The spring breeze flowed through my cloak as I stood at the gate of the University. Alex the Guard was off duty today to help with the kidnapping incident, so I found myself crouched against the gate's walls. It was the afternoon, and I've been out here for some time now.
Crota's class wasn't that bad, more or less the same thing I've learned. I think his focus as of right now was just to refine us on the basics before we head into intermediate. Not to say that I've been doing badly in the class, but I still find it hard to grasp this healing stuff.
Always tried to figure out what was happening with it. I can't even silently cast it as I…just can't really imagine it or understand it.
I guess it's a flaw that I'll have to live with.
"Hey! Have you seen a Black haired idiot?" I overheard from the gate, I slowly stood up and looked that way. It was Amelia, who approached the guard.
The other guard that usually stays with Alex was looking around cluelessly for a moment. It didn't register to him that the blue haired girl that was talking to him was just underneath him, out of his view.
"Who goes?" He asked.
"Wha-Right here!" She banged against the metal armor he had. "What? You deaf? Do you not hear what's in front of you?!"
"Ah! Forgive me! It's somewhat hard to see out of this helmet!" The guard looked down at her. "You are looking for who?"
"Dumb idiot! Short, but taller than me! Black hair, black robes! Name is Kota!" Amelia tapped her feet aggressively on the stone floor as she said that. "My stupid escort!"
"Hm,kota? Oh, the boy over there?" The guard pointed in my direction. Did he just notice me? I've been out here for some time…wait, did he also not see me?
Amelia turned as well, her hands on her hip as she leaned forward. "Hey! You Bum, why are you waiting out here on the side?"
Why's she so mean right now? I mean, I guess she's back to normal. Back to the angry brat she is.
I let out a sigh and dragged my way to her. When I was coming in close to her, she held a hand up immediately.
"…what's up with this? No touching?" I stopped in my tracks and looked at her in confusion.
"Yes. But also, stay six feet." Amelia narrowed her eyes, she lifted her staff and managed to poke me with the end of it. "Stay at this distance."
"Ok, but what if something happens?"
"I can handle it! If anyone comes near me, I'll blast them with air!"
I felt my eyebrow twitch with annoyance at that. That annoyance caused me to move forward as I spoke again. "Yeah, if you are able to chant the spell in time. Just sti-Ack!" I felt a sharp pain in my stomach as she pushed the staff roughly at me.
"I said-Six Feet! I don't wanna be near you and your shaggy looking hair!"
Shaggy looking hair? My hair isn't that bad! I take good precautions and make sure it's healthy every day! Although…Thinking about it now, I haven't really noticed the length of it.
I moved myself away from Amelia and quickly ran my hands through my hair.
Yeah…nice and smooth, fluffy. Still somewhat short for now…Huh, it has gotten longer from the last time I checked. I'm going to need a mirror for this later.
"Stop rubbing your head! It's weird!" Amelia poked me again. "You look like you're getting some sort of euphoria from it!"
"Oh, then why are you watching them?" I shot back at her.
"Haah?!"
She turned red faced, perhaps she didn't expect me to shoot back at her? Either way, she raised her staff upwards and brought it down onto my head.
"Gah! Uncalled for!"
"Oops, My staff is a little heavy on the top! Looks like I can't hold it for long like that!" Amelia said sarcastically. "Now come on! Let's head to your hous-Er, Lilith's House!" Turning around, she began to walk to the residential district. Not even waiting for me.
I stood there for a moment, looking at her in annoyance. That's when the guard spoke.
"Sheesh…Attitude." I took a glance at him as he turned to me. His armor clanking and rustling. "Run along and follow her, with that sort of girl…You might run into trouble."
I simply nodded and waved the guard farewell. He wasn't wrong, I'd like to think that Amelia always gets into some sort of problem everyday.
I began to walk my way towards Amelia, I took notice of her tying her long blue hair in a ponytail. She had her staff on her back, her white cloak wrapped around it so it wouldn't fall as she tied her hair. As she finished her tying, she must've heard my footsteps as she looked back at me.
"Took you long enough."
As Amelia wanted, I did take note of her rulings of escorting her. I stayed my distance and watched as Amelia strolled through the Stone floor of the residential district. She hummed to herself as she held her staff one side of her shoulders.
We passed by homes that all seem too familiar to each other. Same white and blue coloring to them besides a few that had blue coloring to them. I had gone into this kingdom blind with a message to some person here, I'd have a big time figuring out where they lived. But luckily, you could somewhat tell the difference between the houses by their plates on the front yard. Each of these homes have a name plate to mark who owns the place at the time. I know Kale doesn't have one since his home is rather unique on its own, so it isn't that hard to find it.
As we continued walking, I noticed that we weren't taking the usual route I take to Kale's place. The way Amelia was going was towards the market district.
"Amelia, We should've taken a right turn a bit ago. I don't think it's saf-."
"Shut up, I'm just getting my stuff from the Inn." Amelia cut me off with her response. "Quick and easy."
Uh…Should I be letting her do this? I'm pretty sure kale specifically said to not do this.
"Kale wouldn't like this…" I warned her, but all I got was a scoff from amelia. She turned to me with an annoyed look on her face.
"Uhh…so? I'm not going to have my stuff sit in that inn for who knows how long. Plus, what's a couple of kidnappers going to do when they come up against us? I'll just blast them."
"Well, we can head to kale's and have me and Lilith go pick up your stuff."
"I'll let Lilith grab my stuff, but I'm not letting you grab them. And we're already close to the market district, so might as well do a quick run."
I sighed in frustration. I haven't met someone this stubborn before, this is like dealing with one of those brats in those animes.
…Wait, actually Amelia fits that description. She's the little brat that makes you incredibly annoyed. Oh god, I'm dealing with a Generic anime girl. I looked away from her and covered my mouth in disappointment. I'm going to have to live with this girl for some time.
"What's with the long face?! Hellooo? Cat got your tongue? I heard Amelia say.
"…So generic…" I mumbled out of my mouth.
"Haah?! What's that supposed to mean! Now come on!" Amelia then lifted her leg and swung it at my right shin. "Both of us standing here are just giving us attention!"
"Ouch! Alright! Sheesh!" I rubbed my shin as she angrily huffed at me before walking down towards the Market district. And to be fair, she was right. A couple of people were looking at us in confusion and amusement, I don't think we'd really want to grab people's attention. So I guess I follow Amelia on this and hope no one notices us…
***
The market bustled with people today, from eldesche to Cat people to humans. All of them were offering goods and rubees to trade with each other underneath their white and blue tents.
Amelia led the way, covering her head with the hood of her cloak. We were heading to the inn that she stayed at.
"So…What's the inn you stay at? Judging by what Kale said, it should be nearby." I asked her.
Many of the inns that reside close to the center of the market district were expensive, they were easy access to the market itself and easily the most guarded. How the hell was Amelia paying for the inn anyways? Isn't she like Nine?
"The White Tent." Amelia pointed to a building that was Three stories. It shared the same look as any other buildings, though there were more windows for the rooms and had an extra floor to it to make it look larger than the other buildings.
"How'd you pay for it?"
"…"
The awkward pause made me concerned.
"…I…Have money…" she slowly said, but her voice was quieter. I could instantly tell she was lying.
"Are you broke like your sister, right now?"
She whipped around and looked at me, teary eyed. "No! I just didn't want to spend a crap ton of rubees in that Inn!"
"Then how are you still in it?"
"Hmph! I'll show you." Amelia had a scowl on her face as she picked up the pace and walked towards the inn.
However, instead of entering the front of the inn…Amelia went to the side of the inn, going into an alleyway. Following her, I spotted Amelia frantically climbing up onto some wooden crates.
Oh god, she does not officially rent a room here.
"Are you serious?!" I hissed at her, I had to keep my voice down as I didn't want anyone noticing us. "You gotta enter in like this?"
Amelia climbed onto the top of one of the crates and looked down at me. She was standing near one of the windows of the inn, easily able to climb into it. "Uh, yeah. They won't let me in from the front!…Or anywhere…or my room that technically is the attic!"
I looked at her like she was crazy. She's been living in this inn without any of them noticing? Dude, she's literally a rat that lives in their place! A blue haired little rat!
"Now if you'll excuse me, I'm getting my stuff! Sit out here and wait till I come back out!" Amelia said as she threw her staff inside of the window before hopping and grabbing the window. With valiant effort, I saw Amelia haul herself into the window.
"…Fucking crazy…" I mumbled to myself, turning back and facing the entrance of the alleyway. I couldn't really do much here, so I guess I'll just keep guard till she finishes.
As time passed, I found myself sitting on one of the crates. Dozing on and off as I waited for Amelia, how long was she going to take?
Then I saw something that caught my eye outside of the alleyway, a pink haired person. At first I thought it was Sura, but…This was someone who was shorter, about my height. Their hair was bundled up into a ponytail. Another noticeable thing was their eyes, a bright blue color that lazily scoured the market. It seemed like they were looking for something, perhaps some goods? I could do with some Pastels right now. The pink haired person must've noticed someone was looking at them as their gaze turned in my direction.
"Hup!" I heard above me. I took a glance up and noticed a bag hurling towards me. Amelia looked down and smiled evilily.
As fast as I could, I hopped off the crate and watched as the bag landed with a soft thud onto the crates.
"What the hell?" I angrily said, glancing up at Amelia.
"Ah…Gotta keep you alert if there's any kidnappers lurking! Luckily, you were!" Amelia moved out of the window, landing onto one of the crates and hopping off. "Anyone come by?"
"Nope, did anyone notice you?"
"Nope, not a soul. And luckily, not many people are on the third floor! It was an easy sweep! Although sometimes I almost get caught."
"Kinda wish you did…"
"What'd you say? I'll throw this bag at you again!" Amelia grabbed a hold of her bag and hauled it behind her back. Her staff protruding out of it.
"Whatever, let's just head back to kales now so that we don't get caught!" As I looked back out of the alleyway, the Pink haired person was gone.
Amelia rolled her eyes, hopping down the crate. "Sheesh, fine. I'm still sure no one is going to kidnap us."
"Better to be cautious than be relaxed in this situation." I mumbled as I walked my way out of the alleyway.
"Ah-Hey! Hold up, wait for me!" I heard Amelia run behind me. I could hear her grunting in effort to hold the bag behind her.
Heading out of the alleyway. I decided we'd take the route that kale would usually take with us. It was a less populated route that ran into the residential district, kinda like taking the side road for a much safer but longer route. All we needed to do was take another specific alleyway.
"Haah…Hey, Slow down! I-im hauling a huge bag here!" I heard amelia pant.
"What'd you even pack?" I asked her. If I recall, she didn't bring much with her when she arrived in Prusha, what'd she even bring?
"Haah…j-just my clothes…and some of the inns stuff. you know, Blankets and pillows…towels…"
"You live like a bum…"
"Says the one who…looks like one! You Ugly haired Pervert!"
We continued our bickering as we made our way Down the specific alleyway, it was empty at the moment with no one in sight. It was admittedly much dark here due to the buildings blocking the sun, only a spotlight of sorts from the gap in between the buildings brightened the area. Usually this leads to another road that goes into the residential district. Or at least I thought.
"Yeah, yeah, Keep talking like that. That's the only thing you can come up…With?" I slowed down as I noticed a stone wall stopped us from moving forward.
"What? Took the wrong turn or something?" Amelia mocked me, but I held a hand up and looked at her seriously.
"No…This is the right alleyway." I slowly turned towards her and noticed something else. Someone coming towards us. "…someone is here."
The sound of footsteps echoed down the alleyway to us, multiple. Two large figures stood beside a smaller figure who was basically hopping their way to us in a joyful manner.
The smaller figure whistled. A joyful tune played that outright sounded threatening to me and Amelia as the light shined upon them. Their pink hair fluttered in the sun, the bright blue eyes staring at us as they smiled. They had a black cloth around them that insinuated their body, tightly wrapping around them to show their curves. Their hands Bandaged up with white cloth, somewhat matted with a dry brown. They wore black boots that went along with their thigh high white socks that stuck tightly to their thighs. A black cloak Wrapped around their left shoulder.
"Well, well!" It was a high pitched voice, was this a girl? "Seems like you hit a roadblock!"
The pink haired girl twirled around and patted the larger figure on her right, slapping the thighs of them and giggling.
"Good job, boys! Who knew you'd be great spotters!" She turned to her the other larger figure and gently patted their thighs. "And good job with the wall!"
I felt myself tense up at the remark, I knew someone was following us! Who else wouldn't notice a girl holding a big ass bag behind her? Damn it, Amelia!
The two larger figures let out a grunt of sorts. Taking a closer look at them, they were heavily scarred. Their legs were covered in cuts and stitches that made me question if they were enchanted or something. I didn't think this world was capable of doing that?
"Sooo glad that we found our target this fast!" The pink haired girl turned to us, still smiling. "You two made it so easy! I thought we would've lost our package once we gave it to D'rogh! Oh, that Minotaur will need to be taught a lesson about being caught, a lesson personally taught by me…" she joyfully shivered at the thought and felt herself up, her hands rolling up and down her body in a sexual manner.
Minotaur?…This means this girl is affiliated with the kidnappers. Probably a clean up crew to see if anything went wrong.
Also…what the hell was that reaction she gave?
"Hey!" I turned to my side to see Amelia frowning and taking a step forward. "What's the big idea?!"
Immediately, I pulled her back. Bringing her behind me in a defensive manner. What is she, an idiot?
"Tsk Tsk tsk…" The pink haired girl clicked her tongue. "Running away from us won't do. And back talking isn't allowed. Your buyer wouldn't appreciate it if we…did a little harm to you." Slowly, the pink haired girl pulled a short pole of sorts from behind themselves and flicked it, the staff extending into a longer one.
"B-buyer?!" Amelia panicked. She tightly grabbed onto my robes and looked afraid.
Shit, how do we get out of this? No way for me to break this wall in time and these guys are blocking the other entrance!
The pink haired girl then looked at me, head tilted. "And who are you? You one of those…eh…Hero types?"
Even though I was tensed up and alert, I couldn't help but look back in confusion. "Huh?"
The pink haired girl shook her head, disappointed. "Ah, who am I kidding. None of you would understand." She looked at me again with interest, her hand trailing her chin. "Although, you'd make a good boy for me…" she licked her lips. "…maybe I'll keep you as well. As long as my boys don't break you. It'll be my pleasure…"
Ah, major red flag. Alright, we need to leave. Now.
"Kota!" Amelia hissed behind me. "We need to break through this wall or something!"
"I'm thinking! you know, we wouldn't be in this situation if you didn't grab your shit!"
Amelia groaned in frustration, tugging on my cloak. "Come on!"
"Hey, what happened to the six feet and no touching thing?"
"This isn't a time to make fucking jokes, do something!" Amelia gave me a serious look.
Ok, Think. We're cornered and stuck. Only way out is either breaking this wall or somehow I get me and Amelia over it. Maybe Amelia could use her wind spell to launch us? I mean, is she capable of doing that? There's three people in front of us, I could easily use Quicksand on them to slow them. Maybe I should go on the offensive? I know one of them is a mage or something. I don't know, I've only fought like two people in an actual duel!
"Gah, damn it!" I said out loud. There is no kale or Lilith, it's just me against these people. And it seems like they want to beat the living shit out of us for Amelia. I have to fight!
Taking a deep breath, I raised my staff and held it towards the three figures. My hands are shaking and my breath is trembling. Can't believe I'm about to do this…
The pink haired girl smiled even more maniacally, swinging her pole around herself as she put a foot forward. "Hoho! I like you already! Ready to risk your life!" Then she clapped her hands. "Ready up boys! Do please be gentle with the package! Do it for Mandy!"
The two large figures stirred, I could see a zombified look to them as they crept into the light. These aren't…people are they? No, they are. They're just…completely modified or something. They pulled their hooded cloaks off. Their faces were disfigured and drooling.
With another giggle, The pink haired girl spoke again. "Let's see how you two like it when a boy sends his dogs! They don't call me Mandy the owner for nothing!"
The only thing I processed in that moment as the two large men charged at us was only one thing.
That's a Boy…?
A/N: Introducing a brand new character! He's a little different from everyone else! A little unhinged and I would say quite unique from everyone else at the moment! Next chapter will be a very action focused one and shows off a little bit of what they can do!