Stranger From a Strange Land (canceled)

Chapter XIII: Hatred

"Please, make yourselves at home" says Valoriil as we enter the massive palace. The elven kingdom is beautiful, and the white contrasts with the green of the forest, and the gold accents give the buildings that touch of elegance. We all take a seat on a beautiful velvet sofa. "So, what is your end goal in this world, Deisuke?" He asks. "I wish to free this world of the seven Demon Lords. That is the mission Aries gave me" I reply. "I see. Then, me and my kingdom shall swear to follow you in your journey" he says, bowing. "Oh, no, your majesty, you shouldn't bow to someone like me!" I say. "Why not? After all, you are the one who shall save the world" he says. "Now, please make yourselves at home. Explore a bit, the bedrooms are upstairs. If you don't mind, I have a kingdom to rebuild" he says, and leaves.  "Now what?" Says Carne. "Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to take a bath and head to bed" I say. It's gotten dark, and I've just had one hell of a day. I get up and approach one of the Butlers. "You know where the bath is?" I ask. "Just down this hall on the left" he says.

"Haah... Now this is nice" I say to myself as I relax against the rim of the bath. It's huge, and the fact that it's heated just adds to the bliss. It honestly feels better than a bath from my world. Then, I hear the door open and close. "Carne? Is that you?" I ask. When I look, though, instead of seeing a masculine build covered in scars, I see the silhouette of a girl. One with cat ears at that. "It must be my imagination" I say to myself. There's no way she'd do that...
Right? Yeah, no way. Then I hear someone getting into the water. "Carne, if that's you and you're screwing with me, I swear" I say. "I'm not Carne" I hear a feminine voice say. "Huh?" I mutter. I'm utterly confused. "It's me" she says. "Luna? What are you doing here?" I yell, averting my eyes. "I'm taking a bath with you" I hear her approach me. "You... You realise the implications this could have, right?" I query. "Yes. That's why I came" she replies. "Wait, what?" I query. "Deisuke, you saved my life. I owe my existence to you" she says. "That's no reason for you to be doing this" I say. "Oh, no, that was no reason. I'm doing this because I want to" she says. "Excuse me, what?" I ask. "Deisuke... Ever since you saved me from those slave traders, I've been unable to look upon you as anything other than my hero" she says. "Hold on, what are you trying to say?" I ask. "What I'm trying to say is... I... I... I love you, Deisuke" she says, meekly. "You... You what?" I query. "Don't make me say it again" she says, coming closer. Again, I avert my gaze. "It's okay, you can look" she says. "W- wait a second, you can't just say that!" I say. "Yes, I can. It's my life, my body. And I say you can look" she says. Despite her underdeveloped chest, she actually has quite the beautiful body. I can't help but snatch a peek every now and then. Then, without warning, she sits next to me, and clings to my arm. I feel her soft, bare skin against mine. Why do girls always feel so damn fragile? I pat her head with my other hand. "Deisuke... Do you love me too?" She asks. "Of course I love you. I'm just not sure if it's the romantic type of love yet, you know?" I say. "I understand..." She says. "Then, how about we make a deal?" I query. "A deal?" She asks. "Yeah. I'll think about how I feel about a romantic relationship between us on the way back home, and you should have an answer at least one day after we arrive" I say. "that's pretty soon" she says. "indeed, especially considering we leave tomorrow" I reply. She grips my arm tighter. "It's a deal, then" she says. "Good call" I say.

The next morning, the sound of a carriage wakes me up from my deep slumber. I can't believe Luna did that last night. What if it was a dream? No, I would know if it was. Still, though, it all just seemed unreal. Maybe this is because I've never encountered a situation like this before. How would I feel about a romantic relationship with Luna? I've known her for just over two months now, so we're pretty close. I put it aside for now and go downstairs. "Oh, hey, Deisuke" says Carne as I walk in. "How'd you sleep?" Asks Claire. "Just fine" I say. "Where's Luna?" I ask. "She's already in the carriage" says Lilith. I go outside, and sure enough, Luna is sitting in the carriage all alone. "You okay?" I ask, getting in beside her. "Y- yeah" she says. She's pretty flustered. "I'm... I'm sorry about last night" she says. "I really shouldn't have done that, please don't hate me–"
"I don't hate you at all. In fact, I'm thinking it over right now" I say. "Huh?" She queries. "So far, the odds are on your side" I say. She leans against my arm without another word. I can tell she's hoping I say yes.
        I spend the entire rest of that trip thinking way too hard about it.

"Deisuke... Deisuke, wake up!" I hear a voice call. "Wake up, dummy, were here!" Says Lilith. "Already?" I query.
"Yeah, you basically slept through the whole thing!" She says. "He wasn't asleep the whole time" says Claire. Luna's fast asleep on my shoulder again. I've thought pretty hard, and I think I have my answer now. We go through the gates, and the carriage stops out in front of the guild, and we get off. It's been a while since we were last in Garlea. I've been forced to carry Luna on my back because Carne wouldn't do it for some reason. We open the double doors, and immediately, all eyes are on us. Then, a familiar face comes running from behind the counter and hugs me. "Well, if it isn't Sammy!" I say. "I've missed you guys so much!" She says. "We missed you guys too" I say. She lets go of me. "Where's Aries?" She asks. The mood immediately dies. "Yeah, about that" Carne says. "Let's talk upstairs" I say.

"Oh my God!" She yells, covering her mouth. "Aries... Aries is dead?" She yells. "Yeah..." I say, looking down. "That's... That's horrible!" She says, and tears begin streaming down her face. "We were just as devastated" says Lilith.  "I... I can't believe this" she says. "We'll give you some space" I say, and we go back downstairs. It hurts me too, but it's been about two weeks after we left the Beastkin city. We have to move on. I'll miss her, and I know she's up there somewhere, reincarnating other people. "I'm going to take a walk with Luna" I say. "Alright, take care" says Carne, and I leave the Guild.
           Luna holds my sleeve as we walk through the city. "I'll miss Aries" she says. "I know. I miss her too" I say. The cold evening air funnels through the streets, and makes everything feel cold. The sky is covered in a gray blanket of cloud. Today truly is a sad day. "Luna" I say. "Yea?" She replies. "I've thought about my answer" I say. "you did?" She asks. I can tell she's pessimistic. "I'm going to tell you soon" I say. Before we know it, we're in the park, surrounded by autumn trees dropping their crisp, golden leaves. I stop and turn to face her. Her cheeks are doused in a light blush. "What you did was a little foolish" I say. "I know" she says, looking down. "But I've thought about my answer from the moment we left" I say. She looks sad, as if she's prepared for the worst. I take her small, soft hands in mine. "Listen carefully, okay? I'm only going to say this once" I say. "Look at me." She lifts her head and looks into my eyes. "My answer...
      is yes"

A clapping eminates from behind us. "Who's there?" I ask. "Carne? Sammy?"
           "You sure outdid yourself this time, Deisuke" says a rather familiar voice. "It can't be" I mutter to myself. "Come on, have you lost that much faith in me?" She asks. "We all thought.." I say, at a complete loss for words. "What, you really thought that would be enough to take me out? Get real!" She says playfully. Then, she steps out from behind a tree, live and breathing. "Ta-da!" She says. "I can't... I can't believe it" I say. "it's... It's... It's you!" Says Luna. "Yep!" She says. "I've..." I mutter. "Oh, come on, spit it out!" She says, leaning in with her ear. "I've missed you so much" I say. "Aww, how sweet!" She replies. "I can't believe you're okay!" Says Luna. "Well, I am!" She says. "We were all so scared!" I yell. "Yeah, we thought you died!" Says Luna. "You're gonna pay for that, Aries" I say. "Wait, hold on a minute, can't we just relax here?" Aries queries. "Nope. We'll think about your punishment later" I say. "For now, though." I turn back to Luna, lean in...
             And kiss her.