Moving Day

## Packing Up

The sound of metal clanging to the floor was heard as the blade sliced straight through the metallic dummy, the sounds of heavy panting eclipsing over the sound of silence that had filled the room. Cain had been training for a few hours now, his clothes torn from the over-training the boy had been doing.

He sighed, heading towards the side of the small arena he had built in the forest. It was only a five minute run from his hometown, so he could always rush back if need be. He sheathed his blade into its scabbard, which was slung across his back. Cain grabbed a bottle of water and chugged it down, dropping it once it was empty. The boy noted the field of destroyed dummies. He exhaled as he ran up towards them, going to replace each individual dummy.

Sitting not to far from where he best and only friend was training Ari quietly sketched away in her art pad, glancing up at Cain every few minutes before returning her attention back to her artwork. Pausing in her work Ari glances towards Cain and sighs slightly before standing up and stretching before packing up her scattered items and vegans to make her way over towards him.

"I can understand your excitement Cai-Chan, but don’t you think your obsessing and overworking yourself just a bit?" She questioned her best friend in a soft voice as she neared him with her eyes scanning all the destroyed dummies before looking towards him shaking her head, knowing full well what he was probably thinking at the moment despite her best effort to stop such train of thought.

Cain grunted as he replaced the final dummy with a new one, tossing what remained of the old one in the southwest most corner. He walked towards the front, ruffling Arissa’s hair as he walked by her. “Maybe,” he responded. “But I gotta be strong enough to blow the minds of those Captains. And once we become Magic Knights, we’ll be able to do so much more.”

He unsheathed his blade in one fluid motion, closing the three metre gap between him and the first dummy in an instant, the blade being thrusted straight through the metal. Cain moved towards his left, the blade cutting through part of the same dummy. The blade quickly pierced another dummy straight through the head. Cain pulled out the blade and spun it in his hand. “Plus, the better I get at this, the more the girls there will swoon for me.” he said cheekily, a smile on his face.

Feeling a tick mark twitch upon her forehead at his last reasoning Ari couldn’t help but grown silently, finding it already annoying enough to keep all the village girls away from her crush especially since she was running out of place to hid the bodie-. Shaking her head free from the thought she glares angrily at Caine before pulling out her painting canvas and dipping it into the paint before swishing it at Cain causing a bucket size glob of water to rain down upon him soaking him before huffing and stomping away.

"Don’t be stupid Cain all this over exertion will do is tire you out before we even leave the village to go get our Grimoires". She stated as she threw a adorable glare at him before quickening her pace. "Now stop being stupid and come one i’m hunger and don’t feel like dealing with the annoying boys in the village today". She yelled out without looking back.

Cain spluttered as the paint splashed onto him, luckily only staining his upper garments. “Ari!” he exclaimed, a slight laugh leaving him. He unslung his scabbard and dropped it to the ground, and stabbed his blade into the ground as well. The boy tore off his upper garments to reveal his toned body. He slung his scabbard back onto his back, sheathing his blade in one motion.

He jogged up next to her, a mocking pout on his face. “You got my clothes all…painty.” Cain said, smiling soon after; rendering his pout ineffective. “Hungry? What do you wanna get?”

Upon hearing his question her eyes began to sparkle before she turned around to face him all the while walking backwards with a bright smile on her face. "We should go to that new bakery that recently opened up near the orphanage, I heard they have the most delicious cheesecakes". She yelled in glee while drooling slightly at the thought of the heavenly goodness that was cheesecake.

Pausing before running towards Cain, she grabbed his hand and began dragging him toward the village center making sure to place his hand right between her budding chest with a content smile one her face. "By the way your paying, as it’s the gentleman’s Job to pay for the lady." She stated after a moment of quiet smelling innocently at him.

Cain laughed. “Alright, I’ll pay for it.” he said, holding on her hand as she yanked him through the village. She was often like this, it was a prime reason why he viewed her as one of his closest friends, if not the closest. “When’d that bakery even open up anyways?”

Pausing to thinking for a bit before continuing to drag Cain thought the village. "About a month ago I think I over heard some older girls talking about it while I was painting form the local church last week" she answered as they turned to cut through one fo the few alleyways in the village that lead directly to the village center.

Cain raised a brow, sidelining the info Arissa gave her. “Wait, wait, wait.” he murmured, his mind working. “The bakery...is owned by that guy which means...Cassie!” he exclaimed. “Cassie is gonna be there, so I gotta look good.” he told Arissa. “Do I look good?”

Pausing midstep Ari suddenly changed directions heading towards the outer part of the village instead. "Matter of fact i’m not in the mood for anything sweet, how about we go to Madam Tully’s bar instead i’m suddenly craving some of her home cooked meals" She stated thinking about the large Male in drag who demanded everyone refer to him as Madam. "I know you could really use it". She stated with a smile knowing that only "men" worked in that bar.

Cain grimaced. “NO NO!” he exclaimed, halting his movement. He dug his feet into the ground, and with his strength, there was no way Arissa could drag him along. “Two things; A. There aren’t any ladies there for me to impress. B. We’re not old enough for the bar anyways.” the boy said. “Lets just go to the bakery.”

Haruhi scurried around the streets of the village, desperately seeking out her friends. She was currently infuriated and sought them out to cool her nerves. Her family had never approved of her becoming a wizard, seeing her as a weakling that will only bring shame upon the family name. For while she held pretty decent control over her mana, the count itself was on the lower end of the scale. SHe didn't care. She would become a wizard, and a damn strong one if she had anything to say about it. They had even attempted to lock her in her own room to keep her from leaving for the trial. Enough was enough, and she would not return until she had proven them wrong.

After a bit more running, she heard the rather loud protest, which could only be caused by one person she knew. She rounded a corner and there at the middle of the streets stood her two best friends. They had stood with each other for a long time now, and she could not have asked for better people to take her trial with. She ran up waving at them, trying to catch their attention. When she got closer it almost seemed like they were arguing. "Hey guys! What is going on?" She asked with half a shout, her sweet voice still ringing through.

Cain spotted Haruhi and smiled. He yanked his hand from Arissa's and waved. "Hey, Haru!" he exclaimed. The cool wind sent shivers through Cain's exposed upper body. "Not much, Ari here is just tryna get me to go to that Okama bar, when we could go to the bakery and I could finally get some time to flirt with Cassie."

Smiling towards Haruhi, Ari release her hold on Caine and embraced the other girl in a hug as a greeting. "Haru-Chan, it’s so good to see you please help me convince Caine that he needs a good old fashion meal and it some desert". She said out loud before whispering in her ears. "You have to help me keep him away from all these girls you know how he is already". She begged her female friend who she knew was aware of her feelings for Caine.

Without missing a beat, or making a hint of having absorbed her words, thinking that might make things a bit obvious, she quickly tagged on Ari's suggestion. Cain might not always be the most observant, but she did not like to take chances with her friend's feelings. "I agree with you, Ari. Deserts are good and all, but we need something fulfilling in our bellies if we are going to be at our best!" She said with an excitable fistbump into the air.

Cain shook his head violently, fear running through him. “NO NO NEVER!” he yelled. “No bar, please. Let’s just...” he began, trying to think of somewhere where they could go. “If there’s an issue with the bakery, let’s just...go to the diner. That work?”

Ari paused and gave Caine a blank look already guessing that the dinner had some girl he wanted to flirt with but simple shook her head. "Sorry Caine I promised Madam Tully i’d Help her out today considering we need money for our travel to get our grimorie its best we all help out". She said looking towards Haruhi knowing at this point she is the most logical of them.

Haruhi nodded with great enthusiasm. "A promise made and there is money involved?" She asked with a cheeky grin. "Promises are made to be kept, and as you say, money is going to be a necessity if we are to take this trip. Seems to me that the bar is the only reasonable place to go." Haruhi answered. "Besides, I feel like I need to meet Madam Tully as well. She has often helped me with my cooking in the past, and I would feel remiss to leave without showing my gratitude."

Cain groaned in annoyance. "You guys go, I could always just go and train for a while longer." he sputtered out, trying to find an excuse to not go.

"Come on, Cainy, its not as fun if we don't stick together, besides, it will go faster if we work as a team. Come on, please? For us?" Haruhi asked sweetly with her trademark smile and puppy-dog eyes. This technique did not always work, but if it didn't that basically mean free reign on her next actions. Often that involves getting magical on his ass.

Cain shook his head. "I'll just train, and I'll meet you guys at the town gate tonight."

Haruhi appeared visibly disappointed. "Aw, you're telling me that you don't want to be with your two best girl friends?" She spoke, sounding trully hurt, pouting with her bottom lip as she did. As she did this she used her magic to strengthen the fabric in her attire to a near leathery potency. When it was fully done she let out a deep sigh. "Aw, that's too bad, because we really want you coming with us." Haruhi spoke as thick ribbons of her leather-strong fabric shot from her clothes in an attempt to bind and carry him away.

The boy unsheathed his blade in one fluid motion, cutting straight through the leather shot at him. If there was one thing Cain was good at, it was using his sword alongside his monstrous strength. "Fine," he responded, sheathing his blade into his scabbard. "I'll just sit outside the bar. I don't like it in there anyways."

Haruhi sighed. "Well, I guess that as good as we are gonna get, huh? Fine, you can sit outside, but don't you dare wander off." Haruhi spoke. "Come one, lets not waste any more time. The faster we get this done, the faster we can go." She said with a wide smile. *And far away from them*. She thought to herself.

Smiling brightly at her friends, Haruhi specifically for her help Ari began dragging both of them in the direction of the bar at a faster pace. "Since where all in agreement let’s get going the sooner we get there the sooner we get paid and I don’t know about you toe but I need some supplies for the trip". She stated excitedly as she envisioned all the art supplies she planned to buy.

The boy laughed. "I have my sword, thats all I need for now!" he stated proudly, following closely behind his friends. He gulped, hoping that there would be some girls to flirt with once he got to the bar while he stood outside.

Haruhi tagged along gladly, just wanting to get a chance to do some last decent work and deliver her last thanks before heading out. Hopefully for the the last time in a long while. "I have some coin of my own to spend on cloths and such. Some food. Oh! Perhaps even a little trinket."

## Hard Work and Home cooked Food

Upon reaching the Bar, Ari quickly detached from her friends and ran inside grabbing Haruhi’s hand and taking her with her completely forgetting about Caine for a moment as her excitement bubbles to the surface at the chance to earn some last minute money and to spend time with Madam Tully someone she secretly regarded as a parental figure.

Cain chuckled as the pair ran inside. He stood patiently outside the bar. Everything was going fine, he had spotted some lovely-looking girls. But he noticed something strange. While Cain may not have been the most clever, he was observant. He had spotted the same group of men walking consistently by the bar. He shrugged it off for now, but kept it in the back of his mind.