A Little Chat [Private/Zenneth]

It was in the wee hours of the morning that Hana found herself awake once more, staring blankly at the ceiling just as she had been doing for the past few days, ever since her team disbanded, and most of the members left the guild. The only ones who remained were her and Ethan, but they hardly ever spoke with each other. That shouldn't matter, right? They had their rights, they could leave if they wanted, why would she even care about them? To her, they were only comrades... But didn't Indar say that they were friends? That they saw her as a friend as well?

No, that couldn't be true. Viola, Priscilla, they didn't regard the rest of the team members as friends. They saw them as monsters, as killers, and they turned against them. They left them. She remembered how hateful Viola sounded, back on her first and last team mission.

"Do you think I'd even bother to talk to any of them after what they did to all those innocent people.. They killed.. So many innocent people, Mel.."

Hana scoffed. Innocent? There was no such thing as innocence. So what if they killed people? It was their job to! Hadn't she thought that even the legal mages killed people too? Hadn't she thought that the Magic Council also killed 'innocents', and many fellow Nox Animus members as well? And instead of even stopping to remember them, to even mourn them, she cried for those she barely knew. Instead of saving all the Nox Animus members that were struggling against Rune Knights, she chose to save outsiders' lives!

Hana's eyes widened. Why was she fretting so much over such a trivial matter? And why had she even thought that they were her friends? Why, they never had been friends from the start. They were merely acquaintances. All Indar had told her was simply a lie. Friends wouldn't hate each other, they wouldn't look at each other with contempt, they wouldn't abandon each other... Would they?

...Perhaps a visit to Alexander would clear all that up. Asarael wouldn't be of much help now, not when he was mad and giving her the cold shoulders. So Alexander would be the only person she could consult.


"Oh God... What was I thinking? It's only 4 in the morning, nobody would be up that early. In such a fool..." she muttered, pinching her nose bridge as she stood outside his door.

Alexander for once was not doing paperwork in his office, but instead was prancing up and down the office thinking. Thinking of all the dead bodies and the innocents that have died because of his hands. Him and his guilds were following orders, they were tools and not the hand that killed them. However it was him that supplied all the bombs that killed all those people, so in essence... Their bloods were on his hands and thus... it made him no better than Adramalech. He was comparing himself to a demon, but what could he describe himself as? No true human would take lives like that...

Alexander was not happy with Viola and Priscillas betrayal, but not in what others would think. He would have turned the operation around if they had spoke up earlier, if they voiced their concern about the job... Silence was always the worse sin one can commit, to know something is wrong and not speak up. That was why he respected Victoria and Indar more than he did Viola and Priscilla currently. Did he hate them? No, but he was sure that the feeling was not mutual.

Alexander opened the door to Hana, the last of the original Radiant Dawn group and gave a small polite smile. Alexander did not want to admit, but he could use a friend right now. So he calmly let her in his office and said, "Good morning Hana. Is there anything I can do for you?" It was a look of concern and friendliness, but most of all an excuse to bake again. Its been a while that he did so.

Hana sighed after a while of staring at the door. It was only 4 in the morning! Alexander couldn't possibly be awake. Even if he was, there was absolutely no way he could be sitting in his office, doing paperwor- Oh, on second thought, he could be. She could sense his magic inside his office. She heard the shuffling of feet, before the door opened to reveal Alexander, smiling like he always did. She wondered if his face had ever hurt from smiling so much.

"Good morning, Alexander. I hope I'm not disturbing you." she returned the greeting as she entered his office. Looking towards her guildmaster's desk, she noticed that there were no signs that proved he had been doing his paperwork. Maybe "I... Have some questions to ask. Firstly, what are friends?" she queried, somehow finding her feet interesting to stare at as she herself pondered over the question. What exactly were friends?

Alexander quietly pondered at Hana's question, it was a more complicated question than she thought, It was one of many possible answers that could be given, but he would settle with giving him his own answer. Alexander just simply said, "Well this will be a long conversation I feel like, so I hope you don't mind if I make cookies. I have been looking for an excuse for longest time to indulge in my hobby." Alexander opened hi fridge and started to make the dough, silently contemplated an answer. It was hard, everyone was feeling the betrayal of Priscilla and Viola in different ways.

Alexander finally gave an answer, "Friends are people that care for one another, but are not family. They are people that respect you for what and who you are. They are people that watch one another backs when we are at our weakest. To have the courtesy to tell us problems before it becomes one... Priscillas word are hitting you hard as well isn't it?"

"No, I don't mind. Go ahead..." she said. In all honesty, she was a little disappointed to not see any in his office when she entered it, but this was an unschrduled meeting, so she couldn't blame him or anything. She couldn't help it - his cookies were delicacies. Plus, his cookies could help her relax. She did enjoy sweets after all. The silence that befell the both of them gave her an opportunity to space out, and think about an answer for her question. She didn't know why she was so... Insistent to get an answer. Perhaps being in a guild mad her feel the need to understand the term friendship more? After all, she hadn't really understood what friendship meant as a child, and neither did she now as a 17 year old.

What a bother. No wonder Takashi said emotions and friends would be problematic. Now she perfectly understood what he meant. Feelings always got in one's way whenever they had to make decisions, whenever they had tasks they needed to carry out, and friendship weighed one down. Betrayal was also a disadvantage of having friends. Basigally, friends only created problems, and were therefore useless. So, if she felt that way about having friends then... What made her feel so unpleasant, so... Upset, and confused, over those two girls that Indar was so sure, saw her as a friend? Why did she dislike it when someone she had just regarded as a friend, and those that she was beginning to understand and like, leave?

Hana listened in silence when Zenneth gave his answer, shoulders tensing slightly as soon as he mentioned Priscilla. She then sighed, rubbing her temples to get rid of the massive headache she was getting. She was worn out from all this thinking. Those restless nights she'd spent awake, somehow haunted by those words that Viola and Priscilla had said. They were angry at everyone in Nox Animus. "I... Her words mean nothing to me, I'm just a little... Curious." she lied, composing herself as best as she could.

"They hate us, don't they? So is it our fault?"

Alexander set the dough down and sighed, Hana did a poor job at hiding the truth. He always wondered what went on in her pretty little head. The mask of an emotionless person was what she wore. Was this her way of coping? Was it a way of dealing with her insecurities? He sat down on the chair and started making the chocolate chip cookies. Alexander stated, "Well honestly I wonder if Priscilla was just a loud mouth that was overly angry. Viola was a bit softhearted and never truly understand what the term mercenary meant... However I figure Viola will forgive us in time, but Priscilla tends to hold a grudge." He then finished making the first set of cookies and simply touched the tray to heat it up. The cookies would take less than 10 minutes, a trick that he learned with his magic. He was not done and sighed, "Do I blame us or them? I blame both sides in this case, them for not speaking up. I would have have listened to them and take their words in considerations. They could have convinced me to drop the job and walk away... Silence is truly the greatest of sins. I also blame me for overreacting, but me using the Guild Seal was the only way I could protect the two of them... Friends never should fight friends..." Soon the air smelled of cookies being made and he set some fresh baked cookies to cool off in a plate. When she could, Hana could dig in. The plate however was rested on top of an very important paper that resided on the desk. Upon closer look it read:


Ethan Ran- Resourceful, Excellent martial abilities. Keen intelligence that estimates to be higher than mine. Followed instructions to the letter and went through instructions, Most loyal to the cause.
Daemon Okuma- Intelligent with many connections both in Magic Council and Underground, currently acts as our Counter Intelligence. Would be very good it Intelligence and stealth Operations.
Hana Suzuki- Most in control of her emotions and keeps cool under fire. Has an inner fire though and could potentially lead with right training. Has a drive to perfect herself and I have a feeling that her goal will not end in S-rank.
Saranade Zenneth: My sister is a strong personality and is family. Strong person in general and determined as shown as spending years to find me. She is dedicated to be sure

Hana crossed her arms, and leaned back into her seat, sighing. What Alexander did by sending them away to protect them, it only prevented the fight temporarily. Now that both Viola and Priscilla had gone legal, sooner or later, they would still have to fight.

"Alexander... You do know that we will have to fight them eventually, right? What you did, only postponed the battle. It's most likely that the legal guilds would come after us in the future. The guild that they belong in now, there's a chance that we might have to face them. So when that time comes, and those friends you speak of, are present, what will you do?" she asked, waiting to know what his answer would be. There was a slim chance that they could convince Viola and Priscilla to return, and now that she thought about it, Victoria and Indar could participate in the battle as well, if it ever occured. Now, while Hana didn't give a damn about the Thunder Godslayer, she was, however, unsure if she would actually want to face Indar in battle. While one part of her was... Upset with Indar, for leaving the guild, she somehow found herself missing him terribly. She had enjoyed his presence the most among her teammates, and he was one of the few people she had bothered to care about. His absence only made everything worse for her.

"Also, Alexander... By any chance, do you know where Indar has gone?" she asked, reaching towards the plate of freshly baked cookies, but as soon as her fingers made contact with a piece, a burning sensation made her jerk away her hand in response. Whilst attempting to soothe the lingering pain on her fingers, she noticed a few names on the papers below the plate, two of which she was very familiar with. Ethan's, and hers.

After scanning the lines, Hana could only stare at the papers blankly, before the thought registered in her brain. She was being considered for the position of an Ace. "I apologize for reading your papers, and I'm honored to know that I'm being considered for the position of Ace, but... Are you sure that I'm worthy enough for such a position? I would hold no grudges against you if you decided not to choose me, you know?"

Alexander looked at Hana and said, "Yes I know that I am aware that we may have to fight them again soon, but it was also not a good time. And I will do as I have always done in my life: Fight or Die Well. Legal guilds will come, but as of now they are busy with the missing Guild Masters. We have time to prepare, build and get stronger. Patience and intelligence is our greatest weapon in our disposal." Alexander had papers strewn around displaying details on the ship, including weapons, mechanical details and everyone's well being. He started shifting through papers until he found one based on a spy he had in a certain Dark Guild. He answered Hana's second question, "Indar now resides with Savage Skull, which I know their current Ace. So I have a feeling we will not be attacked by him." Honestly he respected Indar's need to leave, because at the very least it was not a betrayal. Some people did not quite fit in the guild and he respected that.

Alexander chuckled at Hana as he started baking the second batch of cookies, "You are surprised? Why did you think I let you handled the Codemaster situation? I was testing your ability to make decisions on the fly. You would be fine as a leader, but you need to have more confidence in yourself. You are almost A-rank with your experience alone Hana. You are the 3rd most powerful mage in the guild, isn't that something to be proud of?"

Hana nodded her head. "I see... And indeed, we do have time." she said. The sudden disappearance of the Guild Masters shocked many, and Operation Rose Pruning furthermore frightened them. The surprise visit from Viola at the Guild Masters' meeting pretty much blew Nox Animus' cover. Now everyone knew of their existence, and even Zenshin had taken up that opportunity to mark Alexander as an enemy.  Even so, she was glad that they didn't have to worry about the legal guilds coming for them. Nox Animus still needed time to prepare, to ready their members for any sudden battles that the legals would bring to them.

Hana perked up immediately upon hearing Indar's name, anxious to know if he was going to be fighting alongside the legals or not. "Savage Skull? That's good to hear..." She was relieved to hear that he hadn't gone legal. Now she didn't have to worry about fighting her...

Hana hesitated. Should she use the word friend? He did leave her after all. But perhaps he had his reasons. At least he hadn't betrayed them. Hana sighed in frustration, putting the matter aside for now. She didn't want to think anymore, she was tired. Her poor brain wouldn't be able to handle anymore thinking over this... Madness. Grabbing a cookie from the first batch that had cooled down, Hana took a bite, savoring the taste of the treat. Alexander's cookies were tasty as always. "I'm honored to know that I'm one of the strongest members of the guild, but me, a fine leader? I'm afraid that's where you're wrong. I only follow orders, I'm meant to be led. Leading isn't my forte, and my decisions are mostly based on the situation. I take too much time making decisions, Alexander." she explained in an attempt to convince him.

Alexander looked at Hana in her eyes and he understood completely. He sat back down at the chair at put the last bit of the papers away. He then pulled out an envelope with a slip of paper on it. He kept it in his hand and waited until Hana was done with her cookies. He wished to have more peaceful moments like this where he could chat with people again. To cook for others and be free, but otherwise he had a responsibility. He would say his piece however to Hana, "Followers make some of the best leaders Hana. They know what its like to be lead and taking some time before making a decision shows that you have the patience for it. You have all the qualities just for knowing your own faults. However I understand if you fee like you are not ready for it and will keep your name on the side for now."

Hana bowed her head. "Thank you for understanding, Alexander. I'll think about it again when I'm ready to." she said. She'd have to speak with Takashi about it first before deciding.

Grabbing another cookie, she noticed that she felt more relaxed, and the headache she had been having had subsided now that she wasn't thinking so much about the Elemental Deities. Coming to Alexander's office to talk did help indeed. She got free cookies, she didn't have to deal with Asarael's insulting words and terrible sense of humor since he was mad at her. Speaking of Asarael... "Alexander, about demon slayer magic, are there any side effects to it?" she asked, wondering if Alexander had the and problem. If he did, she hoped his demon teacher wasn't as perverted and irritating as Asarael was. Hers drove her up the wall almost every day.