[h2][i][b]When Fighting Evil Takes Too Long![/b][/i][/h2] [i]The Life of a Normal Student and a Warrior from Another World[/i] [hr] [hider=Setting][b][u][color=fff79a]SYNOPSIS[/color][/u][/b] Sangue Naga, raised to slay the demon Duatos, challenged the great evil in a lonely duel in what was once her home. But divine intervention erupted in the midst of carnage, and Sangue Naga chased after the helpless Duatos, hellbent on chasing after him until she saw him die before her eyes. But her purity malfunctioned the portal that was meant to trap Duatos for an indefinite amount of time, and she, along with the demon, was sent to a world where conflict was less prominent. There, she loses much of her memories- including her true name and identity. Shortly after she wakes up, she encounters Benjamin Lloyd, a high school student who never thought his life would flip to an extremely weird direction. Clueless to how society works and armed only with a swordsmanship that was pretty useless in the new dimension, Sangue lives with Ben for the time being as she learns how to survive in the peaceful town, Kora. She finds out the challenges of living a settled life with a job at a family restaurant, all the while meeting a cast of diverse personalities. With no way back and a whole new world sitting in front of her, it was an understatement to say that Sangue Naga was going to experience something different. [b][u][color=fff79a]SETTING[/color][/u][/b] The story mostly takes place in the continent of Sarastrea in an alternate version of Remnant. The family restaurant Alegria, which is where Sangue works at, is located in Kora- the same place Beacon High School is in.[/hider] [hider=Character Profiles][color=fff79a][b][u]THE DEUTERAGONISTS[/u][/b][/color] [color=f7976a][b]”SANGUE” NAGA[/b] [u][i]The Lost Heroine[/i][/u][/color] A warrior with no memories of the past she fought for. She knows nothing of her own identity, but still has the sharpened skills of a master swordswoman. While seemingly perfect when it comes to defending herself and others, she is an absolute disaster in doing anything remotely sensible in an open society. She freeloads at Benjamin Lloyd’s home and works at the family restaurant “Alegria.” [color=6ecff6][b]BENJAMIN LLOYD[/b] [u][i]The Everyman[/i][/u][/color] He always considered himself to be average, but when he meets Sangue Naga, he realizes he’s a genius compared to her. He is the very first person Sangue meets, and a small guilt trip led him to letting her stay at his place for the time being. He is responsible for almost everything related to Sangue learning how to fit into a society not enveloped in absolute chaos. Member of the Game Club in Beacon High School. [hr] [color=fff79a][b][u]THE CLOSEST PEEPS[/u][/b][/color] [color=a187be][b]LORENA “LAUREN” NEGASI[/b] [u][i]Absolutely-Nuts Childhood Friend[/i][/u][/color] With hands of gold that can snatch almost anything out of anyone else’s hands, Lauren has always been close to Benjamin Lloyd ever since they met at elementary school. Although Ben has tons of traumas formed just because of her antics, he still considers her to be one of his closest friends. She can get extremely vulgar with her words, and her actions could reach questionable levels of insanity at times. Leader of the Game Club in Beacon High School. [color=f7941d][b]AMARANTH DESIRE[/b] [u][i]Never Left Alone[/i][/u][/color] A less hyperactive friend of Ben’s, but can show a very playful side when left alone with others. She hides much of her background from even those she is close with, but it is clear that she does not mean any ill intent to those who want to get closer to her. She is the only thing preventing Lauren from devouring Ben, and works together with Sangue in the family restaurant Alegria. Member of the Game Club in Beacon High School. [color=fff200][b]NAPOLI FIORDILATTE[/b] [u][i]Galaga-Levels of Wingman Expertise[/i][/u][/color] A newer friend of Ben who frequently hangs around as Ben’s emergency ride to school whenever he oversleeps. He is one of the first aside from Ben to learn of Sangue’s presence, and grows an interest in helping Ben teach Sangue how the world works. He can be oblivious and too playful at times, but he is genuinely kind enough to feel the need to help others just by sensing their emotions. [b]LUKE SCHWARZ[/b] [u][i]Ahoge Friend[/i][/u] He and Ben find solace in knowing that both of them have women throw around their lives like playthings. He sometimes hangs out at Ben’s place, and while he does have a generally good relationship with Sangue, she pokes too much interest at his hair sometimes. [hr] [color=fff79a][b][u]ALEGRIA FACULTY[/u][/b][/color] [color=ed1c24][b]CORTEZ VALENTINE[/b] [u][i]The Head Chef[/i][/u][/color] A head chef who dresses up like a pirate a lot. She actually has a pirate ship, but nobody believes her for the most part. She finds Sangue to be one of the best employees at Alegria because Sangue almost always believes whatever Cortez says. Has a really weird attitude overall and is unintentionally abused by her own employees at times. [color=a2d39c][b]GREN ORCHID[/b] [u][i]The “Ironically More Responsible” Chef[/i][/u][/color] A full-time employee who has a hobby of inventing gadgets. Unlike the head chef herself, he is mostly responsible for keeping people in track of work, but he isn’t one to get dead serious easily. He teaches Sangue how to cook for herself whenever his free time and her own entwines coincidentally. Has the tendency of screaming something about “revolutionizing the kitchen” whenever something chaotic ensues at the kitchen. [color=f26522][b]JERICHO PIPER[/b] [u][i]The Assassin of the Kitchen[/i][/u][/color] A rather quiet chef at Alegria. At times it could seem like he’s brooding about something, but it’s usually just him wanting peace and quiet whenever he rests. Nobody really knows about his job outside of Alegria. He is considered the scariest by Sangue, but also gets her curious about whatever he’s thinking. He is sometimes seen sharpening the kitchen knives for long periods of time even though there’s no need to. [color=f7941d][b]AMARANTH DESIRE[/b] [u][i]Never Left Alone[/i][/u][/color] She works mostly during Alegria’s new “Midnight Shift.” She sometimes works with Sangue during the shift, and mostly gets to know more about Sangue during that time. It’s strange how she gets income similar to the others who don’t work at the Midnight Shift. [color=7bcdc8][b]BANG CONSTANTINE[/b] [u][i]The Side Character[/i][/u][/color] A chef who gets along with Jericho “the most” out of everyone else. He doesn’t say too much either, but when he says his thoughts out loud, things could get complicated and weird very quickly due to his peculiar way of describing things. He does boxing for a hobby and is sometimes accompanied by Sangue when he jogs across the town for exercise. [color=f7976a][b]SANGUE NAGA[/b] [u][i]Newbie Recruit[/i][/u][/color] The heroine- the newest addition to Alegria! [hr] [color=fff79a][b][u]THE STUDENTS[/u][/b][/color] [color=fff79a][b]KRYSANTHE[/b] [u][i]Marathon Champion[/i][/u][/color] A kind girl who can take on many challenges, even if some of them are embarrassing for her. She sometimes doses off in class out of exhaustion, but for some reason, none of the teachers berate her for that. She has a hobby of collecting seashells. [color=39b54a][b]EMERALD FELICIA[/b] [u][i]Cookie Enthusiast[/i][/u][/color] A short and exuberant girl who easily gets mistaken for as a child. She enjoys both eating cookies and feeding others with cookies. Outside of her joys from eating such delights, she is incredibly talented at taking care of animals, but often falls short when it comes to taking care of people. [color=82ca9d][b]GRATIA MINDARO[/b] [u][i]The Terminator[/i][/u][/color] With a stoic attitude, a realistic mindset, and a vocabulary that could shut a sailor up, Gratia naturally shoos away most men from her. She feels the necessity to shut down any attempts to crack open her hardened heart. She can be rough with words, but to those she's close with, it's easy to understand that she just has a lot going on in her mind. She keeps a BB gun prepared just for Napoli and has her little sister keep a backup in case Napoli somehow takes her gun. [color=f7976a][b]ROBERT FALLSON[/b] [u][i]Comfy with a Chance of Reading Comics[/i][/u][/color] Robert is quite the nerd when it comes to comics. Aside from that, he's actually a pretty good guy to be around, but he easily baffles people with the massive list of comic book characters in his head. Nobody knows that he is capable of memorizing vocabulary and the like at an extremely quick pace. [b]~THERE ARE MORE TO COME!~[/b] [hr] [color=fff79a][b][u]THE ANTAGONIST[/u][/b][/color] [color=ed1c24][b]DUATOS[/b] [u][i]The Lost Villain[/i][/u][/color] Such is tradition that Duatos would want heroes who could kill him dead, but without most of his powers, he poses a very small threat against Sangue as he is now. With no kingdom to rule over and no lives to sap energy out of, Duatos works at a café named “Cafedorf.” His boss, Ganondorf, doesn’t give a crap if he was a demon a before, and as such, he does nothing productive. He still wants Sangue dead, but he can’t do much about it when even Sangue herself forgot who he was.[/hider] [hider=Prologue / Chapter 1 "Uninvited"][i][right][h3]Prologue[/h3][/right][/i] The sounds of nothingness echoed in the eternal dark. Stepping forth into pitch black, a trickle of red ventured into what was not defined. A land- a kingdom, plunged into darkness. The kingdom she was born in, raised in, and trained to rescue from He who held it. [center][color=ed1c24][b]Duatos.[/b][/color][/center] He showed no mercy. With his magic, he incapacitated those who could oppose him. Her family may have escaped to raise her elsewhere for the rest of her life, but she, “Sangue Naga,” knew all too well of the empty gap in her heart whenever she heard the word "home." With a blade in hand, she ruthlessly accepted hardships. Those hardships hardened her very soul- one which knew nothing but slaying those who sought to make Duatos' rule the absolute law. It was not the forces of darkness she faced, but rather, a physical manifestation of all the nightmares one could dream of. Nothing would stop her- even if she lost an arm when Duatos had first attacked. She pursued on. Dead or alive, she would make sure Duatos' reign would end by her own hand. Running forward into the kingdom of darkness with a magic sword in hand, Sangue slashed apart all of those who defended Duatos. None were human, yet they screamed like them- to deter the young child's motivation. The fields she saw as a child had rotted. The golden mountains had died, and the green plants that soothed her soul had been chewed at by time. And the skies screamed red, tinting the world beneath with blood red. She ran past it all, and into the Naga Castle. Raising her blade with her delicate hand clutching onto it for dear life, she gazed before Duatos. A floating mass of darkness, with ancient weapons and relics rotating around his ethereal body. The hot-white eyes that glared into her very soul. As he took notice of her, the mass reshaped as he latched onto some of the weapons floating around him. "You are their daughter," he mused quietly. "..." The entity of darkness and chaos reshaped endlessly, seemingly unsure of what it could use to instantly kill the young girl. The blade protected her from his chaotic soul, for her mind was far too protected for him to touch. "You are the daughter of those who kept me sealed. They, the son and daughter of those who held that duty before- a cycle that goes on and on..." Taking on the form of an Eldritch horror with a sickly jet-black color, Duatos seethed, "My sense of humor had long died when I learned how to be angry for so long." She remained silent. Screeching madly, Duatos abruptly launched himself towards the Naga. Sangue swiftly stepped to her right as she slashed the glowing white blade against Duatos' indefinite body. All weapons left no mark on Duatos, but her blade was special. For it was forged not to seal all forms of darkness or evil, but to end any physical manifestation of human horrors and evils. And Duatos being the manifestation of human horrors she had to slay made it clear that the weapon would hurt him badly. Ignoring his pain, Duatos veered and turned, letting one of his tentacles swing a naginata at the red-haired girl. She barely moved out of the way, but the side of her waist had been cut due to his blinding speed. When Duatos attempted to end her life with two blades headed for her neck, she leapt as she spun herself in the air, slicing at the tentacles. "...!" Growling, Duatos tossed aside the weapons he had been holding and belched out acids that tore through the world itself effortlessly. But as the woman raised the blade to defend herself, its deadly effects proved to be fruitless against the white blade. "You are strong... Or rather, the weapon you hold is," Duatos growled. "But you cannot stop me from achieving my purpose- to merge the gates of life and death. Only I am in the right, and the right always prevail over the wrong." Reshaping himself, Duatos had enough of facing her without putting his all. Sangue's eyes widened as she clutched her weapon even tighter. An armored warrior that vaguely resembled the shape of a human being landed in front of her. It was the true form of Duatos- the one he held before his corruption. "Only you have to die," Duatos admitted. "If I stop you...-" Sliding across the ground, Sangue propelled herself to Duatos' direction as she swung her blade at his neck, ramming it against the blade he raised just before she cut him. "-then my purpose will be a reality." His strength steadily revealing more of itself, he began to push Sangue's weapon as he seethed, "But this is [i]my[/i] purpose! And [i]you[/i] have yet to realize that I-" Pushing him away, Sangue slashed at Duatos' feet, not caring for any of the demon’s banter. The armor that covered his legs shattered instantly at the touch of her blade, and he quickly slammed the blade away from himself as he raised his own weapon. A barrage of strikes. He had no form- no technical skills, but that did not matter for a mad demon who had the advantage in strength and speed. Sangue felt the coldness of the blade as she barely dodged and let it pass her face. The strikes she blocked were endlessly painful to withstand, but she persevered. Silently. Against the demon who stole her childhood. Despite being so much bigger, and so much stronger than her, Duatos failed to kill her quickly. One by one, Sangue tore apart his armor, leaving behind the mass of darkness that pretended to take on the form of a person. She refused to have second thoughts, for as soon as she saw him stagger from the force of her weapon, she swung once more at his bare body. Duatos screamed in agony, wildly flailing about as the weapon sliced through his torso. Lifeless, his legs fell as black dust spewed out uncontrollably from where his guts would have been. The rest of his body remained floating, but as Duatos' strength waned, he unconsciously began to meet the woman's eye level. Again and again, she hacked away at his body. Soon, only a portion of his chest, one arm, and his head was left. He had not yet been bested in combat, but from the looks of it, if he made one mistake, he would die. "It is this rotten kingdom you wish to restore," Duatos muttered as Sangue approached him, a cold expression painting over her face. Black liquids- one that resembled Duatos' essence- painted her body. She practically bathed in his blood. "But it is also this rotten kingdom that will be your downfall," he spoke, grinning madly. With a motion of his hand, a bright light shined above Sangue as she looked up. Suddenly, a disfigured monster fell from what appeared to be a portal. Then another, and another, and another fell. More and more portals tore open as an endless amount of monsters fell from the heavens. Taken aback at the sudden number of foes she had to deal with, Sangue tore apart one of the monsters with a diagonal slash, the steel effortlessly tearing apart the enemy. And she hacked and slashed away. Even when one of them slashed her back, she kept her mouth shut as she turned around to behead the foe who wounded her. She was wounded. From head to toe, she began to bleed. The blackness that painted her body mixed with red, drenching her in crimson. "You will die." She persevered. But she did not know for how long she could. "With this 'thing' you call home." As the last of the monsters Duatos had summoned was torn apart, Sangue kicked away its corpse as she screamed incoherently, her eyes wide in anger as she furiously let out the essence of her fury. [i][b]”AGHHHHHHHHHHH!”[/b][/i] A fury meant only for Duatos. Raising his arm, he swept at the air in desperation. The sound of the world shattering reverberated across the fallen kingdom. Duatos froze deathly still. His power waned, and as he looked up at the portal he created, his shocked expression remained frozen. The portal had a crack. It had to be an interference. [i][b]Kali Rana…![/b][/i] Duatos realized as he paled. The goddess who maintained the timelines of a multiverse… Surely, she must have noticed him abusing the power to tear open gaps between dimensions. And for that, it must have been her own way of punishing him. Divine punishment. A punishment he had forgotten for so long. At that moment, the portal let out a loud screeching noise as it began to suck everything inside the castle room into it. Screaming loudly, Duatos' mangled body flew into it helplessly. As she watched Duatos suddenly fly away into the gap between dimensions, Sangue was petrified for a split moment. [i]No! He's escaping...[/i] Not knowing that Duatos did not open up the portal behind him, the red-haired woman let go of the ground as she flew into it without second thoughts. Until she killed him with her eyes gazing into his, she would not stop in chasing after him. Not even if she was in risk of death. As she entered the portal, a blinding light colored everything in the portal jet-white. She felt the portal pull at her body and mind, for unbeknownst to her, it was meant to destroy Duatos alone. The gap would close to eternally seal him and essentially kill him off the timeline forever. But because she and the pure blade had entered the portal... The magic malfunctioned as the light began to flicker violently. Sangue screamed as she clutched onto her blade with one hand, her head in the other. Memories of everything she fought for flickered just as much as the lights, and the warmth... the love... everything began to tear itself in and out of herself, over and over again. Letting out a cry of pain, she was helpless as the light engulfed her and Duatos' unconscious form. [hr] [right][i][h3]Chapter 1[/h3] Uninvited[/i][/right] [hr] [i]A super-soldier in outer space blasted at a bunch of aliens. Without context, that sounded pretty stupid, but when the name of the game was "Halo," it just made a bit more sense. The Spartan fired his Assault Rifle at the Elites that approached him in the midst of a snowy area. One by one, they began to fall, so some of them tossed grenades at his direction. He ran and fired at the Elites, tossing out one of his grenades to cover an area they could escape through. And just as he expected, the remaining Elites were blown away, dead. Yes. Nobody could beat him. He was the one and only Master Ch- A Grunt shot him and he died immediately.[/i] [hr] Benjamin Lloyd felt his eyes twitch as he was carried over to the very start of a checkpoint. He remembered what his father often said. "If things didn't work out right, it's good to start from the beginning." Ben never, EVER expected the damn phrase to apply to video games as well. Halo apparently took his father's advice and decided to piss Ben off with it. [color=6ecff6]"That's a great way to start off the evening,"[/color] Ben sighed as he got up. Walking out of his room, he took a soda out of the kitchen's fridge. As he closed the fridge, he stared at the note pasted on the fridge door. [i]"We're on a date! Make sure you're safe with the house. We'll back as soon as possible!"[/i] It... had been about a month since they left that note. [color=6ecff6][i]It's one thing to go on a date, but it's another thing to leave your [b]son[/b] behind![/i][/color] Ben thought as he sighed comically. Well, he could live on his own for a while. But he could not guarantee not being lonely by himself. Perhaps Lauren could have some ideas as to what he could do on his own. She seemed to know how to have fun with literally anything, after all. Scratching the back of his head, Ben looked at the time. [color=6ecff6][i]Eight o' clock, huh?[/i][/color] Without much thought for cooking something, he dressed up, making sure he locked the door before leaving. [hr] He was an average guy with an interesting in building things. His dream of creative design began at a forge. When he watched his father bring ideas to life from the forge, a spark of imagination and creativity ignited the motivation of Benjamin Lloyd. He was far from a genius, but that did not mean he would live dumbly. Ben liked taking life easily while working adequately to pass classes. Although he was still afraid to put his dreams to the test, for the time being, he would continue to just having a normal life. If anything, a boring life was the one thing he wanted to avoid the most. Even an over-dramatic life was better than something that could literally kill him of boredom. Now, if his father was less of a hardass with him about that perspective, Ben would easily say that his life went on smoothly. Having eaten at a ramen shop, Ben stretched his arms as he went back to his home's direction. He made sure his coat covered his body well- the cold air did little to convince him that he should stay outside longer. [color=6ecff6][i]Maybe a snack or two would be good,[/i][/color] he thought to himself as he walked. [color=6ecff6][i]I'm pretty damn ready for the test tomorrow![/i][/color] With that in mind, he got himself in the mood to play lazily for a bit longer. He studied, he went over the material, and he needed something that could calm him down. He wasn't some hardcore gamer or anything, but even for him, a game or two was perfect for the night. [hr] The next day, he woke up facing the ceiling. Groggily opening his eyes, he got up as he stretched his arms. It was weird. He felt like he got used to living alone, but he still desperately wanted to see his parents at least [i]visit[/i] him sometime soon. He had no idea where the hell they went aside from knowing that "they weren't still on a date, but were still together." What a lovely excuse to leave their son alone by himself. At least he wasn't a rotten little kid. He yawned and ruffled his own hair. For some reason, his left leg felt warmer than usual. Ben noticed a strange series of bumps popping out of the blanket. As his eyes trailed the bumps, his eyes met a red-haired thing sleeping silently next to him. "..." ... ... ... [color=6ecff6][i]Eh, I still need to wake up,[/i][/color] he thought as he smacked his head. [color=6ecff6][i]Got a test today, anyway.[/i][/color] It was definitely just him being too sleepy. There was no way some red, fuzzy thing would sleep next to him. Nope. Definitely not. Nope, nope, nope. No, no, no. Bad Ben. Getting up from his bed, Ben glanced at the time. "..." ... ... ... [color=6ecff6][b][i]"CRAP, I'M LATE!!"[/i][/b][/color] Panicking, he mindlessly dressed up quickly as he checked the time again. The exams were here... and there was only ten minutes left before they started. Ten. Minutes. His house was at a five minute distance from his school by bicycle. Did he have a bike? Not really. But someone else did. Hastily dressed up, Ben bolted out of his house with his bag in hand. His uniform may have looked messy, but he'd seen messier from delinquents. Snapping his fingers, Ben called out loudly, [color=6ecff6]"NAPOLI!"[/color] And as if he was Ben's familiar or something, Napoli came into view on a bike with a wide grin. If there was one way to describe Napoli, it was that he loved being the cheerful guy without knowing much about how he annoyed the absolute hell out of some people. He was a bright guy, and in this case, he was Ben's brightest solution in avoiding missing out his exams. [color=fff200]"Right 'ere, Ben!"[/color] It was kind of sad, now that Ben thought about it. He almost missed so many exams to the point where calling Napoli for backup became his ultimate solution for the Fall semester's final exams. His blond friend seemed pretty chill with the whole thing, too, so that was a plus. [color=fff200]"Late again, Ben!"[/color] Napoli cheerfuly shouted as he pedaled with Ben riding the bike with him. [color=fff200]"Man, it'd kill for me to pick up a girl like this. Maybe even Gratia would warm up to me-"[/color] [color=6ecff6]"You KNOW that's freakin' impossible, Fiordilatte! Go, go!"[/color] Picking up speed, Napoli pedaled the two to school as quickly as possible. Ben was going to pass the exams. He would pass them so well, Lauren and Amy would not try to bother him about being "average" again! ...Not that he'd ever make that possible knowing the two, but still. He was going to beat the hell out of those tests. [hr] ... ... ... Warmth. ... ... ... Warmth. [i][color=f7976a]It’s… ... warm. My… body… …warm. Warm. ... ... ...Fuzzy... ...Soft...[/color][/i] ... Opening her eyes, the red-haired girl drowsily rustled under the blanket. She shivered. Her mind felt blank. She felt like she had been doing something important. Nothing came to mind. A room. She was in a room. A tidy room. It was comfortable. Comfy. The blanket over her was warm. Warm. Warm… It felt heavenly. Was she in heaven? Did she die? Why would she die? Why would she be in heaven? What was she? Who was she…? … … The warmth. It made pain go away. Pain. What pain? Pain… She was too tired to feel pain. She was cold, but the blankets were warm. She wanted things to remain like this. She felt like… she needed rest. She felt like… she needed time. She felt like… she needed help. Even though she was safe and sound in such a tidy room. Alone. Alone… alone… … [hr] It wasn't hard to imagine that Ben would pass the exams. With a smug grin on his face, he rolled his neck as he left the building. While he knew that he didn't ace the exams, he knew that he took it well enough. That would shut some people up about his grades. Like Lauren, who approached him as soon as he left the building. [color=a187be]"BEN,"[/color] she almost shouted as she latched onto his collar, shaking him violently and almost snapping his neck with sheer force. [color=a187be]"Ben, what the hell was that last problem on that test?! You didn't solve it, right-"[/color] [color=6ecff6]"I solved it [i]perfectly."[/i][/color] Ben responded, barely containing a grin from sprouting on his face. Lauren pulled at her hair furiously as she let out a roar of frustration before letting out a pathetic sigh. [color=a187be]"...Damn,"[/color] she mumbled with a pout. [color=a187be]"I'm dumber than the white boy straight out of Seinfield-"[/color] [color=6ecff6]"You could say that again."[/color] To put it in an easily explainable way, Lauren lived off of hype. The dark-haired Negasi was, theoretically, pretty, but Ben was always put on the verge of death whenever she dragged him into her shenanigans. At one point, she picked him up, slammed him against the seat of her motorcycle, and drove off while racing past a bunch of people who were angry at her. Thugs, punks- you name it. They all wanted to make her pay for the things she stole from them, though since most of them came outside of Valen, she always got them off her trails. He knew she was a good girl. It's just that she could certainly treat him with less ham. [color=a187be]"AGH, screw it! Ben, let's go drink our heads off,"[/color] Lauren exclaimed, brightening at the idea of spending time with him. [color=a187be]"I dunno where Amy went off to suck a billion di-"[/color] [color=6ecff6]"Lauren."[/color] Lauren froze as they passed the gate, smoothly passing by the P.E. teacher without getting his attention. [color=a187be]"...Right,"[/color] she mumbled before going back to cheerily speaking loudly. [color=a187be]"So like I said, I dunno where Amy went, but you and I could hang out for the time being. The club would be boring as hell in daytime, but that's not the only place to hang out at, right?"[/color] [color=6ecff6]"Riiiiight."[/color] [color=a187be]"You seem unsure of yourself."[/color] [color=6ecff6]"L-Look, I don't want this uniform to be ruined for the umpteenth time, so let me dress up. I'll send a message when I'm ready."[/color] Beaming with a contagious smile, Lauren laughed as she continued walking with him. [color=a187be]"Well, I'll just wait by your house, then. Being neighbors sure makes things a whole lot easier."[/color] [i][color=6ecff6]And a whole lot hellish,[/color][/i] Ben thought grimly, knowing that Lauren was probably going to try to embarrass him to death somehow. The last time they were together outside of school, she kept announcing about his interest in women. Who actually did tha- Oh. Lauren. He had to keep reminding himself. As they bantered on their walk to their homes, Lauren then asked, [color=a187be]"Say, are you interested in someone? Like- super sexually."[/color] [color=6ecff6]"..."[/color] [color=a187be]"...Vaguely sexually?"[/color] [color=6ecff6]"L a u r e n."[/color] [color=a187be]"Fiiiiiiiiine. [i]Romantically. Shakespearean-ly. Fuccboi-ly.[/i] Better?"[/color] [color=6ecff6]"."[/color] Rolling his eyes, Ben looked away from Lauren's infectious gaze. He didn't really have anyone in mind. Well, maybe he had one, but she probably didn't even know him. [color=6ecff6]"Kind of,"[/color] he mumbled. [color=a187be]"What was that?"[/color] [color=6ecff6]"I said 'nothing'!"[/color] [color=a187be]"You said 'Kind of,' right?"[/color] A vein almost popped in Ben's head as he glared at Lauren, who made a puppy pout. Gritting his teeth, he asked, [color=6ecff6]"Is it in your nature to give others false hope that you didn't listen to them?"[/color] Her pout turned into a sly smile as she wrapped an arm around his neck. [color=a187be]"Not really in my nature, but it's more of something I'm unconsciously talented at."[/color] Ben sighed, but he could not help but smile. Laugh, even. Soon, they arrived at their homes. There was another house sitting right in-between Ben and Lauren's. It was simply a sign of mercy granted to Ben by Amaranth Desire, for she knew that if Lauren lived right next to Ben, she'd tie a bunch of blankets up and smash his window open just to snatch him and go out to go nuts at some club. It was a shame Amy was so busy, though. She looked like she could use some of Lauren's crazy "field trips." [color=6ecff6]"See you soon,"[/color] Ben said as he entered his house. [color=a187be]"Don't stay in for too long,"[/color] Lauren exclaimed as she waved at him. [color=a187be]"It's not healthy to jack off for-"[/color] Ben slammed the door shut. Taking a deep breath, he rubbed at his face, exhausted from the exams. He knew that Lauren would exhaust him to death soon, so he sucked it up and smacked his cheeks. [color=6ecff6]"Alright,"[/color] he muttered as he marched off to his bedroom. [color=6ecff6]"Time to dress up."[/color] Opening the door to his room, Ben took one step forward. He froze as soon as one of his underpants slammed itself against his face. [color=6ecff6]"..."[/color] ...His underpants? Why would his underpants fly and attack him? [i][color=6ecff6]I thought underpants are just clothes that lacked any form of sentience whatsoever-[/color][/i] Putting the undergarments off his face, he was soon attacked by another undergarment. He smacked it away again. When he finally saw what was in his room, his heart froze, and his skin crawled. He did not know how to exactly describe it. It was like... that one time he visited the Anime Store near the outlet. [hr] [i]Ben stared at a television sitting in the corner of the store, standing next to a sharp-haired man with sunglasses on. "This is the pinnacle of mankind," the owner of the store explained to him. "This is what all men strive to live for." A beautiful, naked girl sat in the middle of some random guy's apartment room. As cute as it could seem at first, Ben wondered, ‘Isn't that illegal?’ "Isn't that illegal?" He ended up speaking his thoughts out loud. Grabbing him by his uniform's collar, the owner of the store screeched, "LIES!” The man let go of Ben's collar, dusting his hands as he went back to watching the anime. "Uh," Ben muttered as he looked at the exit of the store. "I'll just... go home now. I was just here to return Luke's thing for you." The owner of the store raised an eyebrow at Ben's lack of otaku. He then nodded as if to admit defeat, acknowledging that someone as young as Benjamin Lloyd probably had a much brighter future than him. Ben wondered if all anime store owners looked hardcore.[/i] [hr] How lovely. The scene before him was just like what he saw before. Except instead of a beautiful girl just sitting in the middle of his room, there was a girl who kept stretching at his underwear for absolutely no reason at all. She dug into his closet, softly throwing things around without a word. He then noticed that she even wrapped some of the underwear around her body, covering- [color=6ecff6]"!!!!!!!!!!!!"[/color] Heat practically filling his face to the brim, Ben, with a tomato-red face, pointed at the red-haired girl accusingly as he shouted, [color=6ecff6]"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!"[/color] The girl froze, her eyes covered by one of his undergarments. Turning to him slowly, she stared at his direction for quite a bit. She remained still. So did he. Except she had no shame, and Ben felt like he just experienced all the shame in the world. [color=f7976a]"..."[/color] Her movements were weak. And the more Ben looked at her, the more he noticed how frail she seemed. The way she raised her arm to move away the clothes stacked on her head- it was as if she had so little strength. Of course, that didn't make it okay for her to just barge in his house and throw around his underwear. Just because she looked cute while doing it didn't mean it was okay. Not at all. Moving the cloth off her head, she revealed her vibrantly red-orange eyes as they locked onto his blue ones. Benjamin Lloyd was at a loss of words. Not just because of how a woman he knew nothing about popped out of nowhere, but because of how needlessly oblivious she looked. She didn't look like she was interested in stealing his underwear, but she also looked just as confused as he was. She blinked. He held his breath. That was the first day Benjamin Lloyd met the girl named Sangue Naga.[/hider] [hider=Chapter 2 "A Day Out"][right][i][h3]Chapter 2[/h3] A Day Out[/i][/right] Benjamin Lloyd rather enjoyed life. He didn’t take it too seriously, but the thought of living life carelessly didn’t cross him either. He had dreams to go after, so there was no time to laze about forever. And with whatever he did, he always made sure there was a line drawn. Never did he want to cross that line and do something unspeakably stupid. Unfortunately, the red-haired girl who popped into his house one day said otherwise. Rather, she was unspeakably stupid. He sort of understood her lack of knowledge in the world, though. After calming himself down and miraculously convincing Lauren that he wouldn’t be able to go out for the day, he took a good look at the girl. He spoke slowly, wanting to know if she could speak his language. She could. She spoke her name. At first, she pronounced it as [color=f7976a]“Shang,”[/color] and then as [color=f7976a]“Ang.”[/color] Then she properly told him, [color=f7976a]“Sangue. Naga.” [/color] An odd name. A strange emblem was painted over her face, her red hair complimenting its hazy pink-red texture. From what he could tell, either she had some crazy roleplaying going on, or she was from an entirely different place outside of Kora. He could tell that she wasn’t pretending to be clueless, however. She moved without strength, supporting herself with only one arm. It stung him to see someone like that. Her expressions were clear, yet not so filled with emotion. She approached everything carefully, though her curiosity often led her to observing items foreign to her. Sometimes he wondered whether she was an alien or not. She came out of nowhere without any clothes on, she could not differentiate between a window and a mirror, and she stared at light bulbs like they were the most peculiar things she had ever seen. A week had passed by, and she continued to confuse him, just like how the world confused her to no end. Maybe she really was an alien. With that said, he felt scared to kick her out of his house. By the time he began to decide whether he should make her leave or not, she snugly stuffed herself on the sofa. It was a hard decision to prepare himself for anyway, so he decided to just wait a bit more before coming to some kind of resolution. She didn't rob him of his food or anything, either, despite finding everything in the refrigerator delicious. He stared at his computer screen, sighing as he crossed his arms. He then remembered he got several emails. Opening his browser, Ben lazily checked through his mail before his eyes caught on one particular mail with Lauren's name on it. [color=00aeef][i]Oh boy.[/i][/color] His hand trembled on his mouse as he clicked on whatever the heck could be in her mail. And sure enough, it was something embarrassing. Instantly turning away by gut instinct, Ben closed his eyes as he took a deep breath. He breathed in and out, making sure that the email's contents wouldn't get to his head. Winter break was starting, right? He needed to relax, not get aroused by a picture of Lauren at the beach. What she wore was- well, he wouldn't want to describe it even to himself. Thankfully, there seemed to be nobody else around her, but who was he to know that she was alone? And there had to be someone else with her to take the picture. Probably Amy. Only she took pictures vertically. Rubbing his hair, Ben peeked open one of his eyes as he glanced at the picture. It sure was a good shot, as indecent as it was. Deciding that he needed a cup of water, Ben pushed his chair back, only to feel something bump into it. Turning around, he found a certain red-haired girl staring at his screen with a blank expression. She wore his clothes, which were inevitably much too big of a fit on her. Who would have thought that a simple t-shirt and shorts would look big on the redhead? [color=00aeef]"..."[/color] [color=f7976a]"..."[/color] She continued to stare at the computer screen, not minding Ben sitting in front of it despite him sweating profusely at her presence. [color=00aeef]"S-Sangue?"[/color] [color=f7976a]"..."[/color] Glancing at Ben, Sangue raised her arm as she slowly reached for him. He gulped as he unconsciously inched away from Sangue's frail hand. And by the time it reached his face, her fingers softly pinched his cheek. [color=f7976a]"...B...e...n..."[/color] [color=00aeef]"...Yeah?"[/color] [color=f7976a]"..."[/color] [color=00aeef]"..."[/color] [color=f7976a]"...F...oo...d..."[/color] [color=00aeef]"Oh."[/color] Taking a deep breath once more, Ben smacked his chest as if to stop his heart from pumping so violently as he turned around, closing the browser. He got up and left his room. He took his time and let Sangue trail behind him silently. She told him of one thing that did confirm she was alone in Kora. She mentioned something about being lost, despite forgetting where she was from. Amnesia was a very dangerous issue that could potentially raise problems for both the amnesiac and the people around him or her, so with that in mind, he approached her gently. So far, she seemed like a nice person who respected his presence in the house, but that was saying very little due to how quiet she was in the first place. Heading to the kitchen, Ben quickly cooked up spicy ramen for her and himself. She had little trouble getting used to chopsticks, which let him presume that she came from one of the Eastern islands outside of Kora. He remembered trying to get accustomed to chopsticks the first time, and it made his mother laugh a little too hard for his own humility. Glancing up at Ben, then at the ramen, Sangue quietly ate her food. The food was hot, so he thought she'd make at least a bit of noise, but she remained almost silent. The tradeback for her silent eating was a slightly burnt tongue. The girl was partially a dunce. Ben noted that to himself. He then thought of something to lift her spirits. [color=00aeef]"Sangue?"[/color] [color=f7976a]"...?"[/color] Looking up from the ramen, Sangue stared at him rather emotionlessly. [color=00aeef]"Have you ever been outside my house so far?"[/color] Blinking, she took a few seconds to think about it before shaking her head softly. [color=00aeef]"...Never?"[/color] She nodded. [color=00aeef]"Really?"[/color] She nodded again. Putting up a thoughtful look, Ben processed the information as quickly as possible. He did not consider how different Kora itself was different from wherever Sangue came from. Then again, she found light bulbs to be way too fascinating for her own good, so he should've known. Locking up the girl in his house was wrong in every way, so he wondered if he could give her a tour around the town. [color=00aeef]"Wanna go outside after lunch?"[/color] Sangue paused before nodding quietly. [color=00aeef]"Great."[/color] She blinked a bit more before finishing her ramen. [hr] Ben left his house with Sangue beside him. Valen was a particularly small town. In return for its small size came a rather packed place full of things. Perhaps it did not offer as much as big cities did, but in Kora, Valen was the "go-to" place if someone wanted a breather from the city air. Ben came from the cities, but he ended up liking Valen for its peaceful air. It sure was an achievement for Ben to just [i]feel[/i] the air being different from the cities. Valen didn't lack its own set of entertainment, though. There were outlets, malls, arcades, and even a bungee-jumping area that Ben dared not to step close to ever since Lauren made plans for him to bungee jump with only his underwear on. As much as he enjoyed Lauren's love for games, some of the punishments for losing said games were specifically made to be extreme for Ben. His mother would be ashamed of him if she knew what the Game Club made him do. Not that he wouldn't have carried out the punishments regardless of what she had to say- if Lauren couldn't get him to carry out the punishment, Amy was always there to back her up. Sangue found everything to be an odd sight to her. Her eyes widened occasionally, her gaze fixating upon the buildings around her. At one point, she unconsciously headed toward a ramen shop. He had to pull her away from it, as much as it tugged his heart strings to watch her so fascinated and curious about her surroundings. He let her walk into the arcade eventually, but after Sangue made it clear that it would take her more than a dozen coins to understand how arcade machines worked, Ben was forced to pull her out of the arcade. Needless to say, she really liked Valen. She reacted to everything as if she had never seen such things before in her life, though her reactions noticeably calmed down as she went past more and more buildings. It was good to know that her curiosity did not linger for too long. [color=00aeef]"Valen's a pretty good place,"[/color] Ben said as they walked past some restaurants. [color=00aeef]"I lived here for the most part after leaving Alena. Kinda hard to go back to the cities after making good friends here, get what I'm saying?"[/color] [color=f7976a]"..."[/color] [color=00aeef]"...Yeah."[/color] Trailing behind Ben, Sangue hastened her pace to walk beside him. As they walked, Ben glanced at a particular family restaurant next to them. [color=00aeef]"Ah."[/color] [color=f7976a]"...?"[/color] Turning to Sangue, Ben grinned as he lazily pointed at the restaurant with a thumb. [color=00aeef]"That's Alegria,"[/color] he explained. [color=00aeef]"Some guys I know of work here, part-time or full-time. I'm actually thinking about having you visit this place more once you get used to the town. Maybe you can even get a job and buy me a drink or two. "...Not that it would ever happen if you remembered where you came from, but you get the picture."[/color] Sangue glanced at the family restaurant. Taking note of its rather bubbly-looking sign, she turned back to Ben, her soft gaze unwavering. He knew she was the untalkative type, but he didn't think she would not talk for almost every occasion. [color=00aeef]"Uh,"[/color] Ben began, hesitating as he looked away from Sangue for a moment. [color=00aeef]"I don't want to sound rude, but..."[/color] [color=f7976a]"...?"[/color] His gaze meeting her's, a serious look painted his face as he asked rigidly, [color=00aeef]"Did you ever have a job before?"[/color] [color=f7976a]"..."[/color] At his question, her expression became thoughtful. It was almost as if she genuinely had trouble identifying whether she had a job or not before. He'd understand if she just happened to forget about her job, because in that case, there was still a chance for her to remember and potentially find her home again. She, however, seemed to know a glimpse of herself. [color=f7976a]"...No... j...ob..."[/color] [color=00aeef]"Sorry?"[/color] [color=f7976a]"...N...o... jo...b..."[/color] [color=00aeef][i]...Oh.[/i][/color] Her expression did not fall, but he could tell that she was hesitant in talking about it. [color=00aeef][i]So she didn't have a job before?[/i][/color] [color=f7976a]"I..."[/color] Looking at Sangue, Ben stopped walking as he heard her out. [color=f7976a]"I... have... a sw...ord. "I... use... th...e... swo...rd... "...But... no... j...ob..."[/color] She had a sword? Huh. [color=00aeef]"What did you use the sword for?"[/color] Ben asked, intrigued to see if she was starting to recover her memories. But her silence indicated a lack of knowledge. After remaining silent for a few more moments, she shook her head. [color=00aeef]"Eh,"[/color] he said, attempting to make his question less of a deal than it was. [color=00aeef]"I'm sure it'll come to you some time later."[/color] At his dismissal, she silently nodded. [color=00aeef]"Well, enough of that. I actually managed to show you the whole town somehow, and all under one day, too."[/color] He didn't mention his own school at all throughout the entire trip, however, as he felt that Sangue could one day wander into it and somehow encounter the Game Club. Just thinking about what they'd do to the frail redhead kind of scared him. [color=00aeef]"Wanna head home?"[/color] Sangue stared at him. Ben shrugged. [color=00aeef]"You can look around a bit more, if you want,"[/color] he suggested. Turning to the buildings they had passed by, Sangue's gaze analyzed the place. A few seconds later, she turned to Ben and reached out for his face. She pinched his cheek softly. Moving her hand to the buildings' direction, she slowly pointed at the conglomeration of places he had shown her. A soft waggle of her hand indicated she wanted to look at Valen more. [color=00aeef]"Suit yourself,"[/color] Ben grinned as he started heading back to the heart of Valen once more. [color=00aeef]"And you know what? Maybe you could try beating Galaga's first level again. I can give you a helping hand."[/color] The two headed back to the arcade. It had been a while since Ben interacted with someone so quiet, but in all of his honesty, it did not feel bad at all. When they went back home, he ended up sleeping at the sofa and let Sangue sleep on his bed. She really seemed to like the bed. [hr] The next day, Ben stood in front of his room, his eyes twitching. Sangue stood in front of his computer, poking at the screen every now and then. She poked it... over and over again. Somehow. Some. How. She brought back the image of Lauren at the beach. Either she mashed at his keyboard and miraculously reopened the email, or she was just a clever girl. He felt that the former was more of the case, as she did not seem to know how to close the email. And she poked at the image. As if she could poke Lauren out of the computer screen. More importantly, she did not seem to know just [i][u]where[/u][/i] she was poking at. [color=00aeef]"Sangue."[/color] Turning slowly, Sangue's eyes met his as she remained still. Time seemingly froze between them as he raised an eyebrow. [color=f7976a]"..."[/color] [color=00aeef]"..."[/color] Straightening herself, Sangue politely bowed to him in front of the sun ray's slipping past his window. [color=f7976a]"...Hel...lo..."[/color] [color=00aeef]"...Hey."[/color] Shortly afterward, he fed Sangue a sandwich and annihilated the email Lauren had sent to him. But what was done was done. He could not revert Sangue poking at Lauren and embarrassing the absolute hell out of him in broad daylight. [hr] ... ... ... Somewhere under the streets of Valen, a black substance slipped out of the edges of a manhole. It approached an unsuspecting girl who hopped along the streets with a basket of cookies. She hummed, blissfully unaware of the growing substance that closed in on her. As soon as a large shadow covered the sun's warm rays, she froze as she turned around. Her smile faded as a bewildered look replaced her happy face. [color=39b54a]"Um..."[/color] Emerald Felicia stared at what appeared to be some kind of dark blob staring at her. [color=39b54a]"Uh oh?"[/color] Her confused look turned into a look of horror as the blob stretched itself as if to envelop Emerald in it. Encasing her inside of its slightly transparent body, the blob moved away, slipping away from the public's eyes. [color=39b54a]"Hello?!"[/color] Emerald squeaked. [color=39b54a]"It's not nice to catch cookie-loving girls, you know! Can anybody help me? Heeeeeeeelp!"[/color] The basket of cookies lay on the grounds of a peaceful neighborhood as the blob vanished. [hr] [right][h3]To be continued in... Chapter 3: "Warrior Spirit! Sangue Naga"[/h3][/right][/hider]