Hes not my friend

[blueayes]

The sound of water drops falling seemed to echo inside the restaurant, it was strange considering that it sounded like if a single drop of water fell.

Drip, drip, drip.

We looked at each other, the man behind the counter looked at Aqua and the office lady with the red hair looked at me.

"Dear customer, please don't bother the rest of the customers, some people come here for their lunch break, so they will be in trouble if they go back to work and find out they returned late.

Aqua looked at them with an annoyed expression, I could see her tightening her hands that had been long since turned into fists. I looked at her and watched as she exhaled.

"I'll let you go if you tell me who you are and hat you're doing here, it's not the first time we run into a demon and someone that shouldn't be around people." Aqua said to them.

The two looked at each other and the woman gave a step forward.

"My name is Emi Yusa and I'm the Hero of Ente Isla and I'm here to keep an eye on that one over there" the red-headed woman said to Aqua as she pointed at the man behind the counter.

The man had suddenly hidden his eyes underneath his Mc. Ronald's hat and seeing him with the top half of his head covered vaguely reminded me of another demon that I had known in the past.

"Greetings heroes I am Sado Maou and I'm the Demon King of another world." the man said and I watched Aqua vanish from her seat, in less than a blink of an eye, she was on top of the counter.

"Aqua leave him alone, don't you remember what happened with Wiz and Vanir, besides if he was evil, then the hero would have killed him already." I said to Aqua who was getting ready to hit the man.

Aqua looked at him and slowly jumped off the counter, she lifted her hand and with a wide smile, she stood in front of the hero and the demon king.

"Kneel and wonder at my beauty, thank your lucky stars for the Goddes Aqua stands before you." she said to hem, both the hero and the demon king looked at each other not knowing what to do.

I got up and walked next to Aqua. "Hellow I'm Sato Kazuma, I'm a summoned Hero too, I guess I'm not the only one that managed to come=back. .....So have either of you met anyone else that's managed to come back?" I asked them.

The man coughed. "Yeah so can you drop your barrier, I meant what I said earlier" he said to Aqua who just snapped her fingers and immediately the sound of water dripping inside a hollow room vanished.

"Your friend should be careful, this world won't allow her to use her magic just because she wats to" Emi said to me.

I just smiled "Shell be okay, she may not look like it but she's really the Goddes Aqua"

"You shouldn't joke about that" she said to me her eyes now hardening.

"My those are some scary looking eyes, miss please be careful you might make me detect you as an enemy." I said to her before placing my hand on her shoulder and saying.

"Drain touch" Imedeiatly her strength began t leave her body and she was soon on the verge of falling to her knees.

Aqua just looked at the Demon King waiting for him to do anything, but he never moved he just looked at us.

"Kazuma lets go home, looks like they really just want to live their lives," Aqua said to me before walking back to the table and starting to eat the burgers again.

I looked at Emi and returned to her the energy I had taken and I added some as an apology.

Neither of us said anything, we just ate until we were full and when we couldn't finish the rest of the burgers, we decided to take them home and eat them later.

As we walked home we found ourselves passing by an old electronics store, the things they sold were used, but in working conditions, immediately Aqua ran inside before coming back out carrying a microwave.

She looked at me and she looked down at the microwave, I was about to walk away from her but she looked like if she was about to cry, I soon found myself walking home as I carried the microwave and Aqua carried the rest of the burgers, in her hands.

We reached our apartment and found kids playing the moment Aqua opened the door, they waved at her and ran up to her, she immediately gave them a burger each and I walked past her.

I could hear women whispering to themselves as Aqua waved at them and I was thankful I managed to plug the microwave without ever having dropped the thing even once, when I was walking back home.

I don't know why, but the moment biiip, sound reached both Aqua's ears and mine, we both looked at each other and smiled, all of a sudden we were the owners of two mattresses, two lawn chairs, some cloths, a refrigerator, a television and a semi-new microwave.

I looked at Aua on last time before she went to her room, she smiled at me happily, we once live in a mansion, we never had servants or anything like that but we once had beds, furniture and food was never an issue.

As I watched her walk away I couldn't help but wonder if she was really okay with living like this, it was an upgrade from living in the stables with the animals and working for just enough to pay the rent for being allowed to use the stables and having enough left to buy some food.

"One thing at a time" I said as her door closed and I was left alone, for a moment my mind drifted to my parents, but it was only for a moment after that I went to my room and got some sleep.

 

[blueayes]

Kazuma blew into his hands as he tried to stay warm, the knights and the adventurers had dug in and the night had been cruel, the monsters were everywhere and for the first time ever since he had come to this world he was completely alone, sure there were knights and adventures, but no one whose skills he knew he could truly trust in.

When they arrived here, the smell of cinnamon lingered in the air and the men and women talking to one another without a care in the world, that seemed so far away now, despite just being a few hours earlier.

No one dared to look up, every time someone so much as moved slightly above their hole in the ground or beyond whatever they were hiding behind, the monsters would fire multiple attacks, preventing any true defenses from being used.

That thought alone made him smile, Megumi was already chanting, Darkness had long since reached her position and Aqua was helping out the healers, the moment he gave the order, everyone would attack.

The attacks were getting closer, each fireball or whatever curse seemed to get closer by the moment, hat meant one thing, the monsters were moving.

Everything hanged by a thread, one second to fast and the enemy retreats, one second too late and they would be on the defensive instead of the offensive and they would lose their advantage.

The sound of dirt being crushed reached his ears.

"Now!" he screamed.

"Explosion" Megimin screamed as she released her only spell, mana spun in the air and made it seem like it was bright daylight.

Then the world shook as the magic bomb detonated killing all of the monsters.

"Charge!" screamed the knight captain, and with roars, that seemed to equal the monster's own, the adventurers and the knights abandoned their hiding spots and attacked.

The dust, smoke, made it impossible to see, and it was only because of his skills that he was even alive, not even three seconds and he had already had to dodge an arrow aimed at his chest, a magic ice pick that came out of the ground and fire that was aimed directly at him.

"Kazuma, Kazuma" he could hear Aqua calling out to him, even as she used her magic to heal the adventurers that were already on the ground.

"Kazuma, wake up we're going to be late and I hate running up that hill, really when are you going to buy a car"

"Kazuma, Kazuma" Aqua called out to him and he opened his eyes.

There she was just like yesterday, she didn't abandon him like his parents, he wasn't forced to leave her like he had left darkness and Megumi, no she was standing over him with a smiling face.

"You know we're both too young to drive, besides where would you even park it." he answered her, before getting up and realizing that the sun had already been up.

"Crap!" he screamed before jumping to his feet and putting on his pants and quickly putting on his shirt, there was no time to take a bath, he turned to look at Aqua and she shoved a burger in his mouth.

"We can eat lunch at school, now hurry" she said to him even as she shewed her breakfast.

He put on his shoes and they ran out the door, of course, they had to lock it first and then they ran out of their apartment.

"Morning, morning, morning" Awqua greeted all of the neighbors as they passed them, some were women returning from walking their children to kindergarten, others were just leaving, some were even men that had their food in their mouths and only carried thick gloves and hot coffee.

They ran to the bus stop, and wished the thing would hurry up, as they waited they watched a black car stop nearby and they both watched as Yukino stepped out, she walked to a nearby bus sign that showed the routs, she wrote something down and immediately left.

Kazuma looked at Aqua and by the way she looked at him, they both had the same thought, they should have asked her for a ride.

Finally, the bus arrived and they were running late, not as late as usual, but they were still running behind, it was a good thing the bus didn't make any more stops until they reached the school.

"Run!" Aqua screamed as she watched the last of the student walking past the curve that led to the school.

This time there were no other people, this time, it was just him and Aqua, they ran as fast as they could and like usual, they jumped the gate.

"Waite" they heard someone scream and they noticed it was Hikigaya, with him was Kodaka, immediately both he and Aqua reached and pulled Hikigaya over the wall and jumped.

"This is our thing now, you guys know that right" Kodaka said to them as they tried to get some breath.

Kazuma turned to walk into the building and the door was blocked, no it was already closed, meaning that it was locked.

"Backdoor" Kodaka said, and without questioning his words they all ran, there would be no running up the stairs, they had to climb, the main stairs are easy, but the back ones that look like some made man had his fun making them.

Ever seen those horrors or the action movies where a person looks down and they can roles upon roles of stairs, yeah it's exactly like that, the reason is simple, the rich side meets with the commoner's side there and their side of the school is a whole lot bigger than the one he was attending.

Kazuma smiled the back door wasn't closed, unfortunately, the wealthier side of the school made things a lot more complicated, it was usually, jump one floor to another and another and boom, run down the hall ad make it to class.

Now, not so much, there was no way of knowing which was the second and third floor, the rich side of the school is another building and its layout is completely different.

"What mnow?"Kodaka said to them.

"We jump to the third floor and if it turns out to be the second floor at least we can still"

"Less talking more jumping" Aqua cut him off.

Why dint they just run up the stairs, that took to long and it made them a lot more tired then they had to be, the moment he jumped onto the second floor, Kazuma know just how different the schools were, it looked like if there were five more floors beneath them already, and even the floor looked nicer than ......you know what that was for later.

They made it to the third floor, and they ran into the hallway, unfortunately, there was no exit to the other building and so they were forced to run up the stairs.

Luck was on their side and they found out they were on the fourth floor, thankfully all they had to do was run.

They ran as fast as they could, somewhere along the way Kodaka had separated and they jumped down the stairs, while Hikigaya ran down the stairs, unfortunately, the classroom door was locked, they were late and were forced to wait in the hallway.

 

[blueayes]

The three of them stood in the hallway, their backs were turned to the classroom, Aqua began to hmmm to herself, and Kazuma couldn't help but let a smile form on his face.

"Hmmm, hmmm, hmm" she hummed to herself, and she turned to look at him, Kazuma couldn't help but join her.

"Hmmm, hmmm, hmmm" they both hummed to themselves before they turned to look at Hikigaya.

The boy was just looking at the empty hallway before realizing that they were looking at him. His black eyes met theirs and for a brief moment they stopped humming, then he began to hum.

"Hmmm, hmmm, hmm" "Hmmm, hmm, hmm" "Hmmm, hmmm, hmm" the three of them began to move their voices until they had some sort of rhythm going.

Slowly they began to tilt their heads left then right, then left again and without saying a word they moved their feet let, right, left, wherever their heads moved so would their feet.

Before they knew it they were already dancing somewhere along the way Aqua bean to raise her voice and the three of them jumped, it wasn't particularly loud but it was enough for them to notice it.

The door they were finally allowed in, as they walked in Kazuma noticed that everyone's eyes were on them, but still, no one said a word to them, the class war boring none of it was any useful he had done business before and he knew that even if math was good, it was nothing unless the person was skilled in manipulating the buyer.

The same went if he was the one buying something, it barely worked if he was buying one pair of pants or something like that but as the amount grew so did the skill needed.

Vanir taught him that, a person could make a bag of gold if he was patient enough, he had once seen the devil pike up a rocking trade it for something else and move up from there.

Unfortunately, Wiz spent all of the money in buying a coffee machine that didn't use water, it made coffee, just not berry good coffee.

He turned to look at Aqua and she was busy drawing something on her notebook, he couldn't help but smile, right in front of him was a way to make lots of money and not have to put a lot of effort in it and best of all he had someone to draw the images for him.

He took out his pen and began writing, he completely forgot about class and just kept on writing, all the way until the lunch bell rang, like the day before the went to the cafeteria, Hachiman brought his lunch but actually decided to follow them.

He juts ignored the pepperoni pizza and milk he had and wrote everything he could think of, he ignored everyone and everything until he had written down nearly a hundred pages or what felt like a hundred pages.

The bell rang and he followed Aqua out the door, but he didn't go straight home, no instead he went to the back stairs, the things were as strange as the first time he had seen them, but they led to the one place he knew had what could help him.

the hallway to the rich side of the school was completely different, it didn't matter which floor he was on he would just as a teacher for what he wanted, luckily for him he found the writing class, inside it was a familiar-looking man.

The one that had scared everyone when he and Aqua had just arrived, in all honesty, Kazuma was going to leave but the man saw him through the window and waved at him to go inside.

"Yes" he said to him.

"Hie, I was hoping that the teacher here could help me find someone to publish this." he said to the man as he showed him the stack of papers he had written down.

"Show me" the man said to him, his eyes were as cold as ice, and without a word he somehow made Kazuma know that refusal was not an option.

He began t read everything, page by page, front and back until he looked Kazuma in the eyes when these are printed, they will be at best fifteen, maybe thirty pages. I'll make a call to a friend of min, get yourself a lawyer."

"I'' call for you when he arrives, now we're busy here" the man said to him as he handed back to him the stack of papers, Kazuma was about to leave when the man called out to him one last time.

"Does it have a title?"

Kazuma just smiled Yes "Gifting this wonderful world with blessings"

The man just shook his head and went back to talking with the other man inside the room, Aqua snatched the papers from his hands and began to read them, she read them as they walked down the hallway and scratched some words before writing down others.

They ha finally found a way out of the building and back to the one they used when she handed them back to him, TrashZuma, Kazuskum were just some of the few words she had replaced.

"You just made yourself look good, write it as it happened and make it fun, didn't you have fun when we were all together, well why not write it that way" she said to him.


Kazuma looked at the papers in front of him who would believe that the Holy Crusader was a Masochist, that the Adventurers party hardly ever left their home town and the hometown was the beginners town, their mage could only use one spell, the same spell would make her a drag on the team and the Holy Goddess caused more problems.

........He looked at Aqua. "You know what your right.

"So want to go see Hachiman at his club or do you want to go home?" he asked her.

"It's boring just staying at home all day, so let's be bored with those two, that way we can see them grow closer to each other and start a highschool romance," Aqua said yo him, she was acting like if Yukino and Hachiman actually got along.

[Character change Hikigaya Hachiman]

 

[blueayes]

Kazuma stopped walking and looked at Aqua.

"Listen Aqua, do you want to go with me" Kazuma said to Aqua.

Aqua stopped walking and looked at Kazuma, the smile she had on her face suddenly dropped and she looked at Kazuma with a worried expression, she didn't need him to tell her where he wanted to go she already knew.

"You know I will" she said to him, before the two of them turned around and headed to the exit of the school.

Hachiman and Yukino watched the two and the two of them had to admit that neither of them ever expected to see an interaction like the one they had seen between Kazuma and Aqua.

To most onlookers, the two would have just have had a conversation, but the two were able to tell that n those few words exchanged between the two, a lot more things were unsaid, yet they were louder than the words themselves.

Kazuma had a worried expression, but Aqua's eyes looked sad and yet they seemed understanding, like someone that knew what the person in front of her was going threw and tried to comfort him the best she could.

Her smile was different from her usual one, instead of bright and full of joy, it was soft and gave off a feeling of warmth.

Hachiman didn't say anything but Yukino immediately walked past him and began to follow both Aqua and Kazuma before they were completely out of sight.

He didn't know why but his feet began to move on their own and he soon found himself running after Yukino, they followed Kazuma the two and got on the same bus as the two of them, thankfully they could get on the bus without having to use the front door, unfortunately for him, he was forced to pay for Yukino's ride on the bus, because she didn't have a bus pass.

They passed the shopping district and then the smaller more dangerous shopping district where all of the old apartments are located.

This part of the city was dangerous during the night, there were always people walking around during the day, but everyone knew that if they were walking alone they should always be on guard in that area.

They stayed on the bus for what felt like hours, nither aqua nor Kazuma said anything during the entire time, however, he watched as Aqua placed her head on Kazumas shoulder, finally stopped on the edge of the city.

Hachiman had to admit the air here was cooler and cleaner than the one he was used to, but he also had to admit he would get bored here, there was nothing to do, on one side it was nothing but farmland on the other, houses and that was it.

Nither Kazuma nor Aqua even paid attention to them, they just looked straight ahead and walked straight into the nearby town, Kazuma walked up to a simple white house, it wasn't any different from many of the others around it, he took out a key from his pocket and he opened the door.

Yukino and himself watched as Aqua stood at the entrance to the house, but she never went inside, after ten minutes Kazuma walked back out however he was now carrying a suitcase.

He later lacked the door took out an envelope and put the key inside it before he closed it and placed it inside the mailbox.

"Kazuma" a woman said and Kazuma and Aqua immediately stopped walking as they were about to leave the house behind.

The woman was thin, but not skinny, she had long brown hair and light green eyes, with her was a muscular man that had blue eyes and short brown hair, his face was locked in a permanent frown, while the woman had a sad expression.

Kazuma and Aqua both turned and met the two, but the moment the two elder couple turned to look at Aqua, Aqua immediately gave a step back, however, Kazuma walked in front of her it was like he was trying to shield her from them.

"Are you going to put your foot down and spend your life with her!?" the man said to Kazuma his eyes focused on Kazuma's.

"Yes" Kazuma answered the man his voice carried a strength behind it that Hachiman didn't ever expect for him to have, it sent a chill down his spine and he wouldn't be surprised if he had goosebumps.

The woman began to cry and covered her mouth with her face.

"If you're going to spend the rest of your life with my son" the woman began to say but Aqua stepped aside and walked next to Kazuma, she lowered her head and the woman just stepped forward.

He turned to look at Yukino, there wasn't anything for them to do here and in all honesty they shouldn't even be here, to begin with, but when he turned around to look at her he saw her sobbing.

She had her hands over her mouth as she tried no hold back any sound she might have made.

Hachiman didn't say anything to her, he knew better, this wasn't normal, maybe something was going on in her life and seeing this made those repressed feelings come out.

That or she enjoyed drama, and if it was the later he wouldn't be surprised to see her at the movies looking at a drama or some sort of love movie.

Yukino and looked at him and she did her best to recover before she turned around and began to walk back to the bus stop, considering that there were two bus stops and both only had one bus on them it would be a while before they both made it home.

Unfortunately, the bus took half an hour to make its way back to the city, they didn't bother staying to see what had happened between Kazuma and his family.

Yukino called her someone on her phone and she was immediately picked up the moment they made it back to their stop.

He was alone with his thoughts, he had seen something he shouldn't have and would have never even suspected, had he not followed the to, Aqua and Kazuma were completely different from everyone around them.

Aqua always had a smile on her face even if he heard her say strange things from time to time, she was usually honest about everything, Kazuma was the same, they were different from himself and the people around them.

To think that Kazuma and Aqua didn't speak to Kazuma's parents and from what he gathered just from what he had seen, Kazuma's parents were against their son marrying Aqua and so the two of them eloped.

He stopped when he finally made it to his house, he stood here for a moment and wondered if, if he was ever in the same situation would he be able to make the same smiling face as the two of them, the second thought was he hoped she wouldn't be too angry at him.

The moment he touched the door, it swung open and he was met with the angry face of his little sister.

"Foods on the table, call me next time your late" she said to him, he noticed that there were tears on the edges of her eyes.

This entire time it felt like if he was looking at the world like a specktator, he stretched out his hand

"I'm sorry" I said to her, as I patted her head and tried to calm her dorn, she puffed her cheeks and ran to the table, I immediately noticed that she hadn't eaten either and that her food was cold.

I didn't say anything I just took her plate and put it in the microwave, I really am a terrible brother for making her worry.

 

[blueayes]

[Point of view change]
We walked into the apartment, it was old and in a bad part of town, yet the two of them walked in without a care in the world.

I can feel myself trembling because of how dark the edges of the stairs are, it's almost like someone could be hiding there, yet neither Kazuma and his wife seem to care too much for it.

A muscular man walks past us, we move aside to let him pass, my husband's muscular body makes it difficult for the man to pass and the two share a look, like if they were seeing if the person in front of them is a threat.

The man is covered in scars and for some reason, his clothes make him look even more frightening even though he's only wearing a white t-shirt and black pants.

"Kazuma a redhead was looking for you, she said her name was Emi or Emilia anyway there was a guy with her he said his name was Mao"The man said to Kazuma before walking out the door.

He didn't shake and he's not afraid......"When did my son become a completely different person"

I don't know how to react to this I hope his dad can give me some comfort, but I can see that despite keeping his usual face there's a level of confusion in his eyes, hat no one can see unless they spend enough time with him.

I can hear the soft sound of music playing even though we haven't reached their apartment floor, that only means that the music is loud enough to be heard down to the first floor.

Thankfully their apartment is on the second floor and even before we step into the hallway, I feel like I've entered another world.

Children are running around despite it being so late, elder men are gambling with each other and women are talking to each other.

the children all run up to Aqua and wave at Kazuma, the elders look at me and my husband with a suspicious gaze, but when they look at my son's wife it's completely different, it's by no means kind but it's not hostile either.

"Miss Aqua, I'm glad to see you, that remedy you gave me worked like a charm" A woman said to Aqua as she walked down the hall.

"I was sure that nothing could help me with my upset stomach all of the medicins the doctors gave me only made it worse or didn't work, please you have to come one day and join us for lunch" she said to Aqua.

I can see a smile form on Aqua's face, I suddenly feel small, shes giving a genuine smile even as she takes the other woman's hand and shakes it.

"Thank you just say the day, but I have to warn you Kazuma eats a lot" Aqua answered the woman and the other woman just moves her head slightly to the left with a playful smile and the two begin to laugh.

As we walk past the woman I can see a man sitting on the floor and with him are three children eating on a small table.

We finally reached their apartment and it's near the end of the hallway there are only three other rooms before the end of the hallway, for some reason I can feel my heartbeat begin to speed up and I know that my heart wants to run away.

I'm afraid, not because of the apartment but because of what it means.

"This is it, my son's gone, she's the one that's going to be at his side and....No it was going to happen anyway..." I say tomyself and despite the words never leaving my mouth, I can feel my husband's hand on my shoulder as he tries to comfort me.

Kazuma opens the door and we all step inside, the apartment is old but the paint looks new, almost as if someone had painted it before Kazuma nad Aqua moved in.

It's mostly empty, I'm not surprised about that, no what I'm surprised about is that there's a tv here, a refrigerator, and a microwave.

The refrigerator could have been lent to them by the owner of the apartment, but the microwave and the television costed money, money Kazuma didn't have, he would have spent it all when he rented the apartment.

"Youll need a table, something to give the guest a place to look at when they sit on the couch" I heard my husband to Kazuma.

"I was thinking of letting it empty and putting a carpet on the floor, you know so the kids don't get splinters on the wood when their playing on the floor" Kazuma answered his dad.

"Gasp" I covered my mouth as fast as I could.

"Kazuma, children playing" I need to sit down but there's no place to sit down.

"Kazuma we still have plenty of time look your dad's eyes are getting bigger" Aqua said to Kazuma and she placed a lawn chair in front of my husband and placed one in front of me.

"Please sit down, we still have to buy a couch and a lot of things but for now this will have to do, plus the chairs are comfortable" Aqua said to us.

I can see why Kazuma fell for her, not only does she have a good figure but she is surprisingly nice and from what little I have seen she is very socially versed, so much so that even shady people like these are willing to let down their guards around her.

The moment my bottom touches the chair, I feel my breath calm itsself.

"These are comfy chairs" I said to them I can feel myself smiling.

"I know right, we weren't going to buy them, but I managed to get them cheap because the man that was selling them lowered the price" Aqua said to me as she sat down on the floor.

"By the way, Kazuma how much do you pay for rent, some of the kids from your old school are going to move here after they graduate, so."

"I don't know, I bought the apartment" Kazuma answered his dad.

We both looked at Kazumaand both him and Aqua looked at each other, trying to see if they had said something wrong, but after a moment they both turned to look at us again.

"Dad, I bought this place."

"Remember all those games I played, I sold all of the items I had and there was enough to pay for the apartment, the kitchen, the bathroom, the living room, and the two rooms are mine" Kazuma said to us and despite his words being directed at his dad neither of us sid anything.

"....I see, stand up"

Kazuma did what his father said and the two looked at one another, his father still towered over him.

"Your a man now, but remember that if you need help you can come to me. I don't know how you two met but......You made your choice, both of you have."

"If you need help finding a job, I can talk to some friends of mine"

I want to say something, but I cant this is their moment, they're shaking hands, somehow I know that his father has acknowledged Kazuma's independence.

He sees him as a man now.

"Aqua, my son... his clumsy, says a lot of things, a lot of things easily trouble him and he's not very sociable, but he's a good person and......please take good care of him" I said to Aqua and the woman's eyes seemed to sparkle.

"I know, he's loud, says a lot of mean things without caring about who he hurts and immediately regrets what he says, but he's the most reliable person I know, I can give him something no one else can do and Kazuma will make it happen"

He's always been there for me when no one else was and I've been there for him"

"I can't believe what I'm hearing, I would have known if someone like her lived in my towm, waite"

"Aqua do you know Kazuma through the internet?" I ask her and I'm afraid of the answer

"No, I lived somewhere else, but here in the city, he used to sell some of his old games and use the money to buy new ones. We messaged each other from time to time but, we usually met when he visited me" Aqua said to me and Cant help but let out a breath of relief.

"We have to get home" My husband says to Kazuma as he gets up from his seat.

"Please stay or the night, it gets dangerous in this part of town" Aua said to us as she opened one of the rooms, the room was empty and I watched as my husband walked in.

"Sure " he said to Aqua, I can see the small smile on his face as I walk in after him.

I can feel the light switch and the moment the lights turn on, I'm shocked to see the walls are clean and the floor doesn't have any dust, its almost as if a company had cleaned the room.

We both played down on the floor and I hear Aqua and Kazuma walk into their room.

"He's changed a lot"

"When did he change?" I answer my husband.

"Who knows, maybe it was when he met her, it doesn't matter anymore, he's made his own nest and he now has his songbird to welcome him home"

'so when are you going to start?"

"Start what?" I asked him.

"You always wanted a daughter, now you have one, so when are you going to start teaching her how to make the food he likes?"

"Go to sleep" I said to him despite the realization that now I have someone to teach how to cook and make all the meals the men in my family like.

"Soon" I said to myself, hoping he didn't hear me, and finally sleep took over despite all of the music playing.

 

[blueayes]

{Kazuma]
I felt the sun touch my skin and I felt Aquas hot breath on my face, this brought back memories, back when we slept together inside that barn all those years ago.

"Kazuma" Aqua said to me in a low voice before she began to come closer and closer to my ear.

"We haven't bought groceries and your parents are still here" she said to me in a whisper.

Suddenly al of the calmness I felt from just waking up disappeared and I completely opened my eyes and I threw the blankets off me, but the moment I opened the door my mom has already had the refrigerator door open and was looking inside.

"We haven't gone to buy groceries" I answered her.

"Well go buy them, we could use some alone time together" my dad said as he put his shoes on.

I looked at him but he never turned to look at me, he just opened the front door and stepped into the hallway.

After I walked out I fund my dad waiting for me near the stairs, the hallway is empty now, none of the music is playing, there aren't any children playing and all of the men that are usually playing games are gone, their all asleep, or at work.

I don't know, today's Saturday after all.

I could hear the echo of my shoes hitting the floor each time I gave a step, it was like if I was walking towards my execution and my dad would be the one to cut off my head.

"Kazuma, since when? since when have you been training?" my dad said to me.

"Dad?" Is aid

"I can feel the strength in your hand, there's no way you would have that unless you were training....show me" he said before he jumped off the second floor and landed on the first floor.

He just stood there looking at me and after a moment, he walked out the main entrance and stood in front of the sidewalk.

I jumped after him and before I completely touched the ground I made my way out the main entrance, I have to rely on the thief skills I learned from Chris.

"Lead the way, but if you can avoid touching the ground do it" My dad said to me.

I know where the grocery store is so I began to run, I can hear my dads footsteps behind me but knowing him, if keep running he's just going to get mad, so the moment I can find a corner on the side of a building I'll have to use it.

The sun is starting to completely come out and I never noticed how cool the morning air was, it's only now that the sun is warming me up that I can tell the difference.

I can see the corner and with all of my strength I run towards the edge and I feel myself lift into the air, it's a good thing I don't have to see where I'm going to land.

The moment I land on the roof I hear my dad land behind me and we both begin to run, roof to roof, building to building until we were across the street from the store.

"Was it because of her?" my dad said to me, and for the first time I can see my dad making a face I never seen him before, he looks confused but sad at the same time.

"Kazuma, an ordinary person wouldn't be able to do what you just did, did you start training because of her?" he asked me.

"Yes, she's stubborn, she gets into trouble easily, and even if she's always smiling people tend to pick on her......Dad" I want to tell him where I've been all these years, but for him, it's only been a few days or weeks.

He stretches his hand and places it on my head, for some reason I always feel so small when he does this.

"I know what you're trying to say, I didn't know what to do either when I married your mom. I began to wonder what would happen if I lost my job and if something were to happen I've never been through before"

"Kazuma, ask me for help when things happen and you can't handle it" he said to me before a small smile formed on his face.

"Let's buy everything before those two kill each other" he said before he jumped off the roof.

 

[blueayes]

[Character change]
We began to unpack Kazuma's clothes, I watched as Aqua began to hang his shirts on one side of the closet and hang the pants om the other side, next to the pants were woman's shirts and next to his shirts there were a few skirts.

"Hmmm, hmmm, hmm" Aqua was humming to herself, she separated Kazuma's cloth by color ad how worn out they were.

I didn't say anything to her, I just reached into my pocket and took out my cellphone, I just stepped out of the room and closed the door behind me.

The phone began to ring and I hear when someone answer.

"Hellow mom, do you know where the old apartment are in the city?" I asked my mother.

"Yes why?" she asked me.

"Kazuma, move out and we need to talk with her" I let my words hang in the air, there was a long pause and the phone hung up.

Almost immediately after my cellphone began to ring."Hellow" I said.

"Oh my god, this is your number, when did he? how does she look like? is she nice? waite don't tell em Ill be over as fast as possible, send me the address" she said to me and I send her my location.

I can't help but smile, I know my mom will bring my husband's mother with her and with them his two grandfathers, we're going to welcome a new member into our family.

A knock on the door caught my attention and I heard Aqua's footsteps before she opened her bedroom door and answered the front door.

Several women stood at the entrance, they all had smiles on their faces and had trays of food with them, they were like hens clucking from what I was able to hear, Aqua had made homemade remedies for them and their illnesses were cured.

The women all said that they didn't need the trays and that Aua should keep them, I could tell that most of the women couldn't afford to pay the hospital bill, as well as pay for the medicins ad pay for everyday expenses.

The women all walked into the apartment and placed their trays on the counter, but none of them said anything bout how empty the apartment was, but I could see that from the corner of their eyes all of the women were looking around.

The moment the women left Aqua closed the door and walked to the kitchen counter, her smile was completely gone now and her once bright eyes had dimmed slightly, they no longer sparked.

She opened a drawer and began to cut one of the trays and used the knife to take a small piece of the food ou and she immediately thought the tray, filled with food.

She kept her eyes focused on the food and moved one aside, one by one she cut each tray and threw another, then another and another tray away, until only two trays of food were left.

I walked up o t the trash and I understood why she did what she did, the trays only had food on top of them underneath was.

Without a word I reached out to her and placed my hand on her head, she turned to look at me and I did the only thing I could, I smiled at her, slowly her eyes began to sparkle once agaimn and her smile returned.

 

[blueayes]

In the outside of the city, four people could be seen running after one another, tot those looking at the four elders they would have seen only the women moving as fast as they could while their husbands took their time walking up to their respective cars.

A young woman no older than fifteen walked up to one pair while a man walked up to the other, the man was accompanied by his wife, while the young woman was accompanied by her father.

Regardless of who they were, however, all four were surprised as to why the elders all seemed so excited and were in such a hurry.

"My grandson has eloped with a girl" one of the men answered the man

"My boy has finally done it, he stole a woman from underneath her parent's eyes and they are now living in the city" the other elder said with a gin as he answered the young woman, who just looked shocked at the man's words.

Without any other words spoken the elders all entered their cars and drove into the city, fully prepared to give their grandson and new grandaughter the talk of how they should handle marriage and they would try to show them that regardless of their issues, they would always be family.

Before the day ended the word would spread all over town and many would wonder who was the fortunate or unfortunate girl who ended up with Kazuma.

[Character cange]
I watched my son as he looked around, I don't know when he grew up, I know that I'm not a good father, if I was then I would have known about his wife, or that he was training, now he's left the nest and has made his own.

I always thought he had given up on life and decided to spend his life playing videogames, now I find that he's earned enough to buy an apartment, that fact alone s proof that I don't know anything about him, more than half the people my age can't even afford to pay their rent, not to mention buy a room that's a third the size of the one he owns.

We stopped walking when we came to the wines, I've never seen my son drink, but he's looking at the bottles like if he's looking for some sort of sign.

"Dad....I'm sorry" Kazuma said to me as he moves from bottle to bottle.

"I know I made you and mom worry...." he said to me as he tried to find the words, but there are things that are better not aid, or don't have t be said.

"Keep her safe," I said to him, we're not something he has to worry about anymore and he needs to focus on his family now, so it's better to burry anything left unsaid between us.

"You know if you jump from roof to roof, people are going to see you" I heard a woman say to us and I found myself looking at a red-haired woman who was pushing a shopping cart, with her was a man with red eyes and short black hair.

"Kazuma you know people have cellphones" the mn said to Kazuma, who just placed a bottle on the shopping cart we had.

"Emi, Mau, you saw us" Kazumsaid to them and I watched the man walk up to me, he stretched out his hand and we shook hands.

"Good to met you sir I'm Sato Mao" he said to me and the woman bowed her head.

"I'm Emilia but everyone calls me Emi for short," she said to me.

"I'm Kazuma's father" I answered them that was the end of our conversation, they both turned their attention to Kazuma alone.

"Do you know what people will do if they figure out who you are?" Emilia said to Kazuma.

Kazuma for his part just laughed it off, unfortunately, I had to agree with her, I shouldn't have made him roof jump, but this conversation proved a lot more than what most would be able to pick up on.

The fact that the two people in front of me didn't see it as srange that Kazuma could do what he did, meant that they could do it too.

The two said goodbye and went on with their shopping after a while we paid for everything and returned to my son's apartment.

I listened to the voices of multiple people coming from the apartment and I couldn't stop myself from smiling as I found my father, mother alongside my inlaws all speaking to my wife and Aqua.

 

[blueayes]

[Kazuma ]

The moment the door opened Aqua excused herself and took the bags from my dad's hands and she immediately went to the kitchen, she didn't bother asking my mom or either of my grandmas for help.

She just started looking through the bags and when she found what she was looking for she reached opened a drawer and took out a knife.

I wanted to go help her and try to take mom's eyes off her, but both my grandpas and dad signaled to me that if I valued my life to stay out of it.

I honestly don't know who has it worse right now Aqua or me, I mean it would be worse if I had another girl's family judging me but......the way everyone is looking at me.....its as if they want to break every bone in my body.

"So Kazuma...whose Megumin?" mom asked me, but her eyes promised pain if I answered wrong.

"She's an old friend of mine"

"Good, so you didn't take a bath with her and an American girl named Lalatina, who you told it was normal for people to do in Japan"

I turned to look at Aqua who just hummed to herself.

I can't help but swallow, even if there's nothing in my mouth.

"Mom, I can explain, you see"

I stop talking the moment the sound of the meat touching the hot oil reaches my ears, I can't help but take a deep breath and feel my heartbeat slow down.

"Mom, I met them when Aqua and I weren't even together"

"Ow," Aqua says the moment those words leave my mouth, and I can see my mom's left eye begin to twitch.

I watch all three older women exhail and look at me in a way they never have before.

"It's our turn, Kazuma lets g smoke in the hall" Grandpa says to me, dad and his dad follow us, but I'm surprised to see dad giving me a cigar.

"You have a good woman son, don't go looking for other women when you have that beauty here" Grandpa says to me, as he lights his cigar and handing the lighter to my other grandpa.

"Son, shes said nothing but good things about you, everything from when you learned carpentry to fix the drawer she brock, to youth first time you helped her make a fashion show, just for fun"

"Do you know how rare that is?" grandpa 2, says to me as he hands the lighter to dad.

I watch dad light his cigar take a puff and hand me the lighter, I don't know why but I feel as if something more than a lighter has just been given to me.

"Your mom likes her......you know how rare that is......if she says she's a good one, Kazuma...... you're never going to find another one like her, so son take good care of her" Dad says to me before taking the lighter from my hand and lighting my cigar.

The three of us just stand there in the hallway smoking, none of us bother saying anything, we just stand there watching as the people in the building start their day.

{Kazuma's mom ]
"The fish is a little too fried, not to the point where its burned but it's getting there." I think to myself as I begin my job of being the mother inlaw.

Both mom and my mother-in-law are busy helping with the side dishes, I never thought, I would have someone here with me, with us.

Still, there isn't much I can teach her, she knows her way around the kitchen that's for sure, she controls the knife perfectly and somehow manages to get the slices of tomato to come out perfectly.

"So Aqua did your mom teach you how to cook?" I hear my inlaw ask my new daughter and for a moment the girls' smile fades.

"No, she didn't like to cook, she had other people make the food for her. I just started cooking when I met Kazuma"

The girls, no, her words seem sad, like if she doesn't want to think about something, I look at my elders and they both look at me.

I already know what they are saying "So she's not as perfect as she seems"

"So what's she like? I would love to meet her" I say to her hoping to get just a little bit more information.

"She likes expensive things, and if somethings not perfect.....then it might as well be trash" she answers me, but her words are hollow, like if she's remembering something really painful.

"Adrestia, that's my mom's name" she answers me before her face reverts to having the bright smile she's had since I first met her.

"Looks like the sausages are done and everything ready, I'll go tell Kazuma that the foods ready" she says with a voice so cheerful that it completely changes the mood that had set in.

"Her mom was a perfectionist" I hear my mother say.

"Whatever Kazuma did, must have been a lot because the way that girl react to his name, its as if he was her beacon of light" my inlaw says as she looks at the plates the girl had set up.

I can't help but let out a small gasp, she placed the salad in such a way that both the fish and the sausages look like they were always meant to be there.

"Yep, a perfectionist parent, that s the worst kind, it's up there with the neglectful one," Mom says as she reaches into the grocery bag and takes out a carton of juice.

"Let's eat for now" I say to them

Everyone has their issues, everyone has their family problems, this isn't anything I can't handle, for now on its going to be family reunions and holiday get-togethers.

"So, I was thinking wee can move Kazumas old things here that way you two won't have to buy so many things" I hear my husband say and those few words hurt more than I ever imagined.

I knew we would have to do just that but still, in this small amount of time Kazuma, the boy I raised, he's going to be completely gone, everything that belongs to him will be gone from my house and it's going to be here.

I cant cry, not now, 'll do that latter.

I help pass the plates, each one of us hands one to their husband and we begin to eat.

 

[blueayes]

It's hard to believe just how quickly life can change in a single day, my boy brought a girl home and left with her, now we're helping them move everything to their new apartment.

Like usual, the people began to show up wondering what happened, small towns are like that, even if we are a few hours away from the city, townspeople just don't have a lot going on, so things like this tend to spread quickly.

"That's the last of it," I said to everyone and the men in our family drive off to put everything in the apartment, as for us girls, our job is to clean Kazuma's old room and maybe my house too.

I watch them drive off and I start to help everyone clean, I can already hear Aqua's voice as she sings, I can feel the hairs on my hand's stand, her voice is masing, it's like every note she sings is hit perfectly.

I stand by the door and I find mom, looking at the girl, her and my inlaw are both watching her clean.

"He's got himself a good one" mom says to me, as she hands me a rag and points at the windows.

I start to sing with my new daughter, and I can hear both my mother's voices singing with us, between the four of us, we're done cleaning quickly.

"So Aqua, do you want to see the town and see where Kazuma grew up?" my mom asks her new granddaughter and Aqua gives her a thumbs up.

More and more, I'm beginning to see her quirks and just how Kazuma was able to get her.

We show her the old spring where the town's water supply comes from, both the elementary school and middle school where Kazuma studied and......

"Hie" I hear a familiar voice and I can't help but stop smiling.

"Mrs, Sato, nice to see you again,"

"Nice to see you too Sakura," I said to the girl that broke my son's heart

"So, I heard Kazuma had eloped with a girl, but its Kazuma, he wouldn't '

I was about to say something when I noticed Aqua walk in front of me, up until now she had been nothing but a delicate flower, but now the girl looked as if she was charging into war.

Somehow her blue hair seemed just a bit more radiant, she seemed to walk with more confidence and her body language, its better not say it.

"Hellow, I'm Kazuma's wife. Who might you be?" her voice was soft, but there was an edge to it.

"I'm Sakura, Kazuma and I grew up together" Sakura answered Aqua and the two young women looked at each other, they shook hands but they never took their eyes off each other.

It looked as if both women were ready to tear into one another.

"Nice to meet you Mrs?"

"Aqua" my new daughter said, before letting go of Sakura's hand.

"Take care of him," Sakura said her voice was soft but there was anger laced in every word.

"I will" Aqua answered her, there was a line drawn between Aqua and my son's ex-friend, the girl had marked her territory and Sakura didn't like it.

She must have thought, Kazuma would always be there and now that he's completely moved on, she can't stand it.

We said our goodbyes and headed home, the boys were already back when we returned, unfortunately, the newlyweds would be leaving us, they had to fix their apartment.

"Well, at least we know two things about that girl." I said

"Yep, she's the jealous type" mom said as she watched the car drive off

"And our grandson upgraded from the last girl he liked," my inlaw said before the three of us began to laugh.

[Else where]

She opened the letter, not a text message but a letter.
From now on you will have to live on your own.

I managed to buy you some time, but if you can't survive without our family's money.

You will be married off to someone that mom chooses.

She closed the envelope and looked at her empty apartment, the electricity would be cut off tomorrow and she had until Monday to find somewhere to live.

Her mom had taken everything, the only things she owned right now, were her suitcase and the clothes she had on.

She heard a knock on the door, but she didn't bother to open it, the door opened anyway and when she turned to see who it was, she found her driver standing at the entrance.

The man walked up to her and sat beside her, he had been with her ever since she was little, he was both her butler and her friend.

"......You have two friends that might be able to take you in" he said to her, before he pated her on the head.

"I don't have any friends" she answered him

"Acquaintance then"

"Here you can start working there whenever you want, an old friend of mine is the owner. Take the girl with you and he will hire the two of you" he said to her and she knew exactly who he was talking about.

"Come on I'll buy you lunch and you can go see them later," he said to her.

Her body moved on its own and as they left she noticed several people walk up to the door and begin to change the locks.

There was no going back, she had been exiled.