I suppose I'll be the hero...

Aru was somewhat relieved that the other girl could walk for days and days because she had only the vaguest idea of where she was going. She had the general idea, she made note of both locations after hearing about them from Wakako, but how to get there from the motel…? Another matter really. She felt she had a good sense of direction so it shouldn’t be too much trouble.

“Aru? A….ah??” Aru had been so preoccupied with getting her door open, making sure the half-elf was properly repaid and figuring out where she was going that introductions completely slipped her mind and…wait did she say date?? Well, they were going out for a meal but….? She’s…she’s just met the girl! She had to be teasing her right?

“Right. Mila. Pleased to meet you. Er, I can call you just Mila right?” Perhaps refocusing herself on formalities to avoid embarrassing herself was not the best idea, but it seemed to have worked, her voice regaining a neutral tone. “I’m called Aru.”

With that out of the way, she started towards the motel’s exit as well. While her ‘rogue-ish service’ might put her at odds with Aru in the future depending on how she used them, that didn’t mean they couldn’t be friends and Aru did owe her one. Half-elf, rogue…huh. It made Aru wonder.

More important than idle thoughts, however, was getting to that pasta. It had been a long time since she had a big hearty dish of the stuff and all this talk about it to Mila had prepared her for it nicely.

“If I didn’t want you to call me Mila, I would’ve just introduced myself as Chucklefuck Antoinette Asscrust, wouldn’t you say? In which case, if I had, I would’ve gone by Asscrust thank you very much.”

So, Aru, huh? She should take note of that. That’s an important aspect of knowing your surroundings, after all; knowing the people as more than just faces passing by. To be good at your job, you have to know the people as people, whether you’d use it for or against them. That type of knowledge starts with their names. So, Mila would make sure to remember; along with anyone else that she would run into.

Yes, she would map out this place like she’s done so many times before.

To prepare for anything.

For now, however, all that she allowed to be on her mind was that good-ass food. Even if she clearly had her favourite types of food, it continued to be an adventure to travel and discover new things to eat. Looks like it didn’t stop in Stella City!

As much as it was in her nature to take the lead and walk in front, the truth of the matter was that Mila had absolutely no idea where they were going, so she followed Aru instead. She took her time to look around the surroundings as they walked, doing her best to commit what she could to memory.

Alright. She think she had a good enough route and there shouldn’t be no real detours or delays. Honestly, Aru wouldn’t want to take too long even if she was going alone.

“Hm? Oh, I’ve been here a few months.” She kept walking, making notes of landmarks as they passed them and mentally comparing them to her plotted route. “If you are wondering if we can leave, we can’t. I already tried and I have a friend who tried a different route. It like...turns you around somehow.” She couldn’t explain it. Maybe 9S would be able to if she was able to find him again, but this was some level of superpower beyond her. 

“Mmm, I understand.” As she replied, Aru motioned for one of her sheep coworkers to watch the counter while she moved to the other side and began leading the girl towards the costume supplies. She had…never really looked into them herself, she wasn’t the type who dressed up or that sort of thing.

 As they arrived, Aru waved her hands around to draw attention to the various boxed weapons and costumes stacked on shelves lining this particular corner of the back wall. She then pulled a box off of the shelf and presented it to the girl. “Would this do? It’s…a katana sword, plastic I think. It says it comes with a sheath.” It was a display prop, not intended to be used in proper combat, but going by a quick read of the box’s instructions and warnings, it should be sufficient for the girl’s needs. If not, well…

“If this won’t do, please let me know and have a look around. You probably know what you are looking for much better than me…haha….”

Following after the shopkeeper, Yui let her eyes wander, noting there was quite a bit of interesting items on display. It was clear that it was meant to appeal to anyone who might come in, no matter where they were from. It was…nice, actually. Perhaps a bit comforting?

“Ah,” Yui’s eyes lit up as she looked at the box in the other girl’s hands. Examining it closely, she figured it’d probably work perfectly. It wasn’t like she needed anything heavy duty. Even a plastic blade would work well enough for what she needed. “I think so,” she nodded. “As long as it has a sheath, it should be fine?” 

She paused and tapped her chin. “Though I’m wondering if plastic might make the blade too light..” Was it weird of her to be concerned about the weight of the drawing and sheathing? She’d been doing it for so long, she was just used to wielding actual blades. “This one should be fine, but just in case, do you think you have one with metal..? Maybe one meant more for display?” 

Display props, display props, Aru knew they had a small section on display props she just had to remember where it was. Woolzards wasn’t too big a store but most of it was dedicated to more general and casual hobby stuff and tabletop gaming. It didn’t take too long for her to find it, it wasn’t that far away, so now she had to find a katana with a sheath and see if that was to the girl’s preferences.

“Pretty quiet place, isn’t it?”

“Can I pet your dog?”

“I love your ____! Where did you get it?”

“Didn’t know anybody else was here.”

“Sorry, is this seat taken?”

“You haven’t seen this ____ anywhere, have you?”

“Wow, this line’s really long isn’t it?”

“So, you come here often?”

“Yeah, can I help you with something?”

“What do you usually order when you come here?”

“So- weather’s pretty nice.”

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t see you!”

“Don’t suppose you know where to get a great meal around here?”

“Can you tell me how to get to ____?”

“Mind if I share your umbrella for a minute?”

“Hi! I just need you to pretend like you know me!”

“You need directions or something?”

“This seat’s open!”

“Haven’t seen you around. Need something?”

“Um, hi. How long have you been standing there?”

“A person would come up with sheep pun names for a sheep town, wouldn’t they? The alternative is that the sheep are self-aware of their own bleeting which…that’s just weird.” So yes, Aru agreed that was a weird thought not to be developed on.

As Wakako closed the lid of the box to take a peak at the name printed on it, Aru leaned in to do the same. Of course, it was only a moment before she realized her face was too close to the other woman for comfort, prompting her jolting back suddenly and Aru grunting in slight pain from the whiplash.

“Ahhh….that figures really. Bread & Bakery isn’t exactly a name that sticks with you. Or maybe…it’s so generic that it stands out amongst all the bad pun names. Who knows?” And with that save, Aru took one last bite of her own donut. “I think getting more of these donuts would be worth any confusion really.”

Even if she couldn’t afford the donuts, if the bread is this good she’d be a regular customer anyway

Hmm… She hadn’t thought about the marketing strategy, both behind the sheep-based names, but also the unoriginal one of this specific bakery. It might indeed be entirely possible that it’s blandness makes it stand out, thereby being really good at drawing attention.

Wait, Wakako had walked in and ordered these donuts, hadn’t she? Would that mean it had worked on her, without her even noticing?!

… Ah, the power of well-thought advertising is something that eludes her still. Well, it’s not like she has a job where she has to do any of those things, so it’s okay if she doesn’t get it, right?

“… I might’ve fallen for their tricks. But I suppose it was worth it with this quality.”

In the modern world of today, it might be hard to get well-known if all you have is quality, and no way that draws any attention to you. Well, there’s so many stores, after all, it’s not surprising. People won’t know about your quality if you don’t get them in first; in this case with a bland name.

Huh…

“… I might go back if I find myself looking for some donuts again. It’s hard to pass up good quality, even when you want to try out new things. I’d feel bad if I bought a bad donut somewhere just because I got curious…”

She’d have to think this one through some more at home, probably. Eating in many places, trying different things, it’s what she did- but sometimes you just want to eat what you know you want.

Or she was overthinking it. Still, they were here eating donuts from the place.

“Mm, the conflict between curiosity and what you know is good. I’m not much of  food connoisseur-” You don’t say, miss lives-off-junk-food? “-but I wouldn’t pass up something I know is good, you know?”

She looked up when Wakako mentioned it getting late and...wow it had gotten dark, only the set up lamps and the starlight kept the Stardust Garden lit at this hour. “Oh! Yeah, it does seem to be getting late.” She quickly leapt to her feet and trotted in front of Wakako.

Aru nodded happily. “Pasta, yes! It’s very warm and very filling!” Well, it can get cold but so can anything really. But filling, very much yes. She hadn’t had the chance to try the pasta in Stella City just yet, so she didn’t know if it was as filling as she remembered, but all the more excuse to really! 

“Pasta is soft and chewy, yes. I’d say it’s…mmm, I can’t describe it, it tastes…like pasta.” How helpful. “However different pasta dishes taste differently depending on what they are made with, such as spagetti made with tomato sauce and meatballs or ravioli which is filled with cheese, vegetables, meat…” …geez, even Aru’s lackluster description was making her hungry now.

“I don’t want to wave you off, in fact, I need to get more stardust so we can actually afford to eat whatever we please.” With this, Aru ran back into her motel room and grabbed a few more handfuls of stardust, right, this should be enough. She hoped so at least, not only was she eating out at a new place, but she was treating someone too.

“We should get going. I’ve never been before so it might take a while to find the place….if that’s ok?”

Hrm? So there’s more than just one type of perster… That’d mean you could make it very heavy if you wanted to, right? Just add heavy foods, such as meat and cheese and types of cream. She’d probably like to try one of those heavier ones… What was it? Ravjolly? Well, whatever. If she saw something good she could just point at it and that’d solve the problem.

Mila waited and watched as the girl went back into her room to collect more stardust, still thinking about this food… It was enticing to try new things from a different world. She supposed that, in a sense, making some sort of connection with the people here was going to end up being a necessary tool to truly come to understand this place and all its weird mechanics and knick-knacks and everything. Perhaps she should start here, with this one. Besides, it’d be fun to have a familiar face to push around if she came across them again.

“Oh, that’s fine, don’t worry about it~ These legs of mine can keep walking for days and days and daaaayyss if need be, so don’t think about losing me either~”

She turned on her heel with her hands on her back, ready to walk off towards the exit of the motel.

“Anyways, do you always take gorgeous girls like me out on dates without even knowing her name? Hohh, how daring, wouldn’t have taken you for such a daredevil,” she started- if she was going to make these connections she figured she’d need, then wouldn’t introductions be step one?

“Aru? A....ah??” Aru had been so preoccupied with getting her door open, making sure the half-elf was properly repaid and figuring out where she was going that introductions completely slipped her mind and...wait did she say date?? Well, they were going out for a meal but....? She’s...she’s just met the girl! She had to be teasing her right?

“Right. Mila. Pleased to meet you. Er, I can call you just Mila right?” Perhaps refocusing herself on formalities to avoid embarrassing herself was not the best idea, but it seemed to have worked, her voice regaining a neutral tone. “I’m called Aru.”

With that out of the way, she started towards the motel’s exit as well. While her ‘rogue-ish service’ might put her at odds with Aru in the future depending on how she used them, that didn’t mean they couldn’t be friends and Aru did owe her one. Half-elf, rogue...huh. It made Aru wonder.

The hobby shop had been a surprising find. Admittedly, she didn’t visit shops like this often, but maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, finding something she could spruce up her room with. Though she wasn’t sure what yet. But there definitely seemed to be a wide selection of items in the shop. 

She hummed as she walked around, finding some cute sheep themed stationary. That’d come in handy, wouldn’t it? Though what else, what else… Ayano continued her search, eventually making her way up to the counter, still holding her chosen stationary, now with a package of mechanical pencils in hand.

Aru’s pondering was cut off when the girl came up to the counter with handfuls of sheep stationary and mechanical pencils. Maybe she was an artist? “Ah, yes, good afternoon.” she replied sheepishly (though her sheep coworkers were honestly bolder than her). 

Wait, what did she ask for? Figurines?

Aru stared at the girl for a moment as she processed her request. A katana? Like, the Japanese sword right? Is she a cosplayer? No wait, she said she practices Iai and needs something she can sheathe… “Oh…yes! I think we should have few prop katanas over in the costume accessory section, but I don’t know if you can use those for Iai…”

She tilted her head and scratched it in thought. “I think…they should be authentic enough, they aren’t real steel blades or anything but the shape should be the same?” Aru had no real knowledge of swordfighting or Iai, just what she’s read in comics and manga so she didn’t know if she’d be much help.

“I could…show you what I’m talking about?”

Yui’s expression lit up, relieved that there was something she could use, at least. “Oh, a prop would be fine! As long as I can draw it and sheathe it, a fake blade doesn’t matter,” she nodded, feeling herself relax a little. That was a good sign, all things considered. 

“I’m not going to be using it for anything other than drawing and sheathing. Maybe a few practice swings, but a prop blade should work perfectly. I have a shinai for actually fighting.” She paused. “W-well, not like actual fighting but, a friend and I practice kendo together.” Not that she could best Takeru yet, but she had come a long way since their first match.

 As they arrived, Aru waved her hands around to draw attention to the various boxed weapons and costumes stacked on shelves lining this particular corner of the back wall. She then pulled a box off of the shelf and presented it to the girl. “Would this do? It’s...a katana sword, plastic I think. It says it comes with a sheath.” It was a display prop, not intended to be used in proper combat, but going by a quick read of the box’s instructions and warnings, it should be sufficient for the girl’s needs. If not, well...

So she was an elf, a half-elf even? She looked again, trying to spot some tell tale sign before just shrugging it of. Having never seen a ‘real’ elf before, she probably wasn’t the best eye to spot a half-elf. Besides, the exact physical differences between elf and half-elf tend to differ depending on the system, ranging from half-elves being just humans with pointy ears to full attempts to make an ‘in-between’ between the two races.

“Well, you do have an elven grace, if I can say…” she gave a nervous chuckle in the face of the other girl’s self-promoting. She hoped she didn’t say something off but to say she was a little awed to actually have her suspicions confirmed would be an understatement.

Hearty soup didn’t sound like it’d be so bad, but she didn’t know of any places that specialize in that sort of things. Was there a soup store or something? Would they be at soup? “I can do filling honest food. Arrru…I dunno if I can afford it but I had a nice Italian restaurant recommended by a friend. How do you feel about pasta?” She had wanted to try Baario’s Veggie Italy but with her mentioning of roasted meat, the half-elf might prefer Pewezzaria Place instead?

She would definitely have to go in for more stardust though, but it might be worth it for the two of them to eat something nice.

She posed a last time as the girl confirmed Mila’s ‘elven grace’, more than happy to take any compliments coming her way, whether they were genuine or said to get out of a situation. She loved hearing it regardless.

Now, about the food…

“Pestah? I haven’t heard of that before, but if it’s warm and it fills, I’m game.”

P-pestah? Pastter? Pasta? She searched her memories for any mention of a food that sounded similar in any way, but she couldn’t think of anything. Was it unique to this world, or was it just from a place in her world she hadn’t visited? She’d been to some countries, but there are so many out there, she doubted she’d even seen a tenth of the lands in her own world; let alone in any other.

“Is it soft? Is it hard? Is it chewy? Salty, sweet, fishy, meaty? I’m curious. It better be some good, or I won’t let you hear the end of it, ya know! You can’t try and wave me off with bad payment for a killer job, after all!”

“Pasta is soft and chewy, yes. I’d say it’s...mmm, I can’t describe it, it tastes...like pasta.” How helpful. “However different pasta dishes taste differently depending on what they are made with, such as spagetti made with tomato sauce and meatballs or ravioli which is filled with cheese, vegetables, meat...” ...geez, even Aru’s lackluster description was making her hungry now.

“I don’t want to wave you off, in fact, I need to get more stardust so we can actually afford to eat whatever we please.” With this, Aru ran back into her motel room and grabbed a few more handfuls of stardust, right, this should be enough. She hoped so at least, not only was she eating out at a new place, but she was treating someone too.

Aru took another bite as she listened to the Italian restaurants Wakako mentioned. Vegetarian pasta and pizza sounded very good, well, the barbecue sauce on pizza and homemade pasta didn’t sound bad either really, but vegetarian pasta sounded just very appeasing to her.

“Baario’s Veggie Italy, I see…Pewezzaria too…who comes up with these names?” She chuckled lightly; the naming thing was something she had noticed from the very beginning but…it felt good to have someone to comment on it on with.

“I might check out Baario’s if I have an excuse though, that sounds like a good time, mmhm!” Another bite of the donut. She had grabbed this one at random but the blueberry cake donut was definitely a good catch. Not that any of the donuts she had grabbed weren’t good catches mind.

“Where was the bakery where you got these anyway? I will definitely, ah, have to give them a visit sometime.” She gave a content sigh. “Very good donuts…”

“Probably… The sheep. If a person came up with those names, I’d be… Concerned.”

So far, most sheep-based names she’d encountered seemed to be thought up by the sheep, which would mean they are in some extent self-aware of their own sheepdom. It… Was a weird thought, so she stopped that thought train before it left the station.

As for the donuts… She hadn’t stopped to check the name of the bakery when she entered, but it should be fine if the name was on the box, right? She made a little hum as she ate the donut she was still holding so she’d have a hand free, closing the lid of the box temporarily to take a good look at what the name was.

“Ah-”

“… It’s just ‘Bread & Bakery’, it seems…”

She was almost disappointed. Maybe a very unimaginative sheep… Or person. A ram had been behind the counter when she’d gone and bought these, but that didn’t mean it was owned by sheep.

As Wakako closed the lid of the box to take a peak at the name printed on it, Aru leaned in to do the same. Of course, it was only a moment before she realized her face was too close to the other woman for comfort, prompting her jolting back suddenly and Aru grunting in slight pain from the whiplash.

“Ahhh....that figures really. Bread & Bakery isn’t exactly a name that sticks with you. Or maybe...it’s so generic that it stands out amongst all the bad pun names. Who knows?” And with that save, Aru took one last bite of her own donut. “I think getting more of these donuts would be worth any confusion really.”

Aru nodded. This ‘Abyss’ seems like a strange place, a hostile environment filled with strange creatures that is no place for humans. And yet, Nanachi was not only originally a human, but she lived in the Abyss but was also this fluffy bunny creature now…

“Aru…I see. Did the Abyss turn you fluffy? How did you survive in such a hostile place? …I mean, if it’s OK to ask.” She scratched the back of her head. She wasn’t the best at small talk but it was probably good to learn more about her new companion, even if she just intended Aru to take her out to eat.

Aru didn’t expect it to be easy to escape from which...rose the question Nananchi just brought up. “I’m not...particularly hard to abduct-” What a weird thing to say. “-but I’ve met folks from like, other worlds and stuff so the sheep must have...some extreme power.”

Aru was just settling into her shift when the bell rang, signifying that someone had entered the store. School must be out, that’s when people started coming in more often than not. Aru peaked over to see who it was coming in and it was a girl! And it seemed she had a question too!

“Aru….hello! What’s your question?” Aru was sitting at the counter at the time but she responded as soon as she could; after all human customers tended to respond better to her for some reason and, well, that’s part of the reason why she was hired.

Aru did take note about how she was hugging her bag. Was she nervous about something?

Yui followed the voice to the counter, smiling politely at the person sitting behind it. “Hello there!” she greeted, lifting her hand in a small wave. “I hope this isn’t a weird question…” Oh, who was she kidding? It was definitely a weird question. She was probably the only one who’d ask too.

She cast a glance around her, noting the shop did have a wide variety of items. “Do you think you might have a..katana here? Or know where I might be able to find one?” she asked, scratching her cheek. “I promise I’m not going to use it against a person! I just…practice the art of Iai, so it’s..hard without an actual sword I can sheathe..”

She tilted her head and scratched it in thought. “I think...they should be authentic enough, they aren’t real steel blades or anything but the shape should be the same?” Aru had no real knowledge of swordfighting or Iai, just what she’s read in comics and manga so she didn’t know if she’d be much help.

Perhaps it was a bit of a strange thing to be looking for, but it wasn’t the same without having an actual katana to draw, and it was apparent the one she’d gotten in the miniature garden hadn’t been brought along with her. A fine predicament she found herself in, but hopefully somewhere around here had one. The hobby shop seemed like a good place to start.

If not, at the very least, she might get pointed in the right direction. 

So, with that goal in mind, she ducked into the shop one afternoon after school, hugging her bag close. “Um…excuse me?” she called out, hoping at least it wasn’t at a bad time. “I had a bit of an..odd question..I hope it won’t be too troublesome?”

“Aru....hello! What’s your question?” Aru was sitting at the counter at the time but she responded as soon as she could; after all human customers tended to respond better to her for some reason and, well, that’s part of the reason why she was hired.

The bottom of the Abyss…was she some kind of rabbit demon or something? Hopefully those ate beef. She didn’t seem like a monster of death or anything so Aru wasn’t too worried but, hm. “Oh, I come from…America. It’s a human country.” How specific. “I was passing through a city called Megido when I woke up here but I don’t think the two are related…?”

She couldn’t say she disagreed with the ‘strange places’ assessment. She’s met several people who came off as more the likes of fantasy as often as she’s met people who’d come out of her own world. Nanachi included actually.

A pause, as a question rolled around Aru’s head. “Hey, is everyone in the Abyss…fluffy?”

      As expected. She wouldn’t call herself some uneducated fool, but she certainly had never heard of a country called ‘America’. Neither did this girl seem to know about the Abyss, even though, back in Nanachi’s world, mostly everyone yearned to discover the truths about its depths.

     “Nna… it’s not really a place where people usually live. There are lots of strange animals and creatures, but for humans, it’s probably the most hostile environment possible. I wasn’t born there either, and I told you, I used to be human too, right?”

K…kinda dumb? She didn’t pick out the name but she quite liked the name Aru! It would probably be best to not dwell on the subject and move on. They had a bit of a walk to the Burger Sheep, so a little small talk couldn’t hurt. It wasn’t everyday you met a rabbit girl, well, maybe you do in this town. 

“About…hm, three months or so. I’ve been trying to find my way out but I am not sure it’s possible…” At the very least, she hadn’t found one just yet, but the city was large and she could only do so much exploring while also maintaining her job at Woolzards.

She couldn’t say she disagreed with the ‘strange places’ assessment. She’s met several people who came off as more the likes of fantasy as often as she’s met people who’d come out of her own world. Nanachi included actually.

(Hi! You suggested making a fluff version of fairy-tail-babes’ NSFW headcanon game, so I thought I might as well make some contribution to the fandom by trying it out!)