issac shook his head while yelling.

Rumi was a bit touched. There was an illegal fight club in Hiroshima, which she had known of when she beat up a bully whose brother was fighting for the same club. There was the whole problem of that big brother chasing them through the streets of Hiroshima afterward, but what stuck to her was the knowledge of something so exciting so close to her.

She'd been promptly blocked from going there by her mother. She was waiting for her mom to forget about it before she ventured out, yet here Itsuki was, yelling about it infront of Tao.

Rumi sideyed Tao, just to make sure what kind of face she was making.

Well, Tao seemed more concerned about cleaning the mud off of Rumi's bag.

"Yeah, so you had no interest in telling me anyway!!!" Rumi yelled back, part trying to divert the conversation, part genuinely offended.

"Alright, now, he's free to fill you on the details," Celia spoke, handing Rumi's bag to her, "I've got to weed the terrece before the sun comes down."

Rumi knew what weeding was, she'd done her fare share of weeding in her grandma's garden. "Are you going to do that all by yourself?" Rumi looked around, there were a lot of land to cover, "I can help."

"No, no, no, I just doing this one terrace. Workers will come around tomorrow." Celia had a distant look on her face as she looked at the distant mountain, "This is a matter of pride. I will make that old lady shut up."

"Huh?" Itsuki was still yelling something by the cherry tree.

"Anyway, If you're hungry, there should be some brownies by the shade. Ask him."

Celia turned around and jumped down to the field, and Rumi disappeared, appearing beside Issac.

Issac, who was yelling with his back to the tree, looked back to see Rumi patting herself down once again.

Now, there wasn't the feeling of unpleasantness in to her senses, but the feeling as if disappearing for a second still lingered in her heart.

"Was that a quirk?" Rumi asked Issac, as she heard a chirp from above the cherry tree. She looked up to see Illia waving at her, munching on a brownie.

"Yeah, that's Tao's quirk. She can swap with anything." Issac waved his one free arm around, "It's a bit complicated, but her quirk has a lot of range."

"Anything?"

"No, not relly anything. She has to mark things before."

"Mark?"

"Yeah? I think it's more complicated for human's but it's just touching for inanimate items."

"...Am I marked?"

"No, I don't think so. She came herself to pick you up, didn't she?"

Rumi, as if a lightbulb went off in her head, searched her pocket. Sure enough, the studded earing was nowhere to be seen.

"Was that earring a mark?"

"Most likely."

"Wait, those times when you said you forgot lunch and then came back minutes saying Tao delivered it–even though I never saw a lick of her– did you, you know, swap?"

"Yep, but it's more discrete you know, I've made this elaborate plan so noone would find out."

"Hold on! Then that magic trick where that rabbit that rat came from?"

"Hey, that my skill you know!"

"..."

"Maybe there was some help involved, but I still pulled off the illusion."

"What about that time you changed your whole outfit? What about the time when you said you forgot to sign the progress card, but there was a sign ther anyway? What about that fight club guy who disappeared while chasing us."

"Yeah, she may or may not have been involved."

"Oh my god that explains a lot!!! How could you not tell me all this time!!! That's so brocken!"

"Um, it's actually impolite ask so many details of one's quirk."

"I don't think your mom cares."

"Oh believe me when I say she cares, why do you think, even with your curiosity, you never learned she even had a quirk?"

"..." Rumi looked thoughtful for a second, "Where exactly are we in Shimane?"

"Hah, like you know someplace outside Hiroshima!"

Rumi narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms, "Try me."

"..." Issac throught for a second, "Well, I certainly don't. It's like a thirty minute drive from our house, but we mostly swap. Somewhere close to unnan? I think? Wait don't you have to go home today?"

"..." She'd heard of Unnan, she didn't know where it was though, "No, I said I was sleeping over at yours. Why are you touching the tree like that?"

Rumi had a lot of information to process, still she noticed Itsuki's odd behaviour. At the same time, she felt a tug on her skirt.

She looked down to see Illia holding out a piece of brownie. "Thanks," she said as she took it with her less muddy hand.

"This?" Issac looked at one hand which had never left the tree. He spoke as he prepared for a fight, "I'm experimenting with a quirk."

Rumi paused mid chewing. Her eyes narrowed, and spoke with a muffled voice, "I thought your quirk was body strengthening."

"It is," Isaac nodded as if agreeing, "but only in a boarder sense. It's more like energy manipulation."

"..." Rumi took another bite of the brownie. It was delicious. And from the heavenly taste, she knew, tao had made it.

"Can you believe this tree is only three months old?" Issac spoke with enthusiasm he couldn't hide.

The tree was over five meters tall, it's canopy spreading like an umbrella covering the peak. It beautiful, in full bloom, looking healty and sturdy, like a century old tree. No one would believe if they were told the tree was only three months old.

"No, let's circle back. You were talking about your quirk." Rumi, understandably, was feeling a little hurt.

Issac didn't want to go into details if he could. His used to be a cursed quirk. While he never hated it, he wasn't really keen on other people knowing off it. Tao was different, but not all people were like that.

Grandpa junkie had taugh him that, and that still remained a leason he will never forget.

"It's rude to ask details about people's quirk you know. I never ask for yours!"

"What more is there to know about mine?!! I'm a freaking rabbit!!"

"..."

"You gonna tell me or what?"

"Alright. My quirk is more of a kind of energy manipulation. Like, I can use the energy that needed for my leg to function normally and transfer it to my hand. That will make my hand swing faster, heal faster, makes my skin, bones and muscles tougher.

"But that's dangerous. Like, my leg will be waker, it can break and be cut easily. I thought that was all I could do." Actually no, issac had figured out he could steal people of their life, long before he knew he could control his energy like that.

"But no. Other than that, I can use the surplus energy in my body to strengthen myself. Like that of food! I can use any excess energy in my body that remains after what my body needs to function and strengthen myself."

Rumi nodded, "You do eat a lot before fights."

"Right," Issac flet a bit offended. It wasn't like he was a troublemaker, "Anyway, it all changed why I figured out I can use my quirk to manipulate the energy on plants. It started with making the flowers bloom fast and making the stems harden, but then I understood something else."

"I can take energy from, one plant, and give it to another."

"That's what I'm doing with the cherry tree. I've been experimenting with infusing the tree with any excess life I could get for the last three months, ever since I planted it. Look at the soil with the cracks, it's cause of the roots expanding rapidly."

"Wait, wait, wait! Does that mean you can affect, other living beings?"

"Right, but like plants."

"Plant's a living being."

"Well, it depends."

"No plants have lives… wait! Does it work with humans?"

"..." "I don't know, maybe?"

Rumi's eyes widened as if a light bulb lit up in her head. "I knew that scrape on my leg healed suspiciously fast!"

"..."

"Wait, does that mean you can take life away from people too?!"

"..."

"Well?"

"I was hoping you wouldn't get there."

"Hey?? What does that mean?!"

"Well, y'know."

Issac and Rumi rolled down the hill, onto the terrace filled with mut, flattening the paddy, taking a mudbath.