Nox's angry eyes refused to leave the bandit. She glared at him from across the dining table in the Future Veins guildhall. The bandit tried his best to ignore the girl but couldn't help but sneaking quick glances to check if she was still staring. On their tense trip to the guildhall, Hitsu managed to exchange names and get the bandit to tell them his name was Sel and found out he was just older than Hitsu also being eighteen. Before they knew it he was sitting at the dining table across from Nox and Juno who both sat ready to attack. Hitsu was in the kitchen cooking and creating the only sounds in the guildhall.
"Hey Hitsu," Nox said without her eyes leaving Sel, "are you sure it's a good idea to let this guy in here?"
"I can hear you," Sel said from across the table.
"I'm aware," Nox responded coldly.
"Yeah I'm sure," Hitsu responded from the kitchen.
"I'm a little confused," Nox said, "What makes you so sure?"
"I'm sure because I have Sel figured out," Hitsu said as he peeked his head into the room.
Nox's eyes left Sel for the first time since they arrived as she turned to face Hitsu. "What exactly do you mean?" Nox asked confused.
"Take a minute and think about what happened today," Hitsu instructed as he leaned against the doorway to the kitchen. "Sel tried to rob someone for a small amount of money, ran away instead of hurting me when he had the chance, and despite not having a single reason to come anywhere near us he put out that fire and saved that girl. Does that seem like something a bad guy would do?"
"Now that I think about it, no it isn't," Nox replied, "But why would he rob someone if he's not a bad guy?"
"Take another look at Sel," Hitsu instructed.
Nox's attention turned back to Sel who sat silently, his head lowered to avoid eye contact.
"Dirty clothes, dirty face, and he only took a small amount of money," Hitsu continued his explanation without his eyes leaving Sel. "What I figured out is that Sel is homeless."
Nox's eyes widened upon realizing Hitsu was likely correct. With his words, the pieces all came together. Sel wasn't a bandit because he wanted to be one, he was because he had too to survive.
"Is that true Sel?" Nox asked feeling guilty for looking down on him earlier.
Sel stayed silent, his mouth stayed shut and his eyes remained on the table below.
"How about we let his stomach answer," Hitsu said with a smile. Hitsu walked to the table and slid a bowl in front of Sel's eyes. Before him now sat a bowl of ramen piled high with toppings, the result of Hitsu's kitchen work. Sel tried to keep his poker face but a loud growl from his stomach gave away his hunger.
Sel let out a frustrated sigh of defeat. "Fine, you got me, I'm homeless," Sel admitted, "but I'm not doing a thing until I get an answer from you," he said to Hitsu as he pushed the bowl away from himself.
"Alright," Hitsu said with a sigh as he took a seat by Juno and Nox, "What is it?"
"What the hell happened to you back there?" Sel asked. "You froze up and needed me to save your ass. If I didn't help that girl could have died."
"Actually, I was wondering the same thing," Nox added as she looked to Hitsu concerned, "I was a little worried."
Hitsu sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Do you want the truth?" he asked.
"No, please lie," Sel said sarcastically.
"The truth is..." Hitsu said as he stared at the ceiling above, his face lacking and strong emotion, "...I have a fear of fire."
"Huh," Sel said after a moment of silence, "I thought it was gonna be something stupid."
"Yeah that's actually pretty normal," Nox responded.
"Really?" Hitsu asked surprised.
"Yeah man," Sel said, "fire is no joke."
"Agreed," Nox added.
"Huh, I always thought it was kinda weird," Hitsu admitted.
"Well if you don't like fire I should probably leave," Sel said, "after I eat this of course."
Sel eagerly pulled the bowl of ramen towards him. He looked on the table for chopsticks only to find none.
"Hold on just a second," Hitsu said suddenly. Sel looked up to see Hitsu holding a pair in his hand. "I have some more questions."
Sel sighed and leaned back in his own seat. "Hit me," he said.
"Are you from around here?" Hitsu asked.
"No," Sel answered, "I lived in an orphanage in Shindale. I had enough of that place so I did what I do here. After a few too many run-ins with the law, I decided it best to leave."
"Wait," Nox interrupted, "You managed to get outside the walls? I thought only certified people like heroes and hunters could leave the wall without an escort."
"This wall actually has three cities inside of it," Hitsu explained. "There's New Faith, Shindale, and Aceton. The three cities are relatively close together so the wall surrounds all three."
"Let me guess," Sel said, "she's a small-town girl."
"Yes," Nox admitted slightly embarrassed.
"Any more questions?" Sel asked.
"No," Hitsu responded.
"Can I have the chopsticks then?" Sel said.
With a grin, he tossed them down on the table. The chopsticks bounced and slid across the table stopping directly beside the bowl. Sel picked them up and promptly broke them apart. Right as the chopsticks broke apart making a snap sound Hitsu said something that shocked everyone.
"You should stay."
"What?" Sel said as he looked up to Hitsu.
"Yeah what are you saying?" Nox asked confused.
"I have an idea that could help us all," Hitsu said happily.
"You do?" Sel asked. It was obvious that Sel's tough demeanor was starting to break as his hope and excitement began to peek through.
"You need a place to stay, clean clothes, regular food, and money to pay back the people I'm sure you've had to steal from," Hitsu explained. "We don't need anything... But another hero has never been a bad thing."
Nox's face lit up with excitement upon hearing Hitsu's proposal. "That's a great idea," she said happily. "I'm sure he would pass master's test easily."
The two looked to Sel who looked as though he was holding back tears.
"I've done a lot of bad things," Sel argued, "do you really think I could be a hero?"
"Sel, today you did an amazing thing," Hitsu said with a smile. "You didn't have to come back and save that girl, you could have turned your back and walked away. You went out of your way to risk your own freedom to save someone. You aren't a bad person, you just have been living a bad life. I want to repay my debt to you for saving that girl. You save her so I want to save you because the way I see it... You already are a hero."
Sel lowered his head to hide his watering eyes, but he didn't hide his smile. He carefully dipped his chopsticks into the bowl of ramen before him.
"Hitsu...Nox..." he said softly.
"Yeah?" Hitsu replied.
"Thank you."
Sel pulled up several strands of noodles and eat them slowly, likely the first real meal he had eaten in a long while.
"How does it taste?" Nox asked.
"It's delicious," Sel replied.
...
"I don't believe it."
"How could he? How could he do this?" Sel yelled angrily.
"This can't be real."
"Why is this happening?" Nox whimpered.
"Why Hitsu?"
...
End of Episode 31