Divert The Great Flood! (Hana & Zenneth)

Spoiler:

It was a normal day for Alexander as he was up in the mountains, the sky was clear and clear of any clouds. The mountain had a nice gentle breeze to it and the roads were clear. All in all there was little`to nothing on the road to the mountain village where Hana and Alexander heard the distress call. In fact there was little noise either which was a bit eerie. Mountains like this were usually full of life and filled with the noises of nature. There should have been a pleasant walk, but there was danger ahead. Hana and Alexander had a do or die mission.

He took a look at Hana, who was most likely free of expression or emotions.  She was like this before in the other thread, except for a small frown on her face. It was just once and it lasted for briefest of seconds, but behind that mask there were emotions. She just didn’t bother to show them. It was as if some kind of trauma affected her life, but then again… So has his life and those of the rest of the team. In a way this was a team of crazies united under cookies. He chuckled slightly, but it was no laughing matter. The trip was silent until they got to a hill overlooking town, the streets were flooding badly.

Alexander spoke up, “Well damn, I am in a Fire mages worst case scenario. Luckily for us I am calling a cookie break. Looks like it be heavy work afterwards.” Alexander opened up his backpack and pulled out a plate of Hana’s favorite cookies. That was the one connection they had, he cooked and she ate his cookies. Best teamwork ever. Alexander asked, “Well lucky for us the levees seemed to be made out of metal. Right up your alley.”

Hana had been unknowingly staring at her reflection in the water as she walked, soft swishing sounds heard as she and Alexander walked through the currently flooding streets. She found this walk to be quite pleasant indeed. It was quiet, and she liked the silence. It soothed her.

The pink-haired girl looked up towards her teammate when he chuckled, wondering what was going on in his mind. Perhaps he was thinking of something funny, or was he a madman? Or perhaps he had been drinking again... Yes, she knew about his drinking habits. She had smelled a bit of alcohol when around him before, and plus, she'd seen him drinking in bars a few times, when she was busy dealing with clients. However, there was certainly something peculiar about. His aura somehow seemed... Unusual to her. She'd never sensed anything like it before. And yet, she somehow found him trustworthy. Sure, he was a little suspicious, but who was she to be saying that when she herself was behaving a little suspicious as well? Surely everyone had their secrets to keep. After what seemed like an endless silence, Alexander spoke of having a cookie break, then pulled out a plate of cookies. Hana was puzzled. How did he fit a plate into his bag without having the cookies slide off the plate when he walked?

Well, that didn't matter. Grateful that he had brought snacks, Hana took one, and quickly finished it off. "These are delicious. I'll have to learn how you make these sometime." the girl complemented, before taking another cookie and devouring it. This reminded her of that shadow girl she'd met the other day. She was strange, and had quite an obsession with doughnuts, just as Hana had with cookies. But perhaps Hana's obsession wouldn't cause her to behave like Priscilla. Or had she already been behaving that way since day one, without even noticing it?

Alexander smiled at the compliment that Hana gave, but with an emotionless face to go with it. There was something wrong with Hana and one day Alexander was going to find out what it was. There was a small sigh as he reviewed the destruction of the damn. And people said fire magic was destructive, try holding back water. There was just a few cookies he ate and then he inspected the damage that the dam had caused. They needed to get behind this, but water was not his strong point at all. However that why he brought Hana, her Metal-Make would be invaluable.

Alexander got up, “The secret is that I cook it with my Flame Demon Slayer magic. Adds just a tiny bit of flavor, but otherwise it is nothing special. Its main ingredient is passion.” It was closer to truth than Hana realized, you needed the passion to be able to cook well. However Alexander just sighed, it would be hard for Hana to understand as she was cold as ice. Alexander started walking towards the dam, the water was only about 2 feet high. Normally nothing, but an annoyance to others. However Alexander stepped into the water and started to cause clouds of steam on his feet. This caused the water to heat up and people to look at him in concern. Alexander walked to what looked like the boss and said, “So what is the situation?” A man that looked like the village mayor said, “The levy broke from what was caused by an explosion. The person responsible has not been caught and now the local wildlife has gone crazy.” Alexander said, “I brought my friend here that is a Metal-Make mage, she could easily fix that for you.” It was then that there was a loud screech that filled the air followed by noise. Alexander just sighed, “Or we can stop the local wildlife from killing all of you. Let’s go Hana.”

The member 'Zenneth' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

'Monster Dice' :

Hana tilted her head in confusion when he mentioned an ingredient being passion. Was that an ingredient? She hadn't heard of an ingredient called passion before. Or perhaps he meant passion fruit? Funny though, she hadn't tasted any passion fruit in the cookies. "Passion...?" she asked. When she felt the water around Alexander heat up, she moved away from him slightly. She wasn't one who liked the heat, and he could heat up the water till it could actually scald her. She listened attentively to the conversation between him and who she supposed was the mayor.

Hana's head turned round when she heard a loud screech, followed by screams and then noise. She nodded upon hearing Alexander's words, immediately running towards where the sound was coming from. It wasn't that hard to find, really. Just look in the direction the townspeople were running from. Upon arriving at the scene, Hana spotted a group that consisted of three monkeys, three black cats, and a huge bull. If every mission I go on with Alexander is going to involve cats, I should really consider bringing catnip along with me in future. she thought, and was caught off guard when a monkey came charging towards her. She immediately fell into the ground when it lunged itself onto her face, Hana struggling to get it off before she finally grabbed ahold of the little sucker's tail, pulled on it harshly and ripped it off her face, holding it in a headlock before twisting its head, a sickening snap heard before she flung it's lifeless body on the ground. She felt somewhat uncomfortable. Though trained to kill without mercy, hated hurting animals, but she knew this was necessary. Not all animals were cuddly and loving, some were just far too wild and untamable.

Alexander just looked out into the distance and saw all the animals approaching the 2 people. There was still steam coming from his feet. This place was not a good place to fight, water was cutting Alexander’s mobility. And also there was a clear tactical disadvantage in every sense of the word. The cats came mauling straight towards Hana there was little time to think about anything. He immediately grabbed Hana by her hips and threw her out of the water. Alexander had the strength to do so as despite being a metal-make mage, she weighed light. Must be her bones were like a lightweight metal. Oh well, he hoped that Hana would find reason to smile again.

Alexander’s life flashed before his eyes, all the years in hell condensed in a span of 2 seconds. The faces of every person that he killed. Was his life perfect? No, but he had good times as well. There was no regrets though as he watched the cat jump at him, fangs and claws ready. Was this a good way to die? Saving a team mate from assured pain and death? Yes, there were better and worse ways to die. He just did not want to be forgotten.

Alexander was immediately tackled into the water by the 3 cats and a gush of steam immediately filled the water as he submerged. It blocked all visibility whatsoever as there was a loud splash and then growling of three cats. Soon after wards there was silence and it was followed by the water turning crimson red of blood. Tainting the pristine water with its violence. There was no Alexander emerging from the water as the steam cleared and 2 of the cats were now eyeing Hana. As for now the Metal-make mage was on her own. For there was no Alexander to help her now. Just her and the animals.

Hana's eyes widened when she spotted the cats running towards her. Mothers wasn't enough time to move, not when the streets were flooded, and the water made it much more difficult to walk. She braced herself, but was surprised when she felt hands around her hips, then blinked confusedly when she was flung out of the water. She snapped out of her daze, and landed  perfectly on both her feet. She whipped her head around just in time to see the cats pouncing onto poor Alexander, causing him to fall into the water from the impact. Steam blocked her vision, but she could hear the commotion that was going on. Surely the hissing and splashes of water meant that they were struggling. The noise soon ended, however, and Hana saw no Alexander climbing out of the water, smiling at her like he always did. There were only two of the cats, and blood dirtied the once clear waters. Was he... Dead? Impossible. He seemed so strong, and surely demon slayer magic was very powerful. It had to be, right?

"Alexander...? Are you there?" she called out. No response was heard from Sabertooth's flame demon slayer. Maybe he was just unconscious. Eh, most likely, although deaths like this weren't uncommon. She'd seen many comrades die on missions similar to this. It wasn't a big deal, really. Though it was quite a bother to have to explain how they died, write a goddamn report to Takashi and get rid of their bodies. Perhaps she should suggest that a sort of self destruct magic be placed on every member, including her, so as to rid of any evidence and valuable information upon the member's deaths. That would also save Hana the trouble of having to dispose of them one way or another. She sighed. "You know, if you're dead..." she began, putting both hands together, a dark purple magic circle appearing. "Don't expect me to write in a report, or cry at your funeral, Alexander." she continued, a sword appearing in her hand at that exact moment. She waited as the cats came charging towards her, then charged. In a few moments, there was silence, followed by a splash. Hana had cut the cat's head clean off. But, weren't there two?

A sudden hiss, followed by a low growl and then a loud splash, and the pink haired maiden found herself submerged in the water, pinned down by a huge black cat. That was when her siren bloodline kicked in, and she could breathe underwater normally. She grunted as the cat clawed at her face, ripping out a bit of skin and flesh on her left cheek. She used her katana to block the day's other attacks, then when it's head was close enough to her, she did the dumbest, most desperate thing. She slammed her forehead into the cat's, startling it and knocking it off her. If it weren't for the ridiculously strong bones she had, she'd have fractured her skull by now. She sighed as blood trailed down her forehead. Mikoto was going to be so mad. The cat, having gotten back it's balance and recovered from the shock, lunged at her, claws targeting her throat. She simply stood there, waiting before jumping up the last minute, plunging her sword into the creature's back just as it mad a reach for her foot. The cat hissed, struggling to get the katana out of it's back, and Hana pushed it in deeper. Finally, after much struggling, it dropped dead, even more blood mixing in with the water. Hana kneeled down to catch her breath, sword still in her hand, before remembering Akexander. She got up, then looked about. She couldn't smell him, probably because of the water that had washed away his scent, and she certainly couldn't see the huge silver haired man anywhere. Was he really dead, just like that?

Alexander was gone, not to be seen for a while. All that rose from the surface was his infamous jacket and bag that rose to the surface. The jacket was bloodied and torn as it drifted away, in no particular direction. The bag with Alexanders supplies floated to the bank and opened up to reveal cookies that were shaped like chibi versions of Hana. They had various different facial expressions that Hana would have had if she showed happiness, sadness or any facial expressions in general. The Flame Demon Slayer was not surfacing and neither was any trace of the cat. It was as if the flooded area swallowed him whole.

Alexander was a young man that was 20 years old. He was a man with a dark past, but masked his pain and sorrows with a mask. He was a fire demon slayer with a passion of baking and making delectable dishes for everyone. He enjoyed the simple things in life, mostly drinking and listening to music. Most of all his biggest source of happiness came from simply being around his team mates. There was Hana the emotionless robot with a love of cookies, who hid her emotions with a mask.  She had a goal that was unwavering to her, whatever it was. Alexander could tell from the one time she frowned in her inner thought. Indar was a bit too serious for Alexander’s liking with secrets of his own, but was an alright person. Priscilla was a unique and outspoken woman that Alexander trusted to do the right thing. Viola was like a sister to him along with Hana, in fact Radiant Dawn was what he considered his family after he lost his. In the end the way he went would have given a certain amount of peace to him. And that was all he ever desired.

Or that is all what it seemed for a bit before an explosion came out of the water and Alexander came out of the water. Shoulder torn and the head of a cat in his hand, he had the look of pure anger on his face. He was tackled by cats for crying out loud! What was the freaking deal with him and cats? Alexander's every footstep was causing the water to boil as he threw the cat aside and put on his slightly ripped jacket. He was pissed to high hell and got even more when he saw Hana's scratch. The demon was trying to push out from his rosary, but it was contained. However Alexander's calming flame looked much more judgmental now. As 2 monkeys tried to grab his face, he grabbed them and crushed their skull with his burning hands.

Alexander said only a single sentence, "I am not amused."

Hana's stoic face turned into a slight frown when she did not see his rescued ace. It had been probably more than 5 minutes. She couldn't believe it. He was dead. "Alexander...?" she asked. She didn't sound like the usual cold, heartless Hana when she spoke. She sounded more like a lost, confused little girl. Her eyes caught sight of his ripped up jacket, and a bag that were full of cookies which looked just like her, although much smaller and cuter versions. They didn't have her usual heartless look. Instead, each and every one had all sorts of emotions. Some were frowning, some looked angered, and others, happy. She found herself trudging through the water, towards the bag of cookies, and she reached toward it, grabbing it and peering in to get a better look. Only one thought came to her mind.

I'm food.

Just then, an explosion occurred, and there stood Alexander, covered from head to toe in scratches, blood seeping out of his torn shoulder. She immediately wiped the frown off her face. "You don't look very happy." she noted, oblivious I the fact that she was stating the obvious. She stated, then walked towards him, zipping up the bag. Just then, two monkeys launched themselves at his face, and he immediately killed them, stating that he was not amused. Hana shrugged, then held up a cookie she'd taken out of the bag. "If you don't mind me asking, did you make these just so you could eat me without being charged for murder?" she asked, undoing her Katana spell and allowing it to shatter into millions of fragments before they faded away.

Alexander was walking towards the bull with quiet angry determination as he walked forward. He was angry, cold, distant. Alexander’s fires were always white and soothing normally, but now they seemed to be bigger and more judging. As if the fires could melt the soul off the body and that he was not afraid to do so. He was angry, because he was hurt. However it was because Hana was hurt and not just physically, but mentally as well. There was a few seconds he saw Hana’s frown of worry and it pissed him off. He failed Hana as well and worried her with his supposed ‘death.’

Alexander however did not answer Hana, but instead was walking towards the bull that was going around for another charge. He looked at it straight in the face and started running at it, lighting himself up in white fire and propelling himself at the same rate that the bull was charming. They accelerated at each other at speeds and impacted with each other, stopping at mid destination. There was a loud crack as Alexander and the bull hurt each other, but stopping the bull allowed him to quickly go into a nova straight in the bulls back, breaking the spine and sending the bull flying at Hana’s feet.

Alexander then looked at Hana as she asked if he wanted to eat her. What kind of question was that? He made them, because he wanted to see if it would illicit some kind of emotion. Alexander just said, “No, I just thought it was cute. Hopefully that you would find something to laugh about.” There was still fire and anger, but now it was mixed by confusion. So much in fact that the last cat that they forgot about was getting ready to pounce on Alexander. Hana was the only one that saw it.

[OOC: Oh wow... I completely forgot that there was a bull XD]

Hana was prepared to cast another spell, before Alexander had taken out the rampaging bull in just a few moments. A look of worry again appeared on her face when she heard a loud crack, but then shook it off again. What was with her and all the faces today? She thought, watching as Alexander snapped the bull's spine, killing it at once as he sent it flying towards her feet. He can handle a huge, mad bull, but can't deal with cats. she noted silently. Hana took a step back as the bull's carcass came flying towards her feet to make sure that she didn't get her feet stuck underneath it.

Upon hearing his answer to her question of whether he wanted to eat her, Hana arched an eyebrow. "Laugh? Why would I laugh at food?" she asked, finding it rather strange. Wouldn't it be disrespectful if she laughed at someone's cooking? That was what Mikoto told her. Still, she felt quite... Strange, in a good way. Pleased, perhaps, that he baked cookies just for her, like how Mikoto always did? Her cold gaze softened as she took another look at the cookie. It was indeed cute. "But still... I appreciate the thought. Thank you." she said, head tilting downwards slightly to hide the small smile on her lips. It lasted for a brief moment, before she spotted a black, furry paw behind Alexander. Instinctively, she shoved him out of the way, then took on the cat just as he had done for her just now, kicking it under the chin with her left leg, then slamming her leg down onto it's head. She was thankful that she was wearing her shoes this time, knowing that it allowed her kick to deal more damage than when she was barefooted. The beast hissed, shaking it's throbbing head.

Hana cursed in silence. Had she known that there was one more cat to deal with, she would've kept her sword with her instead of releasing the spell. She sighed. Moving to stand in front of Alexander as the had recovered from her previous attack. Bits and particles of metal appeared in the air, then joined together to form multiple triangular pieces, each with jagged and sharp tips and edges. They were send raining down onto the cat, in which the cat was unable to dodge then due to them being extremely small, only 5 cm wide. It hissed in pain from the various cuts it recieved from the spell, and the two charged at each other. Hana jumped as soon as it was close enough, then say atop of it, her hands quickly grabbing ahold of it's head, then twisted sideways, the cat dropping dead immediately. Thank god... she thought, dragging herself off the beast before falling to her knees in the water, panting. Boy was she out of shape.

Cooldowns:
Katana- 3 post
Hail- 4 posts

Alexander was pushed aside as another cat decided to come behind and attack him. Alexander was so tired of these cats coming in from nowhere and attacking me the cat. His reaction was slowed as he grabbed his torn shoulder in pain. It was going to need to be examined later by a professional doctor. Still he had that one cat that he completely missed and it was going for his face, Alexander was spared of more physical scars. However it was not the physical scars that hurt him, it was the psychological scars that hurt him the most. Some things were not meant to be seen.

There was a few seconds of calm in the area as there was nothing but silence. Alexander panted and sat down in the water. More steam came up, but mattered little to him. He was letting the waster soak in a bit until he felt better. Alexander sighed a bit, maybe the cookies were a bit much. He shouldn’t force an emotion out of Hana, all he got so far were frowns of worry or frustration. None of them were ever positive to say the least, but he did try. Instead he simply started talking about stuff.

Alexander said, “You want to know why I smile and laugh Hana. Why I always keep a positive outlook on things? Because this world is an ugly yet beautiful world. Sure there is its bad spots, worse of humanity and such. After the darkest night comes the Radiant Dawn. There is always something worth smiling about, friends, family, or a love. In my case I see the entire family as my team, maybe a bit dysfunctional and doomed to die of diabetes… but it’s my reason of living.” Alexander took the moment to stand up and offer Hana a hand to help her up. His usual soft smile was on his face again to reassure her. There would always be family to help her back up on her feet, no matter how many times she fell.

Hana remained kneeling in the cooling water, panting, wanting to simply find a nice lake or pond and just jump in to relax. Taking on god knows how many creatures was exhausting, especially after returning from a goddamn escort mission that morning. The girl listened in silence as her partner spoke of his reason of living, and why he smiled everyday. She agreed that this world was very cruel and sad, but perhaps it had its beauty as well. "Family? You think we're family?" she asked. Was she really considered family? Her, a strange, heartless girl trained to kill without mercy? Somehow, she felt that Alexander and her were alike in a certain way. They each fought and lived for their family.

Hana snapped out of her thoughts when she saw a hand held out in front of her, then looked up to see Alexander smiling at her. She reached out for it, but stopped. What would Takashi say if he found out she'd been weakened so easily? She pulled her hand back, then forced herself to get back on her feet. "I can stand on my own. she said, again burying all emotions she had deep within, refusing to release them and returned to her everyday personality. How weak had she become, to lower her guard, and even worried for a mere comrade. No, she wasn't his family. They were not blood related, and he surely didn't adopt her as his own. "Now, what do we do next? I recall having to fix the damn, and there's a chance that there could be more local wildlife around, waiting to attack." she asked, returning her focus to the mission instead.

Cooldowns:
Katana- 2 posts
Hail- 3 posts

Alexander shrugged, “Well not blood family if that was what you were thinking. Nobody should replace blood family. I however have no family or any memories of them, so the next best thing is the family we create. Because when all is said and done… After all the fire and fury is done, we only have each other. Nobody deserves to live life alone, it is the worse experience one can endure…” Alexander was talking about his time in hell, there were still nightmares that Alexander had to endure on a daily basis, the screams, the pain and nobody to tell his problems to. Everyone in there was there to add to his misery. There was no hope, but eternal pain and damnation.  There was no hope other than to either join them or fight for your soul. He chose the road less traveled and fought until his inner fire became a weapon to fight them.

Alexander let Hana reach for her and then decided to get up on her own. Alexander rolled his eyes and sighed, he was hoping that it would crack the mask she always wore. It’s what was holding her back, she fell into the same rut that made her weak. Hana had so much potential, but it was held back by herself. She needed to break the shell or she was never getting stronger. Alexander looked up along the river and said “Yeah and we also need to investigate who caused all of this. There needs to be an investigation to see who did it, which may take a while.” Alexander walked out of the water and towards the edge to inspect the damn again. That job was going to take a while after all. He shook his head and grabbed some sheet metal to patch the job.

Hana arched an eyebrow upon hearing that living alone was the worst experience one could endure. Why on earth would it be a terrible experience? Surely it'd be better to live alone. One wouldn't have to worry about the other, there wouldn't be any betrayal, nobody would get hurt, no disputes and falling outs."What's so bad about being alone? I doubt that would be a terrible experience. Isn't it better, when you have no one to burden you? If I were you, I'd choose to spend my life alone. No distractions, no... Weaknesses, no problem." she spoke, although those words weren't really hers. These were the very words Takashi had told her. Friends were useless, they'd only drag you down with them. She of course, knew there were advantages to having friends. They could help with training and all, make a mission less difficult with the help they provided. Still, she was convinced that friends would only serve to distract her, turn her all soft and weak, and she certainly didn't want to be like that.

"Indeed. Let's investigate after we fix the dam. I'm pretty sure the water will be a problem for you if the flood isn't dealt with." Hana said, casually walking behind Alexander, his words still echoing in her mind, even though she was already convinced that being alone was much more convenient for her. After all, she did live with Mikoto, and if he hadn't existed in her life then... Well, she couldn't imagine what her life would be like. Maybe she would've been better off without her brother to love and care for her, or the opposite. She shrugged, pushing away her thoughts, moving towards the dam to inspect the damage. Whoever did it must've been an idiot. she thought, eyes tracing the shape of the huge hole that had been caused by the explosion.

Alexander just chuckled as he grabbed several sheets of metal and started patching the hole up. He was chuckling because Hana was wrong in Alexander’s point of view. There was no point in being alone, it actually was more dangerous to be alone. He slapped on the sheet metal and started the patch job saying, “And nobody to help you up when you are down in the ground. No people to contrast and share opinions that could make you stronger. No people that makes this world exciting and new. Nobody to help you become stronger. Nobody to understand you, but instead loneliness. Without people, there would be no point to become stronger. It would all be just a hollow dream.” Alexander understood true loneliness, how many times was he denied simple things in life? Alexander continued contemplating some more as he continued helping fix the damn. People were already returning to the job and assisting the 2 of them as they gathered back. Hopefully his fire magic and Hana’s Metal magic would be enough to fix this.

Alexander continued, “However that is all opinion. There is one thing more important than friends and that is freedom. Freedom to be able to choose what kind of person you want to be. Freedom to choose what path you choose in life. Freedom to be your own person! Nobody should have to make your life, it is yours to build! So follow your dreams and belief, but no matter what it needs to be your choice. Not the will of others.” Alexander stayed quiet for a bit longer for it to sink in. She needed to live life on her own and not whatever code she was told to live. This behavior and attitude was not normal, it was controlled and Alexander felt very opposed to it. He then chuckled, “I talk too much.”

Hana thought carefully about what Alexander said. He was right in a way, that without anyone to fight before, she wouldn't have a reason to become stronger, and that it would simply be living in a hollow dream. There wouldn't be a reason to live or fight. "Perhaps you're right. After all, I have two important people in my life. If I were to lose them, I doubt I'd have a reason to live anymore." she admitted, as she began to put together the few sheets of metal she had picked up with her magic to cover up a part of the hole, whilst keeping alert as people gathered around to help so as to make sure that there weren't any more explosive-carrying idiots making any more holes for them. It surely wouldn't be nice to spend hours fixing a the entire dam, or maybe they might even have to rebuild it if the damage was great.

The girl continued to work on one side of the hole, using tiny amounts of her magic to keep the sheets of metal together so that they wouldn't fall apart, all the while listening as Alexander continued speaking to her.  However, her stopped moving when she heard his last few words. Follow her dreams, and make her own decisions? That was tough. She was terrible at making decisions. Or rather, she was never one who got to make decisions. She simply took orders, carried out her assigned tasks, and then repeated this process. She supposed it did sound a little boring and restricted, but in her opinion, that was her being filial and proving her loyalty to Takashi... Wasn't it? "I suppose you do talk a little too much. But... Is listening to a parent's advice counted as being controlled?" she asked.

Alexander listened to Hana’s answer to the first part of his speech, this caused him to smile a little bit more. So she had people that she cared for, that was good for that meant that there was conviction in her. Conviction to protect her family and to maybe make them proud. There was nothing wrong with doing that, but he could also not sympathize with her on that aspect. Alexander had no real family beyond the people that he adopted in the team. The family forged in the fires of battle and joined with the hope to be much stronger than originally planned.

Alexander continued sealing the sheets of metal into the damn, the effects were already immediate as the water levels slowly lowered, clearing the place of water in a hurry. This made movement a lot easier for him as he no longer needed to trudge water. Alexander was tired, mostly from the manual labor than the actual combat that he went through. Alexander wiped some sweat from his brow and watched as the place slowly drained of all water. The terrain would be muddy and the full damage on the property could be shown in the woodwork. This bastard was going to pay regardless.

Alexander stretched his back, still contemplating an answer for his companion, but settled with one. However it was pure hearsay due to lack of experience, but it seemed a logical guess. Alexander just said, “Depends really. Parents are supposed to guide and raise their children, but in the end let them flee their coop and make their decisions. There are exceptions and have controlling parents, but most guide the youth…” Alexander just chuckled, but his face was not the happy go lucky face that he always had. Instead the mask was temporarily removed and a bit of sadness showed on Alexander’s face. The Flame Demon Slayer was doing the exact same thing as Hana, but instead of being emotionless he was showing fake emotions to have people not worry. He was thinking about his lack of a real family and just silently stared at the ground.

Hana continued to place one metal sheet after another, stopping to look down at her feet when she had felt the water around her feet slowly sink, then noticed that Alexander had already fixed most of the dam. She placed another metal sheet in place, before looking back down to her currently muddy shoes. Eh, no big deal, she could always clean them some other time. She sighed in relief, knowing that their job of fixing the dam was over. She looked around, eyeing the damage the flood had caused. The streets weren't as flooded as they were before, but they were definitely dirty. Hopefully, Hana and Alexander wouldn't have to be the unlucky ones cleaning up the mess. She stepped back, then took a look at the entire dam. They better not have another idiot blowing it up again, after all the work they had done to fix it.

Her bright red gaze shifted to Alexander when he answered her question, failing to notice that her partner's usual bright, friendly smile wasn't there anymore, and had instead been replaced by a rather sad look. "Oh. I see..." she murmured after hearing him day that parents should allow their children freedom, doubting Takashi for a moment before scolding herself mentally. What am I even thinking? I even doubted him... she thought disappointedly. He was, like Alexander said, guiding her like other parents. He had given her freedom as well by allowing her to live separately with Mikoto, and even allowed her to join a guild. She pushed the thought aside, before asking Alexander, What are your parents like then? Are they controlling?" she asked, curious as to know what his parents were like, though she didn't consider the fact that he, like some others, might not even have any parents at all.

Alexander went completely silent as Hana sked the question. His face dropped as he kicked the water and caused ripples in the water. Alexander looked down in the ground and saw his face in the receding water. There was sadness, hate and loss on his face as the water sank into the dirt, forming mud. Alexander still remembered that fateful day when his house was burning and his parents being set ablaze. The flesh peeling from the bones and the smell of barbecue, only his sister was spared. Hand outreached to try to save him, but there was no hope, only burning and pain.

Alexander finally said, “I wouldn’t know of my previous family… But the one I made wouldn’t seem so. All I know is that I have one laid back sister, a crazy brother, an innocent sister and a very calm but caring sister. All of us dysfunctional in our own special way, but when was family normal.” This was Alexander’s way of saying he replaced his family with that of the Radiant Dawn. He then walked in front of the crowd of people that had gathered and Alexander called out for everyone to join him. Alexander had a plan to bust the guy.

Alexander called out, “Due to eye witness accounts we have determined the perpetrator is a Caucasian male, blonde and in his early to mid-adult age. He was about medium height with…” Alexander was actually bullshitting around, because every single detail he gave was matching about 70% of male population of this town. Thus it would encompass them all basically, but it would get the criminal nervous.  In fact it made him so nervous that a male in the crowd yelled, “How the hell did you know that? I was wearing a mask!” Alexander just facepalmed at the man’s stupidity and told Hana, “Please beat this guy up so that we can go home.” Alexander was amazed how easy this was.

Hana tilted her head in confusion at Alexander's sudden change in behavior. Had she said something that she shouldn't have? This was rather strange. All she did was ask if his parents were controlling. Although... She might've failed to consider that not everyone had parents who were still alive and kicking. How inconsiderate of her. So he has siblings as well. But... I'm curious to know what happened to the...? she thought, wondering if they had somehow been killed, or there were other reasons. She decided it was best not to ask for now lest she got him riled up or more upset. It wouldn't be very nice of her to ask too much about his personal affairs.

Hana scanned the crowd carefully for even the tiniest bit of clue or reaction that would give away the culprit's identity as Alexander spoke, giving a description of the culprit. She however, already knew that his simply saying useless facts, seeing that the description he'd given apparently matched most of the male population of the town, before the culprit so foolishly exclaimed in surprise, exposing himself. Hana stared disappointedly at the man who'd given himself away. That was much easier then expected. She had expected it to be a bit more challenging for them to locate the man. When told to finish off the male, Hana nodded. "With pleasure." she said, quickly making her way towards said culprit who was pushing his way through the crowd, panicking, before he was pushed towards her by own of the townspeople. He begged for mercy, and Hana knocked him out with a few strong, hard kicks, then handed him over to the authorities to handle him. She then approached the mayor for their reward, both her and Alexander receiving many thanks from the grateful townspeople.