Chapter 19: Misunderstandings

"You don't need to stretch?"

"..."

Zero doesn't know why or how– but he now finds himself facing the very human he wanted to try and avoid. He was standing in a large hall that was almost similar to Zeni the Shopkeeper's lair– the walls were all white, but it wasn't as empty.

There were lots of weird-looking… machinery littered on the side of the hall that Zero has never seen before. But considering he hasn't seen a lot of things, this was to be expected.

What is not expected, however… was that he could once again see the weird aura rising from Natalia as she stood meters away in front of him. She was previously wearing casual clothes; but now, she was wearing some sort of black suit that covered her entire body from the neck down.

"You can do it, Zero! Beat the crap out of her!"

"You know he can't hear us, right?"

"... " Zero then turned his head towards the upper corners of the hall, only to see the Mafia Wind team and other humans on the other side of a window wall, watching him from above.

"You really are quite a calm dude," Natalia seemed to have finished stretching her limbs as she took a few steps forward, "Most of the turds watching us would have probably already shit their pants right about now. I guess that's why we're here in the first place, no?"

"Yes?"

"Pft," Natalia chuckled, "I'm starting to like you more and more. You and I, we're going to have a lot of fun from now on. Now, let me explain the rules to you. One, you're going to fight me to the best of your abilities…

…that's it. And we start now."

"!!!"

Zero's eyes widened. He doesn't know why, but he knew he had to tilt his head to the side– and he did. And as soon as he did so, he felt his hood being blown open as an arm was now suddenly right beside his face.

"Ho… so this is what you look like, I love it. You must have been quite the looker before the world dealt its blow on you."

"..." Zero then very slowly turned his head towards the whisper, his long… grey hair; which he didn't have before, slightly brushed off his shoulders.

"Did… he look like that before?" Sandie, Anna, Gab, and Isa– the only humans that have seen what Zero looked like before, could not help but look at each other.

"...Probably the lighting? It was quite dark in the forest."

"...Now I know why Sandie is hitting that."

Even from afar, Zero's face was still quite obviously scarred– but it wasn't as disfigured as before. One could still almost see a part of his skull from his almost torn right cheek, but one could already make out the shape of his face. His skin, pale and almost as grey as his disheveled hair.

But perhaps the most noticeable of all, were his pale blue eyes that made him look as if he was blind. Completely fogged, but some life and reflection could still be seen within them.

"They say scarred men have lots of stories to tell…" A small smirk appeared on Natalia's face,

"...I wonder what's yours?" She then said before folding her arms, lightly striking Zero's head with her elbow… but still causing him to somersault in the air, landing completely almost like a ragdoll as he hit the floor.

"Well, that's that," Natalia then brushed off her palms as she let out a sigh. The people that were watching from above, also slowly leaving as they talked to each other.

Sandie and the rest of the Wind Mafia, could really only also sigh. Although they were rooting for Zero, there really was no way that he would be able to even scratch him. After all…

…Natalia Woods was only one of the three Rank-S Slayers in the entirety of what was left of the country of the United States. There were more in other countries, all of different abilities and temperaments. They all have, however, two things in common.

Their strength towered above everyone else… and they were freely allowed to venture out in what is called the Bubble Zone– dark, restricted, and unexplored areas which are potentially filled with thousands and thousands of Bubbles and deadly creatures.

In short, Zero had absolutely no chance.

"What the heck," Natalia then shrugged her shoulders as she approached Zero, who was still lying on the ground, "B-Rank it is. You were able to dodge my strike, that's more than I can say for the other–"

And before Natalia could finish her words, she heard a small snap whisper in the air. She looked down, only to see Zero grabbing her ankle.

"...Oh?" Another smile grew on Natalia's face, "Be careful, you might end up breaking your hands."

"Grah!"

"Woah!"

Zero then suddenly let out a howl, slightly causing Natalia to freeze for a split second. But that was all the Zero needed, however, as he quickly stood up– his sharp fingers, already on their way towards Natalia's eyes.

"Hey, easy," Natalia, however, just calmly blocked Zero's fingers… with her fingers, locking them and grabbing his fist, "This is just a test, no need to hurt your–"

And before Natalia could even finish her words, Zero suddenly slammed his head towards his neck; his teeth, seemingly trying to tear Natalia's flesh off– but failing to dig even a single millimeter through her skin.

"When was the last time you took a bath?" Natalia just let out a small sigh, "Seriously…

…what happened to you out there for you to become like this?"

And very slowly, Natalia's arms suddenly wrapped around Zero's torso.

"!!!" Zero tried to push himself away, striking and hitting Natalia's back as he did so… but not even managing to scratch her. Zero then once again let out a howl… and this time, flames suddenly burst out from both of his hands.

"Oh, you were also a magic caster?"

Zero started flailing around; Natalia, however, did not let go of him as her embrace grew even tighter.

"It's alright, Zero. Calm down," Natalia then said; the tone of her voice, slowly turning softer, "It's alright now… you're safe here."

"Kh!" Zero continued to growl, the flames on his hand, now flickering as he felt himself… slowly losing vision.

"It's fine, it's fine, shh," Natalia then started patting Zero's head, "No one's trying to kill you here… you're safe."

And very soon, the fire in Zero's hands completely faded away– his flailing arms, also falling to the side as he completely lost consciousness.

"Shit, I did tell you to calm down…

…you expended all your mana."

***

"Wha–"

Zero then opened his eyes, only to see himself still inside a white wall– this time, however, the machinery was gone. He… was back inside the Shop.

"Why… why are you always coming in here without any warning!?"

Zero then quickly looked towards the annoying voice, only to see Zeni…

…relaxing on some kind of massage chair with a pizza in her hand.

[Readers of Fate: Mister Rabbit and Your Uncle Demon are shocked to see their Gifts being used by the Shopkeeper.]

"I…

…I can explain."