Über-Ich - Kapitel I
«"It's pretty cold today…" muttered Seiji Mibuto to himself as he slowly opened his eyes: a human child of medium-standard build, eyes of an unusual red colour, light-brown medium-length hair tied behind the nape with a low-tail and a tuft partially covering the right side of his face. Adventurer by profession.
"Ah…" he sighed once he had assumed a sitting position
"It happened again while I was asleep… the world changed again… I fell asleep under a tree in a beautiful plain full of plants and flowers washed with a small brook… and when I woke up here I was… in some kind of… I wouldn't even know how to define this actually…"
What Seiji couldn't find the words to describe was a completely desolated heath, full of dry trees and plants, with boulders and rocks scattered here and there.
The land was barren, dry, devoid of nourishment despite the presence, just a little bit further from where the boy stood, of a small stream… but perhaps it was precisely the pitch-black liquid inside that had the better over the colours of the landscape.
It was as if the world itself – or who for him – had picked up, entirely at random and in a completely indifferent manner, anything that happened to be at hand and thrown everything into the same place, so that the result could barely be called a landscape.
In this world without rules after all, who else could be the first not to follow them but the world itself?
Once he had finished scanning his surroundings, Seiji looked up.
He saw it.
It was there, as it was every other day and always in the same position; gargantuan stood at the horizon a colossal tower which, even from afar, was perceived to be gigantic in size and disproportionately high, so much so that it touched the clouds and who knows, perhaps even beyond.
This enormous tower had a name, which everyone knew from birth, it was called
"The Tower of Babel…
… I wonder why it never changes place, but always remains there… unphased…" thought Seiji who then slowly turned his head, first to his right, then to his left and lastly behind him
"…These huge pillars too never change places… one for each cardinal directions… from here I can see the East, West and South pillars… the Nord pillar is covered by the Tower of Babel…" he continued as he gazed at one of them
The all had the same features, the pillars: mighty constructions that from the distance seemed to be rectangular in shape, completely black, as if to compete with the candid white of the Tower of Babel only to be utterly defeated in height, because of the clearly visible and distinct tops of each of the four pillars. Each pillar bore, on its summit, a letter indicating the assigned cardinal point: an 'N' for the North pillar; an 'S' for the South pillar; an 'E' for the East pillar and, last but not least, a 'W' for the West pillar.
"… they seem to be the only things that follow rules in this world… I must thank them though… given that they're the only things that allow us adventures to find our way through this chaos"
Having finished his contemplation, Seiji rose from his seat.
Only then did he notice that he was actually standing on top of a small hillock, at the foot of which a village could be glimpsed.
"Ah, a village has also appeared… it wasn't there yesterday" he said impassibely
Even villages seemed to change places every day in this world without rules.
The inhabitants, for some strange reason, at the end of the "change of scenery" always found themselves inside their houses; the same was true for tents or cots used by adventures during their travels. This led to the conclusion that, the "change of scenery", worked like some kind of teleportation that could move objects and contents simultaneously, day after day; sometimes it even happened that one went to sleep in the desert only to wake up in a swamp.
For this very reason, villages were usually able to withstand any kind of environment.
The typical house was made of a material that seemed to not let the frost of the winter scenarios pass; the windows allowed to bear the heat of the summer scenarios; the roof had concocted shapes which could break the strong wind currents of catastrophic scenarios; and the whole was sustained by four long, sturdy pillars, one for each corner of the house, which gave the building a stilt-like appearance and would lift it from the water of oceanic scenarios.
The buildings that made up the villages were also all detached from each other, so as to make room, on one of the sides, for a small canoe, used to move around when the ground below turned to liquid thanks to the "change of scenery".
The village at the foot of the hill, on which Seiji had just awakened, was no less, indeed, it had all the features needed in order to survive in this outlaw world.
Seiji stared at the little pitch-black river he spotted earlier.
"hm… I don't really trust that liquid, it doesn't even resemble water…" he then averted his gaze towards village, paused for a moment to think and then, once he had made up his mind, objectively said
"I think I'll go to that village to buy some water and maybe even look for a nice inn where I can spend the night"
The entrance to the village was rather shabby.
Now that Seiji was near, he could see cracks in the buildings and, occasionally, even whole chunks of structure completely missing.
"I wonder in what kind of scenery it was before" thought the boy
"HYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"
A scream caught him by surprise as he was overthinking.
Seiji turned over sharply, dropping his adventurers backpack, and immediately assumed a stance that would have allowed him to either run or fight, if necessary.
"For heaven's sake!
How many times do I have to tell you that just like WE FED you, WE also decide WHAT to do with you?" said a female voce
The voice belonged to a woman in her forties. She was talking to a girl, apparently sitting on the ground, who was rubbing her bottom as if she had just fallen down: the scream was probably hers.
The young girl boasted long golden hair, truly a wonder to the eyes, and was wearing a completely different dress, both in tones and appearance, to that of the woman who was scolding her: it was made up by a single piece, adorned with laces, which leaked a glimpse of her moderate bosom and did not include any skirt or garment underneath, as it ended just below the girl's backside, starring her pale, long legs, which did not carry any kind of footwear. The sleeves were, on the other hand, pretty long, almost to the wrists, and were dangling as to create some kind of small slit.
Her face was covered by her hair, from which, however, sprouted something unusual: a pair of long, pointy ears.
Seiji, who had not noticed the pointy ears, sighted with relief at sight of the scene, then took his backpack from the ground, put it back on his shoulders and resumed his walk. All this while the woman continued to shout wildly at the maiden who, meanwhile, had almost prostrated herself in adoration at her feet, as if afraid, scared to death even, of the human being standing before her.
"Tsk… here we go again… that stupid fairy" murmured a man, a little more than two steps away from Seiji
"It's still a mystery to me why no one in this stupid village had the guts to kick her out … damn that fairy… damn all races, the world is supposed to be only of humans!"
"…"
"Hey kid!" said the man then, halting his train of nefarious thoughts, as soon as he saw Seiji
"I've never seen you around here… If you're looking for an inn, you've come to the right place! Ours is the only one in the village and the price is far less than any adventurer who has ever been to our place had imagined: only 3 Dallac per night!"
"Good morning to you good sir… I think I'll stay one night. I pay in advance" was the reply
Seiji's room was on the second floor, it wasn't very spacious, but neither too small; it had everything the average adventure could ever dream for in order to spend the night: a bed, not even made up to boot.
"Yet another inn where there are no rules… even in spite of rule 2392 which clearly stated that accommodations services must comply with hygienic standards and ensure minimal comfort…" he thought as soon as he stepped into the room
Once he had made his bed almost maniacally, had rummaged through his belongings, had counted his money and done the maintenance of his equipment, he eventually sat down on a chair leaning against the wall.
It was now night outside.
"So… another human village… I have only met humans since I left…"
He then looked at his right shoulder: engraved on skin was a depiction of a snake biting its tail.
"We all have this symbol carved somewhere in our body... but I wonder… why? Who bestowed it on us? Were we born with it?... Has it something to do with our powe-"
KYAAAAAAA
A scream immediately made Seiji jump to attention, who, recognising the voice, rushed to the window and looked in the direction of the alley where the blond-haired girl was.
It was just as he feared.
There, right in the middle of the road, under the nose of all the people who had looked out or at least turned in the direction of the scream, the young girl lay on the ground, weeping, surrounded by a group of what appeared to be her peers.
"C'mon now… be a good girl" said one of them "We're going to have a great time you know… we just want to play…"
"Yes yes... hehe… listen to Giacomo…
c'mon woman… take off those clothes and let us dream a little" continued another one
"Words aren't fucking needed here…
this time I'll go first" blurted out a third one, who, with a presumptuous and arrogant attitude, began to tear off the girl's robe with a wild force, on the chest side, so as to slowly reveal her breast
"N-no… I-I beg of you… please… stop…" she pleaded while tossing and turning around despite being holden down hands and feet by the other four of the group
"Oh c'mon… it'll be quick…
As always…"
Skrr – The dress was completely gone.
The girl now lay there.
Stark naked.
In public.
In the middle of the road.
Surround by man possessed by Eros and carnal desires.
The rascal who had just finished tearing off the last piece of clothing then started to touch her, all while licking his chops: he started from the neck, then, almost drawing a line, passed by her breasts… and felt her up
- "Hmm…"
The poor girl didn't manage to hold it back –
he then continued over hips, slowly aiming to the groin area.
When his hand was almost on the verge of touching something extremely sensitive, someone grabbed the assailant's arm and immediately lifted it off the the girl's body.
"Rule 5: rape is severely punished by law" Seiji said as he tightly gripped the wrist he had just grabbed
"WHO THE FUCK ARE U?!" shouted the attacker
"Your worst nightmare" replied Seiji who, as soon as he finished talking, twisted the hooligan's arm in the opposite direction
CRACK
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA" screamed again its owner
The arm fell dangling.
The shoulder to which was attached began to take on a purplish hue.
"SON OF A BITCH…" groaned the man
"GUYS GET HIM!"
The remaining four then threw themselves at Seiji, two on each side in a diamond formation, with him in the centre.
The were all too sure that the rookie who had dared to challenge them would not live to see another day, but would be beaten to a pulp and regret having stood between them and their game of pleasure.
Their confidence shattered at the sight of Seiji's gaze, though.
Two fierce, almost roaring, bloodthirsty eyes, as if they were trying to hold down their own body, before it could commit a carnage.
It was no longer the calm and composed Seiji, no… the one standing before them was a fiery beast, capable of emanating such a sense of oppression that it almost physically crushed anyone looking.
"Ah… I think I'm done for" thought the five at that moment
The only thing that the young girl managed to see from behind Seiji's back resembled a sharp movement, followed by a gust of wind that swept the hooligans away and threw them against the surrounding buildings.
A huge cloud of dust had risen there where Seiji had been standing until just now, surrounding him.
"Come… rule 10 states that it's best to go to the police" Seiji then said as he emerged from the cloud of dust, turning to the girl who was sitting on the ground completely naked
"Hm…" she replied
"Ah… er… you might want to wear this…" the young man resumed as he averted his gaze, blushing, as if having felt guilty for daring to lay his eyes on the maiden's magnificent naked body.
He then offered her some kind of light jacket that he wore tied around to his waist.
"Uhm… thank you…"
The girl wore the garment almost perfunctorily, she actually didn't even bother to try covering something except for her shoulders, hair and part of her waist.
"What's your name?" asked Seiji
She looked at him in astonishment: she couldn't even remember how many years it was since she had been asked such a simple question. Her eyes were of a wonderful emerald green, a little red from the tears.
On the left side of her mouth, a beauty mark.
"S-Shiomi… Kaneda Shiomi…"
"Nice to meet you Kaneda-san, my name is Mibuto Seiji, adventurer…" he said before interrupting himself. His eyes were stolen away by something unusual: the girl's pointy ears
"…and human" he resumed
"Ah…" said the girl as soon as she noticed that Seiji was observing her ears, dropping the jacket she had slung over her shoulders, and sitting on her knees, curled up like a hedgehog, as if to protect herself from something
"P-please don't hurt me… I-I'm a fairy but I don't despise humans! I was raised by your kind after all" the maiden whimpered
"It's all these stupid ears' fault, I look human in every way, m-maybe a bit shorter it's true, but the only thing that it's clearly different are these damn ears… please… don't hurt me"
Because she was now hunched over on herself, Seiji noticed on the right side of the girl's back, near her pelvis, a symbol engraved on skin: two arms folded in a 'L' shape with their hands open, merged together, on the joint that would normally connect them to the shoulders, so as to form a 'U'.
"I have never seen that symbol… she really is a fairy…" thought Seiji
"I mean no harm, don't worry…
…
… if nothing else, look..." he then said, trying to reassure her as he pointed to the five rascals laying on the building walls' rubbles upon which the had landed on
"I just chased those guys off, did I not?"
"R-really?
Y-you promise?" asked Shiomi hesitantly
"I promise"
While they were talking, the entire village had already gathered around them; some had even come out of their houses especially to witness what was happening first hand.
Everyone had something to say about it, it seemed: some despised Seiji for meddling; others criticised the group of five, saying that they have to choose carefully the place where to rape someone; some were in despair or jumping out of joy at the sight of the damaged buildings, that maybe happened to be of the so much hated neighbours'…
… In short… you name it.
"Come now, we're going to the police" Seiji exclaimed, annoyed by the crowd
"I-It's fine… nothing will change anyway…"
"But rule 10 states that it's best to go to the police, come on… I'm here with you"
"N-no really… I-It's fin-KYAA"
Shiomi didn't even have time to finish her sentence off that Seiji was already princess-carrying her.
The girl blushed up to the tips of her long ears and, while covering her face with one hand, pointed the way to the adventurer with the other.
After having left Shiomi in the building that worked as the police station, Seiji was returning back to the inn so that he could get ready to spend the night, when suddenly a strong wind began to blow undaunted, so hard that it almost lifted the boy off the ground.
A huge tornado, which seemed to have appeared out of thin air, was menacing the village.
The previously clear sky had darkened in a heartbeat.
The clouds were traveling with frightening speed, propelled by the currents generated by the catastrophic event.
The young adventure blanched at the sight of the impending danger.
"HEY BOY!"
He turned around; calling him was the woman he saw reprimanding Shiomi that evening
"HURRY HURRY, COME TAKE COVER IN HERE!"
Seiji immediately rushed inside, passing through the door which the woman was struggling to held open.
SBAKRA-KOOM
Lightning flashed as the door slammed shut.
Thunder, rain, lightning and ominous hissing suddenly filled the room.
"Phew… just in time…" the woman said
"Thank you so much ma'am" said Seiji
"Ah don't worry, you're human too after all… and not a fairy like her" she replied indignantly and unscrupulously
"Come on now, don't just stand there… take a seat" she continued then offering him a chair to rest on
"By fairy… you mean Kaneda-san…
…don't you?" asked Seiji after sitting down
"Tsk… unfortunately those things have names too…"
"…"
"Now please do tell me boy… have you ever heard of changeling?"
"Changeling?" he replied, lost in the face of that seemingly absurd question.
He had never heard of a such a term in his whole life.
"Yes… changeling…" said the woman again as she bent her face to stare at the floor.
Her expression had visibly changed.
"You know…
… the… changeling is a practice that fairies occasionally perform…"
"A practice you say?"
"Yes…
it's performed onto new-born babies…" the woman continued and then paused for a second, took a deep breath, as if she had to muster all the courage in her body, and then said
"The changeling is a practice whereby fairies exchange one of their new-borns with a human child"
KRA-KOOM
A thunder lightened up the room for an instant, as if to illuminate the woman's face on the verge of tears
"My husband and I had a daughter…
… Shiomi…
… Kaneda Shiomi…
… she was born 2 weeks earlier than her due time…" Seiji caught a glimpse of a smile on the woman's scarred face
"… as if thriving to know the world…
… during her pregnancy, that little one did nothing but kick, day and night, 24 hours a day… even when I had to go to the bathroom!... she was a brat even before she was born…"
KRA-KOOM
The expression on the woman's face changed again, almost as if the sound of the thunder brought her back to reality
"The first time I took her in my arms, I promised myself that I would protect her forever… that tiny, frail and docile body, those little arms, those small, pinkish, sweet-smelling legs which were supposed to run around this house's floor…" she stopped again
"…"
"… …"
"I liked her ears the most…
…fluffy, rounded ears, warm to the touch and so frail that they seemed to be made of velvet, sometimes I almost worried about having to touch them when I had to wean her…
… but then… one night…
… my dear Shiomi had pointy ears"
KRA-KOOM
A thunder once again lit the woman's face, her eyes, no longer staring at the floor, were wide open, bloodshot and pointed at Seiji, who was sitting at the table in front of her
""My dear Shiomi is sick!" I thought, "I must take her to the village chief!" I added…
… so I immediately rushed over to him in order to submit my little girl to his wise expertise… but… as soon as I touched her, I knew right away…
…
…she…
…she…
…that…
…that…
…THING… wasn't my dear Shiomi…
…her warmth, her tender cheeks, her little arms and tiny legs, everything, EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING WAS NOT MY DEAR SHIOMI, THAT THING WAS NOT MY DEAR SHIOMI…" the woman's breath became increasingly laboured "The village chief immediately thought of a changeling case, and he was right… oh if he was right… that THING had the fairies' symbol on its body… it had THOSE DAMNED POINTY EARS,
IT WAS NOT MY DEAR SHIOMI"
""Maybe one day they'll bring her back"
everybody in the village was saying at the time, and so… I…
… took care of her, yes… I admit it… I raised that monster… hoping that the fairies who were perhaps watching over how I was raising their little munchkin would have treated my baby just as sweetly…
… and so… that thing took its first steps…
… burned down a house…
…lost its first tooth…
…went to the bathroom alone for the first time…
…flooded the village… long story short… YEARS went by… I mean,
TEN YEARS went by…" she stopped again, first making a broad smile, almost out of the contours of her face, and then resumed in a calm and placid manner
"Then one day an adventurer came to the village…
… he heard me by chance, as I was calling that thing for dinner… so he approached me, scrutinised me carefully and then asked
"Madam, does this Shiomi you spoke about happen to be a fairy?"" she laughed
"AHAHHAHAHA… AHAHHA… I'll never forget that question, the plates fell from my hands, I grabbed him and then went on my knees while saying
"YES… YES… HOW DO YOU KNOW THIS… PLEASE TELL ME… HAVE YOU SEEN MY CHILD? DO YOU KNOW HOW I CAN HAVE HER BACK?" …
… what a fool I was back then…
…the adventurer looked at me… on his face an expression of pity, as if he felt sorry for that poor woman that he had stumbled upon and was now laying at his feet….
…
… …
… my dear Shiomi was dead…" the woman wept and laughed at the same time
"He told me he had found a grave during one of his travels, it read:
"Kaneda Shiomi, 10 months old, changeling-child"
…"
KRA-KOOM
"AHAHAHAHAHAH… AHAHAHAHAH… CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? EH? CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? I RAISED THAT CRAP FOR 16 LONG YEARS OF MY LIFE HOPING THAT MY DEAR SHIOMI WAS STILL ALIVE ONLY TO KNOW THAT SHE WAS ALREADY DEATH AFTER JUST 1 MONTH SINCE WE WERE SEPARATE AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW! THEY LEFT HERE THERE, ROTTING SOMEWHERE AFTER STEALING HER FROM ME! THEY TOOK EVERYTHING AWAY FROM HER, THEY DIDN'T ALLOW THOSE KICKING LEGS TO CHASE THE WORLD, THEY DIDN'T ALLOW THOSE TENDER EARS TO KNOW NEW SOUNDS, THEY DIDN'T ALLOW THOSE SWEET HANDS TO DISCOVER NEW SENSATIONS, THEY TOOK EVERYTHING AWAY FROM MY DEAR LITTLE SHIOMI WHO WAS SO EAGER TO KNOW THE WORLD THAT SHE WAS BORN 2 WEEKS EARLY… EVERYTHING… EVERYTHING… THEY ROBBED HER OF A FUTURE…"
"…" she paused for a moment and took a breath
"…So I did the same…
…first thing first I took her clothes…
…then a bed to rest upon…
…then food…
…then water…
…then freedom…
…then…
…her virginity… EVERYTHING AND SLOWLY… IT HAS TO SUFFER, THAT THING HAS TO SOFFER FOR WHAT THEY HAVE DONE TO MY DEAR SHIOMI… IT HAS TO SUFFER SLOWLY AND PAINFUL- COUGH COUGH…"
The woman poured herself a glass of water in order to recover from her sudden cough and, once she had calmed down, resumed with a hoarse voice
"But it's not enough… I mean… she's alive"
Seiji, who had been petrified by those words full of hatred, knew right away what the woman was about to say. He was on the verge of saying something when yet another familiar scream echoed through the air.
KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Seiji turned to the window: the entire village seemed to have gathered in the square; the tornado had apparently passed by while the two were conversing.
He turned his face back to the woman.
She was there.
She was staring him with a huge smile printed on her lips, going from cheek to cheek; her eyes dull, devoured by the darkness that was residing in her hearth for years.
Seiji's face grew dim.
He stood up.
"I thank you for giving me shelter …"
He said with rule 35 in mind, which stated that one should always express gratitude towards one's benefactor, even for the smallest of things.
Then he took his adventured backpack and with lightning-speed quickly opened the door, rushing towards the square.
The girl's screams were the only thing he could hear during the 4 seconds it took him, with his mighty speed, to cover the distance.
Upon arriving on place, he could not wrap his head around how much the human race could be capable of such atrocities.
Shiomi was there, with her long golden hair, hanging hand and foot form a very high pillar. Completely naked. Full of bruises and scratches. Soaking wet; as if she had spent the entire storm confined to that pole, while thunder and lightning covered her screams for help and pleading.
The crowd was throwing everything they had at her: tomatoes, courgettes, mud, cow shit…
… even rocks, stones, boulders, pieces of glass and bottles.
"DIE SLUT"
"BITCH"
"SCRAWL!"
"DISAPPEAR FROM THIS WORLD"
They were screaming.
"YOU HAS NEVER BEEN ONE OF US"
"YOU BELONG IN HELL"
"DISAPPEAR"
They were shouting.
"TAKE THIS BITCH" railed one of the many stoners as he began to throw a rock.
The stone vibrated in the air.
The trajectory it drew in the atmosphere was followed all the way by the man's eyes, who, confided in his aim and throwing skills, was looking forward to the moment when the rock would land on the poor girl's Mons pubis.
The stone, however, hit something unexpected.
A red liquid dyed the ground below.
Seiji, who had put himself between the girl and the crowd, right in the middle of that madness, had just received a huge stone in the forehead.
Half his face was now completely covered in blood.
"GET THE FUCK OUT OF THERE MORON" shouted the pitcher
"YOU JUST RUINED MY PERFECT SH-" a shiver that ran down his spine at the sight of Seiji's eyes interrupted him.
Two blood-red eyes, the same colour as the blood that was covering half his face, completely barred and fearless, furious and mighty, as if they were watching their preys form a privileged position, just before committing carnage.
All those present froze instantly, they felt overwhelmed by a strong fear, they clearly perceived that their lives were hanging on a razor's edge and that from then on, their every slightest movement would have meant life or death.
"IT'S THAT THUG AGAIN!" said a familiar voice, it belonged to one of the five hooligans who had assaulted Shiomi and had already been thrown against the wall by Seiji
"HEY FUCKER, DID YOU ENJOY THAT STONE ON YOUR HEAD? I DON'T REALLY KNOW HOW YOU DID THAT BEFORE BUT THIS IS DEFINITELY PAYBACK"
He then throwed another rock at Seiji, who, however, just before it hit him and with impressive ease, caught it in the palm of his hand, only to crumble it into a thousand pieces and dropping the fragments on the ground
"IIIIIIIII" immediately shouted the rascal
"What kind of monster are you to use your powers like tha-"SPLAT
A huge boulder, almost four times the height of a man, had just crashed down on him and the whole crowd, hurling them against the building behind.
"Are you all right?" asked Seiji while turning towards Shiomi
At the boy's feet now lay an immense crater, the same size as the boulder.
Even the girl from her height didn't grasp what really had happened.
"Y-yes… now that you're here… yes…" the girl replied, crying
Her face was completely covered in tears and snot
"I'm sorry… you were right… I shouldn't have taken you to the police…
… but even so rule 10…"
"Don't worry…" she interrupted him
"D-don't worry… it's not your fault… I'm used to it" she resumed while trying, as much as she could, to bend her lips into a smile
"N-nothing bad happened… really…
…anyway you… you're bleeding…"
"Ah… don't worry… it doesn't even hur- AHIA" Seiji cried out from the pain as soon as he touched the wound
"Hehe" smiled Shiomi as she closed her eyes
"…"
"BEHIND!" she then shouted as she opened them again
Seiji turned over: a humongous flaming spear was threatening his chest
SBABAM
As if by magic, the weapon went through the boy, sticking onto the pole where Shiomi was hanging
KYAAA – she screamed as the wooden pillar began to tilt and fall
"Ah sorry" said Seiji before jumping, untying Shiomi and carefully taking her on his arms
"It's dangerous here, let's go away" he then said as he began to leap here and there between the rooftops
"H-how did you do that?! The fire!... The spear… it didn't get you?" the girl asked as she clutched on Seiji's neck tightly
"Ah no don't worry I'm fine… as you already know, we humans other than having enhanced physical abilities can also change our own body shape to our liking, so, all I did was creating a hole on my chest wide enough for the spear to pass through… see? Just like this" Seiji replied while a huge hole formed in his chest
"Ah…
…heh heh…
…I see…" Shiomi replied with a smile. Then she closed her eyes and softly clung even tighter to the young man's neck, as if entrusting her body and soul to him.
"Look…
…the village is on fire" said Shiomi as she looked in the distance, from a hilltop, at what had been the village where she had been abandoned, adopted, raised, despised and hated.
"Ops…" replied Seiji
"…"
"the spear fire?"
"Probably… the water in the tanks wasn't even enough to fill a bucket…
… that spear…
…Surely it was Giacomo who threw it…" muttered Shiomi to herself
"What now? Homesickness? What's done is done" Seiji urged her
"No no, I'm not homesick…
… I found something dearest to me…" Shiomi replied while staring at him in the eyes
"…anyway… what are you doing?"
"Who? Me?
I'm looking for something for you to wear… um… how should I put it… you're still… n-naked"
Shiomi slowly looked down at her own body…
KYAAAA she screamed before covering her breasts with her hands and assuming the same curled position she had already assumed a few hours earlier
"…"
"… …"
"D-did you see?" she said, blushing
"…"
"J-just a little…" acknowledged Seiji
"…Okay"
"Okay? You don't car-AH FOUND IT" exclaimed Seiji after a moment of uncertainty before pulling out a female garment from his adventurer backpack
"This was sold to me along with a strange charm and some supplies by a merchant… he said they belonged to a group of Nightwalker and that he came into possession of them shortly after the party was wiped out by a Wüstenkillerwal…
… ah…
… here's the charm too" Seiji pulled out of his bag some kind of bracelet: it had the colours of the rainbow and an equally vivid bird feather was adorning its center
"Mhhh… I think this is too big for you to wear though…" he then resumed as he looked more carefully at the dress
"That's not true, don't worry… it's perfect" said Shiomi as she touched the garment
"You see, we fairies have the power to bestow a piece of our own soul to inanimate objects" the dress glowed bright gold, the same colour as Shiomi's hair
"By giving a part of our soul to an object we can then choose whether to bringing it to life or simply shape them as we please" the garment, which now was shining less and less, no longer even vaguely resembled the long piece of cloth that until moments ago Seiji had on his hand, but had instead became the same dress that had been torn apart by the hooligans who had tried to rape Shiomi.
Silence.
"Hem…
… C-can you turn around for a second?"
"Ah… yes… sorry" Seiji apologized, turning around
Shomi smiled and, once she put the dress on, while laughing up her sleeves said
"Hehe, there we go, does it look good on me?"
"It's very cute on you" Seiji congratulated her as he turned around again
"T-thank you" Shiomi blushed
"You know… mom… um… the lady who raised me used to say that the fairies abandoned me together with this dress…
… unfortunately the original was torn apart a long time ago…
… …
… do you… do you think it was a gift from my real mother?"
Seiji put a hand on her shoulder
"I don't know for sure… Kaneda-san…"
"Shiomi"
"Kaneda-san…"
"Shiomi" repeated the girl while pouting and bringing Seiji's hand to her head
"…"
"… …"
"Kaneda-san"
"Huff…" huffed Shiomi again before giggling
Seiji smiled and then continued
"But I promise you that sooner or later you'll ask her in person…"
"R-really?" she asked
"Yes… I'm looking for fairies too… we just have to figure out how to find them…"
"Um…
… Do you know about the prophecy?"
"The prophecy?"
"Yes, the prophecy!" nodded Shiomi, motioning Seiji to start patting her head
The boy hesitated for a moment at first, but after realizing that without caresses the girl would have never opened her mouth ever again, he began to perform the so-called rite of the pat-pat
The pretty fairy, blushing and extremely pleased by her new special treatment said
"O-one of the oldest prophecies handed down by chieftains of every race reads thus:
"Discrimination reigns supreme in the world.
Diversity between races is motive.
But one day it will appear.
A being able to bring all the races under his command will appear.
A being able to converse with all races will appear.
A being that, engraved on its body, will flaunt with glory all symbols of the races will appear.
And the end will be"
… I've never quite understood what "able to converse" really means but…" Shiomi resumed
"But of one thing I'm sure, if we want to find the fairies, we'll have to ask as many races as possible for information, and since all races discriminate against each other without exceptions… and I'm a fairy while you are a human… if one of us says that wants to fulfil the prophecy and shows both symbols engraved on the body…
…I'm sure… I'm sure something will happen…"
"Understood…
…and how do symbols pass from one body to another?" asked Seiji
Shomi immediately became red. She turned her back to him, took a deep breath and said
"I-in order to pass a symbol from one body to another c-contact is needed…"
"What kind of contact?"
"S-skin against skin"
"Ah okay, anything else needed?"
"Whoever surrenders the symbol to the other must be willing to do so and must also completely trust the person who will receive the symbol…
… …
… but that's not the issue here…"
"You're right… as a matter of fact we just met… it's rather difficult to completely trust each other in such a short tim-what?" he stopped
""That's not the issue" you say?"
"N-no… I completely trust Seiji… the problem is…"
Her pointy ears were going redder and redder; you could have almost used them for cooking.
Shiomi assumed again her favourite hedgehog stance.
"I-in order to pass a symbol, the two b-bodies must remain in contact for one night, as the transferring drains away so much strength that puts both the parties to sleep…"
"Ah…" Seiji had just realized
"So we have to sleep together naked?" he then asked without the slightest embarrassment
Upon hearing so Shiomi leaped to her feet.
In an agitated manner she turned toward Seiji, trying to mumble a few sentences that made sense, although all that came out of her mouth were just a series of "Nh" "Ah" "Esn" "ni"
"Don't worry… don't worry… it doesn't matter, we'll find another way" Seiji said
"…"
"If it's Seiji… It's fine" said Shiomi as she joined the index of both her hands before her nose, red from the embarrassment
"Huh?" exclaimed the boy
"But even if it's fine to you, my rules don't allow me… to sleep with a beautiful maiden who is not my wife…"
Apparently, those were the last straw that broke the camel's back.
Shiomi had overstepped all her limits, she was completely red in the face, embarrassed to the point of lashing out with a mighty slap on Seiji's wound as she screamed her usual KYAAA this time accompanied by a volley of BAKA
Blood gushed like water from a fountain from the boy's head, who, feeling his strength running out, fell to his knees before passing out with his head against the ground.
… Embarrassed girls truly possess superhuman strength. »