Takanatteku kodou itomete yo you know? (Private)

Magnolia town was a town the novice mage was becoming more familiar with. After the events with the Vulcans taking the daughter of Miss Jackson he was ready for a peaceful day in the village. And what a peaceful time it was after they were not having anyone stolen away now for three days. Of course people disappeared from time to time but they were usually found in one way or another. This was to happen in a village full of magic and magical creatures that could hurt civilians.

He had been there for a week now, making sure he visited his new Vulcan friend with some presents and goodies to keep on his good side. The forest had become somewhere he knew almost off by heart thanks to his eye magic. He could probably tell you about every tree that he had come across and every path that would be made in the forest. But could he show you it? No sadly he could only recall it by mouth not by image. He was hoping to find out a good way to get around that problem but so far he hadn’t found a magic craftsman that could assist him in that kind of project.

What Nao was doing in the village was just sightseeing (kind of funny for someone who can zoom in ten times with his eyes), and for that he made sure he could plan a whole day to see everything. So far he had seen the cathedral in all its glory. It seemed a little bit aged yet some kind of more modernish attachments like… gears and it seemed to be on top of a platform as if it could be moved. How peculiar no? It was certainly an odd design decision by whoever had commissioned the cathedral.

Maybe it transformed into some kind of fighting robot,Nao thought, chuckling to himself until he realised that every single building seemed to be on to of cut off platforms with gears and pulleys and all sort of mechanisms. The novice mage was actually kind of surprised about this kind of aesthetic design that the town seemed to be adhering to. He was actually impressed by all of the wonderful small structural choices that the whole town had been following as he walked around to find somewhere to have a break.

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Eventually Nao found a cake shop in the town, surrounded by a number of shops along the high street, with an alleyway on the side of it.  It had a few bushes outside of it to decorate the shop front and in the window it had a few of the specials that were being sold that day.It seemed quite quaint, and being that it was a weekday it wasn’t all that busy.

Nao figured that now was a good time to actually spend writing some of his book that he was working on instead of getting distracted by the bookstore he could see down the road. As tempting as looking at books was it was definitely time to sit down and rest those feet of his.

His dark brown eyes scanned at the selection of cakes and other sorts of sweet foods as the queue ahead of him started to disperse after getting their orders. He could smell the fresh brew that had been put on recently, mixed with the smell of freshly baked good. He finally decided on getting a small slice of chocolate cake a fresh coffee to wake him up after all the walking he had done today.

He took his coffee and cake and sat on a table where he could see everything around him. It wasn’t that he was paranoid it was just making sure he took precaution in his everyday life. Even though he could see a lot in front of him, he had a huge cone around his field of view where he couldn’t see. It’s not like his eyes could see 359 degrees around him.

The novice took out his journal and started to write out some of his ideas that he had during the day about his novel. Who he was going to write as the main character’s companions; who was going to be the overall antagonist (if there was even going to be one); and places where he had made mistakes or accidental phrase repetitions. It was times where you were walking by yourself and have no distractions that actually help with rewriting parts you had written before. In fact, maybe the cool aesthetics of the town would be something that Nao could incorporate into the story. Steampunk gears and pulleys in a town where everything was starting to transition into a modern era… Maybe?

He smiled softly at his work and began to carry on writing, checking up every once in a while to see who had entered the shop. A few couples with their lattes (pumpkin spiced or not), an old man with a green tea and a sugary cake to balance it out, and a mage or two with their bottles of elderflower water and granola bars talking about “balanced diets.”

Yeesh what try hards, he thought to himself as he scribbled down notes about the area and the surroundings into another section of his rather small journal. He would copy parts of it later at home into a much larger book that he stored there. After all, knowledge was power… or something like that.

Grumble. . .

I just need to -

Growl. . .

Oh, oops. . .

Grumble, growl. . .

Sounds like it's time to eat.

A pale hand patting onto a clothed stomach, the figure's form seemed to twist left and right in search of something. What that something was is one of the basic and most vital necessities of any living being to survive in the world, and that was food. In an instinctive attempt to quiet the rather embarrassing noise escaping from her stomach, Shu let a hushing sound seethe through her teeth as a light blush dusted along the features of her cheeks. What started as a casual search to help those in need turned into needing to help herself. At the very notion the young woman couldn't find anymore of a reason to be embarrassed, but she needed to focus on other things.

"A-Alright then. . . Where's the nearest food establishment?"

Walking around the town of Magnolia was a quaint place filled with people bustling here and there, but the shops were a rather grand feature. There were a variety of things up for selection and to gander at, but the one particular establishment that caught the mage's attention was a cake shop. Bushes decorated the front rather neatly while the design seemed to match the content of the store rather creatively. It was certainly a welcoming site for one to take in, and upon reading the title of the shop, Shu decided that the domain would be the place for the day she would eat at.

With the soft chime of a bell sounding out the presence of a new customer, the clerk smiled at her upon her entrance, and out of instinct. "Welcome, sir! What can I get you today?" Trying her best to hold back a snort of amusement, the young woman decided to play along as she casually shoved her hands lazily into the pockets of her jeans. "I'm not sure, haha. Let's see. . .", she muttered softly with dubious interest. Indeed, there were a number of sweets aligned ever-so-neatly behind the glass casing. From slices of cake in a variety of flavors to other simple tastes, Shu had a rather difficult time on making the decision on what to choose.

Although, some of the designs seemed to prick at her heart. Something seemed rather familiar regarding the cake's designs and the fabric decorating each shelf. Even the smell was rather thought provoking, offering a strong sense of both peace and excitement. With a shake of her head to break away from the tempting dream world, Shu straightened herself up with a lighthearted smile.

Retracting a hand from the depths of her pocket, the black haired woman grabbed the hem of her red hat in a new thought, merely sighing out with a chuckle. "Oh dear. They all look so nice." The clerk seemed to provide a chuckle as well before the mage decided on a slice of vanilla cake, paying the appropriate price for said delicacy with thanks before turning to scan the interior for any open tables. Her examination didn't seem to find any open tables successfully, but a certain table did catch her eye.

A young man was sitting at a table by himself, a pen in hand and what seemed to be a book or journal with purely blank pages. "A writer. . . ?", she muttered to herself with a curious tilt of her head, violet eyes brimming with a vibrant hue of curiosity cloaking over. Eyelashes cascaded together in singular blinks as she continued to observe the man in wonderance, questions racing through the caverns of her mind as to what exactly he may be, who he was, what he was like. . .

It was then that she smiled and made the decision to perhaps sit at the table he was occupying - if he allowed it that was. With a soft tone as to not startle him out of his possible concentration or thought processes, Shu greeted the man with a warm smile, and a wave of her free hand while she was still grasping onto the plate holding her vanilla slice of cake.

"Excuse me, sir. I don't mean to trouble you or anything. Is it alright if I sit here?"

The café was starting to get a little busier as he had to sit down to work on his notes. Jotting down some notes about his characters, and also at the same time he would write anything odd about the people in the café at the time. Peculiar traits about people seemed to somehow end up in his shorts stories. May have been a little weird to talk about one of his characters have a little twitch in its neck when a word beginning with t appeared in its speech, or when a lady with a cane began to dance with it in the streets but it was cool to find some kind of traits among the more boring of Magi in this world. He just felt comfortable being able to write about it anonymously and without any kind of trouble.

Nao took a bite of his cake as he noticed a few people queuing up to order cake and drinks. A few people, busy with their daily lives and briefcases that contained all kinds of papers and documents that would make Nao’s head spin in confusion. He noticed a younger person eyeing up some of the cakes as they waited. Not sure if they were male or female at this angle, or neither (it’s a free world out there who is to judge?!). Not to try on people besides subconsciously writing down things about people while he was looking around to see what was going on while drinking his coffee with his left hand.

The amateur writer would put his head down, flipping between pages to write down his notes once more when he heard a soft voice right by him that made him stop writing dead in his tracks. He looked up to see that person who was in the queue, holding a vanilla cake and a friendly smile. They had asked Nao if they could sit down at the table, if it wouldn’t be a bother at all. Nao looked to the left slowly, then to the right and then back at the figure. There weren't really any more tables left in the room huh? Merde...

”Sure that’s fine” he said, softly yet with a small bit of reluctance. It wasn’t that he didn’t like people he just preferred to approach people after some time of studying them. This person was now getting into their personal bubble.

He would take another sip of his drink (about a quarter of the way through it), and got back to writing a little bit more in his journal, holding it close to him with his left hand while his right hand would continue writing the work that he was working on. Something about changing the clothes of the main character part way through the first chapter as they come across their first town, and that his little yellow mouse critter would somehow be the envy of a huge evil organisation. Something about a male companion who used to be an enemy turned friend who is too crazy over women… yeah!

However every once in a while he would do his usual look up and look around and somehow the person in front of him would catch his attention again and again. He would notice her hair, dark and all over the place seemed to explode out that oversized hat of hers, and it was very rare to see someone with violet eyes. Most people had dark brown or blue right? Also a little scrawny for someone of their age, maybe they were like… fifteen or sixteen?

Nao’s dark brown eyes would keep picking out details of the person in front of him mainly because they took up the majority of his vision now that they were in the way. His eyes were trying to look around, but his hands were starting to write up some details about them as he was planning a side character. He wasn’t really noticing it too much but someone who was pretty observant would know that there were some features of the person in front.

He would shut his book quickly as soon as he realised. He gave a soft sigh before drinking his coffee a little more and putting it down on the table pretty hard. He felt his creative burst fizzling out as he could no longer focus from afar and instead had to think of a way to… socialise.

”So…” he eventually said, looking into the eyes of the person in front of him, with the usual dullness his eyes would often show when he wasn’t using his magic. He gave a long pause before realising he didn’t actually know what to say. ”I’m sorry. I’m not really quite good with introductions but I guess if we’re sharing a table I should say hello. I’m Nao.” That’s it? That’s all that Nao could muster up to say? A little bit of a problem for the mage if he was to make… “friends.” Had this been a mission then maybe it’d all be different. But his book was on his mind, not people.

There was a tone of reluctance flitting about yet an acceptance in regards to sitting at the same table. Despite the rather intriguing air now encasing them both, the young woman decided nevertheless to slide into her chair with a casual ease while placing her plate down gently on the surface of the table. Scoot in slightly while maintaining a casual presence, she examined the delicacy before her. A fluffy and white surface while the orange frosting was neatly decorated, giving off a near feel that Halloween was approaching. It was a sure reminder that it was nearing and that a decision had to be made regarding attending a certain event.

So much has happened in what seems like so little time. . .

With a mental sigh, Shu took a piece of the cake and took a small bite out of it. There seemed to be a lot on her mind as of late, and she could barely communicate smoothly without having to script a response. The world around her just seemed to be going on and on while she stayed in place, and it was certainly one draining feeling. With her eyes now shifting to the side subtly, there was a tingling sensation tickling her forehead. Someone was watching her intently, closely. . . and judging from the softest hint of the direction, it was the individual before her. Her lips parted slightly as she waited for the sensation to dissipate - not wanting to catch him in the act.

An observation, huh?

Mindlessly picking off another piece of her vanilla cake and eating it, she then waited for the sensation to disappear before violet orbs looked to his focused figure. Black hair neatly aligned his features as a dark hue cloaked his eyes. There was the gentle touch of stress and scarring on his skin - most likely from past experiences - and the way he scribbled his pen on the blank pages was slow, yet progressively growing rushed. The attitude was unreadable and offered a mysterious air, and it was with a small smile that the black haired woman closed her eyes as the man abruptly slammed the contents of his journal shut.

Away from prying eyes and away from the outside world, little was known about the exact wording taking place on blank pages. All that either of them could do now was to break the ice, and the mage before her seemed to take initiative. The introduction was awkward yet genuine, and Shu could only find herself chuckling softly not at Nao, but at how he came off. It was a fresh site to see and was certainly welcoming. "It's very nice to meet you, Nao.", she finished with a warm smile and the outstretch of a hand for him to shake. "I'm Shu. I'm part of a guild known as Infinity Hydra." With another intake of a breath and a curious gleam in her eyes, she pressed on further.

"You really like to write and observe your surroundings, huh? Both good traits for someone to have."

So his introduction was met with another one rather than the person in front of his getting up and leaving insulted by Nao’s lack of… social diplomacy.  Not that he really liked to alienate people, but he preferred to be able to prepare what he was going to say to someone instead of have them come over to him. Such as when he did his first mission with Anastasia and Tammy, where he could observe the boss of the heist and therefore have something to say. This time all he would’ve been able to talk about was how they decided to choose vanilla cake instead of something with chocolate on it. Of course there was nothing wrong with choosing vanilla over the more popular chocolate choices. But it did sometimes help gauge a person’s personality with their likes and dislikes.

Nao shook the hand that was in front of him with a nice firm grip and gave a soft smile to Shu. He was taught to never skimp on a good handshake because it was one of the first parts of an impression. Giving a handshake that someone will remember is definitely a good part of being a professional!  He would ponder on the guild Infinity Hydra as she seemed to have noticed that he liked to notice things around him. He noted the notices that were noticed by Shu noticing his notices and then would try to play it off.

”I like to sometimes look around and see what’s going on around me so I can be sure I’m safe,” he said, slightly lying about why he does it. It’s true that he wanted to make sure of his surroundings but he also wanted to make sure he was talking to the right people and was hanging out with people that would push. Or so he was naturally doing but didn’t realise it at the time. ”And yes I like to write about things in my journal. I’m working on some stories right now” he put a hand behind his head and rubbed the back of it. He didn’t want to say that he hadn’t written some things down about her in the journal. Interesting characteristics about her down into the journal to read up later for potential characters, or just to make sure he knew what they were about. Studying people was super complicated at times.

”So Infinity Hydra huh?” he asked, trying to move on from his weird characteristics. He closed his eyes, put a finger on his chin and thought about it for a few seconds. ”Nope! Never heard of such a guild. Is it one of those independents?” He hadn’t spent a lot of time looking at guilds because the magic council didn’t seem that worthy for his attention. ”I’m not in a guild so I don’t really know all that much about these kinds of things.” He gave a light shrug, took a sip of his coffee, and put it down.

”What about you then?  You seemed to have noticed that I was looking around the café a bit while writing.  No one else seems all that phased by it so I’m curious to why it was that you noticed it…” It was a little bit odd how she was the only person to have actually recognised the trait. Maybe other people would’ve assumed they were stalking him, but he was willing to hear them out.

The handshake by the man before her was certainly a firm one. Just the right amount of strength was added in to the gesture; not too much or too little. Nao seemed to carry excellent mannerisms if not perfect just from such a handshake alone, or valued etiquette to a degree. A soft smile was aligned on his lips to indicate a sense of friendliness even if he may not have felt that way. She still kept in mind the reluctance he bore when she placed herself within the seat at his table. Not to mention that she shared her knowledge of the guild she was a part of straight away.

Nao's replies were swift and concrete, indicating that he was a man who valued his safety rather well. It was understandable in a world such as this one that they lived in now. There were always surprises lurking around every corner, and it was good to be on the tips of your toes. Although, it was important to relax every once in a while as well. He seemed to have a small portion of that down in the very least. "That's good that you like to be safe, but there is such a thing as being too safe. It's good to relax even from just observing the world around you every once in a while; to enjoy the safety that you can have now." What Nao thought of her reply was entirely up to him, but admittedly, Shu was getting ever-so-curious in the passing moments by his very own words.

Violet eyes glancing down to the journal resting neatly on the surface of the table, gently pursing her lips as she listened intently to the words he had to share. Learning that Nao was a story writer, her gaze shifted from the journal to his own - blinking numerous times as she began to process the knowledge. She hadn't met any story writers nor had she heard of many that were mages. It was then that the amusing expression the young woman bore transformed into one of pure curiosity, lips parting ever-so-slowly as her stature softened. The way a hand slipped to the back of his head for a rub indicated a slight sense of either embarrassment or awkward tension. Either way, this meeting was turning into one that provided even the most entertaining form of a first impression.

Just what knowledge and motivations lied within this man?

Upon mention of Infinity Hydra - how he never heard of its name - it didn't particularly shock or surprise the black haired woman. It was still a new guild and was building up its reputation. It needed to earn the respect of those around and the locals for it to be talked about, to be known. Even if he wasn't a part of any guild - serving as a reminder on how she wasn't before Infinity Hydra came along - the principle still applied. With a knowing smile and a hand curling into a fist under her chin - serving as a perch - Shu hummed. "It's a very new, legal guild. I'm honestly not surprised you don't know about it. I actually wasn't a part of any guild like you until Infinity Hydra came along. . . Things can change when you least expect them to.", she admitted with a slight change in her tone; a hint of a knowing sadness if you will.

Nao then proceeded onward with his own questions and observations. Shu could only answer each one truthfully, keeping the same calm demeanor that surfaced in the quaint environment around them. "I noticed it because I've seen many, many people do so as well after spending some of my days in Solemn Park. I tend to watch the behavior of people, look for patterns. And if they need help, that's how I would know. There are plenty of other factors to take into consideration - such as tone of voice, body language, or even the faintest way they carried a smile - but that was how I would mostly know. In a way, I took notice because I was both curious about you, and see if you were doing well." She hoped she didn't just bombard him with words, and instead decided to stay silent in order to give a chance for him to reply.

She could also understand if she seemed a bit suspicious for wanting to see if he was alright subtly, but it was all in good intentions. It was all up to Nao on how he processed the information, and accepted it for what it was.

Just as Shu was seemingly to be more interested in the aura that seemed to radiate around Nao’s personality, Nao was also finding Shu just as interesting. For someone who had just met him, Shu had this very calmed presence about her. She just answered from her heart and mind about everything, no malice just encouragement. All Nao could do was begin to nod at some of the thoughts and ideas that the girl in front of him talked about. He wasn’t necessarily going to change his caution about the people around him, because he only wanted to really work with the people that pushed him. But at least there was something to admire about people who did take the courage to start the conversation. Shu was pretty gutsy.

”Hmmm,” all Nao could say about how it’s good to relax every once in a while instead of seeming to build a wall around yourself in most situations. ”I suppose that I should be more accommodating to people who make their effort to talk to me. My apologies.” That’s all he could really say on the subject matter other than what he really felt about people around him. He just didn’t feel it was necessary to talk about it to Shu just yet. After all, he had only just met her.

He noticed that she seemed curious about the journal that he had on the table. Had she realised he may have written things about her when he was looking around the room. It became almost automatic for his hands to write details about the areas he was looking at. Sometimes he realised he had written something and hadn’t remembered even writing it. Same went for Shu, as she seemed to take up most of his vision when he was looking around so he couldn’t help but write something about her. Gods help that she didn’t see anything that Nao wrote.

”I don’t think I really know too much about any of the guilds really. All I know is that there is a guild house here in this town. I never really cared for the Magic Council. Just like any kind of head group they can be corrupt and do a lot of dumb things and add all the wrong kinds of people to their groups.” Nao seemed to have gained some kind of knowledge about how councils and leadership groups seem to become corrupt. Possibly 4th world knowledge gained from somewhere? However Shu seemed a little… sad about being in a guild? Possibly because legal guilds don’t have the freedom to work wherever they want to unlike the Guildless and Independent guilds (Author’s note: Nao doesn’t know about dark guilds yet)

Shu also seemed to be a person who also enjoyed the hobby of people watching. However her intentions of watching people in the park were the complete opposite of what Nao’s was. She seemed to prefer to support people that needed help whilst Nao was all about finding strong people and people he could rely on to push him further. That’s where their hobby began to turn into different paths. He closed his eyes and continued to listen, thinking on her words about what she seemed to be in to and help she wanted to check if he was ok.

”Well that’s an interesting take on watching people, and things like tone of voice have never crossed my mind when looking at people. Most because when I look at people I can be mil-“

He paused for a second. He could feel rumbles from under the table as the cup on the table began to shake and splutter coffee all over the table and near his book. He quickly moved the journal from the table and onto his lap as he noticed no one else seemed to be phased by the fact that the café seemed to be moving. He could see it in the window that they were moving, along with all the other shops around the area. He had no idea that the town could move. And maybe he should’ve realised from all the gears and platforms. It wasn’t for aesthetics… it was for moving the town!

Nao then would sigh a little sigh, put a napkin on the table to soak up the coffee that fallen on it and continued. ”As I was going to say before the whole town just moved, I usually am at a long distance away so I can’t hear people. I guess I got into watching people because of my family magic.” Call it a bloodline, call it a gene mutation, whatever you wanted because Nao was pretty proud of it.

The eyes of the novice mage began to change from a dark brown into a spectrum of colours ranging from violet to yellows. His pupils would be harder to see in between all the colours that would move around the now stormy sea of his eyes. ”I don’t think my magic was ever made to help people, only to see weaknesses and find people amongst a crowd. “ Even as they spoke the red HUD would be pointing out areas of strength and weakness on Shu’s body, telling him where it would probably hurt more if he put an arrow or a beam of energy at that point.

His head would tilt and look behind Shu, his analyses moved from her towards a couple a few tables down. Analysing the man he could tell that the man currently had trouble with his left leg. ”The man behind you currently has a sprained leg. His heartbeat seems to be irregular, maybe because he’s with a date, but also he’s twitching and twiddling things a lot… doesn’t seem to be going too well for him.” He would just smile softly before turning off his power, returning back to his dull brown eyes.

”I’ve not found a way how it could help someone I know. It’s only been able to benefit my friends in missions or for personal fun.”

Listen, analyze, shift, nod. . .

This was the pattern that the young woman carried out through the time Nao had spoken once more. She listened intentionally to what he had to say, how he had said it, how he carried himself when he said it. . . There were many factors to take into consideration when learning about an individual. Some were mysterious, some were hard to understand, some were easy to read. However, Nao was a rather unique display of fireworks before her. There was so much to learn yet little offered at a time. A genuine intrigue was nearly overpowering as the young mage leaned forward, completely forgetting the delicacy in front of her as her fingers graced her cheek with an elbow propped up on the table; her other arm rest along the edge as a hand rest itself on her upper arm.

Shu was completely captured in the conversation.

It was almost instantaneous how she replied to Nao's apology. There certainly was no need for him to do so. Each individual lived life their own way but a little push was always needed here and there in the right direction. Even if the right direction wasn't always the easiest, things would eventually prove to be either for the better or the worst. "You have no need to apologize, Nao. Haha, sometimes a push is needed here and there." She repeated the thought that was fresh on her mind, swirling around within as the world around her was in a peaceful and still state.

Little had the woman known that the question she asked regarding the man's journal was carrying embarrassing details if they were let out. Whatever Nao had written would seem to stay in the unknown to all but him. Despite the curiosity still lingering of the contents, she let it free for now. On the off chance she did encounter this individual again, maybe she could ask about it then if at all. Taking into account that the man was a guildless mage, the reply he bore regarding her question to the guilds made perfect sense. The very thought of it still saddened her from the events that transpired to her being in a guild. It was all still. . . chaotic.

And just as his next reply on the observations of individuals made itself known, it was cut off.

Shu immediately felt herself grow stiff as her violet orbs widened. The trembling of the ground beneath them, the clattering of silverware and glass, and the piercing sounds of the outside world around them not only shocked her into a state of unease, but she felt. . . ill. Her hands uneasily tried to keep the table steady before them as a lump was caught in her throat, strength slowly disappearing from her physical being. Shu just wanted whatever this tremor was to end, and looking out the window didn't help to put her at ease. The town was moving and she hadn't the faintest idea why for but a few moments before it clicked. A familiar headache stroke her skull as she tilted her head down, a faint flashback of a gear turning echoing inside the depths of her mind.

The town was. . . a moving town?

As the tremors slowed to a stop and all of the sounds arround began to dim in volume, the black haired woman was still shaking and shivering; teeth chattered as a cold wave shot through her skin. The only voice that she could really focus on was the man's before her. That's right. . . Nao was still here. With a quivering intake of breath she propped her elbow quickly on the table, using her chin as a bench for her chin as she resumed to listen to his words. The meeting would eventually have to be cut short because of her sudden state - her strange wave of an illness - but something about the young man only increased her state of vulnerability.

His eyes. . . Their color! It's changing - they're changing. . . !

Before she even knew it, he was analyzing the man behind them with ease. Every minuscule detail that couldn't be detected by the naked eye was being fluently voiced out by him. Her own violet orbs were still wide as she took in the information, utterly surprised by his genetic ability. Whatever he carried with him was something extraordinary. . . Shu sincerely hoped Nao would continue to use such an ability well, and not abuse it. Then again, it was his choice and she could only hope for the best for him.

It was suddenly that she stood up slowly, using the table as a prop to give her the strength needed. Nao may most likely have noticed that something was wrong, and that cold sweats were nearly making themselves visible from Shu's rather pale face. "Th-This was a wonderful meeting, Nao, b-but I feel that I should be going. Maybe we could meet again one day, y-you know? That is, i-if we run into each other.", she voiced genuinely with a weak smile while the color of her eyes were dim. They no longer carried such a vibrant glow, but nevertheless she pressed onward with a slight decrease in speed.

He must have known now something was wrong, and with his ability that he revealed. . . she knew he could easily predict.

Nao felt a little perplexed by the events that were suddenly conspiring together all to move the town for some reason. Nao could see that they were rising up, not just moving. They would be trapped up here with a number of shoppers, yet the people in the town would just accept this as just normality and continue with their lives in the café. Some of them would go up and queue once more for another drink because they knew they would be up here for another ten to twenty minutes. A minor pain for them but for Nao this seemed like a very strange anomaly.

However Nao did start to notice that the behaviour of Shu started to change as the town shifted. Maybe she was acrophobic or something was causing triggers but she went from her pale complexion to her skin being comparable to a snow tundra. She looked like she had not only seen death, but seen it over a thousand times in her face as she looked away for a bit, her hands gripping on the table. Inside Nao wasn’t too sure what was going on, but figured that maybe she would get better when the town stopped moving.

Only that it didn’t, and while the novice man was observing the man behind them with great detail, he was starting to get readings on Shu about different parts of her body. She was shivering, a cold sweat on her head, shaking and seemed to be losing focus… She had all the signs that she was going to pass out. Shame he couldn’t read vitals or anything like that yet but from the outside physical data he was able to register all kinds of information from people’s movements and deformities. Heck he could even see Shu’s incredibly faint scar from a previous encounter.

Her body might be trying to fight it now but she hasn’t got much time to either beat the fainting spell or pass out. She needs to keep her head resting on the table or all the blood is going to go from the brain and she’s going to pass out.

He watched her try and prop herself up on her elbow, and then move from that position to gripping the table and slowly trying to get up from her chair. Her movements were slow and flimsy. Had she moved any quicker all the blood would have rushed from her head and she’d have been on the floor so quickly that no one would have been able to stop to catch her. There was definitely a red flag about this whole situation. It looked like it was all up to Nao to do something about this.

The brown eyes transformed back into their vibrant spectrum and her furrowed his brows. He could see that she was on the brink of falling over had she tried to get out of here. And what if she fell off the platform? Nao would only feel guilt about letting her go from this place. Her eyes had dulled and she was stuttering her words out as if t was becoming difficult to talk or do anything at this moment. She needed medical help. She needed medical help real quick to get some more details on what was wrong.

”Shu standing up isn't really the best idea, not on your own at least. You don’t look well at all. Something is wrong with you and we’re so far up right now.” He would try to grab her arm, or hand or something to make sure that she wasn’t able to get far. ”Your vitals are showing that something is wrong and I’m concerned that you won’t be able to walk out the door. Let me take you to get some fresh air outside, or sit here until it clears up. You cannot be on your own while you are like this.” Was… was Nao actually trying to be a friend to someone here? He wasn’t usually that good at making friends or even you know… helping people. But Shu seemed to have changed him just enough to make him actually feel a genuine concern.

”Let me help you with this, ok?” he asked, but more of in a commanding way. His eyes would keep scanning her, making sure her body wasn’t going to collapse. He would be able to see if Shu was weak in the knees or if her head was about to go. But would he be able to react if she actually did collapse. He furrowed his brows, certain that he wanted to make sure she was all right and wasn’t going to die of a stroke or a haemorrhage or whatever.

Fingertips were turning cold, a chill swirling within the depths of the throat, uncontrollable shivers were rattling the figure. . . Shaky breaths were hitched out softly as an incredibly light feeling penetrated the brain, eyes growing heavier by the seconds. If Shu kept on going like this - if she took one more step - she felt that she wouldn't even be conscious much less strong enough to make it back to the guild. It was too far away in the condition she was in, and there was no absolute way she would make it. Black locks of hair fell forward over her shoulder and tickled her cold skin as she bent forward slightly, breathing unevenly.

Shu wasn't even aware Nao was watching her.

The world seemed to be spinning as everything painfully constricted against one another in her vision. The colors of the environment blurred into one soft blanket, and she felt the world pressing down on her back. It was almost willing her to fall to the ground and fall into the embrace of sleep, but she kept up the resistance. It was a public place and she didn't wish to worry those in the establishment, but she was in no room to move or protest.

I'm at a loss.

Her throat was dry and she could barely form coherent words. Comprehension failed to slither into her head as it was emptying minute by minute, the cold seeping in with each passing second. This feeling was something unpleasant, and she hadn't ever experienced such an emotion before in quite a long time. "Gh. . .", she spouted out as she tried to stand up straight once more, instead stumbling over her own two feet. It was then that a voice managed to reach her in the world she was stuck in, a hand wrapping around her upper arm - gently keeping her in place.

The voice was soft and genuine, the slightest tinge of worry lying underneath. It was Nao's voice that was all she could bear - his voice alone in the moment. Any other would have caused her head to ring violently in pain, a slight pitch scratching the back of it annoyingly. Slowly turning her head to gaze to him in weakness, almost as if her orbs were shaking in fear. With her lips sightly twitching downward into a frown, lips parting to reveal her teeth, the young woman could only gaze to him for a few moments longer before nodding.

"O-Okay, Nao. . . I'm sorry. . . b-but thank you. . ."

It was then that she turned towards him and reached out, sighing shakily. Her movements then slowed dramatically as if she was using up the rest of her energy to move every inch - every muscle - of her being to only collapse. Whether she collided with the floor or not was unknown to her as all form of consciousness escaped from her. The red hat she always bore fell to the ground, her black hair sliding out in one gentle swoop as she shivered unconsciously.

It was all up to Nao.

(Author note: 1 metre is about 3 feet)

Nao hadn’t noticed that there wasn’t really much time left while he was talking to her about the situation. In fact he probably should’ve just held onto her first, or done something else instead of talking to her. She didn’t seem like she had the energy to really listen to what he had to say to her, which was a huge failure on his part. His eyes would keep trying to read her vitals a bit more, showing a number of weaknesses in her heart, her knees and legs and all kinds of places. The amount of weaknesses caused by this fainting spell of hers causes his have to switch off his eye magic for now. He was getting too much information from her movements that it was hard to focus on making sure she was ok.

Even with him holding onto her arm, she was stumbling and trembling as if she was drunk and afraid of what was going to happen next. If anyone had just walked in they might have assumed that Nao had spiked her food or made her drink the coffee that could’ve been spiked. Had it not been for his actual genuine concern that would betray this kind of thought? He would have probably been in a lot of trouble.

As he tried to reason with her, Shu tried to respond and apologise for what was going on. His face looking shocked to see that the once smiling and happy face of the girl in front of him had suddenly changed to sickness and uncertainty about the feelings she was going through. This… This did not seem normal at all. And as she went to move once again to his hand to make sure she was safe she began to collapse out of exhaustion.

Nao did his best to catch her, saving her head from the inevitable and painful collision course it was about to experience. He had to lie her down, resting her on her side in the recovery position that he had read about once before from reading over someone’s shoulder about 50 meters away. All he could do now was try and get the attention of the cake shop and it was much as easier than expected.

People looked over and got up, coming over to see what had happened to the poor girl that had collapsed in the cake shop. Her hair messy from being under the giant hat that she seemed to wear everywhere.

”Don’t just stand there! I need to get medical attention here! She needs water and a doctor, someone please just get me a fucking doctor!” His shouts getting louder and louder, a frown on his face as his eyes once again changed from the dull brown to the vibrant rainbow that his magic created. It was only then that some people ran to get help, but Nao wasn’t even sure how it would work seeing as they were about 40 meters from the floor right now and there was no way that they could just fly her somewhere. That would require a magic carpet or some kind of magical flying device.

One of the café maidens ran with a glass of water in which Nao soaked a fresh handkerchief to then put on Shu’s head to cool it down. He just hoped that she would wake up soon, or that someone with more experience would get here to help. For all he could do now is wait and just take care of her.

It was just his luck that someone so introverted would be the one taking care of someone in a room full of people huh?

(End)