Mako was a bit hesitant on entering the settlement at first, though he didn't really have much of a choice since he was now following Aurori. Though he would've preferred more time to get acquainted with his surroundings and the people coming and going from within the small city, he had little to no right to complain, especially when he had become nothing more then a tag along. If he had to choose betwixt the dark skinned woman and wandering off on his own, Mako wholeheartedly chose the former as he walked in silence with the wild looking woman, crimson hues flicking around.

At first glance, or at least from what he could make out at the rapid pace Aurori was going, Mako felt that the town was kinda shabby. Of course, this was only because he couldn't help but compare the inferior wooden buildings to the tall skyscrapers and enormous, sturdy structures he was used to. When put side by side, the settlement felt tiny and almost laughable in comparison.

All that being said, the small city did have some charm to it.

Unlike New York which had had trash scattered throughout numerous streets, the roads and alleys within the wooden town were neat and tidy, not a speck of plastic McDonald's wraps or grocery bags anywhere in sight. It was also relatively quiet compared to the incessant chatter of pedestrians and blairs of car horns he had to put up with on a day to day basis. Everyone just roamed around and did their own thing, either as individuals or in small groups, the loudest they ever got being when shouting out to their fellow compatriots or arguing over prices from nearby stalls. All in all, it wasn't a totally shabby place and Mako felt bad about initially labeling it as such.

Of course, that was just his opinion on the town's appearance. When he took the time to fully focus on the fine details within the town, he turned from a curious observer into a confused moron.

First off were the people. Nearly every person that Mako and Aurori passed possessed either armor or sported some kind of weapon, both large, extravagant pieces like a huge and intricate double bladed sword with a rounded yet sharp edge to smaller and lesser sets like a normal looking rapier paired with normal looking chest plates and metallic arm guards. There wasn't a single individual who didn't look as if they were prepared for some kind of battle, most of them carrying intimidating auras that bascially screamed at Mako for him to get far away from them. If one of them happened to get into a fistfight with another passerby for no apparent reason, the blue haired youth wouldn't have been surprised in the least.

That wasn't even the main thing that was tripping him up either. The sheer diversity amongst the buildings and those residents lining the streets were what threw him for a loop.

Shops lined each side of the street, wooden signs posted out front offering deals on items he had never heard of, small inns and pubs dotted the route he and Aurori were taking, and stalls were set up by the settlements occupants with the hopes of selling unidentifiable merchandise. While this wasn't something Mako should have concerned himself with as he knew it could just very well be some sort of makeshift otaku paradise, he couldn't help but feel perplexed and a tad overwhelmed given the circumstances. He felt as if he had traversed an entire world, straight into one he had only deemed pure fiction.

"Oi, I thought you wanted to ask me some questions," Aurori said, interrupting the youths derailed train of thought. "Did you just want to come along with me or are you gonna ask them?"

Mako blinked, some of his sanity returning as he quickly sought to ground himself once again, shaking off his new revelations in an attempt to keep himself from mentally collapsing. Unlike most others, the young adolescent could control his own emotions to a remarkable extent, dulling them or completely ignoring them as he saw fit. It wasn't that he could erase them but rather chose to bring up different emotions at different points in time, times that would be better for him and his own peace of mind.

"Ah, yeah. Sorry about that," Mako said as they walked passed a few more buildings. "I was just lost in thought. It happens from time to time."

"I take it this is your first time here?" Aurori questioned, her tone lacking emotion. She was all business, something Mako was most definitely okay with as he wouldn't have to bother beating around the bush and could jump straight to the point. "You're looking around quite a bit so I assume you've never been to Rivira before."

(("Rivira. So that's the name of this settlement then?")) Mako kept his facial expressions in check as he answered Aurori with a small nod. "I guess you could say it's my first time ever even seeing it."

Aurori readjusted the hammer on her shoulder as she stopped walking, turning to face a nearby stall, which was basically a person sitting behind a sheet with a bunch of stuff on top of it. "Yeah. Well, take it all in but try not to buy anything. Most of this stuff is overpriced and not worth the expense. You'd be better off just hunting for the stuff on your own or with your own Familia."

(("Then why are you buying something?")) Mako muttered internally as he watched the dark skinned woman begin a small back and forth bargain with the seller.

After what the blue haired youth could only describe as a heated back and forth debate, Aurori finished up by buying several objects, including a long silver staff about a foot shorter then Mako was. Of everything that was purchased, the staff was the only thing the youth was able to recognize, the others being pieces of meaningless scraps in comparison.

"Here, hold this," Aurori said as she tossed Mako the staff, of which he caught pretty easily despite how fast it was coming at him. "I can't hold my hammer, the staff, and the stuff at the same time."

"Why not just put it a blanket then tie the blanket to staff. Hobo style."

"Hobo style?"

"Never mind," Mako said, waving away the entirety of what he had said. "We can just carry it like this. It'll give me some time to question you about a few things."

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"I've been waiting for you to ask something from the moment you began following me," Aurori snipped as she once again took the lead, this time heading back the way she came. "You still have yet to ask me a single thing."

"Very well," Mako responded. "I'll just cut to the chase then. Where are w-"

Before Mako could even finish his sentence, his body instinctively tensed up as his arms raised the staff in an attempt to block the incoming blow his brain had detected. He managed to block the attack but it still felt as if he was getting smacked by a brick wall as he was sent flying backwards, skidding along the ground, tumbling over and over again before finally coming to a stop. Despite being stopped however, he almost couldn't tell as the amount of pain shooting through him rendered his senses useless, only agony remaining. He wasn't entirely sure what had attacked him, but he was glad he had blocked it otherwise he was almost certain he would've been sleeping with the fishes.

As the darkness began washing over him, two people came into his fading vision. Aurori, who immediately began touching him all over such as his neck and mouth before immediately snapping her fingers in front of his face, and a half naked girl with long black hair and a white cloth covering her small breasts.

---------------------------------

"...long have....been waiting....."

"Not.....I'm...."

Quick snippets of conversation filled Mako's ears as he slowly regained consciousness, his previously dark world flooding with light as he pried his eyes open, crimson hues blinking back into existence. Little by little, the youths senses returned, the back and forth conversations between two individuals becoming clearer with each passing moment, sensations such as taste and smell following close behind. His head throbbed on repeat like a broken record and the pain in his chest and ribs dulled his ability to make any sudden movements, but it wasn't anything Mako couldn't handle.

As someone who did parkour and gymnastics for the majority of his life, injuries and broken bones were common and one quickly learned to push past the pain. In comparison to the brutal training he put himself through when practicing day in and day out, honing his skills to perfection, the mild discomfort residing within his abdominal region was practically nothing. That being said, he didn't believe it wise to move too much unless he was truly in danger, which he didn't appear to be. From what he could tell, without making any significant movements, he appeared to have been reallocated into a large, dark orange colored tent.

He highly doubted someone looking to finish what they started would bother putting him somewhere nice before gifting him a blanket. Of course, there was a chance that he was completely wrong but Mako preferred to look at everything with an optimistic tone rather then a glass half empty kinda guy.

"Oh. I see you finally woke up!!" That's good!!"

Mako's own train of thought was halted as a loud and cheerful voice filled his ears, one that caused him to flinch as it rang out through the area. Just like before, right after he had gotten smacked backwards like a sack of meat, a head of black hair appeared in his vision, the same girl he had seen before losing consciousness. She had the same dark skin as Aurori and looked sort of similar to her, although she was much younger with black hair and brown eyes with a white piece of fabric covering her breasts.

"Oh....hello." Mako nodded in greeting despite seeing her upside down, the girl having appeared from the back half of the tent. He didn't sense any sort of hostility, though his instincts still screamed at him to run, which he completely ignored. "Nice to meet you."

The black haired girl smiled. "I'm gonna go and let Aura know. Dont move." As quick as a rabbit, the mysterious girl fled the area, rapidly exiting Mako's field of vision. She hadn't even been within his gaze for a full thirty seconds before taking off, leaving the blue haired youth even more confused then he had been initially.

(("That...was something,")) the adolescent remarked. (("Not sure if I have a response to that."))

After he was sure the girl had left, Mako slowly worked himself into a sitting position, doing his best to push past the numerous spasms of pain that erupted every time he moved a touch too fast. Once he had finally managed to secure a proper stance, the blue haired adolescent began to check himself, assuring that he still possessed all four limbs as well as hoping he hadn't broken anything important.

His pants and shirt were missing, that was the first thing Mako noticed, his boxers being the only article of clothing remaining. Bandages wrapped around his chest and ribcage, thin white strips of gauze tightly encircling him before being held in place by tucking the end underneath one of the bands. Scratches and bruises lined his bare thighs and legs, but Mako didn't truly care about that since those would eventually heal in about a week. He was just glad that he had come out of the attack with no permanent damage and could probably still walk.

"Still though, what the hell hit me? A freakin truck?" Mako scratched his head as he tossed the covers to the side, no longer needing to use them. "Definitely wasnt your average joe. Or even human as far as I can tell."

The young man truly found it hard to believe that a regular person could send him flying that far whilst still doing so much damage, especially when he had managed to block a good portion of the blow with Aurori's staff. He doubted that even the strongest man in the world could do something as farfetched as knocking him back half a city street, and yet that's precisely what had happened. He was confident he had been attacked but it seemed highly unlikely that it had come from a mere human. Whoever had assaulted him was packing some massive power and he had no desire to meet that person ever again, even under the best of circumstances. While he wasn't one to hold grudges, he also wasn't fond of getting tossed around like a hackie sack.

"You shouldn't move too much," a soft voice instructed Mako from the side, slightly startling the youth. "You're hurt."

The adolescent turned his head towards the direction the sound had come from, a feminine voice that resided just outside his peripheral. Situated towards the back of the tent sat a girl with golden blonde hair and eyes of the exact same color. Mako almost immediately recognized her as one of the many individuals who had been within the settlement, the one who had had armor breastplate and arm guards. She had been quite easy to distinguish, especially since her bright hair had stood out to him from everyone else's.

The girl was around his age or perhaps younger, a youthful and innocent expression on her face making her year difficult for Mako to pin down. She didn't look very threatening at first glance until one saw the rapier attached to her side as well as felt the overwhelming aura of power that surrounded her. Mako had felt this 'power' before, the feeling that everyone around him could squash him like a bug with a flick of their wrist, but the girl was the worst among them as his instincts cried out in abject terror. While he himself wasn't afraid of her, logic dictated that he refrain from upsetting her in case she opted to end his entire existence.

"Hello. I didn't see you there." Mako tried his best to turn his body around, but only winced as pain shot through him once again. He inwardly cursed as he let out a small breath, the pain becoming nothing more then an annoyance as he finally managed to wiggle himself around. "Its nice to meet you."

Before the blonde could answer, a number of people walked into the tent, around three different individuals who all possessed the same skin tone. Two of them Mako was able recognize, one being Aurori, though her warhammer was missing, and the other being the energetic girl he had seen earlier. The last one wasn't someone he recognized but she did share an appearance to the other female, although the new girl did have a bigger pair of breasts then the energetic one.