Petunias and Blackberries

**"End my suffering."**

**This article, Petunias and Blackberries, is the sole property of GuyCivic, and cannot be mentioned, used or edited without permission, unless you are part of a collaborative work. Please don't touch.**

**Users Involved:** User:GuyCivic.
**Date Started:** January 27, X943
**Setting:** Magnolia
**Characters Involved**:
Gai Diyos, Aiko Raishū.

### The Ikinobiru Heir

"Strange world. Ishgar, right? Last time I was in the region was when I was with Hiromoto." Gai thought to himself out loud as he strolled through the busy streets of Magnolia, "It's just, so, peaceful?"

He walked through crowds of people lined up to the various stands lined across the footpaths, the sounds of bartering and laughing filled the air, reminding Gai of how home used to feel. It was more quiet of course, as there was no blasts of cannon fire nor the war cries of warriors from afar threatening the peace of the town. People were able to fill up the streets quite quickly despite it being quite late in the morning, with children already running around with toys and sweets in-hand. Mothers would watch from the side and gossip as they held their shopping to their waist, whilst the fathers were laughing merrily with beers in their hands. How long Gai had been travelling since departing from Axle Strider and Nero Atosaki was beyond his knowledge, but nevertheless he was still going to have to travel this land alone for now whether he liked it or not.

"Might as well get myself something nifty while I'm here." Gai thought out loud as he pulled a purse from inside his gi. Holding it over his open free hand, Gai gently shook the pouch to retrieve a few coins that landed in his palm. "Wonder what kind of currency they use here."

Walking up to a nearby stall, Gai could see the various trinkets and cosmetics that sat on the shelf behind the counter. They looked to be quite old as they were made from yellowing wood, with cracked paint that flaked off the longer it sat in place. If the wind had come into contact with it, it would strip it of all its paint in one breeze. Gai cringed at the depressing sight as he clenched his coins firmly in his hand, almost feeling sorry for the business that was desperate to get rid of them. Despite so many people coming out onto the streets, there was no-one even paying a glance to the stall as everyone simply walked past. It was pity that drove Gai to take a few more steps closer to the stall as he didn't enjoy the sight of it missing out on all the potential business. Perhaps he could find something even better that wasn't on display.

What sat at the counter was an old lady dressed in rags, with a cloth wrapped around the the top of her head to the bottom of her chin, as if to keep her grey hair in place when the wind swept by. Her long hooked nose pointed far out from her body that it could be mistaken for another arm planted on her face. She sat in the far corner of the stall with a walking cane situated on her lap, and a cat quietly purring next to her leg, lying on a small carpet laid out underneath the old lady's seat. Just looking at her sent shivers down Gai's spine as he only looked at the lady out of shock, to see that the store had gotten even more depressing.

"Can I help you?" The elderly woman asked kindly, in a tone like how a grandmother would offer her grandchildren sweets she had just baked. "If you need more time to browse then by all means, continue, just call me up if you're willing to purchase something."

Gai's heart sank as he heard the old lady's voice, knowing that he was now obligated to buy something as he was noticed. He could now understand why some people had chosen just to avoid the store and walk past. Nodding to the old lady in response, Gai proceeded to look at what the store had to offer to the old Ikinobiru heir, scanning the shelves for something he could possibly use later on or at least for the meanwhile. Despite how many times Gai's eyes rolled back and forth between the items on display, there was very little that he could make do with for now. Small toys with scratches and chips, rusted jewellery that had dust built up in small cracks and openings, and even small clothes that looked to be on the brink of tearing if Gai was to even touch it. Nonetheless, Gai was pressured into buying something and he wasn't planning on leaving anytime soon until he did so. He looked around the store to see if there was perhaps anything else on sale, but the only things on sight was the ones situated on the shelf for everyone to see.

"Um. Excuse me?" Gai asked, holding his finger in the air. "Do you. Perhaps. Have anything else on sale?"

He panicked in his head, thinking that what he asked might've been a bit rude. But it was definitely worth a try, especially if the old lady was to go in the back and give Gai a chance to run away. He saw the old lady nod back at him and pull herself from her seat, seemingly struggling to plant her walking cane in the ground to give her support as she got up. Gai could sense himself feeling sorry for her as the elderly woman tried her best to find her footing. Both Gai and the cat watched as the lady began to hobble towards the back of the stall out of sight, the cat yawning and opening its jaw wide as the woman disappeared. Gai placed both hands onto the counter and tapped his fingers to give off the impression that he was there.

*"Okay, she's busy. Lets get out of here."* Gai thought to himself, ready to bolt and look at the other stores.

His body, however, wasn't on the same page as his mind and remained standing in place waiting for the old woman. No matter how much Gai tried to push himself away, he just wouldn't budge. It felt as though his feet were planted into the ground underneath him, rooted into the earth that would keep him in place for the rest of the day. It wasn't clear if he was under a spell or it was just simply nerves, but either way he needed to get over them right now. He tried subtly dispelling to see if there were any magics casted on him to do such an effect, but nothing appeared to change and Gai still remained stationary.

*"...I can hear her coming back, c'mon. LETS GO."*

He attempted to push himself from the counter but the strength had left his arms as soon as he tried. It was already obvious that Gai was going to stay here till she got back, whether he liked it or not. No matter how hard he tried, he was going to stay here for as long as need be until he bought something from the stall. The old lady emerged from behind the shelf with a large chest held in one of her arms as she delicately made her way to the counter. She made an awkward stop by bumping the chest into the counter as soon as she arrived, causing her to drop her walking cane at the same time onto the concrete floor. Paying no mind to it, she used both her arms to lift the chest onto the counter top and slide it across the surface to the front of Gai, letting out a weak but trying groan. The bottom of the chest let out a scratching sound as it ran across the top to Gai's presence, with Gai feeling defeated after his attempt to run.

Bowing in respect, the old lady reached down and grabbed her walking cane from the floor, "Sorry about the wait young man. My body isn't as strong as it used to be." she gratefully apologised.

Gai shook his hands and head, "No please, don't worry about it. You should have taken your time or you could have asked for my help. I surely wouldn't mind." he responded panicked.

The old lady smiled and giggled to herself to Gai's response, letting out a weak sigh before heading back to her seat. "Please, help yourself. Do tell when you've found something you'd like."

Nodding, Gai looked to the chest and began to investigate it, looking around the edges of the outside to see how he could open it. The chest was something he had never seen before, as there was no such handle or keyhole to open it with. There was, however, a strange magical presence surrounding the chest itself, meaning that there was a magic that was keeping the box locked until otherwise. Running his fingers around the container wasn't going to be doing much, but holding his hand in place was all he needed to do for it to work. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breathe in, Gai waited a few seconds before hearing a clicking sound within the chest's front.

"Not that many wizards out here that can use Dispel nor Nullification boy. And not so many that can reach a level such as yours." The old lady pointed out before standing up from her seat and dropping her walking cane confidently. "What brings you to my stall?"

She had changed in a heartbeat, from an old kind grandmother who was looking to make coin on the side from old toys and simple hand crafted trinkets, the lady who now stood in front of him was someone who could feel and understand Gai's magic, possibly hiding behind the facade of an elderly lady to fend off suspicion. Gai was shocked at the transition and took a step back to see what the lady had become, this was far from the old lady that was just serving him seconds ago, struggling to get from one end of the stall to the next. There was an almost sly look on the lady's face as she asked Gai her question, arriving at the counter and leaning forward close to Gai and the now unlocked chest.

"...I'll ask you again. What brings you to my stall?" She asked, in a more firm tone.

"I, uh." He blurted out, wanting to seize a response before clearing his throat to continue. "I-I was just looking to see if you have anything good."

The old lady laughed out loud, joining the bustling streets out Magnolia filled with other cheery citizens. "I can do you better than good, look inside the chest and take your pick." she suggested, clicking her fingers. Upon snapping, the chest's lid flung open and gave Gai a view of everything that was assorted into the container.

A variety of weapons embedded with various jewels and crystals, tomes covered with all sorts of material and bearing many insignias on their front. It certainly outclassed everything that sat on the old lady's shelf behind. Strangely enough, people continued to walk past and pay no mind to the stall, nor the chest that held a plethora of valuables and sources of knowledge. Amazed, Gai felt his chest for his heart, running his hand over to feel for a beat to see if he was alive. He tried subtly casting Dispel on it but it didn't seem to disappear, only meaning that it truly was the real deal sitting in front of him. It was hard for him to process what was going on, as it would be hard for anyone to believe their eyes once met with a situation such as this. Some of this could be his, but for a price nonetheless as expected.

Gai reached into the chest and rummaged through the items, placing three distinct pieces onto the counter to choose from to limit his selection. One was a silver key with a strange symbol on the end of its handle, with its end looking like a small square battle axe. Another one was a gold-tinted, diamond shaped, glass vial filled with a strange gelatinous liquid that sloshed around inside. The last was a silver dragon figurine, highly detailed with the dragon positioned to stand on its tail in the air. Despite there being better looking items in the box, Gai finalised his choice between the three objects in order to make his mind up easier.

"Those the three you taking?" She asked with an eyebrow raised.

Gai shook his head and returned to looking at the three, "Nah, I'm still picking, just decided to limit myself to these three. I probably only have enough to take one with me."

Scratching the bottom of her chin, the old lady leaned over the counter and smiled for Gai to see. "Don't worry about it. I'll hand you them for free." She declared, letting out a loud laugh.

"Um. Excuse what? Free?" Gai asked in an alarmed manner, "Are you sure you want to do that?"

"Psssh. You're the only one that's came to my store since the last on twenty years back. No-one else in this city even browses whats in this stall every-time we have this festival going on." She explained in a joyful tone.

Naturally, Gai didn't know how to respond or what to do, maybe it was a lucky call that his body had forgotten how to move the time he tried to run away. With a nervous smile on his face, Gai nodded and began to pick the items up, one by one from the counter top after placing the few coins he had in his pocket. The elderly stall keeper snapped her fingers and the chest quickly shut its lid without warning, causing Gai to jump as its lid shut tight.

"Happy doing business with you boyo." The old lady said, waving her hand as the cat behind her pounced onto her seat, curling into a ball before shutting its eyes.

Gai waved back with his own smile planted on his face, "Like wi-"

Within a blink, the stall, the old lady and the cat disappeared right in front of him, leaving this empty space which seemed to be filled with old trinkets and waring down toys. Gai was waving to nothing but a blank piece of land open for another stall to occupy and take advantage of the crowd that had built up. Gai was left in a state of confusion as he tried to process what had happened, looking at the three items he picked up to see if they were still in his hands. Sure enough, they were, real as ever as Gai felt them between his fingers and his palms. Quickly storing the three items within the jacket of his gi, Gai continued on his way through the streets to see what else he could get from the other stalls.

"I don't know if I like this new age."

### The Raishū Exile

"I ALREADY TOLD YOU. YOUR BANNED FROM THIS ESTABLISHMENT."

Yelling from a local bar in Magnolia erupted as soon as the door swung open, people passing by payed glances as a large bartender forcefully threw a young woman out onto the streets. As much as they wanted to stay out of the situation, people couldn't help but look at the conflict that was stirring up. Words were yelled back and forth as if the two were an old couple, but was quickly shut down when the large man forced a punch into the young woman's face. She fell to the concrete floor on her knees, defeated, almost whimpering to hold back herself from crying. She planted her face into both her palms as to hide her emotions from those who walked by, covering whatever expressions she couldn't help hold back. No-one dared interact, as they didn't want to risk themselves getting involved with whatever had happened.

"Don't mind it Aiko. You can do this." She said to herself as she wiped away dried tears from underneath her eyes. "Not the first time you've been banned from something before, right?"

Her remark managed to bring a smile to her face that was followed by a short chuckle. She looked at the bar and listened to the cheery singing that went on behind the doors, standing in place with her hands on her hips. The people that passed by quickly lost interest and continued on with their day, with Aiko becoming a simple nobody again. Taking a deep breathe in and out, Aiko walked away from the bar's entrance and disappeared into the crowd of civillians nearby, baring a sly smirk on her face as loud, heavy thuds were making its way to the front door of the bar.

"WHERE IS SHE."

Aiko couldn't help but laugh within the crowd before looking back, seeing the large man once again run into the middle of the street with his eyes filled with rage. He angrily looked left to right helplessly while screaming for her, crying out the occasional slurs and threats that Aiko's heard before. She delved deeper into the crowd so she wouldn't be seen, disappearing in plain sight whilst the bartender continued to look for her. Despite the amount of people shuffling within the crowd, Aiko found it quite easy to slip through, almost as if she was a knife slicing through warm butter. In a short amount of time she managed to reemerge on the other side of the crowd, dusting her clothes off before heading on her way.

*"I wonder what stalls they have nowadays, wouldn't hurt to stick around Magnolia for a bit longer."* She thought as she pulled out a large pouch of Jewels from her white bag.

Before she could make her way into a bigger crowd, a hand from behind grabbed onto her arm with an iron grip, immediately stopping Aiko in her tracks. Although frightened at first, Aiko took a deep breathe before turning around to see who was holding her, getting ready to break free and run as soon as she could. Expecting to see the bartender again, the person who held onto the woman was a dark skinned man with red eyes and dark hair, dressed in a notable red gi.

*"Help."* Was all the words that Aiko's mind could throw together as she felt the grip around her arm.

"Causing trouble around here miss?" The man asked, pulling her firmly closer so that she wouldn't escape.

Aiko was visibly flustered as she was pulled in, as was the man who suddenly realised what he had just done. Both of them blushed for a brief moment of embarrassment as the man held her there. A few seconds of silence was shared as Aiko was froze on the spot and the man stood there scratching the back of his head whilst still holding onto her.

"Um. Sorry?" He nervously apologised.

Aiko continued to stand there eyes opened whilst still red, still trying to recover from the awkwardness of the moment. She obviously didn't know what to do as her legs just stood there refusing to move. "S-s-sorry? I-is th-that a-all yo-you ca-can say?" Her trembling voice blurted out as she stamped her leg on the ground, yelling into the air that matched the atmosphere around them.

Luckily, her yelling went unnoticed by the people walking around them, as there was plenty of cheering and joyful screaming going on in the background. The man laughed awkwardly before holding his hand out to Aiko, trying his best to recover from the situation. "I'm, Gai. Diyos. Goo-Nice to meet you." His voice staggered mid-sentence, letting go of Aiko simultaneously.

Looking in disgust and shock, Aiko turned the other way and began to walk away from Gai, disappearing into a nearby crowd and leaving the man in the red gi with his hand still outward. It took Gai a few seconds to realise what had just happened, causing him to look around confused for the girl with the strange clothes. Shrugging it off, Gai continued on his way and moved down the street, still clutching the three items that he had purchased earlier during the day.

...

"Who was that strange man. Pulling me in like that? Fucking weirdo." She thought to herself out loud as she made her way past the stalls. "Who even does that? Man, I thought I was in deep trouble there. If that guy was supposed to be helping that bartender back there, he wasn't doing a very good job."

Pulling out the purse of coins from her bag that she had taken, Aiko admired the weight and size of the pouch, bouncing it up and down in her hand. She eyed some of the stalls that sat on the edges of the street, all holding things from streams of cotton candy to even large kegs of beer. Thoughts of stealing said things were quickly popping up in Aiko's mind as she quietly contemplated on following through, seeing how easy it was at the time. *"Ugh. I've already stolen one thing today, I'll probably get scolded by the guildmaster if they find out I stole even more."* She thought as she remembered her duties as a legal mage.

Walking up close to a stall with barrels behind the counter, Aiko reached into the purse and flipped several coins onto the surface while clicking her fingers. "A pint please. Strongest one." She ordered with a big smile as she leaned onto the edge of the counter.

The stall's worker raised an eye brow and leaned onto the other side of the counter, squinting at Aiko with a piercing gaze. "You sure you want that small bean? Don't want to go around wasting good beer." He warned in a rough, gritty voice.

The man working in the stall was far taller than Aiko, with a torso that was just as big as the barrels he was working with. He also bared a large brown beard that went down to his chest, with several strands pointing out, and small crumbs of food that had been caught in the hairs. He had no hair on his head, and the glares from the sun above shone down and reflected off his bare scalp, sending the bright shine to Aiko's eyes that forced her to look away. Feeling insulted by the man's remark, Aiko slammed her hand onto the counter, revealing more coins as she lifted it up. Although the sun was still glaring in her eyes, Aiko managed to bring a cheeky smirk whilst leaning on the counter.

"Then you best make it two. It'd be a waste leaving all this beer unattended to." She retorted before beckoning with her fingers. "Bring in it buddy, I've got a long day ahead of me and I'll want to be sleeping on the way to the next place."

Rolling his eyes hidden underneath his bushy eyebrows, the stall worker went over to a nearby barrel with two pint glasses in one hand. Holding it under a silver tap, the carbonation inside the keg allowed the beer to flow through effortlessly into the glasses he held underneath. After a few moments of hisses and splashes, the worker came back with two full pints in hand, carefully sliding them across the counter to Aiko. Ungracefully, Aiko stumbled and tried to catch both glasses at the same time, only just able to catch both glasses before they fell over the edge. Unimpressed, the stall worker scoffed and continued tending to the barrels as Aiko began drinking, bringing one of the glasses to her lips and pouring it into her mouth.

*"Oh geez. This is yuck. How am I going to finish this?"* She panicked in her head, her eyes wide open in dismay as she struggled to swallow the alcohol in her mouth. She swished it between her cheeks and over her tongue, but there was no way that her throat was going to allow whatever this mixture was into her stomach. *"I've gotta spit this out somewhere."*

Looking around frantically for somewhere she could spit the beer out, she noticed that the man working the stall was smiling, despite his lower face being covered by his beard. She didn't want to entertain him any longer and brought the beer up to her face, covering the majority of it with the alcohol still in the glass. Using it as a cover, Aiko subtly spit the beer back into the pint whilst making up and down motions with her throat, simulating drinking. The stall tender quickly lost interest and turned around to continue his work, giving Aiko a bit of time to breathe before getting up from the counter and taking both pints with her. If she was going to spend that much on a couple pint glasses she might as well take them back to the guild to share with someone.

Walking into the crowd, Aiko held the glasses before her body as she looked around for anyone that she knew, awkwardly holding the glasses above her head whenever she needed to slip through a group that was blocking her path. After spending a few minutes searching, Aiko gave up and began walking aimlessly, with no certain path in mind as she strolled around town with the intent of doing so till nightfall. With nothing to keep her interested, she quickly found the atmosphere to become boring, and was having second thoughts of returning to the bar she was kicked out of just to get some entertainment. Sooner or later, Aiko arrived in front of a small cathedral like building, with boarded up stained glass windows that seemed almost pristine. Its stone walls and exterior seemed haunting, as statues of various angels and gargoyles stood in special concave balconies for them to look out from. What seemed to be the strangest thing about it, however, was that everyone of them seemed to look directly at Aiko, sending a chill down her spine.

Something lit inside her head as she placed the beer pints down, as an urge to explore suddenly caught her mind and promoted her to rush to the two large, wooden doors at the entrance. They seemed old and weary, its wooden bodies baring several tones of brown due to weathering and decay. It was almost as if the doors were older than the church they guarded, yet none of this had really clicked in Aiko's mind as she tried pushing against them. After trying to politely open the door by pushing it gently, the mage began ramming into it with her shoulder, resulting in still nothing and a slightly sore shoulder.

"Is it blocked from the inside? I think I may have to make my own entrance then." She thought out loud as she withdrew a small dagger from behind her.

Looking up, Aiko saw that the small cathedral had a large circular window of stained glass near the top, just as clean as the other glass windows that were blocked by nailed boards on top of them. Seeing it as one of her best chances to get in, Aiko took a step back and readied her blade beside her temple, eyeing a path for her dagger to follow before throwing. Quickly pulling back her hand and thrusting it upwards towards the window, the dagger went flying through the air and to its target, slicing through the air to make a whistling sound as it passed by. In no time, the knife made impact with the window, cracking and shattering the piece as shards of glass began to rain down on Aiko. As her natural instinct kicked in, Aiko leaped to the side and was enveloped in a flash of light, emerging as a large black raven that had just narrowly dodged the falling shards that quickly covered the ground. With her sights in front of her, Aiko in raven form glided upwards, using her wings to propel her up if need be to prepare for a dive through the now broken window.

As she paired her height with the window, Aiko could see that there were still sharp sharps sticking inwards into the hole that she made for her way in. Without thinking, Aiko began gliding towards the window, picking up enough speed as to continue on her path without the need for her wings. As she got close to the broken window, Aiko tucked her raven wings close to her body and rolled in place, precisely diving through the hole as she made it into the cathedral. Some of her feathers had seemed to catch onto the sharp spikes of the broken glass, but ultimately nothing too important seemed gone during the flight. Diving into the cathedral, another burst of light enveloped around her, before Aiko in human form emerged from the other end of the flash as she neared the ground, rolling across the cold stone ground before jumping up and landing on her feet. A large smile from one side of her face to the other was out in full display.

Now that she was even inside, she didn't really know what she was going to do. Aiko looked around to gaze at the interior of the building, paintings of kings, queens and priests lined the walls, unlit candles with drips of wax set at their bases and frozen in place rolling down their bodies. Just by looking around, one would think that this place was abandoned, but not for Aiko. Looking back, Aiko could see that the glass had also rained down on the inside, as well as her knife that seemed to land nearby on one of the pews at the back. Nodding her head, Aiko sped to her weapon in a quick walking manner and immediately swiped the blade as soon as she got close to it. Something about the cathedral made her feel uneasy, yet here she was inside, at the mercy of whatever was lurking within.

"Hello~?" Aiko whispered, her quiet voice echoing off the walls, "Anybody home~?"

Fortunately for Aiko, nothing in the darkness responded as she was left in silence waiting for a response. Sighing heavily out of her chest, Aiko began heading towards the alter, the very heart of the cathedral. On the stage was a large table covered by a ceremonial cloth, as well as a golden chalice that sat on its surface. Momentarily lifting the hat off her head to push back stray hairs behind her ears, Aiko fixed her appearance before heading up on stage, a subtle, strange feeling of stage-fright slowly coming onto her despite no-one in the pews to watch her. Wandering around on stage was no different to wandering throughout the aisles, besides having a smaller space to do so without falling down. As she got close to the chalice, a cold breeze suddenly swept through the building from the window, carry smaller, lighter shards of glass towards Aiko. Without much warning to prepare her, the sensation of small grains pinched the front of her body, causing her to stumble backwards out of surprise. As she fell back sitting on the floor, Aiko let out a loud yelp, warranting something in the darkness to shift.

"H-hello?" She whispered, not wanting to believe that there was someone watching her as she looked at the snow like glass that hung onto the threads of her clothing.

What responded was a subtle growl, one that started low to high as whatever was causing it began clawing and dragging itself into view from the shadows. It sounded heavy, as with each time it pulled itself, Aiko heard it fall back onto the ground, panting the more it moved. Frozen in place, Aiko could only watch as whatever was coming out was making itself known to her, fear binding her in place as a web would do with an insect. Seemed she had found herself caught in the spider's web, brought in by her own accord, a trap she could have easily avoided if she was much more careful.

"**Why do you not move child?**" The mysterious being asked in a loud, harsh voice.

Aiko didn't seem to have the strength to answer nor try to escape while the being was making their way. Sooner or later, Aiko would finally see the thing that dwelled in the shadows: A large figure, bearing large bloodied and torn bird-like wings, arms swelled up like mountains with its entire lower half missing. All that followed behind were the revolting scent of decay as dark, dry entrails slid across the floor as it moved. From where Aiko was standing, she could presume that whatever this thing was may be twice her height if left upright. Its face, however, seemed to strike more chill into Aiko than the rest, a face similar to her own besides the upper corner of her face broken off like a ceramic mask, revealing nothing but an emptiness within it despite the fully red glowing eyes coming from its face. It bared a threatening smile that was cut from one side of the face to the other, letting heavy pants escape through the mouth piece with an annoying reverb.

"**Do not move child. I am coming.**" The creature ordered Aiko as it continued to pull itself across the floor.

"...Yes." Aiko responded in a quiet, submissive manner, her eyes frozen and dazed as if in a trance.

As it continued to pull itself towards her, the doors of the small cathedral swung open with a powerful force, slamming against the doors as they flew outwards. Walking through the doorway was a man in a red gi, carrying a sack slung over his shoulder with his other hand quickly shoved into his pocket. The sound seemed to catch the creature's attention as it swung its head to the man's direction. A long, sharp hiss escaped past its lips before it began moving its body to face the new visitor, similar to how a snake would react to anyone intruding in its territory or getting to close to the nest. Aiko, on the other hand, continued to remain frozen in place, paying no mind to the man's sudden entrance.

"**Another joins us this fine day... Come closer child.**" The creature's whispers echoed through the building.

### The Fallen Angel

The man squinted his eyes and smiled, entertaining the creature by making his way into the cathedral in a relaxed posture. Nothing about it seemed to disturb him, strangely enough, as he even winked at the creature in a charming manner. However, the closer he got to the altar, he noticed that Aiko was stuck in place, her eyes still, yet slightly shivering. Calmly stopping in place before he could get any closer to the being, the man took of the sack from his shoulder and placed it neatly on the floor next to him. A flash of red light from within his top glowed under the material before in his hand a morningstar mace appeared, gold body with a silver head. Bringing the weapon close to his head to rest against his shoulder, the man smirked before pointing at the creature in a confident tone.

"I think I've entertained you enough for now, because I already see that you've got a guest. I didn't think that your kind would be greedy." The man said as he then pulled the morningstar off his shoulder and enter a battle ready position, weapon held firmly in his hand whilst pointed in the direction of his target.

"**It's been years since I've woken from hibernation, I can't sleep until I've eaten.**" The creature hissed as it began charging towards the man, both arms galloping to reach its victim.

Responding by staying still, the man welcomed the creature to get close as it quickly closed the distance between them. It's ceramic face held one still emotion before entirely shattering to reveal a long animal-like skull underneath, baring jagged fangs that pointed in all sorts of directions. With a few feet between it and the man, the beast let its jaw open wide, big enough to grab the man's entire head, and snapped its fangs over the man's neck, still moving forward to preform a clean kill. Heavy breathing from its nostrils echoed off the stone walls of the building, with the creature wondering why it felt like there was nothing in its jaws after the charge, opening its mouth to let out whatever was in there. Much to its surprise, nothing came out, causing the creature to swing back and see that the man was still standing, morningstar swinging around with his hand by his side.

"**Why aren't you dead?**" It asked in an irritated tone.

The man moved stepped forward and thrusted the morningstar forward, the chain extending as the spiked ball began flying towards the creature. Thinking that it could take it, the beast threw one of its fists forward, the other hand supporting its body, hoping that it would be enough to deflect the weapon. However, just as it neared the being, the spiked ball immediately exploded in size, almost matching that of the creature's. With very little time to react, the winged creature was crushed on impact and sent flying backwards towards the entranceway, violently tumbling on the ground as it slid towards the doors and into the sunlight. The creature took its time picking itself back up from the sudden attack, but for the moment it took, the man noticed something strange about the beast. The more the creature stayed in direct sunlight, steam would began drifting from its body, a feint but notable sight when watching the creature return to the conflict.

"**You cannot step to the levels of a god.**" The creature roared as it slammed its fists against the doorway.

"Looks like neither could you, explains why you're even here in the first place." The man retorted as he whipped the morningstar-now-flail in the air, swinging it back down to the ground whilst the ball was still large to crush the creature underneath its mass.

Seeing what the man was about to do, the creature slipped itself out of the sunlight and back into the building in the shade, setting itself upright on its decayed entrails and held both arms up. As the ball came down, the beast found enough strength in its limbs to defend against the crushing blow of the spiked ball, while holding it above its head at the cost of a few crushed bones. With what strength it had left, the creature forcefully threw the spiked ball back at the man, before falling forward after using all its strength through its arms. The creature seemed to be getting weaker, unprepared for combat as it tried all it could to survive.

The man watched it all unfold before him to the spike ball shooting right back towards himself. As the beast did before, the spiked ball travelled through him as if it was a ghost and exited the back, its long chain following behind. The spiked ball, with no initial obstacle to slow it down, crashed into the alter's stage, shaking the building as dust unfastened from the bricks above and slowly drifted down onto the three who were present in the cathedral. At the same time, this seemed to wake Aiko up from her trance as she shook her head and looked around to see where she was. Finding herself on stage and a battle going on before her, she didn't know what to do besides leave them to dish it out. However, upon seeing the man, she realised that she had seen him somewhere, and took the time to try and match his face in her mind.

"HEY! YOU'RE THAT GUY FROM OUTSIDE." She called out as something clicked within her brain.

"Guy from the outside? What the-" The man said as he turned to face Aiko, only to be interrupted by the creature having closed the gap between them and slamming a fist right into his side.

The strike seemed to be powerful enough to lift the man off his feet and send him flying through the air, causing him to slam into a pillar that was lined onto one of the walls. As soon as he made impact, the man let out a splutter of blood as a sharp pain stung his entire side, aching him whenever he moved. While he was able to pull off his phasing trick the first two times, he wasn't focused enough for that last one. The morningstar-now-flail that he wielded was enveloped in a large flash of light before disappearing from his last position, leaving him now vulnerable to the creature who was beginning to make a second charge. The creature mimicked that of a horse as it tapped the ground before sprinting, letting out a blood curdling scream as it began galloping once more to the man, who seemed far too damaged to continue without support.

Wondering what she could do to help the stranger, Aiko saw that the pews looked as though they weren't fixed onto the ground, prompting her to hold her hands forward in their direction. Just as the creature was nearing the man, Aiko concentrated on the pew closer to it, the obstacle slowly moving across the stone floor whilst picking up speed. Just as the creature was a few metres away, Aiko finally made one notable pulling motion with her arms just as the creature was ready to leap forward. In that instant, the pew lifted off the floor and straight into the beast, interrupting it mid-flight and forcing it closer to the altar's stage where Aiko could distract the beast for now. Both the pew and the creature landed on the stage's steps, the pew landing on top of the creature and keeping it pinned down for the mean time.

Rushing to the damaged man, Aiko took off her vest and wrapped it around the man's torso, placing it in a way where it was putting pressure on where the creature had slammed its fist into him. The man let out an uncomfortable groan as she did so, keeping an eye on the creature as it was pushing against the heavy pew it was trapped under. The beast faced its skull face towards the couple and let out another scream, wriggling around violently as it tried to escape. Knowing that there wasn't a lot of time left until the creature was free, the man moved his head forward towards Aiko's ear and began whispering. At first, Aiko was surprised with the man's sudden movements, but hearing what he had to say struck fear into her eyes as they opened wide, prompting her to look above the altar and spot a notable large chandelier she hadn't noticed until now.

"You're crazy. I don't know if it'll fall fast enough for it to hit!" She whispered back in an urgent tone.

"Just trust me on this. I know what I'm doing." The man rolled his eyes with disinterest.

Reluctantly nodding her head, Aiko proceeded to move away and allow the injured man to pull himself up, even using her telekinesis to assist. Moving into position near the pews with her eyes looking between the creature and the chandelier just above the altar, Aiko whistled to give the man a signal, allowing him to approach the altar with confidence and a smile planted on his face. His feet shuffled in a painful manner, limping across the cold stone floor with the time that he had left to get into place. He looked back at the creature to see how it was doing, only just now lifting the pew from its body and getting ready to leap out at the man.

"You took your time mister. That might just have to be the last mistake you make today." The man chuckled as he stood behind the altar to look at the beast.

Slamming his fists into the ground, one after the other, the creature let out a scream as it charged towards the man, galloping its arms as it swiftly closed the distance. The only thing that stayed at the front of its mind was to kill, to stain the man's already red gi with a new shade. There was no mis-step it took, and as its arms reached for the altar with its jaw unhinged to swallow the entirety of the man's head, time seemed to slow down for everyone in the cathedral. The man remained unfazed as Aiko stared directly at the chandelier, making a pulling motion downwards with her sights forced right on her target. The chains holding the lights in the air began stretching down like there was a massive force at its end, being too much to handle for them before ultimately snapping. Glass, gold and candle dropped silently as parts of the broken chain rained down with it, some making it to the ground before the chandelier itself.

As pieces of metal dropped by the side of both the man and the creature, it was a signal that there was no time for a reaction, as within seconds of the creature getting close to the man, the chandelier crashed down on the two, shattering into thousands of shards that dispersed into an explosion of glass and metal. The creature released a scream once again, except this one called out from pain rather than to intimidate, as the glass rain had found itself covering the entire altar stage, causing it to glimmer in the light that shone down from above in a mesmerising and almost angelic display. What was left, was the creature pinned onto the ground with shards slicing open its back, and an unharmed man looking down on the beast with a pitiful scowl.

Confused with the man's survivability, the creature looked up to him to show that its skull face had been severely cracked, and any sort of movement could be enough to shatter it on the spot. Glass shards stuck out from its back, its blood slowly seeping out in drips that followed along its body. It was vulnerable and weak, a sort of payback for what it did to the man in the red gi.

"**You'll... Not get aw-away... That easily...**" The creature whispered in a demonic tone.

Rolling his eyes away, the man calmly limped out of the scene and dropped to the ground as soon as he was away from the puddles of metal and glass that littered the scene. Relived and surprised, Aiko rushed to the mans side, grabbing onto his arm and supporting the front of his body. The sudden touch caused the man to look to his side, noticing that both him and Aiko's faces were mere inches from each other. The two shook their heads to face away from each other as they noticed, both flustered with red as they let out awkward and surprised chuckles. After a few seconds within the cathedral, Aiko helped the man up and proceeded to walk him outside, closing the cathedral doors behind them as they left the creature to die under the shattered chandelier. The warm feeling the sunlight had on her skin was refreshing for Aiko, who took the moment to sigh in relief and look around. Strange enough, no-one was in sight in this part of town, although she could have guessed that maybe some passer-byes noticed the conflict and warned others to stay back.

The two continued down the steps and stopped on the last, the man pulling his arm from Aiko to take a seat in order to catch his breathe. What damage he sustained from the fight had really taken its toll on him, which Aiko could understand as she helped him down. The man looked out to the streets and then back to Aiko, nudging her on the side of her arm with a childish smile and laugh before looking away. There was a sense of sadness within his voice as he transitioned out from the look he gave her, his eyes dropping and the smile slowly fading away. Aiko took a seat beside the man and placed both her hands on her lap, the two sitting there soaking in the atmosphere in silence.

Aiko could have nearly lost her life in there, and so could have the man, but it was luck that allowed the two to see another day. If the man didn't arrive at such a peculiar time, Aiko was sure enough gone, she had to thank him for inserting himself into the situation. But what she couldn't shake off her mind was what kind of creature it was, its disfigured body, its demonic screams and its skull head would be embedded into her mind for perhaps the next few weeks. How the man reacted to the creature's was almost casual, like he and the creature knew each other, without fear as he stood against the creature that continued to lash out at him. Any normal kind of person would be frozen in place from fright but whoever this man was... he wasn't normal.

"I uh. I don't think I remember your name." Aiko asked in a curious manner.

"Gai. Gai Diyos. And you are?" The man in the red gi quickly smiled back.

"Aiko. Aiko Raishū." She responded in a respectful tone.

"Raishū? Like the Raishū clan?" Gai asked tilting his head to the side, "Its been a while since I've heard about them, how have they been?"

"Mhm. The Raishū clan. Last time I was with them they were doing fine. What they're up to nowadays, however, can't say. Me and my siblings have been exiled so I guess I'm working these days as a mage." Aiko said as she leaned back on the steps behind her and gazed up. "Clan names don't carry much weight nowadays, so there's no real nobility or freebies I can grab if I tell people my name."

Gai looked away in disappointment, hiding his feelings from Aiko by facing the street further to the side. To him the clans were everything, especially during the civil war. Even his clan's enemy, the Umarekawaru, he respected and admired, yet it was unfortunate to how it all ended up for him, his clan and his family. "So the Raishū clan still exists huh?"

"Yeah. But like I said, the clan names don't really carry that much weight anymore." Aiko answered, crossing both her arms to pillow her head as she continued to look into the sky. "But enough about me, how are you after the fight? That thing back there beat you up bad huh?" She said as he looked to Gai's general direction.

Gai waved away and smiled, "I'm fine, really. I think my body's just going to ache for a few days, but after that, I think I'll be in shape to fight again."

"You sure?" Aiko asked with a lifted eyebrow, "I think you'll need to see a doctor or something. My guild, Stellara Nocte has a guild medic that can probably get you in tip-top shape before you need to get back on your travels." Aiko proposed to Gai, pulling herself up from the staircase and reaching out with an open hand to Gai.

"I don't think I really have anywhere to go anyway. If there's jobs that I can do, I can probably head there after I'm healed." Gai offered as he reached out for Aiko's hand, allowing her to help up up from the staircase before being pulled to her side, her arm under his to help support him.

"Actually... There is this Forest of Death thing that's come up. Rune Knights are calling for mages who can help them but I'm not sure I'm really willing to walk into something called the 'Forest of Death'." Aiko laughed as the two began walking down the street, towards the train station.