Finally Returning
"Wow, waaaw~..." - "Are you seeing this? That pair..." - "They have to be real, right?" - "So unreal..." - "Yeah, kinda creepy, too."
As Heian Ciemnosc and Elena walked into the crowd and made their presence known, they became showered with pairs of eyes, clearly indicating their astounding image. Elena was wearing a black dress. It was something entirely new, and Heian Ciemnosc witnessed it before coming out of the changing room. Before, only her master had seen her in a dress when she was younger and hadn't taken the halberd as her life and Art. But afterwards, Heian Ciemnosc was the only one to see her in such a black-feathered dress for the first time.
Elena may be a tomboy in the perfect sense of the word, but she knew how to dress and wear it. It was an empire styled dress with a short, steep opening in the middle around the knees and the right side shorter, just above the knee. It had several adornings mimicking the appearance of a crow’s feather without it belonging to any animal. It was simply aesthetic.
But despite the dress turning her into a beautiful black-feathered raven with pale skin and an even more attractive medium-length blonde hair, she knew how to pose and enhance her already eye-stealing looks. Elena wasn’t looking charming, seductive, or beautiful. But she impacted everyone’s minds as soon as they saw her, like watching pedestrians walking through the streets on a gray-sky day when suddenly, a striking specimen walked confidently among the life of mortals.
Even then, she did have her appearance enhanced. Her face wasn’t picked up to any hairstyle, remaining as wide as always. Her brown eyes and that female front layer of hair made her look more exotic than she already was. Her seemingly table-like body was strangely attractive, and even the little bit of pale collarbone showed a center of focus any man and woman had to look at before mesmerizing themselves looking at her face.
On the other hand… Heian Ciemnosc wore a pretty lithe and exotic white smokin. It seemed transparent but was not, and there was a considerable ‘cleavage’ unlike in Elena’s dress. His pants hid the monster within, but part of his pale shins was shown, demonstrating quite some charm already as he wore undersized slippers, barely comfortable with their size. His top was long-sleeved, but the amount of sternum shown, almost down to the middle of his ribs, attracted just too many eyes from both sexes.
Heian Ciemnosc felt women’s eyes as they drooled and glared lower as if to try and calculate the truths of the universe. And when men looked at him, he tightened his grip on Elena’s hand. It wasn’t out of fear, thoroughly. He was letting her know how much he ‘liked’ this so-called ‘pure’ outfit. If anything, Elena was the gothic girlfriend becoming a cuckquean and going out to find some cake for her thin, fragile, and skinny but hung, delicate boyfriend.
With his already pale skin, he looked more creepy than attractive. He didn’t need an outfit to be as mighty handsome as anything or anyone could ever be. But the costume clearly gave him the appearance of a life-devouring aberration hiding in a Human’s skin. Heian Ciemnosc saw the eyes of many women, young or not, stare at him with low eyebrows, seemingly sacred of being endangered from getting close to him. But they also hoped he’d take them all as his next victims.
“They’re looking…” Heian Ciemnosc leaned to her ear. Elena immediately blushed more of that bright pink around her cheeks, from shining her pale skin a little to taking more territory on both sides of her face. She lowered her head and nodded a few times, so slightly and timidly, “I know, they are looking a lot…”
“At me, I’m just too much for them. Look, I think I’m losing all dignity tonight. Actually, no, not even tonight. If you let go of my hand, I’m gone. So, protect me.” Heian Ciemnosc continued to whisper in her ear; she smiled, but the blush didn’t diminish as she looked at him, “Puchi!”
Rustle, rustle. “An.” With a swift corporeal movement, Heian Ciemnosc stepped forwards, took her waist from behind with his right arm, appearing like the evildoer forcing the maiden to do his bidding, and quickened their pace a little. Not only did Elena not refuse his handling of her, she even placed her right palm on his right hand’s back with her left arm folding backwards and her palm on his right shoulder, as if to reciprocate.
“Don’t worry, I’ll protect your ass. And if I can’t, you’ll have to explain it to your wife. If it happens, good luck.” Elena grinned and said, her head turning leftwards and giving Heian Ciemnosca a different category of death sentence. He had a stiff face and widened eyes as big as saucers before getting back at her, tapping her little bum with the back of his left hand. “Don’t forget who ‘fed’ you today, eh?”
“Err… mn!” Elena became awkward, lowering her head onto his right chest and looking like a cutesy animal, adoring the feel of his body. After nodding, she became silent and gave the crowd, wherever they went, a splendid sight.
Usually, it would be the ‘dark’ cosplayer acting active, protective, and overbearing of the two. Meanwhile, the pure cosplayer was always the gentle, tender, and loving one of the two. And though some going with this cosplay were couples, that was just one percentage of the lot. Others were lovers, friends, fuck buddies, rivals, and even family. Dark was dominant, and a male or female could be it. While pure was the same, though it was mostly for effeminate people.
Right now, Heian Ciemnosc showcased a rare sight of pure being the dominant one, as dark wasn’t acting mellow or coy. She still had her brown eyes, looking as stubborn as always, headstrong. But she was in between 2 worlds. One was the real world, where she showed her nature and was practically unapproachable from those not strong-willed. The other was Heian Ciemnosc. He was like her world, and she was simply wholeheartedly his.
They walked for a long time, observing everything around them. All Races were here, mingling with each other, and even some cutie female Perkanai sent flirtatious glances to Heian Ciemnosc despite Elena marking him with her aura and scent. Only some Spirit Formation and Spirit Rebirth realm cultivators dared approach them to talk with Elena. But Heian Ciemnosc’s maneuvers and silence were all they received.
After keeping Elene safeguarded from incompetent and good fellows alike, she was already leaning her upper torso, and above, on his chest and slowly walking through the crowd. Her eyes were mostly narrowed as if to sleep, but she was simply hearing the void within his veins and body, incapable of distinguishing his blood flow, let alone heartbeats. As for the latter, she would have to press her head on his left chest instead.
She slowly lifted her head and then returned it to press against his right chest, her little ears hot and red, her voice soft but tomboyish. “I tried cultivating last night, before… err, that. But I couldn’t achieve the same results since I went to your tent… I was thinking, can you help me cultivate that way… again? I’m sure that, with our intellect, we can find a method so I won’t have to take away your time or solely depend on you to achieve it.”
“Please, it is substantial to me. It doesn’t feel the same anymore. I need this,” Elena said, imploring Heian Ciemnosc as her words turned mosquito-level with each spoken word. She didn’t lift her face to know his eyes were on top of her blonde hair when his voice reached her already red ears, now flinching with each commencing word from his mouth. “You know you don’t need to beg me. Yawn, but it’s okay. I also want to study more… those sensations. Oh. I also won’t ask you for ‘favors’ in exchange unless you want to.”
“Hng,” Elena cutely snorted quietly. She rubbed her left ear on his white, thin fabric before poutingly answering. “Why are you asking when you can do whatever you want to me, and I can’t do anything to stop or deter you? Only one thing, promise me you won’t copulate with me unless you find whoever can be my husband and help my position in the Academy in the future.”
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“Okay, I promise,” Heian Ciemnosc grinned and said, his darkest eyes looking ahead. On the other hand, Elena’s face turned a bit sad and sour but then recuperated, and she said nothing as she buried her nose in his pale skin just beside her head.
“H-... Heian Ciemnosc?!”
“Oh?” Suddenly, Heian Ciemnosc heard his name from a known, reckless, and dangerous young girl’s voice. He sensed the alarm and surprise but then calmness from those words alone in a second while he turned around and faced a young girl cosplaying with a yellow tutu and a black and white dungaree. She had cat black and white cat ears and a tail with a white tip and overall black. She had turquoise and hot pink mixed colors in her eyes, dark-dull orange hair, and rosy pale skin. She looked flamboyantly dainty and cute with the extra cats and tails.
“!” - “!” After looking at Heian Ciemnosc face to face, just 10 inches from each other, Milyy looked at Elena… and instantly knew the universal secrets of history as they looked at each other’s bodies up and down. Unceremoniously, their Spirit Sense went over the other’s body to check the outlining shape, and both were alarmed to see their exact same proportions.
‘Oh my gosh, she’s so tiny, like me!’ Milyy thought to herself, her face going from sparkling heavenly storms between her and Elena’s heads to shock and wide-mouthed with even wider eyes. Elena also had a little thought in her mind as her face went from just about to slightly frown in rivalry to astounded with her blonde eyebrows lowly jumping backwards and her little lips forming a ‘ª’ so cutely. ‘How… can there be two of us? This… she’s precious…’
“Hi, nice meeting you. I’m Elena’s, Heian Ciemnosc’s first sparring partner in the Academy.” Elena presented herself, her right hand meeting the young girl’s right hand, which was already at the same height and extended to meet hers. Milyy nodded and sternly said, “Hello! I’m Milyy, your sparring partner’s Master’s daughter! I’ve heard a loooooot about you from Junior Apprentice Brother Heian Ciemnosc. I will become his second sparring partner, at least from a private and personal point of view. Mommy’s order, heh heh.”
“Oh my, nice meeting you, err… again, Milyy,” Elena said. She nodded twice in encouragement, to which Milyy smiled and became coy. Milyy picked Elena’s hands, being the girly one from the two, and stepped closer to Elena, their noses just a few inches from each other’s faces. As she excitedly spoke, her cat ears ruffled alone and became erect. “Is it true what they say? About… And that… That when… Is his prowess that good? Oh, right, how did you accomplish that mission? Mother said… Oh my gosh, you have to tell me…”
Heian Ciemnosc: “...”
Yet again, witnessing a girl’s talk, nothing like he had experienced before, Heian Ciemnosc was left speechless as these two monsters talked to each other about many things. Some of those ‘things’ were about him, others about cultivation adventures, and finally, about the mission they accomplished, which only the higher-ups knew of its completion. Heian Ciemnosc was the third wheel for a good while until Elena and Milyy became besties and could rule the world together by being obnoxiously young.
“Ahem, H-H- Heian Ciemnosc, hi~...” Milyy faced Heian Ciemnosc after looking at Elena as the latter gave the former some encouraging eyes. Milyy spoke at a regular volume but slightly shyly, so much that Heian Ciemnosc couldn’t tell. She lowered her chin and picked her hair around her left ear, facing him, and lifted it to look at his eyes directly.
“Milyy, what are you doing here? Why are you acting this way, hm? Did Master not allow you to come out, and you came here anyways?” Heian Ciemnosc looked at the young girl and tilted his head to the right. She stuck her tongue out, and her cat ears, above her head, folded and erected nonstop as she closed her eyes. Suddenly and rapidly pulling that tiny, pinkiest tongue back into her mouth after remembering how close their faces were. She opened her eyes, startled.
“Ah, err… Nah, Mother lets me come out every now and then to hang out in these things. But just don’t tell her if she asks if you saw me outside or something, okaaay~?” Milyy superficially smiled at the end and narrowed her eyes, but she kept locking hers onto his as she did. Heian Ciemnosc blinked profusely a couple times before saying with a straight face, “I can’t lie to Master. You better hope she doesn’t directly ask me where you’ve been.”
“Mou…” Milyy pouted and deliciously frowned her face before looking down. Both knew her mother was just too much for their young brains and cleverness. She punched his right chest powerlessly, making Heian Ciemnosc sweat coldly for a moment before saying with a tearful expression but without tears. “Can’t you be wiser? Mother has told me to start training with you next year. Come ooon~, don’t be like that. I will help you become a Leading Student, isn’t that a good thing~? I promise never to almost kill you again~~...”
“Puchi…” Elena held her laughter in. She first looked with narrowed eyes when Milyy punched his chest, a threatening aura momentarily raised from the back of her body. But then, she almost chuckled after she and Milyy exchanged so much information about their target. They had just formed an alliance. One that could be beautiful and everlasting but was now incredibly fragile and on a rope.
And even as they found each other as their soulmate, it still wasn’t enough to suddenly become die-hard for one another.
“I’ll… think about it. You haven’t told me why you’re here.” Heian Ciemnosc slowly blinked, wishing to depart from this place, taking the most public and popular paths with the most people teleporting together. He didn’t want to suffer some ‘random’ death at the hands of a young kitten. Heian Ciemnosc then seemed to think of something and asked Milyy, “Why were you so scared of using your Spirit Sense just now? Elena ogled you without a care, but you were almost not even using any.”
“Errrr…” Milyy put on a wronged, long face. Her shoulders dropped as she elaborated, her eyes sad and watery but never leaving his bottomless darkest eyes as if forever drowned in them. “As long as I use the tiniest wisp from my Spirit Sense, Mommy will know~... Even if I’m anywhere in this Existence~... That’s why I can’t use it while I’m outside.”
Elena and Heian Ciemnosc: (๏д๏) (¤﹏¤)
“I’m also just helping someone Mother sent me to help her get a Universal Conveyance. I just brought her here before the date of her receiving that thing. W-would you like to accompany me? Both of you!” Milyy said and proposed, looking with frowning eyebrows and shining eyes at Heian Ciemnosc before the former jumped and the latter darted between him and Elena.
“If Heian Ciemnosc goes, then I will as well,” Elena said, reassuring the confused, tilted head of Milyy with a wink. Heian Ciemnosc blinked profusely again before sighing and heavily uttering each word. “Sigh, sure. We can go there tomorrow. We are here just… err… dating.”
“Heh~,” Elena smirked gloriously at Heian Ciemnosc’s assertiveness in declaring their undefined relationship. Milyy looked at Elena with admiring eyes, darting them again between the two before her as she smiled and lightly commented, “Great!”
… It turned out that the person Milyy was told to help was a rising star of the Sub Students. She had spent 8 years in the Academy, finally becoming a Student without a Master, patron, or officially belonging to any team. She was incredibly good at alchemy and was almost as good in tool-crafting but not much about other forging processes. Already in the Spirit Rebirth realm, she was pretty capable but still not adept at fighting like Elena or Heian Ciemnosc were and can continue to grow in the future.
During the rest of the day, Heian Ciemnosc walked in his white clothes, creeping females and males from how handsome and scary he was, and even more with the unique beauties to his sides. Although he was the one at their side half of the time. They walked and chatted, ate a little bit, or every time whenever the kitty in the group smelled something good. Each time, they had to take a fast vehicle to go somewhere in this part of the City.
As for their teams and the Sub Students, they were having their own fun around the City. Most were used to this, as their missions are usually long. And when returning, their teams usually gave a day or 2 for relaxation. From what Heian Ciemnosck knew, Esteban and Violet went out together as their teams went around the city as a group. Some Sub Students tagged along, but most went out with each other.
After seeing their team leaders’ unusual relationship, and slightly messy too, the teams simply chose to accept their future and fates together and started socializing earlier. Naturally, having already thought of what their future as team leaders would be like. Heian Ciemnosc and Elena could be said to be content to see this dynamic. Nobody here was acting like a child. But it just could never remain so calm and peaceful, not forever.
… When night fell. Heian Ciemnosc, Elena, Milyy, and a brunette with medium-length, brown hair returned to the former’s hotel. Milyy and the brunette booked a room each while Heian Ciemnosc went out to check something. Elena brought Milyy and the brunette to the living room their teams and Sub Students were currently in. Just as Milyy and Elena were departing from Heian Ciemnosc’s sight, she turned around, gazing at his back, relaxed.
They were finally returning to the Wrath Nihility Academy’s territory tomorrow. They would simply go through one teleportation portal, and they would be back near its western gate. But Heian Ciemnosc felt this kind of sentiment, this… ‘unfinished business’ dwelling at the back of his head. Thus, as he exited the hotel and spent just 15 seconds walking in the dark, he sensed a whooshing movement behind him leading towards an alley and a whisper calling to him.
“Come here…”
…