[3.2] Road to the Capital

Akuma saw a glimmer of hope. He longs for it, desires it with every fiber of his being. And yet, a single doubt remains in his heart. Will he...do the same as Zack?

But still, the longing for hope, pain of being abandoned and having to fight only for the process to repeat just minutes later, Akuma gives in. Tears start to flow down his face as he continues to the stare at the man who has his hand extended towards Akuma.

The man looks distressed upon seeing Akuma's tears. Like a father whose child just started crying and he doesn't know how to calm it down. "Hey, hey, hey. What's going on?" the man asks.

Akuma's gaze drops to the ground as a smile appears on his face. "...Thank you..." He says. Relief takes over the man's face as he pats Akuma's head in an attempt to comfort him.

Several minutes pass and Akuma calms down, at last. A man yells from behind the trees. "Sir, we're heading out in a little while! You should get back to the wagon."

The bald man looks stands up and looks past the trees before shouting back. "Got it!"

He proceeds to stand up and extends his arm to Akuma. "So what do you say, wanna come with me?"

Akuma hesitates for a few seconds before he takes the man's hand. As the man pulls Akuma back on his feet he introduces himself. "The name's Brann, by the way." Akuma doesn't wait long, and follows soon. "M-my name is Akuma."

The conversation continues. "Nice to meet you, Akuma." To which Akuma responds with a relieved smile on his face. "Likewise."

"SIIIIIR, HURRY UP, WE'RE LEAVING!" The same man yells again. "We should get going." Brann's statement is met with a nod from Akuma.

Brann leads the way with Akuma following right behind. As the man who drives the horse wagon sees Akuma he looks at Brann. He is young an nervous. "Sir, you can't take the boy, his parents might be searching for him."

"Doesn't matter! If his parents let him end up like this they shouldn't even find him! Right Akuma?" Brann proclaims, putting Akuma in a bit of a tight spot. Akuma scratches the back of his head while avoiding the eyes of both of the men. [I don't even know my parents so why does it matter.] Akuma thinks to himself.

Brann and the nervous driver continue to argue for a few more moments, before Brann pulls out a small notebook and a pencil. He writes something into it and then rips the page out before showing it to the driver. "IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A BOY NAMED AKUMA, COME TO DELTUM!" Is what the paper says.

Brann rolls the paper into a tube, turns around and sticks it into a hole in a tree behind him. "Happy? Now if the kid's parents will be looking for him, they'll know where he is."

The young driver looks only halfway convinced. "But still sir, that paper will only last there for a few days befo-" Brann cuts off the driver. "LIKE I CARE! JUST LOOK AT THE BOY! HE LOOKS LIKE HE WENT TO HELL AND BACK! IF HIS PARENTS DIDN'T COME FOR HIM YET THEY SHOULD BE ASHAMED!" The driver is taken back by Brann's words, as he looks Akuma up and down he realizes that his words hold true. Akuma does look like he went through hell.

"All right...but you have to pay for him!" Brann throws a few coins at the driver before telling Akuma to gen on the wagon. Everyone looks at Akuma and his unusual attire. Cloth hiding his wounds, rough wolf hide covering the top half of his body.

As Akuma sits down, Brann sits down next to him. There are a few other people in the wagon. Other wagons get going as well, with the one Akuma is in leading the way. Brann gives Akuma an old cloak to cover himself with. "It's not much, but it should be enough till we find you something better."

Days pass by and the convoy arrives at the capital city of the kingdom Avflam, Deltum. Tall walls surround the enormous city. A guard tower is at every corner of the wall. Compared Deltum, Haranard, the border city Akuma was previously in looks tiny.

It is still morning, maybe 10 am through a rough estimate. Brann shakes Akuma to wake him up. "We're here kid." To which Akuma springs up. "Right." He responds.

Akuma only watches in awe as they pass through the large gate of the Capital, after an inspection, of course.

The convoy stops near huge horse stables and people start to get off. Akuma jumps off the wagon following Brann.

"The real city starts past here." Brann states as he takes two longswords from the wagon.

The two walk away from the stables deeper into the city. "By the way, Brann. Why did you come to Deltum." Brann looks back at Akuma and smiles. "I've come to meet a friend. We usually see each other just once or twice a year and he can't travel anymore so i gotta visit him from time to time."

"I see." Akuma responds, thinking Brann's friend is possibly sick or otherwise immobile.

"But, we arrived a day too early. Which means we can still rest a bit." Brann says as he stops at a building similar to the Guild building he saw at Haranard.

"But why don't you just go see your friend already? He shouldn't be mad that you arrived a day earlier." Akuma states, to which Brann responds simply. "Well, he has a really tight schedule, you see."

"Right." Akuma responds, deciding not to ask anything else.

Brann leads Akuma into the Guild building.

Apparently, the Guild is one largest business chains on the whole continent as it spans several kingdoms.

Brann gets himself and Akuma an enormous lunch. The two sit down at a table and Brann starts to immediately eat. After a few seconds he notices that Akuma hasn't even touched his food.

"What is it, kid? Is there something in the food you can't eat?" Brann asks with a concerned tone. After a few moments Akuma answers. "Is it really alright for me to eat this?"

Brann looks confused for a few seconds as he processes Akuma's question before smiling. "Sure it is, go ahead."

Akuma then starts to slowly eat with Brann watching him for a few moments before turning to his own plate.

They soon finish their lunch and Brann takes Akuma to all sorts of places. First to a public bath, after all, it's been around two weeks since Akuma was summoned. Next they went and bought Akuma some decent clothes. Akuma soon found himself wearing black cg pants under gray shorts that end right under his knees. As for the top he wears a black long sleeve cg shirt with a short sleeved, button up gray shirt with a hood as a cherry on top.

According to Brann, the cg clothes Akuma wears are quite resistant to punturing and cutting.

Several hours later Akuma and Brann find themselves back in the Guild building sitting behind one of the tables completely exhausted.

"Aaaahh, i tell you Akuma, today was one hell of a day. Who would have ever knew that shopping could be so tiring?!" Akuma nods in agreement.

Several minutes pass and Brann asks something he meant to ask the moment he found Akuma.

"Tell me Akuma, how did you wind up under that tree. I mean your parents shoud have looked after you." For a few moments it feels like everything stopped around Akuma. After a few more seconds Akuma answers hesitantly. "I...I don't have parents."

At that moment Brann realizes that he hit a live spot. "Ah, i'm sorry." Brann apologises, nervously scratching the back of his head.

"So another kid who lost his parents during the latest flare incident." Brann sighs as if Akuma's lack of parents was his fault.

"I didn't know them to begin with so you don't have to apologize." Brann stares at Akuma in surprise. "But, if you don't mind me asking, what is this "Flare incident" you mentioned.

Brann looks even more surprised. "You don't know about it?" With a hint of confusion he continues. "The Flare incident refers to time when nearly 15 years ago the Black Flare destroyed the majority of the kingdom of Avflam and did the same to several other kingdoms."

Brann continues to talk for hours, explaining everything he knows. Apparently, the Black Flare is a demon that went on a rampage around 14 years ago, destroying the majority of the kingdoms, yet never destroying even a single one completely.