Ryu stared up at the roof of the Hostess of Fertility, her mind distracted as she was washes dishes in the pleasantly warm water. It helped ease the aching she felt from the pain she had dealt with during the death march she had with Bell... her Hero.
A flash of danger whipped towards her, but she was too distracted to react as a meaty hand slapped in the back of the head. It didn't hurt luckily, but it did stun her for a second. "When you finally finish with dishes, come talk with me outside."
"Of course, Mama." Ryu stood for a brief second in silence. With a sharp shake of her head, she returned to the dishes she had been working on.
Not more than 10 minutes later, she placed that last plate on a wooden drying rack, 'Time to face the music.' She already knew what to expect, but that didn't make it any easier.
With a deep breath she made her exit out the back door, Mia stood looking at the sky. Ryu noticed a small white dove flying far in the clear blue sky. "You wanted to talk." Ryu asked, trying her best to hide her hesitance.
"Yes." Mia easily picked up the worry and hesitance, sighed slightly and spoke softly. "What am I going to do with you?"
"Mama." Ryu didn't get a chance to reply as Mia's muscled arm raised and held her hand palm outward to stop the elf from speaking.
"Tell me Ryu, what is it you want to do?" Mia waited a few seconds, but Ryu didn't answer. "I know why you keep disappearing, you just got out of the hospital five days ago. So I will ask again, and I want an answer. 'What is it You want to do?'" Placing extra emphasis on You.
Ryu's mind raced the entire time Mama Mia had been speaking 'What is it I want to do?' She asked herself. Mia noticing the self-introspection Ryu was in and let her think for nearly a full minute before Ryu spoke up again. "I don't have an exact answer to your question, there are several."
"Good, that's good. You always need something to push you." Mia spoke, more like her namesake of Mama. "For the last six months you have changed and grown so much. I almost don't recognize you when compared to the broken elf Syr picked up in an alley all those years ago."
Ryu nodded, "For the longest time, I had lost myself. My drive to grow and change. I knew that was terrible, but I couldn't change. But now things are different, I know what I want to do in the future."
Mia nodded with a soft smile; Ryu continued. "I want to help the people of the city again; I want to embody the justice my goddess represents. I want to live free from the cage I put myself in, and..." Ryu could feel her ears begin to burn as she finished, "I want to be there and support my hero, just as he rescued me from myself."
Mia couldn't help but let a large grin crack her already smiling face, "Good, get out of here and be free, just like the Gale that you represented. But remember, while you are a terrible waitress, you will always have a home here, even if it doesn't work out."
Ryu could feel her emotions bubbling up from deep within her heart, before she could stop herself, her own surprise far out stripped the woman standing in front of her. Ryu hugged Mama Mia tightly, "Thank you Mama."
Mia for the first time in forever was stunned silent, but Ryu dashed off before she could act. Mia stared up at the sky again, noticing the dove had a partner that was swooping around the other. Mia sighed softly; she could tell in a month the temperature would begin to shift towards having a bite in the air.
Ryu dashed away, more out of embarrassment than anything else. But she would be lying if she said she wasn't excited for what the future holds. She nearly threw the door to her small room open, glancing around quickly before quickly getting changed out of her waitress uniform.
Ryu glanced at her frame in a mirror that was present, she could feel a hint of warmth radiating from her status that was hidden away.
It took several minutes to find the specific outfit she had been looking for, her room was immaculate, but it had been so long since Syr gave her it. With a small smile she began to put the outfit on.
It was the nicest thing she had to wear, she wanted to make a positive impression. It was a strapless dress top, the same sky blue as her eyes, with a set of white shorts. To top it off was the knee-high white boots. She looked down at her own figure, a soft smile caught on her lips. She looked around the room, the small room she had spent the last several years living in. "Thank you." She silently whispered, she turned and re-opened the door leading to the hall.
She slowly moved down the well cared for wooden hall, she could hear footsteps racing up from the main floor. Only one person would be approaching at a volume easily hearable with her enhanced senses. Syr quickly turned the corner and rushed Ryu wrapping her in a tight hug. "So is it true then? You're leaving us?"
The ever-emotional girl's eyes were filled with tears. "I'll be back one way or another, it might be to eat, or I might be returning and working again. It's too soon to be sure." Ryu awkwardly patted the back of Syr's head.
"Good! I don't want to imagine a life without you!" Syr pulled away with a mischievous smile despite the tears in her eyes, "But tell Bell I miss him as well."
Ryu's ears nearly burst into flame with how quickly they turned red. "W...Why do you think that's where I am going?"
Syr giggled quietly, "It's pretty obvious, especially after the show you put on when you learned Bell was alright. You fully flashed him; I don't know who was more stunned and embarrassed."
The memory of what happened nearly caused Ryu to pass out from embarrassment. It took a few seconds, but Syr continued before Ryu could actually pass out. "I guess that means we are rivals. Though to be honest I doubt I stand much of a chance against you, but I refuse to give up!"
Ryu noticed the intensity in the way Syr was speaking, it wasn't a joke to her friend. After taking a deep steadying breath, "Rivals? Maybe, but you shouldn't count yourself short. I promise that I will visit as much as I can." Giving Syr another hug, she made her way down the wooden stairs all the while Syr kept pushing and asking questions. Ryu did her best to answer politely but ignored most of them.
The entire staff greeted Ryu at the bottom, after some small talk and a few tears shed from the other employees she fully exited the Hostess taking an extremely deep breath of fresh air. She began to move swiftly towards her goal, the Hearth Manor.
.
.
.
Ryu was pacing, to more exact she was pacing in an empty park nearly a mile away from her goal, there were several white stone benches, and a handful of trees spotted around it, but it was completely silent otherwise. She had taken an exaggerated curve around her goal, taking the time to clear her mind and think about how to approach the familia home. "How am I going to do this, why are you so useless?" She continued to pace in self-recrimination. "I'm nervous? Are they going to accept me? I'm sure they would but would Lady Hestia?" She paced back and forth completely absorbed in her own thoughts; she didn't even notice a voice calling out to her. "Bell, how should I approach?"
"Umm Ryu, do you have a minute to talk?" A voice asked with a soft cough.
Ryu let out a startled shriek, without a second to process what she was doing reacting on pure instinct, she swiped her hand towards the voice. The edge of her hand chopped into the side of Bell's head knocking him out cold. "Bell!"
X
It had taken a great deal of convincing, but Bell eventually gained the permission of his goddess, Bell left the Hearth Mansion looking forward to talking with the elf that had saved his life many times over. Cutting through the many side streets, it would be significantly faster than following the main roads. Besides Bell was a high level 4, it was easy for him to navigate the smaller streets faster. Turning left and right, a few people called out his name in cheer, most likely from the battle with Asterius that blew through sections of the city. His popularity had risen even more than the War Games against Apollo familia.
'I don't think I will ever get used to the attention these events seem to bring.' Bell couldn't help but sigh with those amused thoughts, allowing his mind to slip between the events that had all happened so quickly after managing to join a familia.
He slipped from the side street onto the main street, almost fully on autopilot. The mass of people nearly quadrupled at the connection, but he ignored it and continued to move towards his goal. The Hostess of Fertility was only a short distance away. He could see the all too familiar wooden building in the distance.
.
.
.
Bell couldn't help but feel nostalgic approaching the familiar building, despite seeing it so often. He entered only seeing the slim black-haired cat person. "Sorry, but is Ryu available?"
"I'm sorry but you just missed her, meow, she decided to up and quit on us." With an exasperated sigh, "Though if you move quickly, you might just catch her." She winked seductively, "Though if things don't work out, I'll always be available."
'I have to find her quickly; I hope everything is alright.' Bell thought quickly, completely ignoring the last comment from Chloe. "Thank you." He gave a slight bow and pushed out the doors.
Bell jumped with as much might as he could muster and managed to land onto the roof of the building next to the Hostess. He didn't expect to see her and he was right, 'Right, time to ask around to see if anybody noticed her.' Bell thought, bracing himself as he landed in an alley.
Several minutes passed as he had asked several people, but nobody had seen a person matching Ryu's description. He glanced around and began to dash around this portion of Orario.
.
.
.
He had spent almost 45 minutes looking, when finally, he found a small, secluded park. He noticed a beautiful elf walking in circles, it took a second before he realized it was Ryu. She was wearing an outfit he had never seen, barely taking a second, he moved quietly calling out her name.
No answer.
Bell could hear Ryu muttering "I'm sure they would but what about Lady Hestia?" He continued to approach but still no response to her calling out slightly louder. "Bell, how should I approach?"
He coughed and spoke clearly and loudly, "Umm Ryu, do you have a moment to talk?" Then it happened he heard Ryu release a startled shriek. He would have thought it adorable, but it was overwritten by the pain of being chopped across the side of the head. Then nothing.
X
"Oh gods, why did I have to do that, and to Bell of all people!?" Ryu would be lying if she said she hadn't panicked at the sight of Bell crumpled on the grass.
Kneeling down, she shook Bell in an attempt to wake her hero up. 'What do I do now?' Her mind was racing before a memory emerged, one of Syr telling her a secret. She hastily looked to the left and right, 'Nobody, good' She easily picked up the dead weight of Bell.
Moving to one of the white stone benches that littered the park, she nodded as if to confirm what she was doing. She laid Bell across the bench, his legs dangled off the edge just slightly. Raising his head she sat and placed them across her thighs, "I'm so glad nobody is here to see this." Ryu whispered; the embarrassment was almost too much for the elven pride at her core.
She quietly waited for Bell to wake up, slowly stroking his pure white hair. Which despite everything that had happened was nearly as soft as fresh powdered snow. Her mind began to wander as she began to enjoy the sensation, despite the embarrassment that caused a heavy blush on her face and ears.
The blush only intensified as she began to remember what had happened between them in the hidden grotto underneath the colosseum on the 37th floor. Them sharing body heat after they had both been soaked from Bell collapsing in the underground stream. "We are going to survive; we will see our friends again." Bell had whispered into her ear, as he held her tightly as tightly as lovers. She knew he was lying, but had decided to just accept his hopeful attitude, that undying faith in the future.
She had always been partial to Bell even before the fight with the Black Goliath on floor 18. She knew he was special when he had first grabbed her hands in gratitude for 'finding' his knife. But it had always been an admiration for his sincerity, an aspect she had lost long ago. But as he faced death over and over as they traveled to an inevitable death, something had changed.
Ten minutes passed, she felt like she was on fire from embarrassment, she realized she had been blankly staring at the peaceful face of Bell for a while, ashamed at the emotion that pushed her, even as her elven pride roared in defiance. She slowly began to lean forward afraid of what might happen if his ruby eyes opened. Deep down she wanted to know a simple feeling, but it was all the more powerful because of how simple of a feeling it should be.
Her lips were only half an inch away from Bell's own, when he twitched in his unconscious state. The sudden movement brought Ryu to her senses, "Why... Why did I almost lose control?" She knew the answer but still, the idea of what she was about to do weighed heavily on her. "At least he is still unconscious, that's some mercy at least." In her mind she could see Bell never growing closer when he learned she had possibly stolen his first kiss. She knew that was a ridiculous notion, but it proved to be more than enough to distract her.
After another five minutes she could see Bell's eyes begin to crack open, the ruby nature poking through the crack. "R...Ryu?" He could've sworn he was seeing things in his current state.
"Yes?" Was all Ryu managed between the embarrassment and the horror she had imagined.
Bell jolted to full alertness as soon as he realized he was resting on Ryu's lap, she was even playing with his hair. "I'm Sorry!" he was about to bolt upwards but was stopped by a firm hand on his chest. It clearly told him not to.
"Why are you apologizing? I should be the one to say sorry. I was the one who struck without any warning." Feeling slightly ashamed she glanced towards the sky a small cloud had drifted to block the sun from them.
"I'm glad you seem to be alright. I had stopped by the Hostess to talk to you, but Chloe had said you quit. I had been worried that something terrible had happened." Bell could only be honest with the elf, after all he trusted her more than almost everybody he knew. "To be completely honest I was looking for you because there is something I wanted to ask you with Goddess's permission."
Ryu was happy that he seemed to be relaxed in her presence, it hadn't escaped her notice that he hadn't been using any 'Miss' or anything of that nature. "Chloe had exaggerated greatly, but feel free to ask. I have a question to ask in response."
He could see the blush on Ryu's face and sat up trying to alleviate the embarrassment they both had been feeling. Bell had realized something, as he had laid there. It felt different compared to when Aiz had done something similar. It had felt stiff and formal almost, he had thought that was because he was being knocked unconscious beforehand. It felt different this time around, he couldn't place his finger on why.
Taking a deep breath, in a vain attempt to calm his now racing heart. "Sorry, yes..." He hesitated before pushing forward, "I had wanted to ask if you would join our familia, I... we won't push you. But you have helped our small familia so much that I feel honestly embarrassed asking. I got Goddess permission to ask you." Bell scratched the back of his head, a habit he had long picked up when he wasn't sure what to do.
He glanced over and saw a sparkle of excitement in the sky-blue eyes. He could see a small tear forming in her eye, but she blinked, and it was nearly gone. Just the slightest glisten remained.
Doing something she never would do normally, but seemed to be the action of the day, she hugged Bell tightly and said "Yes. I was planning to ask to join, even if I would be only a hired outsider. Even if I couldn't get my status updated, I wanted to ask if you all would accept me." She had been nervous all afternoon about how to approach the topic.
"I... we would love to have you as a full member. I know everyone should accept you readily, it would be surprising if they didn't." He patted the elf's head and pulled away slightly and smiled.
Ryu was lost in the smile for a second before returning to her own soft smile.
He stood and held out a hand, she accepted and stood herself. "You know, I was right."
"About what?" Ryu asked curiously, she tilted her head in slight confusion.
"Remember I had told you outside the Casino, that I thought you would look beautiful in a dress. I was right, the outfit isn't a dress but it's close enough for me to know my guess was right." Bell blushed again, as he finished.
"I'm surprised you can say something like that, Bell." Ryu blushed and could only think to herself, 'I doubt I would be attractive to someone like Bell. I wonder why he would think that.'
"I do mean it, you already know that I am a terrible liar. After everything we have been through it doesn't feel wrong to say that. Before we head home, I should tell you that you are truly a beautiful person, Ryu, no matter what you or others might think." Bell's expression left no room for doubt.
'Perhaps someday that might be true.' Ryu thought, "I believe it would be a good idea to head to your familia home." Ryu felt elated, like she was on a cloud. 'I think I might be happier than even when I had Astraea here, what would her and Alise think if they saw me now?
"I have to correct you Ryu," She turned to face Bell as he continued to speak, "Our familia home, even if you don't have Goddess Hestia's blessing you are a member of the familia."