"Won't you follow me?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Better not, I don't want to upset your hunters. Arty..." Ikki said, scratching his right cheek with his index finger.
Artemis nodded in understanding. She hadn't thought this through—how would her hunters feel seeing their Milady bring a man to their camp? That was not a good idea.
She cursed her blind love that made her forget her position as the Virgin Goddess and the greatest man-hater on Earth.
She grabbed the deer and sped off through the trees with agility.
Ikki just stood there, watching her figure. Eventually, a smile appeared on his lips.
Their reunion wasn't as complicated as he imagined, and now he could spend the whole day with Artemis. Could his day get any better?
He ignored the dark emotions in his heart and focused only on the good ones.
After a few minutes, Artemis returned, leaping between the trees. She landed a few meters in front of him.
The Moon Goddess looked at him with one eyebrow raised, crossing her arms with her bow between them, as she said, "So, what do we do? Airhead..."
Thinking about it now, wasn't this a date? Her heart raced with the thought, and she tried to suppress her blush. The proud part of her mind that denied the idea of loving the boy in front of her shouted, "He's just a friend!" Nothing more than that.
"Let's just go for a walk. Moonbeam," Ikki said to Artemis in a presumptuous manner.
Artemis' eyes widened, and she indignantly asked, "Did you just call me Moonbeam?"
"Yes, I think it's a fitting response since you called me airhead," Ikki said, amused.
Artemis looked at him for a minute before smiling. She really liked the nickname. It was nice to have a friend who wasn't afraid of her, and if she followed her feelings, maybe the two of them could be more than friends?... This thought was quickly discarded.
She was a Virgin Goddess; she shouldn't be having such thoughts!
"Alright, little man..." Artemis said mischievously.
"Let's go then..." Ikki said, rolling his eyes at the nickname and starting to walk in a random direction.
The two walked through the hills and forests, talking about all sorts of things.
It was as if the world became irrelevant, and all that mattered was the present moment, where the two enjoyed each other's company and shared unforgettable moments.
They were walking along a road in the middle of a pine forest.
"Arty, remember that deal we made to have a little archery competition? How about we do that now!" Ikki asked with a slight smile on his lips.
Artemis was surprised by the suggestion. She narrowed her eyes at him, a hint of hidden amusement in them, and said provocatively, "You have guts, boy. You think you can beat the Goddess of Archery in an archery contest?"
She knew he also loved archery and must be very skilled.
"Who knows. I've been practicing a lot with the bow. Partly because I like using one, and also because I wanted to see if I could have some fun with you in some hunts and competitions..."
Ikki said with a small smile on his lips as he shrugged. He noticed the hidden amusement in the Goddess.
Artemis just admired his smile; it was undeniably beautiful, and hearing that he did it for her made her heart fill with happiness.
"Alright, let's see what you can do, little man." The Moon Goddess said playfully.
"Sure, Moonbeam." Ikki said, rolling his eyes. He looked around trying to find a target for the competition and found one.
He disappeared with a static sound and reappeared instantly.
Two thousand five hundred meters away, between several trees, was a can of cola.
"Do you see that can two thousand five hundred meters away? That's our target, more specifically, the opening on the can's tab." Ikki pointed to the spot and said to Artemis, "Our competition is simple, we'll shoot at the same time, and whoever hits the tab opening wins."
Artemis looked at the target with narrowed eyes, considering that it was in the middle of several trees which acted as obstacles. It would be an interesting competition.
She summoned a large silver bow with a polished oak apparatus, sculpted to resemble the horns of a gazelle, and a quiver which she placed diagonally on her lower back.
Ikki simply created a simple bow with his [Item Creation] spell.
It was a longbow, in a simple, unsophisticated style, with a very slight curve, and no string. The small round notch where the hand would go was the only feature. The entire bow had a single large tattoo running from top to bottom, but it gave off an intense, sinister feeling, as if blood was on the edge of a sharp knife blade.
He created an illusion to make the ring on his finger, which was his sword, transform into this bow.
"Nice bow, where did you get it?" Artemis asked curiously, looking at the bow in Ikki's hands with surprise.
She could tell the quality of the bow was excellent.
"I found it during my mission..."
Ikki lied calmly as he pulled on the spot where the string should be on his bow. As soon as he did, a bright string, as if it were lightning or surrounded by electricity, became visible.
This bow was made to use his magical power as both string and arrow.
"You're lucky. Looks like it's a magical bow." Artemis said with a smile as she took an arrow from her quiver and placed it on her bowstring.
It was an arrow with an extremely fine tip, enough to pass through the tab opening of the can.
"Yes. Thanks to it, I don't need to worry about arrows."
Ikki said, pulling the string, and at that moment, an arrow made of pure darkness, the same type Artemis, the Goddess of the Hunt, used, appeared, ready to shoot.
The two positioned themselves.
"On three," Ikki said, glancing at her from the corner of his eyes. She nodded, and he turned his gaze back to the target as he said.
"1...2...3."
Both released their arrows, which pierced the air toward the target. In an instant, the arrows hit their intended spots. Ikki and Artemis exchanged glances, both looking confident.
They approached the target, and Artemis froze. Ikki gave a victorious smile in her direction.
His arrow hit directly and pierced through, the edges inside seeming slightly scorched by the electricity. After passing through the tab opening, it lodged in the ground.
Artemis' arrow, which may have grazed his arrow during its flight, struck a millimeter higher, damaging a little bit of the edge.
"Looks like it's my win..." Ikki said, a big smile on his face.
Artemis would have admired him if she hadn't been so stunned by losing. The Goddess turned to look at him, shocked, seeing his triumphant look and smile. Her heart raced, and she tried to avoid blushing. She had just lost, even if it was a blow to her pride. She didn't want to admit he was better than her at archery; it was just a simple competition.
And losing wasn't that bad; there would be excitement next time, and she would definitely win.
"How did you get so good at using a bow?" Artemis asked curiously.
Hearing her question, he scratched the back of his head and said honestly, "I really like using a bow and arrow, practiced a lot with it. It's kind of addictive, I have to admit. Besides, our competition was easy; if the contest was harder than this, you would have easily won."
It was obviously a lie, because his skills were so great that he could destroy a star thousands of light-years away from Earth with ease. Something he doubted the Moon Goddess could do.
Why did he lie? Because it made the proud Moon Goddess smile and say.
"See? Archery is amazing, isn't it?"
As soon as the words left her mouth, she covered her mouth with her hand. Her face showed a horrified expression.
By the Gods! She had just said something Apollo kept saying.
Ikki looked at her strangely, never thinking Artemis would say something like that. He saw her horrified expression and asked, "What's wrong?"
"You're never going to tell anyone what you heard." She threatened with a deadly look.
"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me." Ikki said, understanding that the words she had just said were something no one should know.
He dismissed his bow and stretched.
The two started walking again, chatting and having fun.
On their way to a destination neither knew where it was, they even had a little hunting competition where they made guesses about which animal the random tracks they found on the way belonged to.
For each track they found, one made a guess first, and if they guessed correctly, they earned a point.
The next time, it would be the other's turn, and so on.
After a few hours walking through the nature-filled region of Maine, the score was "8-7" in Artemis' favor.
Ikki just used his nose to figure out which animal it was and kind of guessed wrong, so Artemis took the lead.
He did this to make the duel fair. If he used his other powers, it would have been impossible to lose...
The day passed quickly. Much to the displeasure of both, they were having too much fun their way.
Each had several issues caused by the love they felt for each other. However, that didn't matter; they just wanted to spend time with the person they loved.
None of that mattered! During every second they spent together.
Unfortunately, all good things come to an end. After an entire day together, it was time for goodbye again.
They returned to the same place they had met. It was the late afternoon, and the sky had started showing signs of darkening.
"It was a fun day." Ikki said, looking at the sky, which would soon be dark.
On his side, Artemis looked in the same direction as him and said.
"Yes, next time, I'll want a rematch with a new archery contest..."
She pouted at the end of her words and looked at him, her silver eyes shimmering with excitement and challenge.
Ikki, who had looked at her after hearing her words, just smiled and nodded.
He then asked.
"Next time? So, we can meet more times?"
Hearing his question, a part that Artemis had ignored the entire day practically screamed at her not to agree because she had to bury these feelings she had for him, and the more time she spent with him, the harder it would be.
As she had done before, Artemis ignored that part and replied.
"Sure, anytime you want. It would be nice to spend time with my only male friend."
She tried to hide her happiness in a light, pragmatic tone.
"Alright, I'll send you an Iris message to let you know when I'll show up." Ikki also smiled happily and said.
"Yes, that would be good." Artemis was so happy that she approached him while saying, "Now that I remember, I didn't give you a birthday present."
Ikki looked at her curiously, noticing the slight blush on her cheeks.
The Moon Goddess' heart was racing so fast that she wouldn't be surprised if he heard it, but she was brave enough to lean in and gently kiss his right cheek.
"This is my present for you..."
She lowered her face, which was on fire, while whispering. Then, she disappeared in a flash of silver light.
Ikki stood frozen for a whole minute, his hand touching the spot on his cheek where she kissed him.
Had that really happened?
It must have been a dream, right?
Distracted, he teleported into his room at his house and fell onto his bed with a silly smile on his face.