i'll kill you bastards

“Booooo. Well, you keep telling yourself that!” 

Okay, that’s probably not the smartest response, considering artes are limited and she has no idea how powerful this guy is. But there’s something about him that gets on her nerves. She feels as if through his obviously artificial and overdone persona, he’s looking down his nose at her.

He could say that with the same amount of sincerity he’d have with calling Konishi kind, or Minamimoto intelligent. He’d even smile while doing it.

Joshua kept lips shut, however; and settled with giving her a lightly appraising stare.

"Oh? Then by all means, do blow my mind away.”

The girl exhales sharply and folds her arms across her chest. She'll keep playing along for now, but this kid could sure use a swift smack from her puppet Tokunaga...

At least their plan works. The issue, though, is that it perhaps works a little too well. Their combined efforts send him crashing to the ground, with Anise as his potential floor cushion. 

"Ahhh!"

She echoes his own screams and instinctively attempts to dash out of the way, but it’s too little, too late. The two of them find themselves in an awkward pile on the sidewalk. Good thing Anise is used to getting tossed around.

“Oof! Well, that was exciting.”

He scrambled upright onto his knees, quickly reaching out to help the poor poor girl off of the ground.

"Haha, I'm fine~! I've been through far worse than this."

She grins at him in reassurance. After a moment of thought, she realizes that she can always use his guilt to her advantage and a more contemplative expression. The girl taps a finger against her chin and sighs softly before speaking.

"But you know, if you really feel bad about this, you could always buy me dinner..."

"Heh, thanks! I’ve never done anything like this before, so it’s really neat!"

She absent-mindedly plays with her skirt.

Riful sighed. Nobody invited Abyssal Ones to parties. She would probably have embarrassed herself, got flustered and eaten all the part guests if they did. It was simply her nature. 

Back in her world, she never would have had enough status or money for this sort of event. Well, obviously she visited Luke's manor in Baticul and Emperor Peony's palace, but she never received an explicit invitation such as the one for this dance. It's overwhelming and wonderful and - yes, a bit slow. But nothing really needs to happen at these sorts of things, right? It's more about sitting around and looking nice, isn't it? And that's the fun part.

"It's great! I've never seen so many people all dressed up, haha! And the food is delicious. Is this the kind of thing rich people do all the time?"

She gives an exaggerated sigh

"That long? I can’t imagine being here for months, though I guess I don’t really have a choice. Still, it sounds like you’ve met a lot of people here, huh?"

Anise tilts her head and ponders his next statement. More places? 

" If I knew that then they wouldn’t be unknown to me now would they? I’ve heard there exists lands and the like beneath the city, so those I might see. But I’ve heard nothing but negative things about such, so I’m a bit on edge over such. " Once they walked a considerable distance, Morgan would introduce and show Anise to Sector 5, where all the shops were.

"By lands beneath the city, do you mean the districts? Because I live in one of those, haha! It's actually not too bad."

She jauntily continues walking in pace with her companion, still a bit in awe of the size of this city. It's bigger than Daath, of course; but even a place such as Baticul pales in comparison to the Hive's immensity. 

Sector 005 is a mess of stalls and shops, people darting to and fro bearing bags overflowing with clothes or bread or an entire assortment of things. No number of trips to this place will ever lessen the amazement she feels when gazing around at the sheer number of people in one area. Even better are the beautiful treasures to be found within the depths of the sector's shops.

Honestly, Luna would look really attractive in that little dress she’s been studying. But she still seems a bit nervous, so Anise decides to help her out with her decision.

"You should try it on! It would look super cute on you. You’ve got the figure for it!"

Anise takes a dress that looks about Luna’s size off the rack and places it in her companions arms. She then lightly taps Luna’s shoulder and points in the direction of the fitting room.

She had a terrible time of it to. She wasn’t used to changing her clothes and her hands simply weren’t acquainted to it. They slipped and scuffed, but she got it after a while, having mussed her hair. She patted it, frowning a little. 

She stared at her reflection, hands nervously gripping the white trim at the bottom. The dress was far above her knees…..she was used to being covered up. 

Shyly she went to the door and peeked out. 

She skips to the changing room and sees Luna shyly posed in the little dress. It looks super cute, though its wearer doesn't look particularly comfortable. Anise can't understand why - it honestly fits her perfectly.

A woman in an elegant black ruffled dress and white lace veil sits to the side of the dance floor. Her appearance catches the eye of a much younger attendant, who darts away from the assortment of snacks to better look at those layers of frills.

"Heh, thanks! I've never done anything like this before, so it's really neat!"

She absent-mindedly plays with her skirt.

She slowly walks the path to her hut, eyes to the ground, arms aching from the heavy bags. It is only when she is much closer that she looks up, suddenly aware of a figure seated at the entrance. From afar, the clothes look like… But it couldn’t be…

Breaking into a sprint, Anise drops her groceries when she more clearly sees the boy snoozing outside her door. She pays no mind to the apples and carrots which now role down the street. Her eyes are fixed on the sight in front of her. 

Ion. Is it her Ion? Is this all a part of the experiment conducted by the scientists, carefully orchestrated for maximum cruelty? If it is, it’s working - she furiously rubs the sleeve of her shirt against her eyes in an effort to wipe away the tears which fall despite her wishes.

How can this be happening? 

Sensing the boy waking at the noise of dropped vegetables and her ill-concealed sniffling, she attempts to compose herself. 

"Ion... I-"

She tries to steady her breathing so that she might actually manage to speak the words she's held inside of her for so long.

"Ion - I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry..."

The girl finally pulls away, wiping the back of her hand across her face. He is there, in front of her, her closest friend. Ion, the one who inspired her to push beyond her previous aspirations.  The one who lead her in spirit to finish their journey, in hopes of creating a better world. She does not know how it is that he is here in front of her, but she does know that she must tell him that his dream of a planet where people chase after their own futures has been realized, and it is beautiful. 

He teases her gently, giggling through the tears, and this nearly sends her crying again, to hear that affectionate humor he must have learned from her. Instead, she smirks and nudges him gently.

"Hey! I was not screaming profanities! I've been behaving myself, like a proper young lady!"

Anise’s expression softens at his humor in this unfortunate situation. He’s a pretty likable guy, isn’t he?

"Maybe if you ask it nicely! Haha!"

The girl giggles at her own terrible joke. It’s good to laugh at situations like these, even if they aren’t very funny. She’s glad he seems to get this. After all, it’s such a bizarre situation - all of it. She wonders about the world he’s from, how different it must be from this place.

She still doesn’t understand how his hand fit into the slot in the first place, but the utterly pitiful look on his face makes her unable to tease him any further. At least not until after he’s gotten out of this mess.

Her feeble suggestion is understandably rejected, and both of them ponder a different solution. He asks her to try again. So, the strange man prepares once more for her to try tugging his arm free, and she gives him a doubtful look in return.

"Are you sure?"

She recalls how much pain he seemed to be in the last time, but he’s already steeled himself for the attempt. Well, if he’s willing, she’ll give it a go. Anise grabs his arm with both hands, grip sturdy. 

“Well, all right! One, two, three!”

On the final count, she gives the strongest yank she can muster, trying not to think of the pain this poor man is going through.

"I am sure. Don’t worry." Balder gave the best reassuring smile he could muster. Better to just get it over with than not — and this girl seemed quite willing to help him do just that. "Bless you for your kindness."

On one, he took a breath. On two, he braced himself, and on three—

"Ouch!" He yelped at the force of the pull but gave it his all anyway, and sure enough, here it was, sweet freedom!

And sweet, sweet pavement about to come with it.

At least their plan works. The issue, though, is that it perhaps works a little too well. Their combined efforts send him crashing to the ground, with Anise as his potential floor cushion. 

"Ahhh!"

She echoes his own screams and instinctively attempts to dash out of the way, but it's too little, too late. The two of them find themselves in an awkward pile on the sidewalk. Good thing Anise is used to getting tossed around.

"Oof! Well, that was exciting."

Though stripped of his title here, Ion’s charisma—at least with the so-called “NPC” citizens of the city hadn’t faltered. He got news from all over the city without having to move much himself, from disputes to rumors to the fears the NPCs had themselves. Ion took a lot of joy from just listening; it passed the time, and he learned. His growing source of news was a valuable resource he intended to nurture—maybe one he could use to help in the future. Just some days before, one such article related to a small girl seen riding a giant doll. Now, this could be any girl. The city seemed to swallow all kinds of people, and maybe giant walking dolls were the norm in a universe far removed from his own. But even knowing that, Ion couldn’t help but have hope. He asks around, does a bit more walking than he’s used to but it gets him his information.

She slowly walks the path to her hut, eyes to the ground, arms aching from the heavy bags. It is only when she is much closer that she looks up, suddenly aware of a figure seated at the entrance. From afar, the clothes look like... But it couldn't be...

Breaking into a sprint, Anise drops her groceries when she more clearly sees the boy snoozing outside her door. She pays no mind to the apples and carrots which now role down the street. Her eyes are fixed on the sight in front of her. 

Ion. Is it her Ion? Is this all a part of the experiment conducted by the scientists, carefully orchestrated for maximum cruelty? If it is, it's working - she furiously rubs the sleeve of her shirt against her eyes in an effort to wipe away the tears which fall despite her wishes.

How can this be happening? 

Sensing the boy waking at the noise of dropped vegetables and her ill-concealed sniffling, she attempts to compose herself. 

She follows him as he heads in the direction of Sector 005, swinging her arms with each step. He’s really friendly and helpful, leading her around the city like this. She feels a little bad for lying to him, but hey, at least they can get to know each other better this way, right? It’s good to make connections in an unfamiliar place, and if that particular connection just so happens to have money, well… there’s no harm in that. Besides, while most of this is not new information to her, it nevertheless helps to clarify the mental map she have made for herself.

" If I recall.. Somewhere around seven, nearing eight months I believe? It was only really a matter of time before I learned this much of this land. " A bit of a proud smile over how far he had come through his own efforts and those of his friends that he could assist other people this way.

"That long? I can't imagine being here for months, though I guess I don't really have a choice. Still, it sounds like you've met a lot of people here, huh?"

Anise tilts her head and ponders his next statement. More places?