151 149 -=A reason to live=-
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So... this chapter was supossed to come out yesterday... but I blacked out... so... LATE CHAPTER, YAY!
Warning, This chapter contains cringe, you have been warned
Also, my birthday is close by, like literally 2 days, so... I'll try to post 2 chapters then
and give me some power stones since I'll already have no presents anyway
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While Cooper was lost in thoughts as he went to give his report to Konan, he was brought out of his thoughts by a cheerful voice
"Cooper nii san!" He immediately recognized that voice
Though it wasn't hard, as people tended to be scared of him for some odd reason, only Touka, Blizzard and Karin called him nii san, while Ceres called him nii chan... he couldn't say he liked or disliked that though, it was annoying yet satisfying being called like that
'Ah... here I am losing myself in thoughts again...' He snapped out of his thoughts again as he turned back just in time to see a bunny rocket going straight toward him
With a smile he caught Blizzard who seems to have jumped at him, normally he would dodge, but the last time he did so, Blizzard almost hit one passerby and Cooper was not too keen on letting people get hurt randomly
tough he only saw people of Uzushio as people, but that's beside the point
"Blizzard, what happened for you to be so excited about?" He asked, yet Blizzard pouted instead of directly answering him
"mou~ you are always locked in that creepy lab of yours, I barely see you around the village!" She said annoyed
"Do I?" He asked
'Interesting... I never noticed that... though... creepy lab? I could understand if someone else called it that, but Blizzard tends to freeze some part of her enemies before breaking that part with them alive and awake... interesting...' Cooper thought, his mad scientist side crazy to know what caused this
Unfortunately to his crazy scientist side, Cooper never did any experiment on anyone of Uzushio, not even harmless ones, much less on hid family (Aka, Rimuru's direct subordinates)
'If it's not because of the gruesome sights... then what may be the reason?'
"OF COURSE YOU DO! the last time I saw you was like... 3 days ago!" She said
"Sorry, sorry... I was doing my research" He said
if any one of his 'test subjects' saw him being so... meek? human? friendly? they would think they were in one of his weird genjutsu tests
as you can probably tell, his reputation is not very good per se... even some people of Uzushio are scared of him because sometimes he forgets to activate the soundproofing seals of his labs...
"Your stupid creepy research in your stupid creepy lab" Blizzard grumbled as she crossed her arms and looked to the side in fake annoyance
It's easy to think she was actually angry, yet this wasn't true, Blizzard was one of the most social of Rimuru's subordinates, so she was always talking with someone
Knowing how both sides of the spectrum are, since she once was very timid and introverted, she doesn't like that Cooper often locks himself in his lab, that's why she said those things
And Cooper knew that, so he smiled and patted her head instead of arguing with her
It gave him a strange soothing feeling, which he always theorized to be related to her skills since even her hair was cold, but that was just a theory he had no way to confirm
"I'll try to spend less time on the lab then, but now if you forgive me, I need to give Konan her papers before she gets really mad" He said
"Uhm... fine..." Blizzard had a hard time not smiling and keeping her fake annoyed face on, there was something nice with being heard...
and since she was technically older than Cooper, she wanted to try to be the big sister once
"Then I'll be going" Cooper said as he went back to his previous goal: Annoy Kona- *COUGH* give his report to Konan...
...
Looking at him, Blizzard could only sigh
'He made his creepy face again...' She thought
For most people, Cooper was expressionless, always with a smile on his face, yet for the ones close to him, they could tell minor differences in his smile, like when he was about to do his experiments he had what they called his excited smile, or when he was about to talk with Konan, he always had his creepy smile then... maybe it wasn't creepy per se, but Blizzard called it so anyway
and that is kinda impressive, to think someone could tell his micro expression changes after being together by less than a month! and that is also with him being more on his lab than outside it... impressive
Blizzard continued to walk since she had almost nothing to do right now
and while walking aimlessly, she saw something weird yet again
but instead of Cooper being out of his lab, it was Lee... being... sad? and not screaming youth? something really wrong is going on here...
Lee was walking with his head hung low, he was once again using his green spandex instead of the black one he was using previously
His previous encounter with Guy gave him quite a blow... both metaphorically and physically
Lee has been thinking a lot about his life and the choices he took during the time he had been back at the village, yet he couldn't seem to find an answer to his many questions... no, it was more like he couldn't accept the answers he thought of... and that lead to the current state he was in
"LEE!" Blizzard screamed as she jumped above Lee, holding his shoulders
Lee instinctively moved his right leg to not fall, one of the many things that were now second nature to him
Lee recognized the voice of Blizzard, yet he didn't answer her
"Why are you silent? also, why are you so down all of a sudden?" She asked, letting go of his shoulders and moving in front of him
Lee wanted to dismiss it immediately, but... wasn't it a good thing to have someone give him a second opinion? maybe that could help him a bit...
"Sigh... I just... don't know what to do anymore..." He said in a sad tone, completely unfitting to the normally happy kid
"What do you mean? can't you just go around jumping and screaming about youth like you used to?" She asked while tilting her head
Lee gave off a dry laugh
"Is that how you see me?
but no... it's about our last... 'mission'... I failed it... I failed them all..." Lee said
"Yes, that's how everyone saw you...
failed? what do you mean by that?" She asked
"... I failed Rimuru sama because I didn't hold them longer, I failed my sen... my previous sensei, because I broke our promise, but worse of all... I failed myself... my dreams and my youth... I just... don't know what to do now..."
"pfft" Blizzard tried to stifle a laugh but failed, making Lee frown
'As expected... This must be so pathetic to ber that she is laughing at my incompetence right now...' Lee thought in such a pessimistic way that surprised even the narrator
"Are you for real? that's so stupid..." Blizzard said in a happy tone, confusing Lee, who thought she was going to look at him with contempt
"You didn't fail anyone you silly boy" Blizzard said while giggling, apparently she found this funny somehow
"I... didn't?" Lee asked, confused
"Of course not!
Rimuru sama asked you to hold Neji back, and you did, even better you held even Guy there for a bit, so you did great!" She exclaimed, surprising Lee
"You didn't fail your previous sensei, you two had different dreams, and I doubt he trained you to follow his instead of your own" Blizzard said, not even knowing she was talking about Guy
Those words hit Lee like a hammer... because those words were so similar to the ones Guy told him years ago... to follow his dreams, not Guy's...
"And lastly, if you failed yourself? how does that even work?" She asked, curious about Lee's weird choice of words
"I meant... that I failed my own dream... I di-"
"Didn't you say that your dream was to beat Neji and prove you could be a strong ninja even without ninjutsu and genjutsu?" Blizzard interrupted him
"Y-Yes?" Lee answered
"Then how, no, when did you fail that?" She asked again
"I fought Neji-"
"And won, didn't you?" She interrupted him again
"I had Ninjutsu!" He argued
"And? did you win solely because of that or did you just kick his ass?" Lee had no answer to that, truth to be told, Neji was so disappointing that he forgot about it
"I... used one ninjutsu, but he dodged..."
"Then it doesn't matter if you had ninjutsu or not! also, beating that guy, doesn't that prove you're a strong ninja? didn't you use just taijutsu to that?" Every word hit Lee stronger than the last
'Did... didn't I?
yes... yes I did' He thought
"Then you didn't fail anyone, silly" Blizzard smiled seeing his face turn into one of surprise
It really seems that Lee was not meant to think much, the very first time he did, he misunderstood Guy, and the second he gave himself so many self-doubts that it was impressive... maybe he should really just be a YOUTHFUL kid all his life instead...
"You're right... but... what now?" Lee asked after thinking a bit
"What do you mean?"
"As you said... I achieved my dreams, somewhat... then, what now?" He asked
"That's something you should find out yourself, no?" Blizzard said, thinking hard but finding no good answer
If her skill didn't make her cold, literally, she would already be smoking from the head from so much thinking
Unfortunately for her, she didn't get any thought acceleration or parallel-processing-related skills from Rimuru
Instead, she only got an Ultimate... Oh, how hard it is to be her... it's so hard only having an ultimate skill...
...
"I think you're right... but then, what's your motivation Blizzard chan?" Lee asked, hoping that hearing someone else's motivation could help him find his own
"Mine? ... Uhm... let me think..." Blizzard said while making a face that said 'Thinking in process' which was kinda funny
"I think... I don't have one?" She said after thinking for a while
"Ehhh?" Lee was so surprised he almost tripped on nothing and worse... he was standing still
"Before Rimuru sama named me, I didn't have a reason... I just tried to survive...
Then he named me, gave me the power to defend myself... gave me a home... a family..." Blizzard said remembering her past
"...I think I only try to repay him...
he didn't help me because of hidden agendas or something... Rimuru sama can try to hide it as much as he wants, but I and Touka, we know he was just alone before us... So we, or at least I, try to repay him... not by doing his bidding or something, because that's not what he wanted from us
but by living, being ourselves... for another person..." Blizzard finished speaking but when she looked she saw Lee's mouth agape with tears threatening to fall from his eyes
Obviously, he misunderstood her past, anyone would think something different from her words, yet no one would think she was a bunny, and that's why she had no motivation asides from surviving before
'Blizzard chan had such a past... and she's still smiling and helping others... It must be so hard...' Lee thought before wiping his tears away and giving Blizzard a radiant smile
If she, who had such a past, can smile and help others... and live for others... why can't he?
Guy gave him a chance at his dream... Rimuru as well.... and now even Blizzard... he can repay them by simply... living? then why wouldn't he?
Maybe he should talk with Guy again... and fix their misunderstandings...
Rimuru built this village, so to repay him he can simply defend it! yes, that's easy
As for Blizzard...
'Living for others...' He thought about her words again
Seeing the smiling bunny girl in front of him...
'Heh... maybe that's not so bad after all...' He thought, already deciding who he could live for
