The beginning to a long journey. [Job w/ Vindstot]

THE JOB:

Job Link: https://www.fairytail-rp.com/t21838-a-regret-and-a-promise-b-rank-hero-yamamoto
Job Approval Link: https://www.fairytail-rp.com/t18652p25-sign-up-for-jobs#261742 [Page #2]

It was a day like any other. Except it was not at all. A ton of things happened in the past week without relenting. The Rune Knights, which were run by the Magic Council, were found to be guilty of corruption in the higher ranks of the order. Fiore's King ordered a Purge on the organization and the ones who were to carry that out were known as the Garou Knights. Hero himself was requested an audience with by an officer from that organization. Though the giant answered the call, he did not accept the invitation to join their ranks. The reason for that? Yamamoto felt that an organization led by royalty was ultimately doomed to corruption eventually and he did not want to commit to a faction that was not going to hold true to their ideals. Hero wanted something more than that, though he did not know or understand what it was he wanted. He did know though that he wanted the strength to genuinely protect those that are, or would be, close to him. That was the main thing spurring him forward currently.

After that whole thing happened, he continued to get mail from their organization regarding the Rune Knights and such though there was nothing substantial yet that drew the giant's attention. Meanwhile, his cousin Elyx had the man go on a little trip for him into this active volcano for a treasure chest. Yeah. Sounds fun, doesn't it? Hero was in there for about an hour and a half before he finally found it, though it was not that simple. It was slightly confusing as well, considering what happened. At first, there was Elyx who wanted to challenge him to get the chest by getting through him first. That was fine and all, but then another Elyx appeared. Yes, there were two of them but then it went downhill from there. The Elyx who had arrived second knocked the other Elyx on the head and then that Elyx poofed into a woman. The woman was explained to be the real Elyx's girlfriend and that she liked playing pranks on unsuspecting people. The man had already figured that something was off about the first Elyx but he never would have thought it was a shape-shifting tanuki woman. After all that nonsense, his cousin explained the reasons behind why he wanted Yamamoto to take this little game of a request and it made at least some sense, though it would have been easier to just ask. The giant had no legitimate reason to deny the offer from his cousin so he accepted and thus joined the legal guild, Golden Phoenix. Hero also obtained an empty bottle from the chest; Elyx said that a good friend of his wanted to know what lava tasted like and wanted the giant to fill the bottle with some lava and take it to the friend. There was a problem with that though: he had no idea where to find that person. His only clue was that she worked as the guild's bartender when she was not out on jobs.

The bottle of lava was still in his house out of sight and it was likely going to stay that way until he knew exactly where to find that friend. If this person was a friend of Elyx, chances were high that they were also very strong though that of course was only conjecture. After that day, it was actually pretty quiet. Since there was no guild hall yet according to Elyx, there was no way for the man to know where that friend lived or worked, which meant he had to either wait for his cousin to give him another hint or try and search for them by going on some pilgrimage to every city and town in Fiore. He was NOT going to do the latter for the sake of one person whom he had never met before. Unfortunately, Hero was not kind enough to do something like that without some more legitimate reason than "they want to know what lava tastes like". There was one thing however that he deduced from that. The friend must have been a Slayer of some type and he also figured that they had to be a Fire Slayer. However, there were three known types of Slayers that they could have been; they were distinctly different in the way the types obtained their power. It was simply a matter that the man was not willing to handle just yet.

Just the day after that, his cousin threw him under the bus metaphorically speaking. Granted he ended up not being alone for the entire ordeal but it was pretty intense. I mean... it was not every day one got to take on a horde of ravenous, bloodthirsty werewolves on a Perfect Moon with three other people until the sun came up. That was a really intense night, though he and the others managed to get through the night with non-lethal injuries, save for himself whom was covered in bruises from the smacks he took by that behemoth of a beast in the village. It would have been a lot worse, had the alpha not been assaulted by a mob of its own kin during the battle. When the sun finally came up, all of the turned villagers returned to normal and the group of four people were thanked by the village elders who knew it was going to happen from the start. All in all, it turned out to be another invaluable experience for the giant.

Then the day after that, which was also pretty fun, he and a fellow guild mate named Luna Jaeger went treasure hunting out in the Ancient Ruins. It did not take us too long to get to the bottom of the whole ideal and found this guy Harper Goldenshine to be extremely troublesome. He was also searching for this treasure and was found to be wanting the treasure for darker intentions, which Hero could not allow. He and the woman found the treasure and then left with Harper in tow to inform local authorities on the matter; later that day, Yamamoto was informed that the Magic Council was thankful for their efforts in protecting the sanctity of the deceased Wizard Saint's tomb. It was a good feeling to do good deeds for the sake of tomb preservation. A thought also crossed his mind while at the ruins. Why were those ruins such a hotspot for all these different occurrences? It was at the very least strange and the giant was very interested in finding out what it was all about.

Then there was the matter of the friend of Elyx's he was supposed to find on his own. He did end up eventually finding her on an island off the coast of the mainland, Crescent Island the resort, and goodness she was a beauty. It was at first strange to watch her drink down that bottle of lava like it was some kind of alcohol. Though the thought was a little funny and ironic because the friend was a bartender. Turns out the friend was also a woman, in case one had not noticed. Long blonde hair and the kind of body that just about anyone would fall to their knees for. The more important thing was getting that lava to her though so that was a success at the very least. Her name was Venir RuLush and she was an S-class wizard part of the same guild as he, Golden Phoenix. Hero himself was on vacation yesterday, so most of the time was simply spent at the resort talking with the woman. Though if that were all that happened, he would have been lying. That day turned into a run-in with an extremely large Dark Guild known as the Syndicate, which was run by these people called "executives" whom were the top ranking members of the guild. It was a hard-fought battle, since it was ten against three. Another member of Golden Phoenix, Leila Vergious, had joined both Hero and Venir on the task and they all managed to pull through it without fatal injuries, save for Hero, whom got cut up pretty bad by the boss of the guild, Doflamingo.

So much had happened in the past month but the giant had enough time to absorb everything before it all became overwhelming. Now he had things to do. He had gotten to a point now where he needed to travel for a time and return to his past, as there were things that were still left unanswered or unfinished. What of that girl and her family who helped him recover from the brink of death? What of his family's history? Since he found Elyx, he had this aching feeling that there was something he had to seek out. Yamamoto was confident enough at this point to begin his search to find the answers he needs. His first step was returning to that place, the place of his apparent birth and the place he was taken in by that girl's family. However, he was not going alone. The giant was taking a young woman along with him for the journey. It was an opportunity for her to travel with the Guild Master's cousin and for Hero it was an opportunity to make friends with yet another member of the guild. Besides, there was no harm in someone tagging along.

The man stood in wait at a crossroads, where one side led to a humble-looking Mountain Village. The very village from where he was born. It was going to be difficult to return even after so many years of being away. He felt that, if he returned, perhaps he would be able to finally move on and he would no longer have nightmares at night about those horrifyingly bloody days.

Word Count: 1,651
Total Word Count: 1,651 of 7,000

When Leila completed contract alongside another person, it was usually a case of meeting them by chance or asking them for the opportunity to tag along. Which is why being asked to go somewhere by another person was such a surprise that she hardly believed it. Yamamoto, the man she had joined on a previous contract that was all about kicking ass and destroying a dark guild wanted her alongside him on a journey to one of the smaller villages of Fiore. Leila did not know if it was honor to be invited by this elusive hero, or if he just wanted someone to talk to and no one else had time for him. It was completely possible, after all, this girl was quite the unusual company, no matter where you were. Though her popularity was apparently skyrocketing, especially after she managed to defeat a serial killer. It was quite the journey back then, meeting a new friend in form of a wind mage and learning pieces of her broken past. But their cooperation was certainly not the worst, which is why they stayed in contact ever since. And of course, exploring ruins to find artifacts as well. Sometimes she just got this odd feeling that other people were doing the exact same thing with exactly the same villains. Of course, something like that was completely impossible. There was only one artifact that could destroy the whole Earthland, and the man with name of gold was completely unique too. No way two mages would meet him doing exactly the same thing during two different time frames. But the world itself was strange these days, witch echoes from the past showing up and all that jazz... perhaps it was not so impossible. After all, what would magic be if not something that allowed for impossible to become possible? Many mages had different magic, unique to their own being, allowing them to do things that no one else could. Surely that was enough of a proof for that.

And perhaps it was destiny, or just a mere chance that made sure these two people would meet and do this job together. Though the morning was a bit rough for the lady. Famous mages had to wake up early and be the shining examples of righteousness they were seen as, yet, Leila loved to sleep in and laze about. If not for her new companion, who was in most cases more inteligent than her master, she would probably forgot about this request too. After preparations that consisted of her brushing her teeth, trying to make her hair look normal and such, she was ready to leave her hotel room to embark on this surely pleasant journey. Just like any other time, she would borrow a horse for small fee, allowing herself to travel in greater comfort and with much higher speed. In fact, at this point she was probably considered the most often returning costumer in eyes of that one stable owner she was always visiting. Perhaps it would not be the worst idea ever to invest into her own horse, or other object that would allow her to traverse great distances little bit faster. But she was stingy with money and when something was more than just a small fee, greed would grip her fast. At least that didn't happen when she had to drop rather large sum of jewels to obtain her armor, even though it was originally crafted for her by people of times ancient. At least the way was going by faster with the frosty girl right behind her in the saddle, though she did not speak much. That was a great shame for someone that cute.

The ride took a while too. Alas, she would see the big man himself from quite the distance. Letting him know about her presence with loud gallops of her steed, she would stop right next to him and tip her tophat. "Greetings there, ser! Are we on time?" She would try joking around a bit, even if it wasn't too good and she knew that very well. Whatever his response was, her small frame soon hopped down from the large animal, her feet firmly hitting the dried land. And so did her companion, her even smaller body getting to the ground in the very same way. It was actually quite comical placing Yuki next to this giant of a man, their size difference was a little bit too much. She was invited her, yet she knew very little what they were actually doing. Assuming that her parter would explain everything in due time, she just kinda rolled with it... but now she was just curious beyond belief, simply having to ask him before he would start explaining on his own. "Say, say! This village is really small... so what exactly are we doing here? It doesn't look like there would be some giant slaughter machine that needs two experienced mages to take it down." Maybe it was another joke, or perhaps it was just the fact that she got so used to solving problems where something or someone just wanted to kill her. But while she was interested in what they were doing, Yuki was just blankly staring at the sun, silently complaining about the heat in these areas. It was unfortunate, but she was a frosty girl, through and through. For her and Leila both, it would be a lovely change of pace to encounter a contract lacking in the department of bloodthirsty enemies and in a land filled with cold, not heat. But that was probably just too much of a wishful thinking. After all, she was mages, no longer at the bottom of the barrel. She was taking on real jobs for once, so of course they would be dangerous. The whole profession of being a mage could be called dangerous.

At least there were good points too, especially the recognition. Few years back, Leila would never even think about the chance of becoming a known personality among others. And now she was one, for how much that was worth. Honestly, the title of Rising Star was not even really added to her name yet, anyway. With something like that, was it ever worth anything? In all honesty, she just went for it, not expecting much. And now she was here, standing next to a hero with a stamp of hero on herself, not really even knowing how to act like one. Universe really did have weird plans for her, that for sure. Although there was always the question if she was tied to the same universe like others. In the end, she was far from being a normal human and the fact that she could fit into the society of humans was nothing short of a miracle. And the fact that she was making friends like this big guy was even greater miracle, one that she would never throw away.

---

While waiting the man gazed out toward the village and started to remember those tightly locked away memories. His memories of being beaten up by other children in the village and being shunned by the adults. His non-existent memories of his parents or his family in general and the memory of when he was driven out of that village by the children. Hero's scars tended to ache when he began to remember the bloodshed; it was a constant reminder of how brutal reality was. There were no such things as dreams in his eyes. Only hideous and everlasting nightmares. Then that girl and her parents saved him. They gave him shelter and tended to his near-fatal injuries. The giant was truly lucky to have lived through that ordeal. Then something else occurred to him: what was he going to tell the girl, Leila, whom was accompanying him? How, if at all, was he going to relay why he was coming to this place? He supposed that there was really no logical reason not to tell her but it was a personal matter. Did he really want someone else to know what he went through back then? That was not the issue. If he was the kind of man who never lied, then he could not keep something like this from someone who was accompanying him on this journey.

His thoughts cleared almost immediately when he started to hear the faint sounds of horse hooves hitting the ground headed toward him from behind. The woman was a bit on the slow side after all but it was fine. The giant never did tell her when to meet there either. Today, Hero wore this simple outfit, as it was comfortable and also suitable for long journeys. The man recalled wearing this outfit before he settled down in Fiore, since he traveled so much back then. Eventually the horse steps grew louder and the woman who was to come with him arrived next to him, to his right.

"I didn't give you a specific time to get here, so you're fine. However, try to hustle a little more. Today is going to be a long day."

The man looked up only slightly to meet eye contact with the young woman on horseback due to his height, which was only slightly amusing to him and then she hopped off to the ground with both feet planted firmly. Hero had heard of some of the things Leila had done recently and they were worthy of praise for sure. However, perhaps she was not living up to all the potential she could have if she were given a chance. Perhaps Hero could have been a role model for her and other members of the guild in some form. That was a thought for another time though, since the girl had asked a question that he expected mere minutes ago. He sighed just a little and then spoke while walking along the road toward the village.

"I am returning to my past, Leila. There is unfinished business I must tend to and you happened to be someone whom was available to come along. Perhaps you'll be the first to learn about my past. I will not deny that information to be given, but I expect you to come with me the whole way through. This is your last chance if you want to fall back, because this will be a very long trip. This is only the beginning."

What he said was true and he did not want to relinquish his past to someone who did not want to go entirely through with it. The giant needed to be assured that Leila was willing to accept what happened to him as a harsh reality. Hero's road was a long one after all. One that would take him to the one person who had the answers he sought.

The small village and it's surroundings were certainly not in a great contrast with Leila's grand attire. She always wore that light armor of hers these days, after all, it was designed to serve mage who was capable of controlling powers of the Garden. Though in situations like these, it might have been a questionable choice of clothing. In past few days, she even heard few people on the street call her by a strange nickname 'Grim Reaper'. Was that midnight black and blue really so harsh on one's eyes? She saw it as something elegant, putting her closer to the higher status of wealthy people. But looking at the plain cloth Yamamoto was wearing, it did make her slightly embarrassed in one way or another. Not that she could change into something else right now, it was too late for that. Even Yuki's snow white kimono which carried delicate design wasn't so grand. With an audible sigh, she just shook her head and listened to her partner's little remark. "Sheesh, so harsh..." Her answer was plain and simple, unlike herself. Though it was now also very clear that this boy was rather serious about all this. Again, unlike Leila who was now questioning just how old Yamamoto might be and if it's even right to call him 'boy', even if it was just in her head. Truly, this girl was way more carefree than others in these situation and would only get serious once the situation absolutely required it. To her, it was useless to be a downer all the time. Of course, she did not yet know what they were really doing here and listened carefully when the big boy started explaining. His words were seemingly carefully chosen and with a bit of insecurity. From what he said, it did seem like this trip would require a good deal if seriousness, which was very much against Leila's current thinking.

But she was already here, and she fought alongside Yamamoto before. There was simply no way she would just walk away from this place only because they were to go through some possibly painful memories. It was a bit unclear as to what unfinished business he truly had here, but it was obvious that this hero would not try to shatter his past with brute force. Indeed, he seemed more like someone who should embrace it and accept it's full weight, no matter how heavy it would be. "No worries, I got the whole day free. And besides... if I left, who would remain to console you after you start crying like a little baby?" Still trying to joke even if it was not required, she tried a little gesture of slapping the back of her partner. Naturally, something like that had absolutely zero effect with the differences in their bodies. She would have to use an actual spell to even make him flinch probably. But instead, her hand went to brush through her companion's snow white hair. Yuki, the little hybrid dragon was surprise by the gesture, her empty emotionless face finally showing at least a little bit of something. "And she too is ready to help whenever. So do count on us, buddy! Even if we just happened to be the only ones capable of accompanying you here, I would like to know more about you. And not just me I'm sure." It probably didn't sound as good as it did in her head, mostly likely not even conveying the correct message to him. But in the end, they were guild mates and there was at least some semblance of friendship between them. And it made the little frozen girl not in agreement too, which hopefully fueled his confidence at least a little bit. Showing his own painful past to someone could relieve him at least a little bit. Though it also fueled that strange state where most people had oddly tragic pasts which fueled their desires to be the greatest mages ever. Was there truly no hero who had absolutely normal, middle of the road childhood? Who knew... her own was too unusual to be counted, but for reasons entirely different.

---

She was going to need more than just today free if she intended to go through with tagging along with Hero. Perhaps he was being a little bit too forceful on the matter. He did not necessarily have to take her along everywhere, but that also made him feel as though he did not need to tell her everything. Then again, what was the issue with telling her what happened all those years ago? It was not like it was a touchy subject that would have made him turn sentimental. The giant was far beyond sentimentality and similar things at this point. Instead of thinking in a bunch of circles, he cleared his mind of everything but the logical approach to the matter at hand. That after all made the most sense and bore the least amount of hassle for himself and for the young woman. Leila then mentioned someone needing to be around to comfort him when he was crying like a baby. This was probably a joke, considering nobody actually knew him very well at all. Yamamoto only cried once in his entire life and that was the night he left that girl and her family at that festival. It was not that he was incapable of emotion. It was more that his life did not require an array of emotions. Until very recently, the man had always lived and traveled alone; there was never really a time he needed to speak with others for long periods. Living such a solitary lifestyle for so long closed off most everything to the outside and made him the infinitely stoic man he was now. Hero's facial expression did not change even slightly at that joke but he did sigh a little and respond simply, "I am not so kind that I can cry out of pity for my past. What's done has been long finished."

The giant had already emotionally come to terms with his past long ago, and he was only here now to pay his respects and finally put an end to his nightmares. There was that other matter too, but Leila did not need to know about that. It was enough to tell her what happened before he met that girl. He was not entirely certain if she truly meant what she said about wanting to know more about him but either way he was still going to talk briefly about it all. One way of moving past mental obstacles was relinquishing some of that knowledge to others. Yamamoto was not the type of person whom normally would have done that, but he had changed quite a bit in the last month. Enough to want to talk to others and enough to not want to keep to himself, though of course he still had a strong habit related to seclusion. The brutal scarring all over his body did not help in most cases, even though now he was earning a good reputation with civilians in cities all over Fiore for his contributions to protecting them. His walking pace remained steady as he thought about these things in silence for a time but eventually he spoke to the young woman whom was hopefully walking beside him.

"This is the village where I was born. I never got to know my parents or my family, since my mother and father died before I could remember their faces. For the first ten years of my life, I was raised in an orphanage with other children and was bullied quite often for my abnormal size. I lived a life that was forced into seclusion until I was eventually run out of the village by the very children I was raised with. I earned many of these scars from them before I left. Stabbed an innumerable amount of times and then, as you can easily see, one of the female children slit my throat with a butcher knife. From that point, I crawled away and eventually passed out somewhere in the middle of a dirt road due to blood loss. I would have died, had I not been found by this young girl and her parents who lived in a large estate outside the grounds of the village I crawled from. I grew up knowing I was weak, knowing that I had nothing, and knowing that there was nothing I could do in order to change that. Up until last month, that was how I lived. Secluded. Though it was not all bad. I had a job working as a Rune Knight and I had a roof over my head. So now I'm here to bury those memories in the soil."

Of course there was one other reason he was there but that was not for Leila to know. Eventually they got close enough to the village to notice that there was something going on in the village and it was not good from the looks of it. The giant's size made it impossible to sneak in closer so he threw that idea out the metaphorical window. It seemed today was not going to be as peaceful as he thought it was going to be.

For some reason, Yamamoto just seemed so oddly... emotionless. In a way, he resembled Yuki, her cute companion who was standing right by her side at the very moment. But there were differences, while minor, they were still present. While the little dragon seemed to be emotionless because of boredom and having no interest in the actual world, in the man's case it was more of a something like him bottling up all the feelings inside of his body and soul. And if that really was how he worked, it made her a little sad. After all, emotions existed so that everyone could properly convey their feelings. If he was creating a wall between himself and others, what was the point? Of course, she could have been wrong about all this. And even if she wasn't, his feelings were his own. She had absolutely no right to tell him how he should act. No one had that privilege. Though it wouldn't hurt if he tried joking around a little bit, that was something she was used to. Overly active and funny partners that had no rest when it came to conversations. Being coupled with someone this serious on a job this serious was rather unusual and completely threw her out. It would probably be best if she put on a mask of seriousness for now, following the suit. After all, she was capable of it. While not doing something like that for a long time, her ability to completely shift her own personality was still there. The only question was, would it really be a good idea? Forcing another 'Leila' out could both improve and worsen the situation. So for now, she decided to stay true to her actual self. "People like you who say that they are not kind are usually the most kind of them all." She would respond to him in a low, relaxed voice.

Despite his large body and stoic face, there was plenty of kindness inside of him. Because if that wasn't the case, he wouldn't be able to be called hero, would he? Being a hero meant more than just performing heroic acts, at least to Leila. It came with a lot of responsibility and needed the person to be understanding of all. Honestly, the whole concept of heroes was blurred in her eyes. She usually questioned their morals and if they truly were what they called themselves. But this big guy was her guild mate, and so she refrained from doing so this time. But at least they started walking towards the village and Yamamoto started his little story about himself and this place. Of course it wasn't a pleasant one, these types of stories were never pleasant. Especially when he started talking about his injuries, she couldn't help but slide her fingers over her own neck. It was such a sensitive place... she hated when someone tried to touch her neck. Only imaging how it would feel to have it slit with a knife, it made a very unpleasant feeling run through her body like an electric shock. Something like that was sure to leave a big scar, and not just the physical one. It actually made her worry quite a bit, especially once he said that he was here to bury those memories. "I know that it's probably not easy to talk about this... but you aren't planning on..." Her sentence was interrupted by a sudden sense of unease. It was a different feeling than the one she got from listening to his mildly morbid story however. Something was going on inside of that village, something that was not very good for the common folk. Whatever or whoever was causing that commotion certainly had a poor timing, that was for sure. "H..hey, we should see what's happening. And help if there are any trouble!" A small smile was once again place at her face, those tiny fists of her clenched at the same level as her face, indicating that she was ready for action.

---

Hero continued to walk forward at a casual pace with every intention of simply walking into whatever problem was going on in the village. For the most part, the lingering memories of his past fell into the background as he grew closer to whatever conflict was ahead, and eventually the giant was able to discern what exactly was happening. From the looks of things, the village was in the hands of a band of bandits. How could he tell? Nobody was roaming outside, windows were boarded up, and there was a sign that stated in big bold letters, "BEWARE BANDITS", just outside the village limits. That was very convenient for the two wizards since now they knew there was liberating to be done. It was slightly odd, returning to such a place with the intent to leave it behind and ending up saving it from a universally common threat. However, it was not a matter of whether it was painful or not. Yamamoto had long moved on from such feelings. Continuing on past the sign, he walked into the village and was met with a group of ugly-looking thugs looking for a fight. It was unfortunate for them that they had to meet Hero though. One of them spoke up in a rough uneducated tone moments later.

"Oi. Didn'tcha read the sign? Ya lookin' for a fight, freak?"

Ironic that he was called that name in the same village where he earned that moniker for the first eleven years of his life. The giant sighed and stopped walking in order to address the one whom spoke just a second ago. There was no expression on Yamamoto's face as he retorted.

"Fighting implies that it will be on equal footing. Unfortunately that is not the case. I have no intention fighting any of you, since none of you are remotely near my level."

While the man was speaking, one of the bandits ran at him with a crowbar and bashed him on the head with it. For a couple of moments the bandits laughed about it, but when Hero continued to speak despite the blow, they stopped. Even more so, when they had realized the crowbar bent itself over Hero's skull, a few of them took some steps back. The bandit whom hit the giant was about to run back when the giant grabbed him by the top of his head. The moment he uttered the word "level", Hero smashed the thug's face straight into the ground and then stood back up. The initial impact made a loud thud but it otherwise did not cause any damage to the ground. That thug was down for the count in one swift movement which gave the rest of the group pause. Meanwhile, Hero removed the bar from the top of his head and threw it to the right side somewhere.

"You will all be arrested in due time. For now, take a long nap."

The giant cocked his right arm back and charged ethernano into it. Unlike the Crescent Island incident, the man had to control the power of his punch so that he did not damage the villagers' properties but still wipe out these thugs. Being so, he gathered just enough to do that and threw a straight punch at the group, which blew them into the air and made them land roughly twenty meters away from his position. Luckily, no damage was done to the nearby houses and some villagers began to come out of their respective homes. Yamamoto turned his back to where they came out from and then spoke quickly as he walked away; hopefully his partner was following along nearby.

"They are all knocked out cold. Rope them all up tightly and send word to the Garou Knights. They will take them into custody, where they will rot for their crimes."

The giant said nothing more and left the village behind. At this point, he felt no more obligation to see the place of his birth though he still had an obligation to seek out the nearby estate. The day was not over just yet, since chances were high that there were more of those bandits. More of them would have been necessary to take control of this large an area, especially the estate nearby.

He didn't answer to her at all. At this point, she had no idea if that was just his character or if he was too far gone into his own world within his mind. Honestly, it could have been both. And just like that, he started walking towards the village, not stopping until they spotted a certain sigh sticking out of the ground, words sloppily written on it with either black chalk or piece of actual coal.

"H.. how nice of them to warn us. Seriously, bandits should start hiring someone who actually has a working brain, this is like an invitation for righteous wizards or actual guards..."

Even though she spoke, the giant didn't say a single word. Instead, he simply continued walking. Trying her best to keep up with him, Leila was constantly behind his back, nervous and unsure how to break this awkwardness in the air. There probably really wasn't a way to do something like that, not in this situation. And she barely knew Yamamoto, not having the slightest clue as to how she should talk to him and not upset him. Well, it didn't take too much time before they ran into another diversion. This time in form on few bandits that looked completely generic, nothing special about them. One should question their actions in this world filled with magic... honestly, trying to take over village with nothing but simple weapons took a good amount of bravery or insanity. And talking like they did to someone like this duo even more.

She was once again a bit uncertain who he was talking to... but in her head, it was pretty obvious that this thug was talking trash about Leila! After all, Yamamoto was just a big man. Sure, it was something you don't see every day, but it wasn't totally uncommon either. It wasn't like he was 9 feet long or something. He would still have to grow a bit to reach that number. And Leila was the one who's hair was completely silver, bearing odd dark lines and becoming completely transparent towards her thighs. Not to mention the Eden's mark that was visible on several points of her body, even with clothes that covered considerable amount of her skin. Of course it would provoke an answer from her.

"How dare ye talk to a lady like that! I'll make you cry soon enough...!"

Her threatening words were however quickly interrupted by Yamamoto's stronger voice, easily speaking over the girl. And during his speech, one of the thugs managed to land a direct hit on his head. Since Leila was standing a bit away from him and not exactly facing his body, she failed to notice that bastard closing in too.

"H..hey! Are you okay?!"

She was still quick to react to him being attack, and she was indeed worried about his being. After all, he was struct directly and with a pretty strong object. And yet, somehow he didn't even flinch, easily returning the attack and burying the man's face into the ground. That was probably one broken nose, if not more... Hero clearly focused on a physical part, using his magic in a matter that would enhance his actual body. The spectacle even made the girl take few steps back in surprise. And the fact that he didn't sustain any damage at all, it was a bit worrying. The image of that crowbar being bent over his skull was serious and comical at the same time, reminding her of comedy shows that street artists would perform in cities to earn themselves few jewels and make children laugh at the same time. She never expected to see something like that happen in reality, it was a bit of a shock indeed. At least Hero was on her side and not her enemy. And it didn't take that long before he would deal with the rest of them with little effort, rendering her previous words about making them cry completely weightless and useless. With a small sigh of mixed feelings, she would give the bandits one last look before she had to catch up with her partner again. They left with only few words behind, informing the villagers of what they should do next. And soon, they were outside of the village again. Was that truly it? Was Yamamoto happy with nothing more than a single look? She wanted to ask him, but she didn't, as it would probably yield no results at all anyway.

"So... we're done with the village? What next. I mean... do you know where those bandits could have their camp or something?"

If he was from this place, then he would know the local geology much better. And from that, it  could be possible to deduce where a good spot of bandit camp would be. Unless he had another location in mind of course. He said before that this would take some time, but they cleared out the village in matter of minutes, maybe less. This job truly was something out of the ordinary for Leila, but she was willing to see it through to the end. She even forgot that her companion Yuki was just following them the whole time, not really reacting to anything that was happening. Truly, that girl was like a ghost outside of battles...

---

Leila was on the same path of thought as Hero, when she mentioned them having a camp. However, it was not a camp they had, but an estate. The very same estate where the two were headed. The giant knew this because the estate was the largest hospitable area in this mountain range, considering he knew his way around these mountains since he was a young boy. On the same note, he was certain that the girl was curious as to why he simply walked away from the village after taking care of those bandits. She did deserve an answer but it was not necessary to tell her everything at once. After some silence he spoke with his usually calmed tone while continuing to walk along the beaten path.

"I am sure you're wondering why we are leaving the village behind so soon. Well, by saving the village from the bandits, I am in turn paying my respects to it. The place birthed me, despite it driving me out, so this is my way of saying 'thank you for being part of who I am today'. I am glad to be able to move on in this manner, though that is only one part of today's business finished. As of this moment, there are three more matters to tend to."

He fell silent again then. He did not explain himself because he had every bit of faith that she would eventually notice the coming threat. Nature had its own ways of exacting retribution, or so it seemed. How could Hero tell? Simple. The hair on his arms and legs were standing on end, which meant loomings of a powerful electrical current; that meant a storm was on its way and it was worse than most others in this area's current season. At the rate the two travelers were going, they would have enough time to take care of the bandits before the storm hit. After that, it was up to them to get all of the villagers to safer grounds, and the safest place for them was in the estate. That meant ensuring the bandits were wiped out before rain began to pour. No matter how strong a wizard was, nature was always the winner.

Yamamoto then quickened his pace slightly and began to gather ethernano into his body for the upcoming fight. He looked over to Leila whom was hopefully walking as quickly as he and began to speak again, his tone expressing some amount of urgency.

"Leila, be ready to put down the remaining bandits as quickly as possible. We can't afford to let the villagers get caught in this storm."

Due to their quickened pace, they had already arrived at the main gate to the estate, where there were nastier-looking bandits standing around in front. Chances were, they saw the commotion from here and gathered themselves up in preparation for this moment. Unfortunately for them, there was no time left for Hero to waste; he threw another powerful right straight punch at them and the gate, which was blown down from the force of the strike, along with the bandits whom were blown against the gate at the same time.

"Bind them all together in one pile and roll them ahead of us. That will get the attention of any other bandits lurking around here."

This giant was starting to slightly annoy Leila. The way he was just silently walking, only talking when he wanted to explain something or answer questions... how many antisocial heroes did the world really need? And with his explanation about how they just saved that village with a single punch... well, Leila simply decided that she should stop taking this as seriously as she though she should. Honestly, at first this all looked like a big deal for Yamamoto. But now it was just kinda... comical. Not to mention how weak those bandits were if they went down with a single spell punch of that rank. They were basically normal humans that weren't even daily going into gym to boost their strength and endurance. Pathetic and uninteresting. Especially with how he was the one to end it all with nothing but one attack, it made it look like Leila was a third wheel that didn't need to even be around. That made her slightly furious on top of it all. Feeling completely useless, no one liked that. Well, maybe just people that loved feeling useless, surely there were some oddities like that. But that was not the point. Her mood was only reflected by the dark clouds gathering in the distance, showing that some rain was probably about to happen in next few minutes or hours. It wouldn't be too bad to fight in those conditions, she liked rain. It usually helped her focus and it was refreshing to feel that wetness on your body, especially if the rain was cooled down in the process as well.

Her thinking about weather and other things was interrupted by the fact that they arrived somewhere. She wasn't exactly sure where, but there was a fancy gate with few more of those bandits behind it. And then it was just as quickly broken... by no one else than the mister good guy who was not using anything more than punches. Sure, there were bandits at all... but this place didn't look like it actually belong to them. So why was he breaking down the gate like he owned the place or something. And he was also talking about how the innocent villagers shouldn't be outside when the incoming storm starts.

"Wait, hold up... we were just in a village. Villages are made out of houses. And houses exist to protect you from outside elements. What do you mean that we can't afford to let the villagers get caught in this storm? They lived her for god knows how long, surely they will be fine even if we don't tell them to hide from the rain..."

It just seemed really weird to her that they would have to do something extra about that. Protecting people from bandits was one thing... but protecting them from natural occurrences like this? That just sounded plain weird to her. But whatever he wanted... it was his job after all. For now, they were to clear the path from the bandits. And since she didn't quite understand what he meant by rolling them or something, she did another thing that would surely grab their attention. Growing a big tree from the ground that she rode up and instantly let it fall onto few poor souls that were around, nearly crushing them. Having a giant tree suddenly appear in the front garden, that should grab enough attention, right? Well, if not then she still had plenty of other flashy tricks that her magic could perform! Until now, she was nothing more than a Player 2, eternally hidden in the shadow of Player 1! That was about to change with her showing that this giant man was not all that stronger than her!

And what was Yuki doing in all this? She was flying above the estate, as her ice wings activated with the incoming combat. She figure that it would be mostly useless for her to join the battle down below, since two capable wizards were taking care of it. So she was scanning the area for them right now, counting enemy numbers, that sort of thing. It was fine as long as some of the bandits didn't have long ranged weaponry that could bring her down from the skies.

---

"For someone who can control plantlife to such an extent, I would think you'd realize that this is not some ordinary rainstorm. Otherwise I would not say such a thing in the first place."

The man fell silent for a moment and thought about what was going on. The girl seemed slightly irritable. Did he do something to make her so? He did not believe he did, but perhaps upon initial thought, he could not notice. Was she bothered by the fact that Hero was taking care of all the work up to this point? If that made her feel useless, then that would have had to have been the reason for her demeanor currently. Was it not natural for a man to protect a woman whenever possible, even if they know the woman could handle themselves? Was that not the right thing to do? Certainly the giant was very passive on the outside but he did have a powerful moral code and code of honor. He did not feel that it was worth apologizing for as he felt that was the right thing to do, but it was worth explaining his thoughts on the matter. In fact, he was just slightly irritable himself that Leila would feel that way about this whole thing. Though that was counteracted by the fact that he understood what it felt like to be useless and it was somewhat rude of him to take the burden all on his own.

"You know, it is not that I want to be anti-social, Leila. I can see it on your face. That is what I am used to. Being silent is natural to me." He paused for a brief moment and then spoke again. "Is it wrong for a man to keep a woman out of danger whenever he has a chance to do so? It is not that I don't believe in your strength. A woman should not have to fight meaningless battles. Why do you think I always stand in front?"

The last question he stated was with a slight, but genuine smile as he raised a thumb up in the air. Yamamoto was not a robot whom thought of nothing but orders. He had a thought process, and he bore emotions even if they were still greatly skewed at this point. The giant wanted those around him to understand that he was not someone to stay away from. He was not the scary person many people thought he was. Of course, that meant meeting halfway, and Hero had to put a little more effort into expressing his thoughts and/or intentions. Leila had sprung a giant tree on top of the bandits instead of what he had requested, which was fine. It provided the same results in the end. A mob of bandits eventually gathered in front of the main house just ahead of the large tree, with two experienced-looking people in the front. Looked like the leaders finally came out to play and the other bandits behind them were tougher-looking than the previous groups Yamamoto wiped out. The man knew that he could not use that punch in this area because it would have caused damage to the main house. Therefore he had to stick to old-fashioned brawling up close and personal; he also needed Leila. This particular way of fighting was prone to making him take a lot of damage so it was important that she join the fight this time considering their numbers. There were roughly forty of them, not including the two in front and the two in front were going to be tougher than the others behind them. Knowing that, he looked to Leila and spoke loudly enough for her to hear.

"Leila. Ready for some good ol' fashioned teamwork?"

"Special or normal, does it matter? These people surely lived their whole lives in this place, right? When you live somewhere, you learn how to deal with all dangers that could come at you, try to end your life or steal something from you."

It simply didn't make sense. The only situation when this should be their priority was if they arrived just in time for storm that happens only every 100 years or so, something truly special and unusual. Everything else these people should be accustomed to, capable of defending themselves against the nature and it's elements. She know... after all, she was a traveler in the past. The continent they were on provided wast variety of different terrains and landscapes for her to traverse, each one throwing different dangers directly at her. And she simply had to deal with them, no matter how dangerous it was. Humans were incredibly strong creatures, even those who did not control magic. Adaptability, that was their greatest gift. They were capable of surviving even in the harshest of conditions. But if Yamamoto didn't believe that, then they truly were only left with one single option, to help these people to the best of their ability. The fact that it seemed as a simple waste of time they could use helping in more meaningful manner, it did not matter. For this was his job, not hers... she was here only to follow directions and help as much as she could. That was her role, nothing more and nothing less. And she wanted to follow it, after all, she was never one to break the rules completely. While she loved to bend them sometimes, this was something different entirely. Caring for others... it was just such a pain, it made the Eden's mage sigh. Perhaps it was fragment from her inhuman nature, but it really annoyed her for some reason. Or maybe it was the fact that she didn't have any parents and was raised by a sentient machine who trained her to be a survivor. Watching people being helpless was just... not something she was familiar with.

"If you don't want to be, then try not to be! Geez, these things can be changed, you know? You just need to try harder. Communication is the key! When you just go ahead and do something like this without barely saying a word to me that I didn't force out of you with a question, people get annoyed."

At least that was how she viewed it. It was how she was. Guy protecting a girl, that was fine. But he could at least say something to her about it, not just stay silent all the time. Some people probably liked that 'mysterious' trope, but she did not. Not that it really mattered, it wasn't ruining their work together or anything. Although it was seemingly obvious enough for him to notice, since he was talking about it. But at least he didn't take it that seriously, given his gesture. Thought it did force another sigh out of her.

"Ah... men..." Just a little complaint before she started scanning the area, realizing a much bigger group of enemies had appeared.

It was pretty luck, actually. While there was a lot of them, they were also really close to one another, allowing for some damage spread. And there was one person that could do something like that without any real effort. Waving for a moment, a blue shadow flew from the sky at rather high speed, landing in the middle of that giant crowd. And as soon as it did, the temperature around lowered instantly to the point of freezing and further below. It didn't take long at all before all of those bandits started taking damage from freezing. And as they started investigating what was causing it, averting their eyes from Leila and Yamamoto, the girl decided to strike. The one who landed in that crowd was of course no one other than Yuki who wanted to give them a little taste of her freezing aura. And now that it was done, she swiftly used her wings to get up again before the bandits realized that she was someone they probably should attack. With that opening, Leila rolled inside of the crowd as well and punch one of the enemies into his gut, placing a mark that would soon do it's work. Using the same trick as before, a tree would start growing below the girl, bringing her high up as well and out of the enemy's range. And out of the range of her own attack. With a simple snap of fingers, the placed seal exploded and created a great number of rotating wooden branches, all sharpened enough to deal damage on contact. Not only that, they were also coated with wind blades that only added to the damage of this spell, slashing away at enemies upon contact. This should damage the crowd quite a bit along with the fact that they suffered some damage from being partially frozen.

"Not too sure if our magic can work together all that well... but if you try and avoid the branches, you should be fine to take care of the rest."

---

"The problem is not the level of storm. The problem lies with the fact that, due to this giant group of bandits likely took charge of this place for several years before now. Did you see those homes? How worn down they were? Those homes will not survive this storm, and more so, civilians under the jurisdiction of likely greedy and blood-hungry bandits were not going to be in well enough health to pull their homes safely through the coming weather, much less themselves."

He paused for a moment to breathe and then began again, though it was brief.

"Even if you may not be accustomed to associating with other people, a keen eye is always an important thing to have, Leila. I don't know your past and I will not pry, but there is much you can learn from those who have gone through similarly lonely lives up until recently."

He smiled again, though slightly wider than the last one and then pulled his attention back to the matter at hand. The giant jumped back when the little child began to attack from the sky and watched as many of the bandits were covered in ice, though he could not stand still for long. While all of that was going on, he had to get in a good position to take on the stragglers without causing too much damage to the estate. At this point however, it did not matter; he was certain the family whom lived there did not care what happened to the estate as long as all the threats were removed. Still would not have been a good thing to simply go all out, which was why he did not attack in the time that Leila was going on the offensive. The giant came to the conclusion that it would have been best to take down the two leader figures still somewhere in front of the mob. Unfortunately, the one spell that could do that was one of his newest additions to his arsenal and it was powerful, to put it lightly. He took a deep breath and came to terms with the fact that the family was going to have to shell out a lot of Jewel to get the place fixed after this.

Just as he thought this, he realized that the estate had suddenly become much dimmer which meant that the storm was nearly upon the mountains. Rain had begun to pour lightly; the two travelers still had time to take care of things before it started. Hero charged ethernano into his legs and ran straight ahead toward the two leaders; he also began to charge ethernano into his arms. As he was just within grappling range of the two, he stopped and dug his feet into the concrete. The surface sundered at the pressure and before he lifted off into the air, he grabbed the two by their heads and then jumped high into the air. While suspended in the air, his Magic called an abundance of ethernano into his entire body which caused his body to gain a bright golden glow. He then yelled out to Leila just before he was to dart toward the ground.

"Leila! Get out of the way! Here we go, you cretins. LEAP QUAKE!"

All the ethernano gathered into his body brought him crashing down into the mob at his top speed. At impact, he smashed the two leaders straight into the ground and caused a 360-degree wave of pure force around him. The resulting blast knocked everything within forty meters away from him and what remained was a large crater and most of the face of the main house completely gone. At that moment, Hero let go of the two bandits whom were now planted deep into the ground and stood up. His face said 'The main hurdle is done', though he did also speak at the same time.

"Great teamwork. You gave me time to think and you eliminated any way of them getting away. You do not give yourself enough credit. Though now we must turn our attention to the village. The storm is nearly here."

| HP: 150% ► 450 |
| MP: 85% |
| All enemies eliminated. Good job~ |
| Word Count: 693 |
| Total Word Count: 5,763 of 7,000 |

Spell Used:

"Well, ain't it just convenient that we arrived just in time before the storm. It's almost as if someone had planned this all along! And even bandits aren't usually as stupid as you might make them to be. The village is source of their income and if it was to disappear, they would soon disappear too. But whatevs'~"

Shrugging, the girl spoke in rather mocking voice before running off and performing her attacks, eventually ending up high on that tree of hers. Now the problem was her own partner who wanted her to get out of there. There was no way she could grow the tree any taller to get our of the impact area. And even if she could do that, his attack would probably break the base of her tree anyway, making it collapse. Which might add a little do the damage of this mansion, but what could they do. Getting a solid idea, the girl grew something along the lines of a hook out of the tree, quickly breaking it off and getting a strong grip on the newly created tool. And just as Yamamoto was to perform his attack, she jumped towards the house's outer walls, digging that little hook of hers into it and using it to climb a little higher, getting out of the wave created by his attack. Yup, he definitely didn't hold back much. Though it was still surprising that there was not a single thug left standing after that little onslaught of theirs. They really weren't all that tough in the end, were they? Not that she minded it, it was actually rather convenient. But maybe a little bit too boring. The slight drizzle falling onto her skin was nicely refreshing too, and as soon as the dust settled, she jumped down to the ground, nearly falling into that crater which was created by Yamamoto's attack.

"So... was that all of them? I mean, there was a lot, but there could still be some left inside of the building. You know, left to guard whatever was inside?"

It sounded logical to her, but maybe it was nothing. She wasn't always accurate and there simply was no way for her to actually detect any life forms in a certain radius. Ability like that would be a bit too convenient for someone like her. She also mostly ignored his speech about how she doesn't give herself enough credit. Because she did, she knew full well that her abilities could be pretty dangerous and devastating. If she was to use them for evil purposes, it could be a small catastrophe. Thankfully she wasn't that kind of character, she was much more friendly than that. And as the giant wished, they were to go back to the village. There sure was a lot of running around today, between places that they already visited. It kinda reminded her of those common quests in games that ordinary people loved to play. Yup, those kinds of people were probably holed up in their homes now, not having to worry about a damn thing. It always made Leila wonder if choosing the life of a mage was a right decision. Of course, if she didn't choose this life, she would be a traveler instead, not exactly all that much easier. So in the end, it mattered little. So for now, she just followed her partner's lead.

"Let us just do this quick, I guess..."

---

"Quick is best. I'm counting on you, Leila."

Sure Hero felt bad for doing much of the work here, but it was not as though he did not enjoy the company. If anything, he was somewhat relieved to have someone go along with him on this journey; it was difficult for him to convey that properly. The giant still had much to learn in terms of socializing with those around him. This was especially true when it came to talking to those of the opposite sex, despite there not being much difference between genders logically speaking. Leila was an interesting girl who had been in the guild just a bit longer than Hero was, so it was a bit strange speaking to someone he had not actually spoken to until this very day. Surely the man could have been cut just a little bit of slack for being exceptionally awkward during such silent moments. Something occurred to him just then: what were her reasons for wanting to go along with him? That is, if she even really had any. There did not have to be any reasons why, but he was slightly curious nonetheless. The tone in his voice was more kind than in recent minutes as he spoke.

"So, how do you think we should handle this? I'm simplistic when it comes to these kind of things, and this is not the time to be simplistic. However, I am at a loss. It is true that we can gather them all by hand but that is only a temporary measure..."

His question was genuine and his explanation was thorough. The giant really did not know what the best course of action was. It would have been much smarter to let the girl who controlled the environment determine the best course of action. Although, he did have a few ideas as to how to deal with it. In this scenario, though, he thought it fun to let Leila's strengths shine. Meanwhile, the sky was blanketed entirely in dark storm clouds and the rain had already begun to pour a bit harder. Wind began to blow more fiercely through the trees, which eventually started to pick up dust from the ground. It was a good thing all the bandits were taken care of in time before the storm began to pick up, since Hero knew now that this storm was going to be a pretty strong one. Unfortunately the villagers' homes were not going to survive this one. Then again, they all should be happy enough being able to keep their lives. Regardless of any of that, the point of having someone along for the trip was working together and thus form a bond of friendship, or so some people from the guild said at one point. Yamamoto supposed that made sense, but he still did not know how to express such things or even how it was supposed to work. Perhaps it was something that was merely meant to happen with time.

"We ought to best pick up our pace. The storm is getting worse by the minute."

"Yup, quick is the best... best to start stress and all that..."

Playfully complaining, Leila took a good look at their situation. They were fairly far from the village, and it would be less than effective to just go and horde all the villagers, trying to make then run towards this place before the storm hits. If they wanted to ensure maximal effectiveness, they had to use their powers. And of course, Yamamoto's were not exactly ideal for this situation. Which left Leila, who had power over the elusive dimension called Gardens of Eden. They both probably already had an idea of what needed to be done, especially since the girl showcased her skills before in the battle. Yuki landed on the wet ground as well, looking up into the skies and feeling the drops of rainwater on her skin. There really wasn't much time, and this all will exhaust Leila on mental level really good. But she had to do it, for the people and all that.

"Uh, alright... just... gimme a moment. I should be able to make something big with my free forming abilities as long as we're not in combat. So make sure there really are no bandits left to attack me when I concentrate, okay?"

Giving them the warning, she kneeled down and started gathering ethernano from the earth. And as it gathered, she would focus all of that energy into one single target. Soon, a solid area around her was completely saturated with magical energy. And from all that, a small sapling was born. An uninteresting and not very impressive piece of new life that had grown from the ground. Of course, that was only stage one. For right after it left the ground, it started maturing rapidly, turning into a giant tree that had it's crown of leaves bigger than your regular home for a big family. And it's trunk, it was way more flexible than any tree that you would find in the Earthland. Almost like a living snake, it was swaying from side to side before the top of the tree got lowered, placing itself just above the ground at the height where the two mages could hop on.

"Alright... we'll get on, I'll let the tree grow and move it towards the village where we'll pick up everyone, then I'll force the tree back into the ground which will bring us back here. And if you say no, I will make that tree collapse on you!"

After all, it did take a good deal of energy to grow. So she would have to use it at least that way if not the way she intended. Just getting rid of it would be too much of a shame. Even Yuki looked impressed by the size of that tree. This was the first time Leila tried to conjure something this big with intend of making it even bigger after all. And if it worked, maybe she should open her own transportation business. It could get her rich one day.

---

To Hero, it seemed his apology was accepted, though it was not much of one in the context of literal statements. As known likely by many, Yamamoto was not the social type, so it was not so unbelievable that he did not really know how to talk to people. Though again, this was not exactly the best time to contemplate such things since the storm was really starting to pick up at this point. Leila requested that the giant make sure nothing got in her way while she was concentrate, which was pretty easy since most if not all the trouble was dealt with already. However, he simply nodded and turned around to stare down the mob crushed under the tree branches as well as the ones wrapped up tightly in bars. Chances were extremely low that any of them were going to be able to get themselves out which meant less work for him. As he looked about, the woman behind him was steadily growing another tree from the soil beneath their feet. She really was a pretty capable wizard for her age, though then again, perhaps she was the proper age for such strength. Hero was definitely a late bloomer in comparison, though he was growing very quickly despite it. Such brief thoughts were interrupted by an elderly couple whom ran up to the two travelers; that changed moments later when they were actually headed straight toward the giant. The elderly man looked up at Hero and grinned a bit before speaking.

"I see you are still as large as you were when you were a child, Hero."

Yamamoto's expression was one that expressed surprise, happiness, and confusion. "What are you two doing out here? The storm's getting worse. I'm sure you have more important things to do right now than reminisce."

"I can still kick your ass no matter how tall you are, boy. How can we help?"

"Says the old man who never once beat me in a match back then. As for help, I know there is one thing you can do. My friend here and I are going to bring the villagers here. I'm going to have to ask you to take them into the basement to ride out the storm."

"We can do at least that much. And Hero, I got your letter. She isn't here and she didn't tell us where she went off to. It's been a decade since she left and not a single postcard. Sounds like a certain bastard I know."

"I see. Thank you. It was nice seeing you both again, despite the sarcasm, ya old codger."

By the time they finished exchanging words, Leila had finished making the tree which was hunched over for the man to jump onto. Upon jumping on it, the thing was quite sturdy and chances were high that they could grab most of the villagers in one round. The giant smirked at Leila's comment and then spoke in a tone that had a hint of laughter in it.

"The last thing I want to do is make a friend mad. Lets do this."

Growing a big tree was never really a problem. However, growing a giant tree that was meant to become even larger later on, that required indeed a great deal of concentration. And simply because of that, Leila missed most of what was going on behind her between her partner Yamamoto and someone who was seemingly the original resident of this big mansion. Only once her handiwork was done she would turn around and spot the rather interesting scene. It wasn't hard to say that Hero knew these people based on the way they were talking to one another. Which probably explained few things, mainly the fact of Hero seemingly knowing everything about this place. And the additional drive for saving these people, it truly wasn't coming just from wanting to be a heroic mage that saved the village from bandits and incoming storm. It is only natural that you would want to save someone you know more than anything, that was a common knowledge for most people. Not for everyone, but for most. It didn't take long before that conversation was finished as well, making Hero come back and approve Leila's spell.

"You better not. I'm one scary girl when angered!"

Standing upright proudly with her hands resting on her hips, she would strike a confident smile before jumping into the leafy crown of her tree, waving to her freezing friend who was currently having fun with remaking few of the falling drops of water into pieces of ice, effectively creating hail. She too flew over and jumped onto the tree. And once Hero did the same, the fun began. Almost like a slingshot, she upper part of Leila's tree would shoot forward, moving with rather incredible speed just a little bit above the ground, leaving behind expending trunk that slithered around like a snake. It took but few moments before they were at the entrance of the village where the spell stopped moving.

"Uugh, controlling this whole thing is making me dizzy... gather everyone and make them fit in this so I can return us..."

At the moment, even this girl was a little bit out of it. While her signature free-forming ability did not consume and magical energy, it still required a good chuck of mental capacity. And her brain was now kinda overloaded after making something that was capable of covering this much distance. Which meant that the rest of the work was resting on Hero's shoulders. Yuki being her bored self remained seated as well, not really interested in helping as she did not know a single person from this village and thus their fate was of no concern to her.

---

Leila happened to show a rather endearing side at times, which was relieving. Such moods were needed in these sort of moments, and to be honest it reminded him of Venir. For a moment, the giant wondered how she was doing, what she was doing and when he was going to see her again. Maybe he would see if he could take her along with him on his travels some time soon. Emotions were still a rather vague concept to Hero at this point in time. It was pretty obvious considering today's exchange. However, he was little by little beginning to understand how it all worked. There was so much still to sort out about himself after all.

The girl nearby at the center-most portion of the tree got down to business moments later and the entire tree begin to fly toward the village fast enough to cause the man to flinch slightly. It must have taken a lot of focus and training to make such a thing happen. To keep himself from falling, Yamamoto entwined his feet with the branches until they eventually stopped just within the town's limits. Hero nodded in response to Leila's statement and hopped off the tree, running off to each home and literally grabbing all the men, women, and children. This was the most logical and efficient way of gathering everyone in his mind. Each house he went to, he spoke quickly that he not explain the details until he gathered everyone. When he finished picking all of them up, he informed them of the storm in its early stages and that their homes would not have been able to survive it due to the fact that they were not well maintained. It took a few minutes but he managed to bring the population of the village to the treetop where Leila was and set them all down slowly. Quickly after, the elderly and the children jumped on; then the rest of the men and women got on last.

"Everyone's here. Lets drop them all off and be on our way back."

Yup, mister Yamamoto still had his own way of doing things... sure, he did listen to Leila's words and decided that he would act without complaining not even one bit. But then again, his method of gathering everyone in one place could have been a little bit more... gentle let us say. At least it was somewhat effective and after some time passed, pretty much the whole village was ready to be transported. There were even more people than she thought there would be and because of that, she had to make the tree's leafy crown even bigger than it already was. After all of this will be over, she'll have to take a long nap to recover her mental state from controlling this giant of a spell. Thankfully there was that good feeling that she was helping to save innocent lives which had supported her actions quite a bit. Watching as everyone got on, she tried her best to help anyone who had problems finding a good spot in her tree and then, everything was finally set and ready to go. And she already knew that she will not like moving the tree back with this many people on.

"Uh, alright... everyone! Grab something and do no let go under any circumstances! We'll be moving rather fast, so be sure to not fall off, no matter what!"

With that little warning to all the villagers and Hero as well, Leila started focusing once more. And with that, the tree started slowly moving, lifting itself more above the ground before suddenly shooting in the direction of the mansion they were headed to. Hopefully owners of that giant abode were fine with having a giant tree digging caves under their property, because she had to force the tree's trunk deeper into the ground if she wanted to move them in this direction at this speed. But they eventually made it and the crown parked right in front of the building just like it did when they were to head into the village. Just from that, the poor Eden's mage nearly collapsed, falling from the tree onto the hard ground. It wasn't very pleasant landing, but she expected that much.

"M..made it! Now... let me sleep... foreveeer..."

---

Leila's level of focus was very strong in order to manage a tree of this size while carrying a small village worth of people. He could tell though that doing it was placing a lot of strain on her mind. Yamamoto on the other hand was still in pretty good shape despite that new spell he used along with carrying all those villagers from their respective homes. He was probably going to feel some soreness tomorrow. Some moments later, after the villagers situated themselves safely on the treetop, Leila made a warning to everyone and then the tree began to retract to the estate. It was not a smooth ride back, but it certainly beat running all the way there with a bunch of villagers on his shoulders.

By the time they arrived at the estate, the storm was really beginning to pick up speed. Rain was pouring harder and wind was beginning to blow more furiously. Seemed the adventurers' luck was about to run out. The villagers hurried off the tree and into the estate with the elderly couple just behind them. The old man waved without saying a word and Hero responded with a nod and a thumb up. Then moments later, Leila fell off the tree. All that strain must have worn her out. Barely in time, the giant kept her from falling onto the muddy ground and broke off a large branch from the tree to keep the rain off of them at least for the most part since they were already fairly soaked. The man sighed and shook his head before smiling.

"Good job, Leila and thank you for coming along with me. Let me return the favor by carrying you back home."

With that, Hero darted off at full speed toward home, where hopefully the two could get their respective amounts of rest before the next day. It was times like these that the giant really enjoyed, though this was only the beginning to his travels. Little did he know that this path was going to lead him somewhere completely different from what he originally intended.

| HP: 150% ► 450 |
| MP: 100% |
| Onward t'ward home~ End of thread! |
| Word Count: 352 |
| Total Word Count: 7,502 of 7,000 |