Her voice quickly echoed back to him after he expressed her name. It was a little shocking, but at the same time very affectionate. It showed just how close that they had grown as guildmates, and as siblings. He assumed the amount of pain that she must have gone through in the meantime… yeah, the pain that they both suffered. That was also strange, because when he saw her look back at him in joy, the pain smoothened quickly. He could see it on her face too, but she also smoothened a little as she approached him. “Well, your writing sure improved-“ he joked for a brief second, until he was enveloped in a sweet hug - sweet but strong too, “… I-I’ve been fine, don’t worry about me…” He was blushing a little, it really shook him how much she had missed him. Then again, they both needed their time to recover after such an incident… it was only expected from both parts, wasn’t it? Especially for her as she was closer to him…
Due to the news, Imai had instinctively sought his home back at Shirotsume. There was no time to dash around when you faced events such as these… and nothing but the voices of that big guy soared around his head at that time. He was saddened to the point of wetting his eyes, yes, but at the same time, he felt not much need to grieve over it with such heavy feelings that would surely destroy him from the inside. At first, he felt like a monster without feelings… until he began remembering just what Mashyuu used to tell him. About being strong. Wasn’t that the case, bro? You favored a strong spine going through the worst times instead of breaking down to the weight. And again, when the young boy compared himself to the big brother of his, then he could only wonder how much that the Earth Slayer had gone through. In fact, he kept himself inside his room remembering all their adventures, because he knew that going through everything that you had done with a specific person would heal the wound caused by the loss of said person… if it was just that simple…
His tears had overflown in the embrace of his confused yet worried mother who hadn’t even gotten to know what the issue was. Living by themselves, the parents and Koguma, in Shirotsume since Imai’s departure, he casually sent them lots of postcards and letters about his accomplishments and bragging about the adventures to his little sister. However, they hadn’t heard of the death of someone from his guild. He only told them so after a while of letting out what he held back for so long to his dear mother…
“… My God…” his mother breathed whilst having her hands cover her mouth in shock, “… Ooguma… Imai, I’m so sorry…” The red-haired boy was simply looking down at the floor in grief, he barely wanted to talk about it now. However, his parents deserved to know of the incident. Koguma was tugging onto their father’s side with a worried look on her 6-year old face. She didn’t understand why, but seeing her big brother so sad - a very rare phenomenon given his careless, optimistic lifestyle - it also killed her inside like a knife darting through your skin. And that was just by watching him in tears…
It had become night. Time passed by like a wasp escaping your ear, it was frustrating and too sudden. Imai was found on his bed, having his face buried in his old bear pillow with stains of tears revealed. It was so unfair for him… for Kenna… of all things… and it was too early to depart from him. He felt that the world was being a huge oppressor right now, pushing him to a corner in the blink of an eye. And surprisingly enough, his sister had entered the room in all her worry, checking on why her big brother was having such a bad mood. Her parents had informed the little girl that he had lost a friend, but something still poked her curiosity, in which she tried to cheer Imai up the best way she knew; by hugging him. Suddenly, she lashed her hands up on her brother’s back and held tight, giving him a cute hug to see if he would feel any better. “… Koguma..?” Imai whispered out to the little girl, turning his face up to see her happy face, “… What am I doing… letting myself worry you, that’s selfish of me.” A faint smile grew on his lips, but it looked rather pathetic in the end. His sister, although, responded with a big smile too. “Big brother! You lost a friend-“ she stated ever so carelessly, “-He must be hero! Hero!”
Kenna did send him a message, now that he thought about it again. As thoughts of the late past passed his mind, he had hurried over here in such a rush that he forgot the containment of the letter midway, so she had to remind him again. About who she really was… it was about her true identity, he assumed… wait, what exactly was he thinking now? Was she… wait, he had to think this through. The real Kenna… was her, wasn’t it? What was she hiding? The only true change that he noticed at first glance was her magic, but magic changed day after day in such a frequency that he found it unnecessary to pay any attention to. Although, he never asked himself this, but what lied behind his sense of magic? He could clearly see something more bright and fierce in Kenna than, perhaps, a year ago, but that wasn’t the only thing that caught his glimmering eyes. She slowly stepped back, promising to show just how much that she had changed, or rather, what exactly she had hid away all this time. “I’m pretty sure that I know you well enough… but uhhh, hey! If it’s some kind of burn mark or pimple on your butt, then I ski-“ he was about to comment, but alas, his words were cut short by the sudden pillar of fire that rushed upon Kenna’s position. Imai had to cover his forehead with an arm to wipe some sweat off, because that was some extremely hot temperatures! It changed from, like, 15 degrees Celsius to around 50! Also, that could explain his previous scanning; the bright colors inside of her were, in fact, blazes. And another thing changed too, her hair! It was bright and white, completely contrasting in comparison to her charcoal-black hair earlier. “Oooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” he let out in the voice of a freaking fangirl, yes, a fangirl even. Her eyes had changed into blood-red, shiny gems, and two larger horns grew out, born in fire and manifested in a black substance. “Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!” he moaned even louder, even holding two fingers to mimic the growing of horns on her head. It was all way too much for the wonder-obsessed star wizard. Her transformation, damn! It was like a volcanic eruption, and his eyes saw nothing but fire by now!
As the flames scattered in such an eye-catching fashion, Imai slowly turned his gaze back at Kenna. She… she was still herself, wasn’t she? For a moment, he considered sweating in worry, but her chuckle approved her presence; so this was what she was… white-haired! Nah, literally everything else felt different, too. She looked more demonic now, resembling Itsu’s evil energy in her transformed state. Although, it felt more ravaging and aggressive than scary. Also, his mouth was wide-open; mind his manners, he just couldn’t react enough to what he just saw. “…A-Ahh, ohhhhhhhhh…” his voice just darted out, and even though he was losing breath, he just couldn’t stop breathing out. And in the meantime of his bound state, she introduced herself as if it was their first encounter. And her name was, if he was right, Aelin Kenna Calanto da… Endiver? Yeah, that must’ve been it, because it sounded way out of his capability to remember…
She was also a heir. Wait, she was of royal blood?! That sure surprised him as well, why did she hide such a lineage?! And as such, his inner question was answered immediately; she hailed from none other than an actual Demon Emperor. Was that the factor of her demonic heritage? It sure appeared to be, and it was the only rational conclusion, but how could he ever know that? His boots were shaking in awe just by her changed hair color! “… Huuuuuuuuh?” he spoke up in confusion, “Wait, wait, let me get this straight; you became a Dragon Slayer by now? And you’re a demon… that’s… a demon who’s a Dragon Slayer, and royal as well… Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” That was, frankly, it for his mind as it decided to dip out and leave Imai in a state of, what, ecstasy? Had he glimpsed the pinnacle of the Otherworld, already? His eyes were almost melting, crying even, and his smile had grown to that of a joyful kid again. His childish natures skyrocketed, became his very phenotypes, and clearly showed just how much of an impact that this was. If there was one thing that he treasured, then it was memories… and this wouldn’t be forgotten anytime soon.
“… Haaaaaah,” he breathed out as he tried to grab his breath again. The constant ‘fangasm’ had emptied his lungs completely, making them feel like the size of golf balls. “I… I don’t know what to say… I’m real, I don’t know any words which can express the- HOLY HÖLLE!” His nose emitted steam as he dashed his face up in amaze, completely contradicting what he was just about to say. “… Uhm… oh, I know!” Now that she had introduced herself to him once again, why not do the same? “*cough*… Greetings, Aelin Kenna Calantaeto-something… uhh, di Edo- I mean, Endovier, of the Ash Bloodline, and royalty. I am the entity, Ooguma Uchuuken, more known as Imai Uchuuken.” He made sure to make his voice that of an authorized individual, but other than that, he was joking around like never before, “… Hah, this is unreal. You look awesome. Everything is awesome…” And with that, he landed on his back, looking up at the sealing as if he accomplished life…
WC: 1737 + 786 = 2522