As a Knight of Grandshelt!

It wasn’t like him to falter so extensively — whatever it was he felt compelled to say, he took every opportunity to delay the matter. The account began grim and snowballed from there. At each breath, Misaki found herself increasingly yearning for the story to end, and yet it continued, the next an additional blade lodging itself in. She could scarcely imagine it — she’d lost Kourin, she’d seen Kai driven to insanity, but nothing… nothing compared to this. Nothing could have prepared her for the depth of horrors that Rain had been witness to, and an ordeal he had endured since being thrown back into his world.

And somehow, he was still Rain. He’d let grief, wrath and vengeance consume him, but the person in front of her was still the friend she always treasured. He wasn’t a monster thirsting for blood and anarchy. He was Rain.

Awkward and kind-hearted and a little self-conscious. The very idea that he could become someone.. something so warped… she could feel the blade slip through her heart. Nobody should be put through such a horrific ordeal, and somehow he had the strength to regain himself, he had felt the courage to open up about this rather than bottle it up and let it brew into a toxic concoction that would destroy him from the inside-out. Before she knew it, he was apologising and how she’d ceased breathing clicked.

“No. No, I—… I’m sorry”.

Ordinarily she was reserved enough to value her personal space more than most, but in this moment, she couldn’t care less about it. Her arms swung, embracing the knight and tucking her chin into his shoulder; as much she felt the urge to cry welling, he was the one who suffered tremendously and she needed to comfort him, support him through all he carried. “I’m sorry you went through all of it. I wish… I could do anything to help”. Tight grew her throat; as witness to her friends’ agony, Misaki had always felt frustratingly helpless and agonised by their torment — the people she loved had been through enough, but something was adamant to continue testing them.

“Thank you for coming back to your senses".

“oh, don’t be sorry! it’s alright. I’ll always have the memories of her, ones that I won’t ever forget. she helped nurse me and offered shelter when no one else would, I’m so grateful for that... always will be. cherish the good times, right? that’s what I think, at least.” he hadn’t meant to dampen the mood, it was just a moment of needing to clear things up, and Misaki lending an ear was a great comfort.

though he admits he never expected physical contact; normally she’s one for breathing space, evident from the many times Rain has teased her on purpose, just to get a reaction out of her. the hug isn’t taken for granted. a hand gently soothes her back, signalling that everything is okay now and things are going better. there’s no reason for her to worry so much. “come on, don’t get upset. I’m really fine! you know me well enough by now, I always get back up again no matter what happens. no need to think about it more than necessary.

"well, I'm glad I happened to stumble upon you guys! and it's no trouble, I'm more than happy to listen any time you need, alright? just say the word and I'll be there."

There was this danger with teasing that someone would lose their footing and what had been fun and games devolved into awkwardness. Misaki hadn’t anticipated that her musing aloud might have such a profound reaction, and yet he was practically stumbling about. His casual reference to women went freely without retort — how he was carrying himself had become far more pressing and concerning.

“It’s alright — you don’t have to say anything you’re not comfortable with. Don’t we all go off the rails at some point? Something comes along and throws you off. You’re left in the dirt crawling your way back, and sometimes, it takes a helping hand to get you there. What matters is you’re you now, it didn’t change you forever”. Her stomach rolled over, guilt settling for having allowed their conversation to take such an extreme detour and wander into weighted territory — not least the loss of Rain’s comfort. She’d have to do something to make it up to him; no-one would want their reunion bogged down.

“It’s been a long time, but I still can’t wrap my head around forgetting things. Guess that’s what not being able to, even when you want, does — there must be others who can’t imagine being able to remember everything in perfect detail, so it works both ways”.

she’s right, sometimes it’s unavoidable in certain circumstances, he still can’t help but feel guilty for what he put his friends through. “no, I—” Rain wants her to know, she’s told him things in the past and friendship does work both ways, after all. “um. I want to. maybe talking about it will help. Arturia is the only one who knows. sort of. I say that because, at the time, neither of us knew what we were looking at but... well, since I returned home, I’ve experience it for myself in full.

I messed up really bad and almost got myself killed. at first, it felt like I really did die but with some help, I ended up in this town. there were some soldiers there besides the residents. they found out about me, something even I wasn’t aware of until a friend of my father’s told me—that I have royal blood. those soldiers didn’t like it, neither did the townspeople. in the end, they were the ones who suffered, because of me. every single one of them murdered by the Emperor’s army.”

To look at things positively. He’s right and she was great at that! Thinking positive was her gimmick. Was that the right word? “You just gotta keep going. It’s okay to be down every once in awhile as long as you pick yourself up and seize the day, right?

She will remember all the people that came and went for sure! “I’m super glad I have Badou and others who are still here. Like you.” She says with a grin, “I hope the people you’re friends with stays here for as long as you’re here~!”

She sure has some good spirit. “Exactly! It’s good to get out any bad feelings but lingering on them doesn’t help. As long as you carry on once you’ve spent time to yourself.” Everyone has their own varying length of healing, ignoring that will do more harm long term.  Her mention of him catches him off guard though. “Me? We’ve only met once... thanks anyway. You have some great energy, I hope it never runs out.”

“ Hmm… You must be right… “

“ Then starting with a savoury one would be the best right? Though hmm… stuff like whipped cream gets bad a little too fast for that doesn’t it? “

Eiden’s problem is that if he’s presented food that he has to eat now he’ll eat it. No matter how ill it’ll make him wasting food is the worst outcome he can think of… But perhaps… perhaps he could join forces?

With a serious face he turns to the guy. 

“ Will you share the waffles with me? ….if you want to? “

“Yeah, probably...” And well, he would have suggested eating the cream one first but the man already offered to share. For some reason. There weren’t too many who’d willingly do so with a complete stranger. This guy must be really good with people. “Sure, I guess? I’m not the type to take advantage of kindness so, it’s your decision to make.”

He raises a finger. “There’s one condition if you do. You have let me know if there’s anything you need in future. Doesn’t matter the time or place! Consider it my thanks.

“No, it’s really fine!” Humble as ever, Kokomi flashes a smile. Though unfortunately for her, mental and physical fatigue has set in and it comes upon her in such a way that she can only stumble and sit down in the seat offered to her. A hand is pressed to her own forehead as she sighs, clearly exhausted from having to be out at all. Why was it so hard to be around people? As she tries to relax, however, it dawns on her that he hasn’t left, and seems to look rather concerned at her exhausted state.

How embarrassing… “My apologies…it seems I underestimated just how tired I was. You needn’t worry about me, I’m sure there are much more important places for you to be.”

Why is she apologising for being tired? That’s not something people normally do, it’s not like she can help it. “Saying that, I’m only going to worry more you know?” As for places to be, Rain can’t think of anything requiring his immediate attention. He pretends to think on it, making a show of humming, a hand against his chin.

“I think it’s more of the things you say and how you say them and the way you act around others that just brought it up.” She shakes her head with a huff, “They were sent home a bit ago, phooey. But it’s okay, I’m sure one day they’ll be back.” People who were sent home didn’t stay away for long. She’ll keep telling herself that. 

“Rain, is there someone here who’s no longer here that you miss like a lot? You’d do anything to bring them back if you had the power?’ 

"Well, I mean... I try my best to look at things positively when it’s possible. Sometimes it’s a miss but there’s no point in giving up.” Those are words he does his best to apply to all kinds of situations, no matter how silly it might seem. With hands on hips and a very confident look, he continues.

“I’ll leave it to your imagination — aren’t you the one who like to come up with outside the box comebacks?” In Hitsue, her tolerance was less so with such personalities, though when the prime examples with people like Ren, some might understand. Here, she has loosened up, gotten to know some, even if, unfortunately, many had returned to their own home worlds.

Her smile flattened whilst the subject of the knight’s friends’ feelings became the focal point. Likewise, she couldn’t imagine the others being thrilled at the prospect of how touch-and-go things had become on occasion. Naoki and Kamui might revel at the idea of something high-stakes and exciting, but even their experiences home showcased their reasoning overriding adrenaline.

“The life of a knight sounds tough. I can only imagine — we run into trouble here once in a blue moon, but it’s much more common for you. Makes me wonder how you can let things bounce off so easily, but maybe it’s because you’ve been through much worse. Do you think it’s cruel if I want to hope what you’ve been put through here outweighs whatever you’ve had happen back home?”

Sometimes the knight hates how clever she can be with words, especially with him, but it’s also one of the things he likes about her. For now, he’ll choose to let it slide and focus on the current topic. “Sure, I guess? It’s not always rough. I mean, I get to meet plenty of pretty ladies so there’s always something to look forward to.” Despite everything, Rain still hasn’t changed much from his typical ways. Quite unfortunate for her.

Maybe it’s a good time to tell her about the slip up, just to avoid any misunderstandings. “Actually, I...” He rubs the back of his neck wondering how to explain something so out of character. “let’s just say, at one point I didn’t. I don’t think I reacted very well but... what’s done is done.” If there’s a god out there, she won’t ask for details. The last thing he’d want is for Misaki to view him any differently than what she’s used to.

“Some friendly banter is the quickest way to spice things up. And it feels up your alley”. Instinctively, her arms folded, taking up her usual stance in its most casual iteration. There were few with whom she felt truly comfortable with, but Rain would find himself very much at the top of the list. To see him again, though it resulted in dragging him away from home and his friends there, in a selfish way, she felt relieved.

“I can imagine. It feels like an eon since I saw our friends. Or since Kai was here. It gets lonesome if you’re used to having them around and then… suddenly they’re not there. And you’re the only one from Grandshelt here, aren’t you? I couldn’t imagine what it must be like”. With the veering of the conversation into more dejected territory, she could feel her smile flickering ever fainter, quick to recognise their course should change abruptly before dark clouds were hanging over them. “How was it? It must have been nice having their company again. Did anything change while you were away from here?”

Up his alley? “Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?!” Sure, there are times when things call for a little playful remark, he’s not always like that though.

Right... he vaguely remembers Kai. It feels like ages since Rain last saw him around Aichi’s home. Hopefully he’s doing well back at home. “I am but it’s alright. Probably for the best. I’m not sure how well Fina would take everything that happens here, she’s been through enough already.” Misaki is quick to change the subject, something he’s grateful for.

@grandsheltknight​

“You just remind me of someone, that’s all. I’d say I was sorry for staring, but then I would be lying.” Kachina always did have a staring problem. She has to admit, missing a couple of people meant staring more than usual. 

“Really?” He’s curious why she never mentioned anything when they first met. Actually, come to think of it, that’d probably be a little too weird to say to a random stranger. “Don’t worry about it, I don’t mind.

The smile held, its mischievous angle strengthening underneath the mask of sincerity. “What? I give you what you want and now you’re all flustered?”

A laugh slipped through, subtle but enough to break the act. “I’m not lying, is it that strange to miss a friend? You know I’m not the most sociable, so it’s nice to see a familiar face when they show up. And it’s been quiet without you”.

“Are you surprised? I’m used to being on the receiving end of a remark of sorts.” Not that he minds. It does make for some interesting conversation at times.

And a dangerous game it is. She’d half a mind to retort with a witty comeback — but there was a much more effective way of tripping him up, and she was admittedly eager to witness the result. “Alright then.

Welcome back. I missed you".

Hold on, what—

”I’ve heard the saying ‘summer rains, you can never predict them’, but seeing your name show up on the last day of the season? The surprises never end with you”.

@grandsheltknight​

Oh, so it’s still like that, is it? Fair enough. He can also play that game. “That’s a funny way of telling someone you missed them, you know?

The other wasn’t the only one with eyes not on the road. Eiden too had spotted the waffle restaurant display including both savoury and sweet, mouthwateringly delicious looking options.

“ Whoa there — ahh, no but then I’m equally to blame haha. “

“ It sure is! I don’t even know whether to pick between savoury or sweet…  Maybe both…? What do you think? “