Chapter 7: A Constant Reminder
It’s morning again. The sun beams through the window, while birds sing their morning tune.
“SORA! GET YOUR ARSE OUT OF BED! YOU’RE LATE FOR SCHOOL!” (Mom)
“AH- holy crap!” (Sora)
Fumbling out of bed, Sora quickly got dressed and ran out. Though he was late for school, he suddenly stopped at the sidewalk.
Huh? Akiko’s not here?
Sora was a little confused, ever since they were kids till the first year of highschool, Akiko was always waiting in front of Sora’s house. While looking around, he didn't see Akiko anywhere.
She must be sick huh? I’ll send her a text...
After the usual morning ritual with Prof. Okamoto, it was lunch time. Sora stood in line with his friends to order food.
“Hey Sora, rare catching you here, what’s up?” (Shota)
“Hey Shota, Akiko sick today, so no lunch” (Sora)
“Yo Mitsuo, over here!” (Yuta)
“Hey guys” (Mitsuo)
“Mitsuo, did you find that hidden door to the fairy realm yet?” (Yuta)
“Not yet, I can feel the presence of magic but everytime I get close, it always vanish!” (Mitsuo)
While heading back to their table, Sora’s friends continue their discussion of Golden Age.
“Dammit! That elder said ‘someone with high affinity with nature’ should be able to communicate with the fairies, what bullshit!” (Yuta)
“How high is your intelligence Mitsuo? (Shota)
“It’s 217! I even have magic eye beginner 6 now, this quest is ridiculous...” (Mitsuo)
“Hey Sora, whacha doing in Golden age?” (Yuta)
“...” (Sora)
Staring absentmindedly at his food, Sora seem to be reminiscing about something deeply.
“Hey Sora, if you’re not gonna eat your fries, let me have them!” (Yuta)
“Hey stop that Yuta, leave Sora alone” (Shota)
“Hahaha, I was just kidding man!” (Yuta)
Getting up for his bench, Sora gave a small sigh...
“I don’t feel like eating guys, you can have it Yuta...” (Sora)
“Hah! Thanks buddy!” (Yuta)
“Hey Sora, you okay?” (Mitsuo)
Sora left the cafeteria, even though he sent several text messages to Akiko, she never replied back. He was worried. As he walked towards the boy’s bathroom, someone from behind called out to him...
“Hey Sora!” (girl?)
Turning around, he sees a group of girls. He recognized their faces, they were from his homeroom class. They surrounded Sora while putting up an intimidating aura.
“Look’s like the Queen isn't here” (girl?)
“I don’t have time for this, can’t you leave me alone?” (Sora)
Getting pushed to the floor, the girls began spitting on Sora while cursing out profanities.
“Hah? You think you’re so cool just because Queen-sama decides to hangout with you?” (girls?)
“Yeah! Queen-sama belongs to us!” (girls?)
“Yeah!” (girls?)
-Flashback-
It was a dreary afternoon with the overcast skies, everything looked grey and depressing. The sound of bells ringing echo throughout the yard, it was recess.
With his brand new action figure, a boy, no older than 5, was playing alone in the sandbox. While minding his own business, a group of preschool girls started to gang up on him...
“Wah! Mightyman!” (Small boy)
While stomping on the little boy’s action figure, the little girl smirked. Her pink frilly dress and ponytails wouldn't give you the impression of a school bully, however, her actions speak otherwise.
“Hey sore-face!” (bully?)
“Haha, sore-face, sore-face!” (group?)
“Why are you so stupid, stupid?” (bully?)
The girl gave the little boy a shove. Once on the ground, the group of vicious school girls started kicking him relentlessly. The little boy curled up in silence. He was scared, scared of being hurt, scared of fighting back, scared that no one will save him, scared of being alone. All he could do was stay silent and cry.
The world wasn't something he imagined it would be. Ever since he could remember, he always dreamt of a world full of super heroes. From his morning cartoons, to the retro-video games his dad would play, the image of a Hero was ingrained in his very soul. Everytime he looked out the window, he envisioned a world full of justice, where the good guy always win and the bad guys always lose.
However, that was then and this is now. While curled up on the floor, battered, he lost the will to believe. The world was too cruel for such a small child, there was no hero, no one to save him. But in the midst of all the pain and suffering, a voice called out to him...
“Hey stop that!” (???)
“Wah!” (bully?)
“Eeek, run away!” (group?)
The pain was still there, but something changed. There was light. Peeking up from his little sanctuary, he looked around. The bullies were gone. Turning over to his back, he laid there in silence. Gazing at the grey cloud, the mood was somewhat sobering.
Out of nowhere a girl face suddenly appeared from above. At first he flinched but looking deeper into her eyes, he felt calm. Her smile was bright, it was like the sun itself broke through the cloudy skies. As she stood there smiling at him, he mutter to himself...
“...Hero?” (Small boy)
“Ehehe, I’m no hero, but my name is Akiko! What’s your name?” (Akiko)
“um...” (Small boy)
The child was at a lost for words, this was his first time having a real conversation with a girl. Though she wasn't a ‘hero’, he felt something squeezing at his chest. For the first time in his life, he wanted to be with someone, he wanted to have a friend...
“S-Sora! M-my name is Sora!” (Sora)
-End Flashback-
Beaten and bruised, Sora was again lying on the ground. As the girls left, they gave him one final warning.
“We better not see you with Queen-sama again or else!” (girl?)
Getting up, he headed to the boy’s bathroom. He stood there, looking in the mirror. All he could see was a helpless 5 year old child. It wasn't a memory he wanted to recall. After washing his face, he left school, he felt he needed to be somewhere else...
***
[knock knock knock]
Standing outside a familiar house, Sora was waiting. After a minute of silence, the door slowly opened. There, in her pink pajamas, was what he was looking for.
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“Hey Akiko...” (Sora)
“Oh my God! What happened to you Sora?” (Akiko)
Pulling Sora by the arm, she brought him inside. They both sat in her room while he told her about today’s event. Normally, Sora would be excited about having the rare opportunity to frolic in Akiko’s bedroom. However the mood was damp, he didn't have the energy to even put on a smile.
“I’m sorry Sora, if I was there...” (Akiko)
“It’s not your fault, I’m just glad you’re okay...” (Sora)
Trying to lighten the mood, Akiko started rabbling on about her day...
“And then old man Jeremy fell in a ditch! Hahaha! Oh, I almost forgot, I have a surprise for you back at the cabin, when you’re feeling better, stop by!” (Akiko)
Still depressed, Sora could only nod.
“Thanks Akiko, I really can’t thank you enough...” (Sora)
“Haha! No problem! Um, my mom is coming home soon, I think you should go now” (Akiko)
Getting up, Sora made his way to the door.
“Wait Sora!” (Akiko)
Turning around, he sees Akiko sitting on her bed with her arms wide open.
“Hug” (Akiko)
Sora hesitated, he didn't know what to do. He wanted to leave, the longer he stayed, the stronger his emotions started to welled up from beneath his stomach. As he slowly embraced Akiko, he couldn't hold it in. Tears started to flow down his cheeks, he started to sob, something he hasn't done since he was 5. The pain he was holding inside came washing out like a flood. Tighter, he continued to embrace Akiko. He wanted someone to know how he felt, he wanted someone to be there for him. While rubbing his back, Akiko remained silent. She knew Sora didn't need words, what he needed was to simply cry.
After letting everything out of his system, Marcus left in silence. He returned home and collapsed on his bed. The day felt exhausting and he needed some time off.
***
[clang, clang, clang]
The sound of metal being hammered rang throughout the forge. It’s been 2 days of intense training, but Marcus was now ready to learn the techniques to forging. Garat was quite delighted with his new trainee, everything Garat instructed Marcus to do, it was done. Marcus never once complained in the last 2 days, he just work diligently in silence, one task at a time.
Wiping the sweat off his brow, Marcus dropped his hammer while taking a deep breath of relief.
Phew, I needed to get all that stress out of my system. Hitting stuff sure felt good!
“Hey Marcus, Franky, come here for a second!” (Blacksmith Garat)
“Yes Master!” (Marcus & FrankYellow)
Running over with a bright smile, Marcus quickly made his way to his master’s side.
“Hey Franky, take this” (Blacksmith Garat)
Handing Franky a simple kitchen knife, Franky immediately knew to do.
“Hey Marcus, follow me, we’ll be starting the next step of your training” (FrankYellow)
Walking over to an unmanned hearth, Franky began to pump air into the fire.
“Hey Frank, what’s the plan?” (Marcus)
Holding the knife up to Marcus's face, Frank made a cheeky grin.
“You’re goal for the next week, make an exact copy of this knife, watch closely” (FrankYellow)
Frank continue pumping the bellow until the fire was blazing. Dropping several iron ores, he waited for the mixture to melt before skimming off the black soot on top. He pour the hot molten iron into a mould. After cooling, he tapped it out, held it with tongs, and began shaping the blade with a hammer. After another reheat and hammering, he finished off the blade with grinding and polishing.
Holding the two blades up, he handed them both to Marcus.
“Here’s your next quest!” (FrankYellow)
Becoming Garat’s Apprentice (Part 2)!
Rank: D
Description: Forge a copy of a knife given by Garat within a week.
Reward: Become a true apprentice of Blacksmith Garat
Failure: Decrease affection from Blacksmith Garat
“Are you ready Marcus?” (FrankYellow)
“I’m ready!” (Marcus)
***
It was already after hours, the forge has long since closed. Walking in the moonlight, Marcus made his way back to the cabin. Opening the door, Marcus was definitely surprised. Running from beneath the table, a small ball of fur ran to greet him.
[Woof woof!]
Wagging it’s little tail in excitement, there was a puppy.
“Welcome home Marcus, I’ll like to introduce you to the newest addition to our home!” (Misty33)
Speechless, Marcus picked up the adorable bundle of love.
“Her name is Diana! Isn’t she cute?” (Misty33)
Holding the puppy closer, it became really attached to Marcus. Diana started to lick Marcus's face in excitement.
“Since when?” (Marcus)
“It was getting rather lonely playing by myself, I thought having a daughter would brighten things up a bit” (Misty33)
“D-daughter?” (Marcus)
“Yup, our daughter! Aren't you excited?” (Misty33)
Marcus became coy as he tried to hide his excitement. He was feeling depressed for the last couple of days but seeing Akiko in person always made his mood better.
The new family shared a meal before going to bed.
Loging out, Marcus returned to reality. His room was dark. He got out the capsule and into his bed. That night, Marcus couldn't sleep. He was thinking about his life. What has he done with his life? What was he doing now? While pondering about the ‘what ifs’, he came to realize how this world was always changing, nothing ever remained the same. However, in this bleak reality he called life, there was always one constant he could rely on. For him, that person was Akiko...
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