Brothers? [Private: Chaotic Rumble]

Ayato strolled through the guild hall, completely exhausted by recent missions, charitable events, and meetings with the citizens of Clover Town. Havoc struck nearby the guild weeks ago, and still, children- and even their elders- were frightened by what had happened. Ayato had put a lot of effort into evacuating these citizens while Ladon once walked amongst the town. He remembered the infants that wanted to cheer his guild on, no matter how much danger they were putting themselves in. This town was surely in its own league, supported by what Ayato believed to be the greatest guild of all. When Ayato once fought a fraction of that dragon, he felt as if his actions reflected the feelings of everyone in this town. He owed them endlessly for the motivation these citizens had granted him, but knew he could never equate to their kindness. There were just too many pure hearts for Ayato to compare. Ayato sighed, and proceeded towards a particular statue: the founder of Blue Pegasus.

"You must've known how special these people were when you decided to make this guild, huh?" Ayato questioned rhetorically, "The people of this town only seem to be getting better, regardless of the chaos that may rise. Perhaps this is why you call us the Pegasus; we soar beyond limits and fly towards our own success." Ayato exhaled, and realized he was just talking to himself, at this point. The founder had lived his own generation of glory and success, and now it was Ayato's turn.

"And now I go to--" Ayato cheered before he felt a sudden surge of pain course through his body, and he fell over. These past fights had put a huge toll on Ayato lately, and he still needed time to recover. Even his lineage could not support him while he laid on the floor, yet the pain was nothing after a few seconds. Ayato laughed hysterically, and tried to help himself up, but fell down again. "This reminds me of my fight with Viola..." Ayato muttered, trying to remember his toughest challenges since joining the guild. Eventually, Ayato regained enough strength to at least position his body upright on the nearest chair, and recuperate from there. He had much to improve about his physical self, though all he could do- and should do at this time- was relax.

Ayato attempted to converse with his book and sword while the blade was sheathed, his book hidden within his jacket. However, he did not have the correct mindset to connect with the two objects, or his friends, rather. He sighed, careless of the idea he once held, and looked down towards the ground. Had Ladon really put him in such a state? Though Ayato had only fought a limited amount of Ladon's power, he felt as though he used up all of his energy, otherwise. It was embarrassing, now that Ayato thought about it further. He surely needed to step up his game, which he even tried while relaxing on the chair. Unfortunately, nothing worked. His subconscious was telling him to remain as still on the chair as possible, and only stand once he was completely healed. Ayato was so used to having his book and sword assist him that he felt like an idiot while the two companions were idle- he was not used to a time like this.

This was when Ayato heard a sudden Yo! run through his ear. There was someone else currently near him- or possibly next to him- clearly trying to get his attention. The voice was familiar, though Ayato could not recall what was so significant about the sound he was now listening to. He looked over now that the voice was exposed, and saw someone he did not recognize. Recently, Ayato felt as though he had lost a power of his that he often used to identify others, the cost of course being whomever he once used the book to uncover. With this taken into account, all Ayato could remember were voices, though he could no longer call names by whoever he saw, no matter how difficult. "I felt like I've seen you before, but where?" Ayato asked the man next to him, "Anyways, it's nice to see you. How have you been?" Ayato asked. He tried to greet the man by extending his arm out towards the male, his hand open to shake, though whilst performing this action, his book fell from his jacket, and onto his lap. Now the book could converse with him successfully. The book was also familiar with the voice, though the identity could not be predicted- especially guaranteed. This almost felt like a sad moment; as if Ayato had forgotten a moment that could have been significant to him. Luckily, a bright smile still maintained itself on Ayato's face while he was still in the midst of fully welcoming the man. There surely was something he would like to remember.

Ayato listened with great interest towards what the male before him was saying. Every time he spoke, Ayato was always left questioning himself. Had a single loss of power done this much to him? "A good friend, you say?" Ayato wondered. He took into account the list of people he had encountered ever since he joined Blue Pegasus: Hikari, Alyia, Zack, Shuhei, Eternia, Viola and someone else. If the two really were good friends, then this man had to be that "someone else" on Ayato's list. It was then Ayato gave even more of his attention to the fellow guild member. From what Ayato understood- as long as he wasn't mistaken- this man had just explained that he was in a different state the last time the two met, but how was he different, so to speak?

This other guild member was trying to help him a lot, it seemed, meaning the two definitely had a strong relationship of some kind- that they were, in fact, friends. This person Ayato watched was now lifting his hair to try and prove a point, but why? Ayato examined the hair the male was showing off, and noticed how long it was. Not even a hippy would put his hair in a style like this, though there was something he could surprisingly recall from its form. It's color looked much like a woman Ayato had seen somewhere, but where exactly? What a minute! That was it! The length of the hair, the ponytail, and especially the tone of the man's voice- the person he was seeing once looked feminine! An image suddenly appeared in his mind that kept flashing the more Ayato looked at the male next to him.

Finally, there was something that expelled itself from the other Mage. Shadows? Shadows! Ayato had been somewhere...somewhere where the shadows ran peacefully across a beautiful landscape of some sort during the night, but where? Ayato was struggling to remember where he could have been with this man, and so he looked over to the book. The book seemed to know more than him, telepathically informing him of all the places he had been. There was one place Ayato had not thought about where he did, in fact, travel to during a sad occasion, and how could he forget? He went to this place to rid of his past sorrow: the Serene Cliffs. There was a figure he encountered there that always brought a hint of darkness everywhere she roamed. What another minute! Hint! She! Ayato knew! He grinned finally, not even realizing that his hand had been released all the while.

A brother or sister was always one who refused to give a definite answer, but rather tease their sibling, instead. Brothers and sisters always liked challenging the other to help them improve. On the other hand, while brothers and sisters could be such pests to their siblings, they were always there for support when the sibling needed it. Ayato remembered asking someone if they could be his "brother" long ago, but to someone who did not appear as they truly seemed. There were a mystery, such as the purpose of shadows which this man was currently producing. Only one person had intentionally appeared a mystery in Ayato's life, and that was...

"Ayeseru!"

It was hard to believe a book had corrupted Ayato's mind to the point of forgetting again. To be fair, it ticked Ayato off. Forgetting someone reminded him deeply of his past, when nobody saw him as someone to remember or recognize, nor to exist the day later. Ayeseru had changed, however. He looked rather unique in his clothing, and his appearance had generally changed- a lot. He was male again, though he was completely different from what Ayato imagined. On the contrary, if Ayato could recall, his sense of Ayeseru's magic was much smaller during their last encounter- which he was beginning to remember- while this new image could not be sensed, at all. It was immeasurable. Something definitely happened to Ayeseru recently, though Ayato did not bother to ask.

Ayato stood upright and slid the book back into his jacket. He was fully recuperated, and even more motivated to move out once Ayeseru had offered a chance to travel alongside him. Ayato simply nodded, and dug his hands into his pockets. After spiritually speaking with the founder of the guild, there wasn't much else to do inside the guild hall today, so Ayato figured this would be his one and only opportunity to do something progressive, anyway. Perhaps the guild- along with the town surrounding- was silent due to the recent Ladon event. Everyone needed their peace since then, and were probably making preparations in case another sign of havoc rose amongst Clover once again. "Let's go!" Ayato responded cheerfully. He figured he owed Ayeseru a great trip after forgetting him, and so he planned to spend the day with the older gentleman.

Ayato proceeded to the doors, and opened one for Ayeseru. "I wonder what made you become male again." Ayato remarked, "You're free to keep quiet about it, especially since I would have no idea what to do in your past situation." This was actually ironic. Ayato had been forgotten due to a curse in the past, while Ayeseru had been misidentified by gender. Ayato laughed at the fact that there were probably people out there who only knew Ayeseru as a female, though he didn't bother exposing the joke. Instead, he just kept an unchanged, bright smile on his face, and awaited Ayeseru to reach him at the doorsteps. From there onwards, Ayato would allow Ayeseru to lead the way.