The Many Burdens of a Hero

 Before we left her home for our first date, Ota grabbed a puffy yet sharp black jacket with two vertical red stripes on the back and an overly wide collar similar to my duster coat. In true Oni fashion, it did little to hide her waist.

 ***

 "Guess he's been busy"

 Amidst hundreds of voices one store alone drew the attention of many a passerby. Screams of delight and carnal pleasure of sugary delicacy filled the crowd of pleased patrons.

 It had become such a problem Guardsmen had to order the owner of the store to control the masses. Apparently this meant he had to instruct an unwilling criminal to create and maintain a line, in and out of his establishment.

 Svend Holgata, adopted bodyguard and butler to Lord Holgata's son, was required to perform community service as part of her punishment.

 Dressed in a bright and frilly striped costume, she stood outside the small business, signage in hand.

 'Crepes, Cream Pies & Cakes! Line up here!'

 The man that once served snacks out of stall had moved up in the world, expanding his dedication to creating delectable sweets.

 "Why are you here?"

 Svend sounded dead to the world, no longer able to take its mockery.

 Being forced to wear a truly embarrassing outfit was too much for her to handle. It was some sort of quarter-eaten cake mascot with stars in its eyes and saliva dripping from its mouth.

 "Heh, creampies..."

 "What's a 'Cream Pie'?"

 "It's a custard filled pie topped with cream. Would you like to... huuha... try 'Cakey's Creamy Surprise Challenge'"

 "What about the other type of 'Cream Pie' eh? Ya sell those?"

 Ota believed that now would be the perfect time to extract her 'revenge' on Svend by asking questions that I didn't understand myself. This was more or less her get back after she stabbed me yesterday during the ranking exam masquerading as a tournament.

 "Customers acting inappropriately will be asked to leave..."

 "What are you talking about?"

 "I- uh- its um- never mind!"

 Seeing the Oni wave her arms around in panic as she blushed allowed a smile to ambush Svend's stoic face, and forced a loud exhale from her nose to maintain her composure.

 "It's Svend Right? Can I ask you something?"

 "No"

 "Were you acting on orders to kill me?"

 "Go away, I'm already dealing with my failure"

 "I can tell ya right now that poison was meant to like, make you sleepy. If ya boil Monell sap it'll like make you real tired or you combine it with like some pasta and you'll be at it- ah, never mind"

 I get the stuff earlier today with Rose, but she's acting strange

 "Get a room, Oni. No, my only orders were to 'prove my worth', and I failed. So now I'm stuck without a Master, or a home, and I'm probably going to starve on the streets. Happy?"

 Her actions paled in comparison to the Scouts, and it was me that put her in a position to strike so aggressively.

 Rider was right, if I could rely on my body more, my muscles and techniques, it would have been a far easier fight. Learning to use a dagger could also help, yet last night the Horsemen faced off against Paladins with their fists alone.

 "No, we, uh... We faced someone that wanted to kill us recently, and from that I learned the difference between bloodlust and murderous intent"

 "...You're weird"

 "What?"

 "Hahaha! You got called weird by a girl in a costume trying to sell creampies dude! Ahahaha, AHAHAHHA"

 For the love of Geb

 Ota's laughter echoed loudly into the tunnel behind us and quickly caused attention to shift towards us for a minute or two as we waited in line to eat Crepes together.

 I should probably ask Enda what a 'creampie' is later

 ***

 Soon after we were told to leave due to our 'inappropriate behavior'.

 ***

 Far below the Canopy district lay what is known as 'The Jaw'. A vast open area full of water and aquatic Beast-kin such as Ru, with a strict 'No Boats' policy.

 As the colossal skull itself stretched over the river, we used one of the many watermill powered elevators to descend into the Merchant's district. From up above the purple roofs and shade cloth gave off a regal air, however, once we reached ground level, it felt far more claustrophobic and exploitative. 

 We took a shortcut through several side alleys to reach our current location, it felt like stepping into another world once we hit the raised wooden platforms.

 It was crazy to think that hundreds, if not more submerged buildings lay only slightly below the surface, lining what was once the Destroyer's jawbone. 

 Although there was magic, items and various potions we could use to survive underwater, now was not the time to explore.

 I made a mental note to look around and explore next time I came down here for possible future locations to spend time together.

 But today was our first date, despite already kissing, so it felt important to keep it casual and learn a bit more about each other.

 We walked along the wooden platforms that encompassed the Jaw, simply known as the 'Docks'. It separated the river and Waterborne district with shops and homes, leading to a large area for parking various ships.

 "Look up there, can you see those for chain things?"

 "Yeah"

 Ota pointed towards the spectacle above us.

 Looking up at the Canopy district from down below was an experience and a half. Far more buildings than I expected had luxurious viewing floors, making them look like fancy chandeliers, and in four separate corners gigantic chain holds bolted directly into bone.

 From those four holds, two that still had chain links on them, although each was little more than half a circle, cleanly cut through. I wondered how it was possible, as each chain looked like it was thicker and wider than a small home.

 "All four of em' use to connect to a big castle thing in the middle, hold it up, that was our home"

 "What happened to it?"

 "Well, on the night, you know? A bunch of people walked up our drawbridge and started burning the place. My mum threw me out one of the windows... When I was swimming away, those chains where cut, and it came crashing down"

 "..."

 "Plenty of people died when it happened, and we still don't know who did it"

 "You'd have to be the greatest swordsmen in the world to pull that off, or-"

 "What?"

 "Have a Relic that could slice through thick metal"

 "Wait! What if Arisu..."

 "No. She only arrived last year, through a 'Torii' gate or something nearby"

 "Oh! There's a memorial to my grandfather still floating underwater that the Waterborne kept. Big red archway thing, everything else has been like, cleaned up you know? I think there's a plaque on it too with my family, so maybe she came through that?"

 "Maybe. If I know anything for certain, whoever cut through that chain was probably strong enough to kill Otamaru"

 "Yeah... Hey, does that look like Fae to you?"

 "Uh, kinda? If it is we probably sho-"

 "Fae! Hey Fae!"

 "Nevermind"

 Ota pulled me along by the hand as she bounced around like an energetic spring while waving at our party member, who was currently undergoing her ranking exam with Ru.

 She wore a black spongy swimsuit similar to Ru's adventures attire, who had thrown on a white lab coat herself during this trial. 

 Noticing our arrival, Ru suggested taking a break for the time being, to which Fae gladly accepted.

 'Touji, Ota, what brings you here?'

 "I was showing him where I used to live, or like where it once was, you know?"

 'I see. Touji, may I talk to you privately?'

 "Huh? Sure"

 I'd never talked to the mute Waterborne in private before, but I could roughly guess what it was about. Either Lord Holgata, or Horsemen business.

 We made our way over to the side of a blue kiosk opening cooking delicious food with an enchanting aroma that puppeteered those caught downwind.

 'Why is she intoxicated?'

 "Oh. Rose said she'd put rice wine in her coffee but it- shit. I guess that explains a lot"

 'Never mind that. Did she talk about her curse?'

 "Yeah, it was uh, a little embarrassing but it's not a problem anymore. She broke it"

 'Thank goodness'

 "Can I ask you something? You all knew, didn't you? Why she had it and all that, right? Nobody wanted to talk about it, even Arisu dropped it after a while, but if everyone knew then it'd make sense"

 'Yes, we knew, what's more is that if either you found out the conditions around that curse, she wouldn't be able to break it. The girl is impatient and would try to force it given the chance. I apologize for the secrecy'

 "It's fine, I understand. By the way, you're a healer and alchemist right? Why? I mean as his partner"

 'Conflict leaves a scar on the world, however, those wounds heal and eventually recover. Sometimes, that land may even prosper many years later'

 War and Ruin, then eventually Recovery, that was the inevitable cycle of strife baked into her very soul, shouldering the burden of being a partner to a Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

 At least if what Rider said was true, I didn't have to worry about it too much. Although I did find it strange both War and Judgment married their partners, or maybe it was their companions that proposed?

 "Hey, one last thing, did you buy your husband his clothes?"

 'Yes, why do you ask?'

 "I want to get her a gift, to complete the look"

 'Give me the details'

 Ru tied her thick wavy hair back in a bun and pulled out a waterproof notepad, suddenly overly invested in what I had to say.

 After a few minutes explaining, and donating most of my pocket money to the cause, she declared her absence for a while, leaving her white coat with me.

 The new 'notes' Arisu created made carrying money much easier, even if I found the multicolor coding a little strange. They shined like fish scales and could be layered to form expensive, yet ultimately extremely effective armor.

 In her usual, unusual fashion, she named the material 'Scalar'. A reference to something from her world.

 ***

 Using what little money I had left, I managed to purchase three different wraps for the kiosk filled with an assortment of vegetables, meat and cheese, alongside 'dipping' sauces on the base.

 Each of them smelled divine, with a vegetarian option as I was unsure if Fae could eat meat or not.

 "Am I interrupting something?"

 I returned to see Fae dangling her legs off the raised wooden platform with Ota sitting cross-legged behind her, stroking the Beast-kin's long ears up and down as she melted at the sensation.

 It looked... wrong to say the least, especially in public with the occasional person walking by.

 "Heeey~ you got food?"

 "Yeah, I wasn't sure if you could eat but I got a vegan option just in case"

 "Haha yeaaaah, can't eat meat ohhhh~. No cheese or eggs either, get a little sick. I could get addicted to this hehe~"

 Fae eagerly accepted the wrap held in wax paper and foil still enjoying the strangest massage Ota had ever given.

 "Do ya do this stuff with Lars?"

 "Noo~ I have to force him to cuddle Eee~"

 If I could see through that mask of hers I would expect the smuggest look of supremacy her particular race of Beast-kin could produce in enjoying whatever was going on right now.

 "Heyyyy Why'd you stop?"

 "I'm hungry, gimmie"

 ***

 We quickly ate an early lunch sitting side by side, dangling our feet over the water below.

 Aoife created mist around her mouth so she could still eat without wearing the mask. It was a new trick from what I could tell. Probably a result of training with Ru.

 For the most part we talked about what Aoife and Adelard had gotten up to while we ate, and the shops they would recommend.

 Problem was that upon hearing it, I felt like it would be cheating to then visit any of those places, as I hadn't put in the effort to find them myself.

 Stupid brain, why are you like this?

 "So how are you two?"

 "Huh?"

 "This is our first date"

 "Really? I thought you two got together before us. Don't you guys wash off together?"

 "It's not like we get up to anything!"

 "Uh-huh..."

 And yet you tease me even when I wear a towel

 "But you've seen each other naked right? Its like your relationship is going in reverse-"

 Aoife wasn't wrong. It started out when she mistook me for a noble and I barely won our duel with a clever combination of magic, then Arisu had to save me from certain death after Ota pulled a dagger out.

 Come to think of it, if my 'fate' was shrouded after that day, it must have been an unintended side effect when she saved me...

 "-When we hooked up it was after Lars was forced to run down the street buck naked after his big bro kicked him out for a misunderstanding. He was pretty upset after that as well, so I let him stay over. Took awhile but Gramps likes him too now"

 "Have you guys like- you know-"

 'Fae, a young Wulf ran up to me and said "The green one's having her ears jacked-off". Care to explain?'

 "*Pfff!*"

 Shit, didn't mean to laugh!

 Just before Fae could answer Ota's question, Ru arrived to save us from embarrassment. Or at least that's what I thought.

 Alameda called Ota a 'sex pest', but if that were true, we would have gone further by now. No, she was just curious, like me.

 "Who said that! My ears aren't a pair of dicks you know!"

 Fae took great offense to reading Ru's question and bounced up, grabbing her mask and quickly scanning the area.

 "You! Come here!"

 She spotted a brown haired Wulf boy, a few years younger than us, peaking around the blue kiosk and started chasing him.

 'Let this be a lesson that sometimes nature works in reverse'

 "Wow. A Coney chasing a Wulf. Don't see that every day"

 So she's a 'Coney'?

 'By the way, have you two picked up your new guild cards?'

 "Oh yeah! We should go to the Adventures Guild to grab them"

 "Where is it?"

 "I'll show you, it's next to my gym"

 Gym?

 I quickly traded Ru's coat back for a small purple wrapped gift box, presumably filled with what I had requested, although I did not have time to check before being dragged away by the hand.

 This was the second time we left Aoife behind without saying goodbye.

 ***