80 Fratricide

"What about this one?"

"Mmmhhh… too colorful."

"What about this one? I like this one. And we could match!"

"It's too black."

"Well, there's this one."

.

"I like it!" Sui said excitedly, picking up the white fox mask and admiring it, turning it around and over in her hands. "It's cute!"

.

Aisha rolled her eyes and picked up the mask that she liked, the solid black one. It was made out of a strange material that was see-through from one side, but opaque from the other. She imagined it would be quite useful, having a full field of vision while fighting. She also just thought that it looked cool.

.

Aisha raised an eyebrow at the sound of a blowtorch, surprised to see Sui welding the mask to her face. The mask itself was just a regular ceramic mask - with a little protrusion in the middle for the fox's nose, two small ears on the corners, and a little w on the mouth.

.

"Hey, you're really going to just… do that?"

"Well…" Sui said wistfully, no longer able to emote using her face. "It's not like I'll ever be taking this off. The process to make synthetic skin… ehhhhhhhhhhh…"

"You could take it off when you're with me." Aisha said softly.

.

Sui smiled under her mask. "Thank you, friend. But I don't… these emotions aren't real, anyways. It's just a shape that I make using the servos in my mouth. To trick people."

"I don't see how that's different from what a human does." Aisha mumbled.

.

Sui hesitated.

"It just is." She said, shaking her head. "Anyways, what are you going to do with the rest of these masks?"

.

Aisha stared at Aquila, the thin orc sipping on a mug of water nearby. As she made eye contact with the man, he just narrowed his eyes, shaking his head.

.

"I'm not wearing that."

"They're cool!" Aisha protested.

"No."

.

Aisha pleated her mouth into a flat line, rubbing at her temple, when a piece of paper slid into her vision from behind her.

.

[ I'll take them! :) ]

.

Aisha turned around to see the olive-skinned adventurer she had slain the drake with, a small smile adorning her thin, lanky frame. Aisha raised an eyebrow.

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"You learned Arcadian?" Aisha asked.

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The olive-skinned woman nodded.

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"What's your name, then?"

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The olive-skinned woman pointed to a little sheet of paper attached to her cloak with a clothespin. Aisha leaned in to see the name "Nida."

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"Cool."

.

Nida slid another paper towards Aisha.

.

[It was a little difficult to learn your language. Especially since Aquila is such an oaf.]

.

Aisha, as well as Sui, looking at the paper from over her shoulder, started to laugh, casting wayward glances at the orc in question.

.

"Hey!" He said, standing up. "She's talking about me, isn't she!"

"N-no." Sui lied.

"Just because I misspelled eat, that one time-"

.

Nida wrote something down, and Aisha and Sui burst into laughter, all at the expense of Aquila, the orc bristling with indignation, as he took a seat again, fuming.

"Dumb language." Aquila mumbled. "I was the most literate in my village."

.

A few other sapphire adventurers glanced over at the group, unused to such camaraderie and laughter, but quickly turned their gazes back to their drinks or books, losing interest.

.

Of course, interest was quickly retained, when the small, dingy door to the lounge was blown off its hinges, a solid laser of white energy incinerating the wooden object instantly.

.

Instantly, swords and bows were drawn, and chairs screeched across wooden floors as everyone in the guild stood up instantly.

.

A white-clad figure strode into the guild furiously, white pupils locking onto Aisha instantly, eyes brimming with unrestrained rage. Aisha recognized the man's coffee-colored skin, sharp features, and dark hair instantly - the same features that belonged to her now-passed friend.

.

"YOU!" Elerion screamed, white aura flaring visibly. "I FINALLY FOUND YOU!"

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Sui gasped as Elerion leapt over the railing, rushing over to Aisha, and within a flash of light, hand his hand on her throat, squeezing tightly. Aisha herself gripped the hand with both of her hands, trying to wrench his fingers off, but was unable to, sending her into a panic.

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"What are you doing!?" Aquila demanded, putting a hand on his shoulder, before he was flung backwards, a wave of white, burning magic.

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"Stay out of this!" Elerion snarled, green adventurer's tag glowing menacingly. "Don't forget, I can kill you, undead! And your friend too! SO STAY BACK!"

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Aquila shot the man a defiant look, but nonetheless, he didn't approach, keeping a hand on his sword.

.

"What the hell do you want!?" Sui demanded, punching Elerion in the face, the emerald adventurer not even budging an inch.

"SHE KILLED MY BROTHER!" Elerion snarled. "IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT! ALL OF YOU! HE TOLD ME! HE TOLD ME EXACTLY WHO WAS WITH HIM!"

"Who told you?" Sui demanded, as Aisha choked, still trying to get the hand off her neck.

"It was Ifrit." Elerion snarled. "He told me everything. He told me to get rid of this - this unholy creature. That tricked my brother into - into getting killed, and then consumed him. To sate her hunger."

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Elerion squeezed harder, causing Aisha to flail around, kicking her legs out in an attempt to find purchase on the emerald-adventurer's chest, but was unable to, her legs too short.

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"That didn't happen!" Sui protested frantically. "It was his idea to go! LET GO OF HER!"

"GOD TOLD ME!" Elerion yelled. "IT MUST BE TRUE!"

"HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT!?" Sui screeched. "YOU WEREN'T THERE!"

.

A flash of guilt appeared on Elerion's face at Sui's accusation, and Aisha latched onto the moment of emotional weakness.

.

"Y- glhhk -yo… ghhlk- yo… faul-" She choked out. "Ih- yu… yu… faul… t. He… ggglhh… dehd."

.

At the immensely hurt, and guilty look on the man's face, Aisha knew she had struck a blow that hurt deep. But as his grip grew tighter, she wondered if that was a good idea.

"SHUT UP!" He screamed, smashing Aisha into the ground, but also losing his grip, allowing the girl to take a deep breath. "SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!"

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Aisha reached out a hand to shoot out a purple fireball, but a blast of magic blew her spell to dust, hitting her directly in the chest.

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"Stop!" Sui cried.

"Are you going to stop me!?" Elerion said threateningly, glaring at Sui, with a look of danger.

.

Sui froze, taking a step back.

"I… I…"

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Elerion just brushed Sui off, advancing on Aisha, who was still breathing heavily, backing herself up to try and gain some distance.

.

"My little brother…" He whispered in anguish. "He didn't deserve to die. We didn't talk that much, and he wasn't that strong, but... He was so careful, so smart… so the only way he could have died… is if he was tricked."

"Why do you care?" Aisha choked out, rubbing her raw throat, a comment that Elerion visibly grew enraged at.

.

"WHAT!?" He bristled. "HOW DARE YOU-"

"You were never there for him." Aisha gasped. "You weren't there when… your mother died. You weren't there… to share his grievances. He had… to talk to me. I was… his only friend. More than his own brother. You weren't there for his death."

.

"No… no, no no no!" Elerion said unsurely, shaking his head. "You don't know what you're talking about!"

.

Suddenly, something in Aisha's words registered in his head.

"Wait… mom is… dead?" He said hesitantly.

.

Aisha attempted to use his moment of vulnerability to attack, attempting to step close and destroy his head with a close-range spell, but she was just qs quickly blown back onto her ass, a loud shockwave, that made Aisha's ears ring.

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"YOU'RE TRYING TO TRICK ME!" Elerion screeched, pointing a finger at Aisha. "JUST LIKE MY BROTHER! YOU'RE A LIAR!"

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As the tan-skinned man charged up a spell, ready to incinerate Aisha, as well as everything around her, the sound of a crowd gathering could be heard, voices leaking into the now doorless room.

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A uniformed girl poked her head in, and immediately her eyes opened, rushing in.

"H-hey!" She said frantically. "What the hell is going on here!?"

"Stop him!" Sui said desperately, rushing up to the girl and grasping the collar of her shirt. "He's going to kill her!"

"H-hey!" The guild girl yelled, but in a shy, subdued voice. "Um. You can't do that!"

"THAT'S ALL YOU'VE GOT!?"

"I-I-I-mean HEY!" The guild girl stammered. "Killing another adventurer is punishable by expulsion! A-and. Oh. Uh, going to jail! And jail too!"

.

"You're useless!" Sui wailed.

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"Hey, what's going on?" Echoed among the people outside the door, a crowd gathering from the loud sounds and screaming coming from within. A figure burst out from the crowd, sweating and panting.

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Out of the corner of her eye, Aisha caught another familiar face. A more annoying, younger face, that shared the same sharp features that her assailant did.

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"El?" Kayle said softly, and despite his lack of volume, Elerion immediately stopped, whipping around to look his younger brother in the face.

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"Kayle." He blurted out. "Little brother. I…"

"What… what are you doing?" The boy said quietly, staring directly into Aisha's eyes, a large, red mark on her throat.

.

"You're not supposed to… see this." Elerion's throat was dry, before catching a silver glint off of Kayle's chest. "Y-you're… you're an adventurer now. Oh no, Kay… you weren't supposed to… We did all this so… I should have…"

.

Elerion swallowed a load of saliva in his throat, his massive, crushing aura dimming down as the intense guilt he felt showed itself fully on his face.

"I'm so-"

Suddenly, Kayle's eyes widened, and the boy reached out a hand. "NO!"

.

Elerion was cut short when Aisha sprinted up to the distracted man, putting a hand on the back of his head, eyes glowing with purple mana. As the crowd gasped, Aisha surged all the mana she had into her hand, ice spreading rapidly out of her fingertips.

.

Elerion's face was forever frozen in that expression of grief, encased in a layer of black, translucent ice. The guild receptionist screamed as Elerion's corpse collapsed onto the floor.

.

"WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR!?" Kayle screeched desperately, running as fast as he could to Elerion. "WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU!? NO!"

"Tch." Aisha said with disdain. "Where was all this commotion when I was getting choked out?"

.

"UNFREEZE HIM!" Kayle demanded, voice cracking as he flung a punch at Aisha's face, a swing that she dodged easily. "UNFREEZE HIM!"

.

A heavily armored warrior walked up to Kayle as he threw another wild swing, catching his arm mid-swing. Aisha took a look at the warrior's chest and saw a ruby plate, glimmering brilliantly, despite the lack of any strong lighting.

.

"He's dead, kid." The warrior said softly, in a voice that Aisha had a difficult time discerning the gender of. "He's dead."

"No, no no no!" Kayle cried desperately, hiccuping. "We can still save him! He- we can save him! Bring him to the church, or- or- or…"

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The warrior just shook its head, putting a hand on the kid's back.

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"Where the hell were you this whole time?" Aisha demanded, glaring at the ruby adventurer.

"I didn't want to spill my beer." The adventurer said simply, not giving any other answer.

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"Tch." Aisha mumbled, attempting to leave the room, shoving aside random people.

"Hey, I wouldn't do that if I were you." The adventurer tutted.

"Why?"

"Well, you acted in self defense." It reasoned. "So you're probably good in Arcadian law. But you are an adventurer. And you killed another adventurer."

.

Suddenly, Aisha remembered what the guild girl yelled earlier, in an attempt to deter Elerion.

"Fuck."

.

.

.

Soon, Aisha was sat in a familiar office, bored out of her mind, as Sui, the guild receptionist, and the ruby adventurer sat next to her, waiting.

.

"Why are you even here?" Aisha asked the ruby, irritated.

"I'm just catching up with an old friend."

.

A few more minutes passed, and the sound of clanking armor could be heard, followed the large, hulking vision of Raxas, fully clad in his judge's armor, although he immediately took it off, revealing a head of long, sweaty hair, although the man no longer had the sunken, malnourished features he had the last time Aisha had saw him.

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"You've gotten yourself into a lot of shit." He said absentmindedly, before taking a single glance at the ruby adventurer and stiffening.

.

"...What are you doing here."

"I'm a witness."

"No, those two are witnesses." Raxas motioned to the guild girl and Sui. "You are clearly here for another reason."

"..."

"Tch."

.

Raxas just rolled his eyes, turning his sight onto Aisha, who just leaned back in her chair nonchalantly.

.

"So can I go?" Aisha asked, a phrase that Raxas sighed at, taking a seat at his desk.

"It's not as simple as that." Raxas shook his head. "There are laws. And a proper process for these kinds of things, that you have to go through."

.

"You didn't seem to have an issue with that before."

.

"There's a difference between tradition and law." Raxas said firmly.

"Stupid." Aisha mumbled.

"You're getting off light. You aren't losing your license."

.

Aisha paused. "Then what's happening to me?"

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Raxas flipped through a few papers on his desk, squinting at a few words.

"You're going to have to take care of Elshari-Lao's brother. Kaysa-Laffen… I believe."

.

"What!?" Aisha exclaimed. "That annoying kid!?"

"You killed his brother, dude."

"Guuuuuuuuhhhhhh…" Aisha groaned. "For how long!?"

"Ten contracts."

"This is stupid."

"These are the rules."

"Can't I-"

"No."

.

Aisha flipped Raxas off, ejecting herself out of the seat and leaving, shutting the door behind her. Sui and the guild girl soon followed suit, the latter wondering why they were even there as witnesses if Raxas knew everything.

.

Eventually, it was just the ruby adventurer and Raxas, and the heavily-armored adventurer twisted it's head to stare at the doorframe for a few seconds, before taking off it's helmet, revealing a weathered, female face, three wicked gashes lining her face vertically, one through each eye, and another lining her nose. Her dyed, purple hair was beginning to wash away into blonde, and her black roots were beginning to show.

.

The look in her eyes was strong. And held the wisdom of someone many years older than how she looked.

.

"You got any beer?" She asked Raxas, who stared at her with apprehension.

"No." He responded. "Why are you here, Vega?"

Vega sighed. "You sure? I could use a beer. Or a mug of stout. Or even wine. Red, though. I don't drink white. White wine is too swee-"

.

"Enough." Raxas said firmly, rubbing his forehead with his fingers. "I do not partake in the vices of alcohol. And neither should you."

"What's wrong with a few vices?" Vega asked, leaning back in her chair, although the woman quickly stopped when the chair made a cracking, creaking wail of protest. "Dude, this chair-"

"They're called vices for a reason."

.

"As a hume, vices are all we have." Vega said sagely. "Doesn't have to be a bad thing."

"I trust you aren't here to debate philosophy with me." Raxas said, irritated. "You've come a long way from Gehenna."

"There's nothing wrong with just wanting to catch up with a friend, is there?" Vega said innocently. "You've been up to quite a lot, 'Raxas the Demon.' "

"It's never concerned you before, 'Dragonslayer.' " Raxas said equally mockingly, making air quotes with his hands.

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"Everybody can change."

"You haven't."

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The ruby adventurer cracked a small smile.

"So cruel." Vega smirked. "Okay then. Fine. Shinra asked me to come here to check up on little Sui. I just decided to come visit for old times sake."

.

Raxas furrowed his eyebrows.

"What? The machina?"

"Yeah." Vega said, crossing her arms on Raxas's desk and resting her head on top. "Well, more like begged. Practically."

"Is that why you're in that ridiculous armor?"

.

Raxas motioned to the heavy-looking set of armor Vega wore, incredibly ornate, and glowing with intense magical power. Vega nodded.

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"Yeah." Vega pursed her lips. "Magic resistant. Or rather, it blocks her sensors… or something. Shinra said it would be OK."

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"Mmmh." Raxas mumbled, sighing as he looked at the only decoration in his room, a tacky painting of a dog. For a bit, he looked content to just look at the painting, it's edges crude, and the subject material tacky. The dog also had five legs, but... he had gotten quite attached to it over the years.

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Raxas shook his head, remembering how he had gotten it. Surprisingly, Tylich was the one who had given it to him, the mousy judge claiming he had bought it, although the stench of garbage suggesting otherwise.

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Despite that, it had been the only gift he still had now.

.

"You know, I'm retiring soon." Vega said, breaking the long silence.

"That's great for you."

"You should too." Vega said lazily. "Whats the point of all of this?"

"To help people." Raxas said softly.

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"Oh? The guild's motto?" Vega raised an eyebrow. "Last I checked, you didn't care about helping people."

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"Miari did." Raxas mumbled.

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Vega's smirk faded, and a concerned expression replaced it.

.

"I'm… I heard about Miari. I'm sorry. You and Falo…"

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Suddenly, a realization struck the ruby adventurer, looking around, first at his office, and then Raxas.

.

"Oh no." She whispered. "Oh James. I'm so sorry. I can't…"

"It's nothing." Raxas insisted weakly.

"You've lost everyone." Vega said softly. "Everything. How could that be nothing? Raxas, you… no wonder why you're doing this to yourself…"

.

"I'm fine." Raxas whispered.

.

"You don't have to do all of this." Vega insisted. "I don't exactly want to besmirch her memory, but little Miari just wanted-"

.

"It's all I have left." Raxas croaked. "This is all I have left. Without my promise, what am I?.. I'm just a piece of shit who killed all his friends."

"That's not true." Vega insisted.

"Is there anything to prove me wrong?"

"It wasn't your fault." Vega protested. "They made their own choices. And it led to their deaths. That's just unfortunate coincidence!"

"But if I wasn't there-" Raxas said desperately. "If I hadn't... I could have stopped it! I could have stopped them from going, Vega, if I hadn't encouraged them, they would still..."

"James..."

"The only person left." Raxas moped on, ignoring Vega. "The only person left from my party. He hates me. He blames me. He would probably blame me for Falo's death too. And he's right. It's all my fault. It's always been my fault."

.

"That's not true."

"Is it?"

"It's not." Vega said firmly, sighing as she walked over to the other side of the desk, putting a hand on Raxas's shoulder. "Let's just... change the subject, okay? There's no use moping about the past. What about that adorable little fey? Sapphire? And she looks strong!"

.

Raxas just sighed.

"What, are you going to try and recruit her to Gehenna?"

"Nah." Vega shook her head. "She would be a good fit, for sure. But I don't know nearly enough about her, and I've gotta leave soon. You should send her our way, whenever... well, whenever she gets bored of this business."

"For that girl?" Raxas scoffed. "I doubt you'll be seeing her anytime soon."

"You never know." Vega said, putting back her helmet and making her way to the exit.

.

"Yeah. You never know."

.

.

.

[

Lorian opened the front door to her house with a smile, eagerly awaiting her little ball of energy to leap out at her, begging her for kisses and hugs and games and food. University had been so boring. Well, more boring than usual, and Lorian wanted to do something fun. Like tease Aisha. Like slathering the girl in her love, filling each other's hearts with so much affection that they wouldn't be able to even take their eyes off each other for a single second. Until their heads were filled with nothing but each other. Hell, they were already halfway there.

.

She loved Aisha so much. Just the thought of her, her radiant little sunshine, put a smile on her face. She loved her. Loved her smile, loved her pouts, loved her ears, loved her nose, her pouty little lips, her needy little whines too- Love love love love love love love-

.

"Give me headpats, mistress!" She mimicked, practically squealing with delight as she made her way to the couch, reach to squeeze and hug her adorable little pet-

.

She wasn't there?

.

Lorian's face fell. Aisha wasn't home yet. Her mood sank, and the big girl sighed. She wanted to see Aisha sooo bad… needed to see her so bad. Without her, there practically wasn't anything to do. Sure, she had homework, but she just… her lack of Aisha left her drained of energy. She didn't want to do homework. She wanted to pet Aisha.

.

"Aisha Aisha Aisha Aishaaaaa!" She whined out loud. "Your mistress neeeeeeeds youuu! Come snuggle with mistress!.. I need you…"

.

Lorian just flumped over childishly, pouting into the couch cushions, upset that her plea to the universe was not answered.

.

God, it was unfair. Aisha had just leapt into her life and just… made herself the center of it, so incredibly fast. Everything she did was for Aisha. Go to class, and come back for Aisha. Go out, so she could buy cute things for Aisha. Go to the gym, so she wouldn't get too fat, engorging herself on Aisha's affections…

.

Lorian blushed as she ran over her tummy, noticeably less smooth than a few month ago. It wasn't her fault, Aisha was just so… fattening… her affections were so sweet, and there was just sooo much of it. Lorian wasn't exactly the strongest in the realm of self-control, so she just ate and ate and ate…

.

Aisha was so cute. Even though they had been together for months now, she was still so shy, so easy to embarrass. She still had a crush on Lorian, despite how many times they had cuddled, gotten so close to kissing…

.

She still couldn't even hold eye contact with Lorian. It was so fucking adorable, Lorian wanted to just pin her down and force her to make eye contact, chest heaving, face flushed…

.

.

.

When the doors finally opened, Aisha's adorable little frame coming into view, Lorian was still heated and flushed in the face, panting, her eyes unfocused and legs twitching, tensed straight. Brain completely fried, she didn't even register anything until she felt the soft body of her fap material snuggle up against her breast, small legs wrapping and weaving through hers.

.

"A-aishhhaaaaa… hhhahhh." She panted. "Uuummmm… hhhi."

"Hi mistress." Aisha mumbled sleepily, whimpering softly into Lorian's neck. "Nnnnnnnnnnmmmmmggghhh… You smell so good…"

.

Lorian panted, a bit of drool leaking down her cheek, as she wrapped both of her arms around Aisha, taking a deep breath of the fey girl's unnaturally fragrant scent.

.

"It's cherries today…" Lorian breathed out. "So goooood…"

"Mmh."

.

The lack of adorable response cut through the fog in Lorian's head like a knife, and she frowned, gazing concernedly at the little fey cuddled up to her, gently scritching the top of her head.

.

Aisha was sweaty. And her arms were limp.

.

"Are you tired?" Lorian asked softly.

"Mmhmm." Aisha mumbled. Lorian's heart went soft.

"Do you want to head to bed?"

"Yeh mihwemmm…"

.

Lorian smiled as she lifted Aisha off the couch, affection filling her heart at the half-asleep, dreamy expression on her face, that only got happier as Lorian scooped her up, cradling the girl as if she was extremely fragile, extremely precious…

.

As Lorian tucked Aisha into bed, only her eyes and fluffy little ears visible, she sighed.

.

"Something wrong, mistress?" Aisha asked softly, the hugs sending soothing energies into her body, invigorating her tired, still sleepy, but now aware mind.

"Oh, it's nothing…"

.

A small hand poked out of the covers adorably to hold Lorian's, a gesture that made her heart turn into an inferno of heat.

"Is it something I did?"

"No!" Lorian corrected frantically, squeezing Aisha's hand, hard. "No! I just… I wanted to… to play with you… But… if you want bedtime, I'm okay with that too…"

.

Aisha blushed and sank deeper into the covers.

"Um. What did you have in mind?" She asked, voice muffled by blankets.

"Just… some pets, maybe… and I wanted to… um. I wanted to rub your tummy, and squish your face…" Lorian's ears burned at the things she was saying.

.

Aisha's heart bloomed with love. That all sounded so nice…

.

"We can still do that." She said meekly. Lorian's eyes lit up.

.

"Ahhh, you're such a good girl!" Lorian squealed, hugging Aisha over the blankets, aggressively petting her ears, much to the embarrassment of the little fey. "Good girl! Good girl! I love you I love you I love you I love youuuu~~"

]

.

.

.

"...HATE YOU, HATE YOU, HATE YOU!"

.

Aisha dimly registered the hateful words of the boy in front of her, Kayle practically foaming at the mouth as he spewed every insult he could at Aisha, trying vainly to hit Aisha. Two of his friends held his arms back, as he struggled insanely, trying to kick at the fey.

.

"I'm telling you-" Aisha sighed.

"I DON'T CARE!" Kayle screamed. "FUCK YOU!"

"Listen!" Aisha snapped, gripping Kayle's jaw tightly with her hand, forcing his mouth shut. "I don't want to have anything to do with you either! But this is an order! I cannot continue to do contracts until I do this shit with you, and you'll never be rid of me until you do! It's in both of our interests to just get this over with!"

.

Aisha could see the thoughts turning in the kid's head, and slowly let go of his mouth. Kayle took a deep breath, and…

.

"No."

.

It took all of Aisha's willpower to not slaughter the boy on the spot, and an extra bit of willpower to not have an aneurysm.

.

Even Kayle's friends had a look of incredulity on their faces, one blonde, the other dark-haired. They just gave each other a look.

.

"What's wrong with you." Aisha sighed, rubbing her mask in an aggravated manner.

"You're a murderer." Kayle said coldly. "You kill people."

.

"It's called self defense, kid-"

"Not just that!" Kayle yelled. "I know who you are! You work for- for that demon! Raxas the demon! You're his hand! You've killed thousands of people, I-"

.

"I have not killed nearly that amount of people." Aisha rolled her eyes.

"SO YOU ADMIT IT!" Kayle screeched. "YOU'RE A MURDERER!"

.

"What do you care?" Aisha scoffed. "People kill all the time. Even your brothers killed people. They didn't have any problem with it."

"My brothers never killed an innocent soul!" Kayle argued. "They only killed people who deserved it! Who also killed! They had justice on their side!"

.

"Justice, huh?.." Aisha mused, tilting her head upwards. "What a joke. There's no such thing as justice in this world."

"You're wrong. Justice exists! But only for people who deserve it! Maybe you just don't think it exists, because you're a bad perso-"

.

Aisha jabbed a finger into Kayle's face, the tip glowing with dark energy. The kid shut up immediately, although the defiant look never left his eyes.

.

"You're going to be a murderer too." Aisha said softly. "Do you think killing a bandit is just? They have families too. They probably don't steal for selfish reasons. In every person's mind, their actions are just. Are you going to tell me, that you decide what is just or not? Like a god?"

.

"T-then I won't kill anyone!" Kayle blurted out. Aisha raised an eyebrow.

.

"This isn't a line of work where you can avoid killing people." Aisha said scathingly. "People are going to try to kill YOU. Even if you're on a contract that involves nothing of the sort. Do you think you're better than everyone here? They're all "murderers." Do you think you're better than your brothers?"

.

"I can do it." Kayle said firmly. "If I try hard enough!"

Aisha rolled her eyes, making sure it was obvious even from under her mask.

"Yeah, right."

.

"You're wrong." Kayle said angrily. "You're WRONG! I could get to platinum, without killing a single person! Or without letting a single person die!"

.

"Would you like to bet?" Aisha asked slowly.

"Yeah!" Kayle argued. "If I win, you quit being an adventurer!"

.

Gasps were heard, not just from Kayle's friends, but from the other lower-ranked adventurers. Word spread quickly, and a lot of people knew of Aisha's hellish determination to climb the ranks, throwing herself into unnecessary danger just to save a few minutes on her journey.

.

Surely she wouldn't accept?

.

"I accept." Aisha laughed. "If I win, I don't want anything. Seeing you cry will be payment enough."

"I'M NOT GOING TO CRY!" Kayle yelled, his voice cracking. "I mean- I'm not going to lose!"

.

Aisha leaned down, until the ceramic of her mask was almost touching Kayle's face. Her voice echoed ominously, and Kayle's friends suddenly realized that Aisha had gotten exactly what she wanted.

"Then choose a contract."