The Girl

Run. That's all he could do is Run. Azar was running from his home, has been running from it for a while. As to why he's running away, we'll have to take a few steps back. Many Years ago, Lord Phenex had a little too much fun with one of the maids and it resulted in the birth of an unwanted child in the eyes of Lord Phenex. He had demanded the Maid to get rid of the child, but the maid couldn't do it. It was Her child, and she couldn't just get rid of them. This angered Lord Phenex greatly. The fate of the Maid is Unknown. But she hasn't been seen since. No one knows if she was killed or banished. Most thought killed knowing the Phenex House.

With her gone, Lord Phenex was going to just kill her child, but decided to see what the child would become. But he never treated the boy fairly. He learned the boy's name was Azar. Azar wasn't raised nicely. He was constantly belittled, bullied and abused by The Phenex Family for being an unwanted child. He once accidentally used magic and shot Blue Flames out from his hands. That is what caused him to flee and run away from the Phenex House forever. The Devil Family didn't care.

Now on the run without a home, Azar had been running. It was getting cold, really cold and he didn't know what to do. He was scared, alone and shiveringly cold. He was also lost. He had used a Transportaion circle but didn't know where he ended up. But he kept running away. He eventually stopped running and saw he ended up in a forest. He sat up against a tree and hugged himself while shivering from how cold he was. He would use the Blue Flames he used by accident, but he doesn't know how he did it. It was a reactive ignition of flames and not a willing ignition.

So, he has no idea how he even did it. As he sat there, shivering, he heard the crunching of leaves and sticks. He didn't look towards it as he didn't want to move. That was until the crunching stopped and he heard a voice.

???: "Are you okay?" an innocent voice asks.

Azar looked up from his shivering form and saw a little girl with bright crimson red hair and big blue eyes. She was roughly around his age. Based on her clothing, she's probably from a noble family. She was wearing a coat but also a skirt. Azar didn't answer and kept shivering. The wind and cold weather were to blame. Azar's clothing wasn't exactly fit for the cold breeze. He had also fallen into a small river on the way here, so he was wet.

???: "Are you cold?" she asks, innocently.

Azar didn't vocally respond. He just shivered and lightly nodded. The girl kept a curious look at him before getting a small smile on her face. She then took off her coat and handed it to Azar. This shocked the boy who hadn't received kindness since he was born. Seeing that he wasn't grabbing, the girl kneels down and puts it around Azar with a kind smile.

???: "here. You look like you need it more than me." she said.

Azar continued to just stare at this girl who came out of nowhere. He's never seen her in his life. The girl saw his look and then sat on her knees in front of him.

???: "Where did you come from?" she asks.

Azar didn't answer as he tightened his hold on the coat that was around him, trying to get more warmth. The girl tilts her head a little curiously and innocently. She then placed a hand on her chest after straightening her head.

Rias: "I'm Rias." she greets. "What's your name?" she asks.

Azar: "A-Azar." he hesitantly greets.

Rias: "Nice to meet you Azar!" she states cheerfully with a big smile. "How come your all the way out here and not in the city?" she asks.

Azar: "I-I'm Running." he said, backing away a little.

Rias: "From what?" she asks, innocently.

Azar: "M-Meanies." he states.

Rias: "Meanies?" she repeats, questioningly.

Azar: "th-they hurt me, and a-always bully me." he states, tears coming to his eyes.

Rias's eyes widened hearing this. Seeing him on the verge of crying, Rias inches closer to the boy and does the only thing that really comes to mind. She hugs him. She moved the coat and wrapped her arms around him before putting the coat around both of them. When their skin made contact, Rias could feel just how cold Azar was. That and how wet he was which added to the coldness of his touch. But she didn't mind.

Rias: "you're colder than I expected." she states whisperingly.

She then noticed something. Azar looked malnourished. She knew she had to act fast, so she stood up and went to help him up.

Azar: "W-what are you?"

Rias: "I'm taking you to my home." she states. "Your cold and look hungry so I'm taking you with me."

Azar: "O-Okay." he said, not having the will power to say no due to how weak he was.

Rias helped him up and proceeded to guide him away through the forest. As they walked, Rias made sure that Azar was warm as she made sure he had the coat on. She tried to use her own body heat to warm him up. They eventually made their way out of the forest and walked onto a stone path and walked towards a massive house in the distance. It took the two some time, but when they got there, a pair of guards noticed the duo and rushed over to Rias.

Guard1: "Lady Rias, are you alright?" he asks, having to look down at the short 4-Year-old.

Rias: "I'm fine." she states, smiling happily.

Guard2: "Who's this?" he asks, a little disgusted by Azar's appearance.

Rias: "I found him." she said.

Guard1: "Found him where?" he asks.

Rias: "In the forest."

Guard2: "You found this commoner in the forest and decided to bring him here?" he asks, surprised. "No matter, I'll take this peasant back to the forest where he belongs." he said, moving forward to grab Azar.

Azar looked at him in fear before he instinctively flung his hands up. He unintentionally let a small burst of flames emit from his hands and it lightly burned the guard's hand.

Guard2: "Ow! Son of a!" he cursed, recoiling back.

Guard1: "You kinda deserved that one." he states.

Guard2: "The hell I did!" he angrily barked back. "That little prick burned my hand!"

Guard1: "Well you did try to aggressively remove him from the premises after lady Rias most likely showed him kindness." he explained. "Am I right?" he asks, looking at the young girl.

Rias: "yep!" she replies cheerfully with a big, closed eye smile.

Guard1: "See?" he asks, deadpanning to his partner.

Guard2: "B-But Lord Gremory won't approve of this." he said, looking at his partner then to Rias and Azar.

Guard1: "That's for Lord Gremory to decided not you idiot." he said, pushing him back towards the door.

Guard2: "Don't call me that!"

Guard1: "Don't act like an idiot then." he said as they walked towards the door of the massive home.

Rias and Azar watched the two guards walk towards the door. Rias then grabbed his hand gently and guided him to the door. As they walked to the door, Azar looked at his hand that was being held by Rias. Her hold wasn't rough, rude or demanding. It was soft, gentle and supportive. He liked it. So, he slightly tightened his hold on her hand as a sense of safety. Rias felt it but did nothing about it and let it happen. She honestly didn't mind.

They reached the door, and the guards opened the door. Rias brings Azar inside the house, and they enter the front foyer. Once inside, the doors are closed by the two guards who continue their debate outside. Their voices muffled by the door. Azar looked around and saw how spacious the front foyer was. It was also livelier than the Phenex Families. Less obsession with fire and phoenixes. It doesn't feel egotistical like his last living space. But a part of him doesn't want to be here. He's afraid of being sent back to the Phenex Family.

Rias turned to Azar, still holding his hand.

Rias: "Let's go find my mama and papa." she suggested.

Rias could see the hesitation in the boy's eyes. She can't really understand why, maybe it's tied to those meanies he mentioned. Hearing what he had to say about them let her know they were bad people but she's curious about who these people are. Does she know them or are they someone she has yet to meet? Either way, it is not important now.

Rias: "Don't worry. Mama and papa are good people. Not like those meanies." she said, trying to cheer up the boy she just met.

Azar: "A-Are you sure?" he asks.

Rias: "of course!" she exclaims, brightly.

Azar: "Okay." he hesitantly said.

Rias smiled as she then took hold of his hand and guided him through the house. They walked past some maids and butlers who Rias asked for the whereabouts of her parents. After getting to the desired location, Rias brought Azar to one of the rooms in the mansion. The door was big—compared to them—and had dark accents and looked excessively fancy. The Symbol of the House of Gremory was edged onto the door. Rias let go of Azar's hand and knocked on the door.

Rias: "Mama, Papa can I come in?" she asks, loud enough for them to hear.

Azar stood beside her quietly, still having her coat around him and tightly in his grasp. Azar heard someone within the room say "sure" which made Rias grab the doorknob. Rias turned the knob and pushed open the door. She had to put a little effort in due to being so short. But once it was open, she grabbed Azar's hand and happily trotted inside. Inside the room, Azar saw two older figures. A woman with brown hair and violet eyes and a man with the same bright red hair and eyes as Rias.

The two adult figures put their attention to the new boy before them. Seeing that Rias brought someone into the home, they're wondering who he was. They also noticed he was wearing Rias's coat and noticed that he was still shivering to an extent. His hair looked wet, and he looked malnourished. Where in hell did, she find this boy?

Red Haired Adult: "Rias dear. Where did you find this boy?" he asks, his voice sounding honestly curious.

Rias: "I was walking through the woods to see if I could find any of those flowers mama mentioned, when I found Azar here sitting up against a tree." she explained. "He looked cold and hungry, so I brought him here." she said, honestly and innocently.

Red Haired Adult: "Is that so?" he asks.

Rias: "Mhm!" she nods.

The woman gets up from her seat and walked over to Azar who began shaking in fear. He feared what they were going to do. When she reached him, she knelt down and when her hand moved, Azar flinched and looked ready to be hit. This surprised the woman who then adopted a worried expression.

Woman: "What's wrong child?" she asks.

Azar didn't respond and kept waiting for an inevitable hit. Rias grabbed his hand and stood by his side.

Rias: "Azar?" she asks.

Azar lowered his guard and looked at Rias and the woman.

Woman: "where's your parents, child?" she asks, gently.

Hearing that word, it made him jump to conclusions way too fast.

Azar: "P-Please, don't take me back to them!" he begs as he backed up, tears slowly forming.

Man: "You aren't going anywhere kid." he said, calmingly, as he walked over.

Azar tightened his grip on the coat that was still wrapped around him. He then rushed and got behind Rias. He proceeded to hide behind her while Rias looked over her shoulder at him. The Man and Woman saw his reaction and heard what he had said to the woman. This made them both conclude that something bad happened between him and his family. Rias looks at her parents.

Rias: "Can he stay?" she asks, shooting pleading eyes at her parents.

The woman glanced at Azar. She just couldn't help but feel her heart spark with pain seeing his state. The woman smiled at Rias.

Woman: "sure." she said with a nod.

The man smiled lightly and rolled his eyes humorlessly. Rias beamed with excitement.

Rias: "yay!" she cheers as she threw her hands up into the air.

She turned around and happily smiled at Azar.

Rias: "hear that? You can stay here, and you'll be far away from the meanies." she happily states.

Azar: "A-Are you sure?" he asks, nervously, looking at Rias.

Woman: "of course, Azar." she said, a kind smile on her face. "You're welcome to stay as long as you like."

Man: "But before you run off with Rias, you should at least know our names considering we never introduced ourselves." he said, a smile on his face.

The man adopted a welcoming expression onto his face.

Zeoticus: "I am Zeoticus Gremory." he greets.

Venelana: "and I'm Venelana Gremory, Rias's Mom." she greets her husband.

Azar: "h-hi." he shyly greets.

Zeoticus: "Rias, bring Azar to the servants and have them get Azar better clothing and some food. Poor kid looks like he hasn't eaten in weeks." he said.

Rias: "Okay, papa!" she said, happily, before grabbing the boy's hand and rushing out of the room with him.

The two adults watched them off.

Zeoticus: "I'll do some digging around to see if I can find his parents." he said.

Venelana: "You do that. I'll be making sure that Azar is nurtured back to full health." she said, before taking her leave.

Once alone, Zeoticus just walked back to his seat in the room and sat down. Little did anyone know; this was the beginning of something amazing.