Chapter Text
Once upon a time...
The boy entered the shack-like residence, closing the weak door behind him. He let out a bit of a sigh, biting at his lip, then walked to the small table - well, really, the only table in the room, and the only thing much of interest. Sitting across from him, the older woman gave him a look that showed that she was less-than-amused.
"I'm guessing that you haven't done much of note today?" She spoke up, and the boy smiled, a bit ashamed.
"Hey, I made sure that our goats were tended to...plus, Kuwata-kun and I managed to sell good amounts of our cheese by working together...."
"No progress on your class?"
"...." The boy let out a large sigh, flapping his lip. "...No. But I'm -- I'm gonna get better soon, you'll see."
"You can't stay here forever, Makoto." The older woman crossed her arms. "Komaru has already left, and...well...your father's not around anymore to bring honor to this family." She looked down, and Makoto sighed once more.
"I know, mom. I should stop putting it off, but...they...you know people like me don't manage to make much of a difference anywhere here...I'm...kinda average..."
"Don't. I've heard it before, and if you can't outwork the status you imposed upon yourself, then you're hardly a son of mine."
"But I've looked at the biggest forces." Makoto pursed his lips, leaning back and continuing as his mother got up to finish their dinner. "Future-Foundation isn't going to do any more recruiting, RollingStar is girls only, the Crazy Diamonds are...well....you know..."
"Shady?"
"Yeah."
"Nice thing to say about a group that one of your friends apparently got into recently. That Fujisaki boy, if I remember correctly--"
"Chihiro?"
"That's the one."
Makoto looked absolutely befuddled. "...But he's worse off than me, so far as the class thing is concerned."
"Apparently not anymore. He chose to be an Engineer."
"...Suits him." Makoto muttered, reaching up and pinching the bridge of his forehead. "Honestly...everyone's got a profession and a group to go along with..."
"I'm sure if you asked nicely enough, RollingStar would take you in. As a personal favor to Komaru, if nothing else." Dinner was laid in front of the mother and her son, that being nothing but a simple broth. Makoto blowed on it to cool it, and then looked at his mother with a disapproving stare.
"I really don't want Komaru to be the only reason why I'm included into something. I can't depend on someone forever, much less my little sister." He commented, and then shoved a spoonful of broth into his mouth. "Besidesh, they don't want a novishe."
"You'd be surprised, Komaru was a novice when she joined..."
"Yeah, and now she's the 'super-awesome-see-how-I-splash-around' aquamancer. Mom, was she born with gills?"
"It was a horrible birth defect, that." The older woman deadpanned. "Had to get it removed immediately or she'd become a mermaid and travelers would use her in their stew."
"Can't imagine she'd taste good."
"....Are we honestly discussing the topic of your sister being turned into stew?"
"Yes."
"...." The older woman got up, her bowl empty, and then hit Makoto on the head lightly. "You've got all the imagination of your father, and none of my intelligence to handle it with."
"Hey, I've--"
"Got that as your worst trait."
"....You're the worst, mom."
"I know. Now, are you going to go out and 'explore' a bit more before you go to sleep? It really would benefit you."
"Yeah, I guess so." Makoto got up, handing his bowl to his mother. "I'll be back at night time. I know the rules."
"Good boy. Now, get going."
With that, Makoto walked out to the open landscape of the town of Paen. Paen was a small city hardly-ever-mentioned, but the one city that most people could claim they were from. Paen's populace didn't have an exact look or any traits that seemed notable, especially considering the fact that most of the citizens were human. But it was a tightly-knit community, and everyone was quite familiar with each and every citizen (and if they weren't, they'd get familiar quite quickly). It was average, but it did give the impression that if nothing else, the young in Paen were raised with love, leading to the relentless optimism amongst their young, much like Makoto.
And then there were the odd ones, such as Naegi's close-but-no"t-too-close friend, Kuwata Leon. At that very moment, the redheaded bard was waiting outside, leaning against a tree. Seeing Makoto exit out of his home, he clicked his pierced tongue. "Man of the hour himself. Chewed out by your mom again?"
"You've got no room to talk." Makoto pointed out. Kuwata had strained relationships with both of his parents, considering he was originally raised to be an archer, as-per-family-tradition, and then suddenly came home one day, due to a choice encounter with a beautiful girl leading him to become a bard. His father was less than pleased, and so Kuwata had been slumming up wherever he could find room since. Recently, that had been on a farm that was owned by the Maizonos, considering they needed assistance due to their own daughter going off to make something of herself. Kuwata was not the working sort, but he went for it nonetheless. In his own words...
"Hey, 's the family of a hot girl that's got spare room, 'n that spare room happens to originally belong to said hot girl. Tell me, Naegi-kun, who do you think would be the best man to help her parents out like a true gentleman, become strong as hell, get 'em to trust me, and then meet the girl again -- conveniently -- 'n just happen to be really handsome -- 'n then offer to take her out on a date?"
"I've never met someone like that in my entire life." Makoto stated, in a matter-of-fact way, smiling cheerfully.
"...." Kuwata frowned at the other boy, running a hand through his hair. "You'll never learn how to pick up girls that way."
"Never said I wanted to."
"Oh, so you--"
"Not interested in you either."
"You wound me."
"Even if I've got no room to talk, I've still got a point." Kuwata pouted, crossing his arms behind his head. "Anyways. Gonna go to town, or what? I'm bored, so that means I'm automatically joining you no matter what. No objections."
"Obje--"
"Overruled." Kuwata rolled his eyes. Then glancing about, and pulling a few glistening scales from his rucksack, he looked at Makoto expectantly. When Makoto had less than a reaction, he gripped the scales tightly. "Mermaid scales! Worth a few good silvers on the black market!" A brief pause."...Stole 'em from dinner."
"Stealing from your own foster family."
"Hey, hey, I have an excuse! I'm sharing with you, too, so no speakin' of it unless ya want your cut taken away."
"Fine, fine. Gimmie some." Makoto shrugged, opening his palm. Kuwata gave him two scales, keeping two for himself, and then started walking ahead.
"Your sister come back yet?" He asked, raising a brow. "She's been gone for a while."
"No. Mom and I are still alone." Makoto followed after, pushing the scales into one of his pockets.
"Dammit." Kuwata snapped his fingers. "I was really hoping we could try that whole brother-in-law thing." He winked, earning him an annoyed glare from Naegi. "Oh, come on, you know I didn't mean that. I know where my boundaries are. Most of the time."
"I'm ignoring you." Makoto looked away, mostly at the brook nearby and at the nature about. Kuwata frowned deeply, then looked up at the sky.
"Hey, it just me, or is it gettin' darker out here?" He asked, pointing up at the sky. Sure enough, the sky was getting quite dark, the usually ever-present white clouds slowly shifting to a dark shade of grey. "Think there's somethin' going on? Usually they'd say..."
"I..." Makoto looked up at the sky, opening his mouth a bit. As he looked at it, there was suddenly a ripple. Not one you'd expect, but as if there were suddenly a pause in time, the sky rippled out, clouds quickly shifting, and a peculiar almost-black spot forming within his vision. "...It looks like something that the forces of despair would do, but..."
"I'd know." Kuwata stated, putting his hands into his own pockets and pausing, with a worried tone. "I'd know, there're paladins who come by the farm every mornin'. They'd've said something. Couldn't be the forces. Just a regular thing, or..."
"It looks dangerous." Makoto licked his finger, then put it to the air. "And the wind's stirring up. Kuwata-kun. Shelter. Now."
"Right, let's get to town fast." The two boys nodded to each other, and then started running for the town, tripping over their feet perhaps once or twice, and with Makoto more looking up at the sky than anything. There were a few more ripples, and every time, that one spot seemed to grow darker and darker. Seeing a weapons shop not too far ahead, Kuwata seized the moment, and with a sharp pull at Naegi's arm, dragged him in, dashing past someone who appeared to be coming out. "'scuse!"
The merchant seemed to be befuddled, but the person who was originally exiting turned around and faced the two boys. Their face was hidden by a helmet -- but notably, it was a high-quality helmet. A Truist brand. One of the best. "...Am I allowed to ask what's going on, or have I just encountered the idiot brigade of this town?"
"Dark. Outside."
"...Perhaps a night-light would help?" The helmetted person was obviously smirking from their tone alone.
"Alright, um, there's a gigantic black spot in the middle of the sky, and we're not sure what it's for. It looks like something the forces of despair would've done, but I'm not too sure. No one said anything." Makoto explained. The person peeked out of the shop, looking up at the sky. With a small nod, they noted the situation.
"...I see. I hadn't expected anything like this to happen for a long time."
"An' ya expected it to happen sooner or later?!" Kuwata snapped, clearly a bit on-edge due to the goings-on.
"Frankly, yes, I did." The helmetted person crossed their arms, then reached up, removing their helmet to reveal -- well. It was a girl. Most notably, a girl with long silver hair, piercing purple eyes, and pointed ears showing off her elven heritage. The girl was actually quite recognizable, being that she was, indeed, Kyouko Kirigiri, leader of the biggest guild known of - Future-Foundation. "Gentlemen. I'm afraid I have to drag you into this, but considering you've already seen it, we've no choice." She stated, matter-of-factly.
"I'd advise you to dash home and collect your belongings. We have a journey ahead of us."