⋆ mahou shoujo ayano-chan ⋆

⋆ rp blog for ayano, the dark mage ⋆ closed rp blog affiliated with ll+ ⋆ sideblog to shslshoujos

[feudalenflamedfates]

Domingo en Fuego | MM Trial 1.3 | Ayano | Re; Lowell

Ayano kept her eyes squeezed shut, but felt them fly up as a cold, irritable voice reached her ears. She looked up at Lowell who…wasn’t even looking at her, but she could feel the sheer irritation radiating off him. She opened her mouth, trying to say something but nothing came out. Then again, this wouldn’t have happened if she had opened up her mouth, right? She felt her whole body grow cold, and her head started to swirl at the dawning realization that she Fucked Up™.

“(Good job, you idiot.)”

“(So much for trying to help.)”

“(You made everything worse.)”

Ayano took another step away from the blacksmith. She won’t fight him on this, she won’t even say anything; least she says something else wrong. She bowed at Lowell, murmuring in a quiet, almost trembling voice.

“…I’m sorry…”

Before she knew it, she felt her legs turn her around and walk her back from her podium. She kept her head down as she started to speed walk towards her podium. Part of her wished that she didn’t even go to the Hoshidan side, as this long walk in front of everyone felt particularly humiliating, especially since it’s out of shame.

The walk back seemed to have taken forever until she was staring at her tome she left sitting on top of her podium, reaching over to it and holding it in her arms tightly. For once, she was glad that her hair was this long, as her expression was not very visible with the curtain of hair that was hanging to mask her face, but one could see her hand occasionally go up to rub her face.

The dark mage didn’t say anything, how could she? Like she stated out loud, she didn’t investigate. What good is she to everyone here? She should have just stayed quiet.

[feudalenflamedfates]

Polarize | MM Trial 1.2 | Ayano | Re: Everyone, Atten; Lowell, Junpei

The yelling did not stop. Ayano shut her eyes, tugging at the ends of her scarf as she tried to block out most of the yelling; but that seems impossible considering the person she was standing next to at the moment. She wasn’t even sure if she should say anything about the side-arguments between Lowell, Emiko, and Junpei. She opted to keep her mouth shut, at the very least she can try and provide an intervention if things got physical. Although, she hoped that it couldn’t have to come to that.

She perked up as she heard one of her retainers speak up. Ah…so he investigated as well? That’s good at least her retainers weren’t incompetent like herself. She tilted her head to the side curiously at the…question mark talent. Could that really be a talent? Well, whatever. Ayano continued to stay quiet until Lowell started to talk to Katsunosuke about their talent, and she couldn’t help but speak up.

“…I can say with confidence that Katsunosuke-san isn’t the Florist. I should know because…well…”

Ayano was still nervous about explicitly saying it, so she kind of trailed off. She figured everyone was smart enough to know her reason why. She did, however, frown up at Lowell. She definitely did not appreciate this rather haughty attitude, causing her to mutter quietly.

“…I didn’t even know there was an Ice Village…”

Was that annoyance in her voice? Well you wouldn’t be able to know as she quickly started to speak again.

“…I don’t want to distrust your judgement, Lowell-san, but why are you so confident that the Hoshidan Mastermind has a musical talent? And…why Junpei-san? I mean…I know he did lie to us during two of the trials…but his reason for lying…”

“(Actions speak louder than words)”, is what Ayano thought.

“…It may not excuse him completely but…even if Junpei-san acts like he doesn’t care, I still cant ignore what he did for Watanabe-san and Sō-san…so…”

Ayano squeezed her eyes shut. She felt like she was taking sides and that’s something she didn’t want (although, in this situation, taking sides seems inevitable), and she absolutely did not want to be caught up in the shouting match. She lowered her head, and took a cautious step back.

“…I’m sorry. I didn’t investigate, but I don’t want to take everything at face value…and I don’t like all of these vague clues so…please…if you do have all of the evidence…please say it…”

[feudalenflamedfates]

More Than You Bargained For | MM Trial 1.1 | Ayano | Re; Lowell, Katsunosuke, Rowan, Chifuyu

At Lowell’s confirmation, Ayano nodded.

“…Alright, I’ll do my best to help.”

Even though she did, like, zero investigations concerning the Mastermind(s). She kind of forgot that was a thing. Whoops. As Katsunosuke spoke, Ayano could only furrow her eyebrows. Royals couldn’t be trusted? That means she herself is…

“…Well you’re not…very wrong…”

Everyone has their secrets after all, Ayano is no exception. In any case.

“As for me, the personal facts I received were Bassist, Ice Dancer, Utaite, Flutist, and Stylist. Well…we already know who the Bassist and Ice Dancer talents belong to, and I know what my own talent is too…so…”

Ayano trailed off, tugging at the ends of her scarf before something else crossed her mind.

“Ah…now that I remember it…how are we supposed to find out the Mastermind’s true identity and talent? Weren’t we told at the start of all of this that we can’t reveal what our talents were? Does…anyone know what happens if we do state what our talents are?”

[feudalenflamedfates]

Sugar We're Going Down | Trial 5.4 | Ayano | Re/Atten; Katsunosuke, Lowell

Ayano had briefly approached Katsunosuke and after a moment of exchanging words, Ayano timidly went back to Lowell’s side. She looked like she was going to say something, opening and closing her mouth like a gaping fish before she finally spit the words out.

“E…Even if Katsunosuke-san is still able to do physical activities, it still doesn’t cover the fact that they have what Rowan-san said to be a recent scar. That, the vulneary, the bathroom, and the identical fingerprint must mean that…”

Ayano sighed, she couldn’t bear herself to outright accuse someone, so she decided she’ll make her point with her vote. Quickly running to her podium and pushing in her vote, she walked back to Lowell, still concerned about their overall state of mind with all that’s going on. As she heard Junpei say rather…blunt things, she can only frown in their direction but didn’t say anything as she turned her attention to Lowell.

Then things really started to fall apart.

As soon as she turned to check on Lowell, she yelped at the sudden boom of his voice and a ringing in her ears followed. She was frozen in her spot as she saw the almost murderous glare in Lowell’s eyes that were directed towards the kinshi knight. Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no. Ayano gaped, trying to figure out what to do (what can she even do? She was just a small mage near a furious, taller blacksmith).

As Lowell had practically roared in anger at Junpei, something kind of clicked in Ayano’s mind. The threat of violence…the threat to hurt someone…hurt…hurt…hurt hurT HURT–

Ayano felt her feet move on her own, next thing she knew it she had latched herself onto one of Lowell’s arm.

“D-Don’t hurt them! I know you’re angry but nothing good is going to come out of violence! Please don’t do anything rash, Lowell-san!”

She had made a motion that looked like that she was trying to pull him away, but considering the height difference between them…well Lowell probably didn’t even notice the small dark mage had even latched onto his arm. The pulling had stopped as Lowell dropped a (metaphorical) bomb on all of them.

“Wh…What…?”

Ayano had let go of Lowell’s arm, but not that much as one of her hands was still on him. She looked up at Lowell in almost disbelief and glanced over to Junpei. Right…all this stuff about Masterminds being brought here…but right now? So soon? Ayano was quiet for a moment before she sighed, looking up at Lowell with a more serious look in her eye.

“…You’re sure about this? Please don’t make anger based decisions…all our lives are on the line, Lowell-san…”

[feudalenflamedfates]

The Foxes hunt the Hounds | Trial 5.3 | Ayano | Atten; Lowell, Emiko, Katsunosuke

Ayano fiddled with her cape again, at the very least her theory wasn’t a super stupid idea that got shot down immediately. As the fingerprints were brought up, she let out a quiet, “Oh”. So now she knows what the paper and ink were for.

She grew worried as she noticed Lowell’s sudden hesitance, and when Katsunosuke had admitted to the whole blood thing, but something about it felt rather…odd to her. She wasn’t exactly sure what to say, glancing down at her tome for a moment, idly flipping through the pages, and then…

“L-Lowell-san?”

Ayano was torn from her tome as she heard a shaky cry from across the trial room. It surprised her to say the least that it was Lowell who had started to seemingly have a breakdown…but…

Ayano put her tome down on her podium and left, almost rushing towards the blacksmith but slowing down as she got closer to him. It was odd, she wasn’t sure if the two were really friends as most of their encounters had been her running into him, but it still didn’t change the fact that she was near him now.

“Lowell-san? A-Are you okay?”

Ayano slapped herself mentally for saying that. A guy with his head in his hands is crying and shes wondering if he’s alright?? Thanks, Ayano. Ayano wasn’t sure what else to say, but she reached and put a hand to Lowell’s shoulder, as if to give him reassurance…or something.

When she heard Emiko speak, Ayano raised her free hand up.

“U-Um…I can check Katsunosuke-san, if they’re okay with it, I mean…”

[feudalenflamedfates]

Time Heals All Wounds | Trial 5.2 | Ayano | Re; Junpei, Lowell, Rowan

Ayano squirmed slightly as she learned what happened to Sachihiro. That seems a bit…going overboard. She shook her head as she spoke up.

“It sounds like whoever killed Sachihiro-san was really…angry. Hm…If Sachihiro-san killed Ajaya-san…the culprit, the alive one, must have witnessed them and attacked Sachihiro-san as revenge for attacking Ajaya-san…I think…”

Ayano continued to toy with the ends of her scarf. Truth be told, if she had witnessed the same, she probably would have done the same thing; but that didn’t seem an appropriate thing to bring up at a time like this. At the mention of a vulneary, she tilted her head to the side.

“Ah…it ended up in the Nohrian Records Hall? That’s odd why would it…A-Ah!”

Ayano’s eyes widened as she suddenly connected the dots in her head.

“Sachihiro-san must have healed themselves after Ajaya-san died. If I remember correctly, vulenaries can heal you but you still need to tend to the wound, so that must be why there wasn’t a lot of blood and why there was an empty vulneary in the Nohrian Records Hall. U-Um…also…how do we know it’s Ajaya-san’s vulneary in the first place? Is everyone usually equipped with vulnearies…?”

After that brief burst of confidence came back Ayano’s usual meekness at her question. Well, at least she tried.

[feudalenflamedfates]

Ayano's Theory of ... | Trial 5.1 | Re; Lowell

“Well…Ajaya-san’s neck had a wound, and her file did say that she died of exsa…exsangui…”

Ayano furrowed her eyebrows as she suddenly trailed off. She had rubbed her own neck, toying at the ends of the red scarf wrapped around her neck before she shook her head and continued.

“…Blood loss. The neck is usually the worst place to get attacked…so…”

She really was hopeless with this kind of stuff. She quieted down as she listened to Lowell talked some more, eyeing curiously at the various writing material on his podium. A somewhat distressed expression was on her face after Lowell had finished reading out the letter.

“If…there are two culprits…it would make sense that one of them would be dead. I-I mean…by what the letter said, whoever the writer was, they deeply regretted whatever they did, which I assume was…murder. N-Not to throw assumptions so quickly! It just made more sense in my head…I’m sorry…”

[feudalenflamedfates]

A Little Bit of Light | Ch5 | Ayano | Execution Reaction

Once again, Ayano had very little to contribute, mostly out of lack of knowledge on how to connect what she found together, and she mostly just…listened to everyone. Then the anticipated confession came and then the eventual execution that followed. Ayano continued to not watch and looked away for most of it. Of course, that doesn’t mean that she couldn’t hear it.

After the end, Ayano looked around sadly at their decreasing numbers and increase in empty podiums. Not that she thought of it, Mirai and Tooru were the first royals to fall. She looked over at Emiko and Yuna, realizing that they were without their retainers and partners. She could only imagine how lonely it must have felt to have those gaps in between them. She looked over at her own retainers, who were (miraculously) still alive and she felt something heavy weigh on her shoulders.

How long would the two still be here? Would this be the last time she’ll have two full podiums beside her? She squeezed her eyes shut, holding her arms closer to her body. What if she’ll be next?

She shook her head. She wanted all of this to stop but…well what could she do? There were still a lot of unanswered questions about this place that she has yet to ask, but that seems like the least of her problems at the moment. The biggest one is to just survive long enough to be able to ask them. As they were dismissed, Ayano left without another word.

[feudalenflamedfates]

Ayano votes for Tooru and the Lottery

[feudalenflamedfates]

Here Comes a Thought | Trial 4.1 | Ayano | Re; Everyone

Ayano sighed as she walked back to her podium. It became sort of familiar to her now, which was something she didn’t really wish she felt. She looked around, noticing how much of them has passed since they first arrived here. Well, no, she can’t really say she noticed, she always knew how little of them is left. It made her stomach turn. At the very least she’ll try and suck it up and be of help for once (or perhaps not).

Ayano seemed to flinch when the past motive cards were brought up. She glanced around nervously before she sighed, meekly raising up her hand.

“Um…I…have my card…”

She lifted up the tome she always carried around. Looks like she got used to holding it as she lifted it up with no trouble unlike in the past.

“I kept it in the pages of my tome…if…if it’ll clear me of suspicion, I’ll show it…but…I’d rather show it in private…if it’s okay…”

She heard of the possibility of the culprit being injured, which makes sense since the state of the Nohrian Mess Hall was…well, a mess; she’d be surprise if either party walked out without some injuries.

“Well my outfit…doesn’t really cover much…so I don’t really have anything to hide…”

Ayano frowned as some people had brought up what happened in the last trial concerning the body checks. She glanced at Junpei worriedly before looking back to the ground. She would have volunteered to do the body checks but she’s already weirdly shy around people and the thought of touching someone she barely even knew? Ayano’s face flushed momentarily before she shook her head, trying to bring up something she thought was interesting.

“Um…! So the lance stuck in the table…I don’t know if it’s super important, but it wasn’t stuck very far in the table, and it was pretty easy to remove. So…I feel like perhaps that the lance was thrown?”

…Was that a statement or a question, Ayano? Also is that even really relevant?

“That steel sword…it was pretty heavy, well, I’m a Dark Mage so weapons like swords and things like that aren’t really…a-anyways, it might be possible that the steel sword dealt the killing blow. Just based on the location, I mean.”

[feudalenflamedfates]

Corpse Flowers | Ch4 | Ayano | Motive + Body Reaction

Ayano was surprised she was still alive at this point. She felt like that she would have been an easy target to kill off in just the first week and yet she’s still here, breathing and living. Well, whatever you consider “living” to be in a gilded cage like the Astral Plane. Ayano felt barely there mentally and kind of zoned out when the motive was announced. She wasn’t even sure what the incentive was this time around but she heard the word “immunity” thrown out there so it must be that none of them will be hurt. She let out a quiet, if not somewhat bitter laugh. Everyone here has already been hurt in some way, so why did it matter if they were granted immunity?

She rubbed her temples. She didn’t like feeling this way, but it felt like the events of this place had begun to wear her down, as it seems to show with everyone else. At the very least she wanted to try and keep up a cheerful front, but it was getting harder and harder to fake a smile what with all of the death and betrayal going on.

It was inevitable that one of them would fall, but maybe this time around nothing would happen? Nah, of course not. That’s way too optimistic.

Ayano let out a gasp as she stepped into the Great Hall of the castle, covering her mouth as her eyes widened. Even if she expected someone to get killed soon, there was still some horror aspect to it as they were all getting picked off one by one. Not to mention, all of that blood…

She screwed her eyes shut. Ah…this really was all too much, but no matter how many times she opened and closed her eyes, this nightmare wouldn’t stop. Looks like she’ll be stuck in this never-ending nightmare for a bit longer.

[feudalenflamedfates]

Two Halves | Ch4 | Ayano | Attn; Chifuyu

[pinchingpennies]

Of course that would be the first thing to come to mind. Don’t mention it in front of him, though, he might cry. Not really, but… he’ll feel bad, at least.

“Ah, right! That’s me, you remembered my name, eheh…”

For some reason, that seems to brighten his mood substantially already. He’s not hard to please, it seems.

“You’re, uh…… Ayano-san, right? I’ve never been good with names, honestly…”

He tended to use nicknames in his head for people rather than their names. For Ayano, frequent nicknames were ‘Bandanna girl’ and ‘Me, but shorter’ and ‘Holy mid-drift, Batman’. Lucky for him, his nicknames will be pleasantly locked up in his mind so he doesn’t have to tragically embarrass himself beyond redemption.

“I’m just kind of wandering around. I happened to notice this area was open now, for whatever reason, and wanted to see what was here! Kind of like an adventure of sorts…”

“But, uh… Looks like my adventure hit a dead end, huh.”

He steps forward, leaning a bit to look down the canyon. 

“… Yikes. I wonder what’s down there. I mean, other than a long fall.”

[akai-ayanochan]

It's okay! You got my name right."

She looked happy as well, seems like she’s also quite easy to please too.

Ayano glanced around at said new open area. She found it odd that only a giant chasm had opened up, she wondered if it possibly meant anything. She shrugged. Maybe she was just over-thinking it.

She watched quietly as Chifuyu had taken a step towards the canyon, immediately stirring panic in Ayano as she quickly spoke up.

"A-Ah...! Please be careful..."

She glanced at the chasm, still a bit away from it as she fidgeted nervously.

"I'd rather not think about what's in there. Also, there should be safety railings or something surrounding the chasm, someone could trip and fall in."

...Which is why you were sitting near the chasm with all of the opportunity to slip and fall in? Alright, Ayano.

[feudalenflamedfates]

Platinum | Ch4 | Ayano | Attn; Nines

[waitingmorgue-blog]

There’s a pause, a short one, as Nines eats another— pulling berries off plants one at a time, juice staining fingers as he looks up at Ayano. It’s almost refreshing to hear someone be so mothering, especially now. Familiar, in it’s own way, and yet foreign enough for Nines to stay silent through her apology.

“You really only need to wash fruit if it’s covered in pesticides, which I don’t think has been invented yet in this… knock-off, vaguely medieval period. So don’t worry, unless Catherine-san coats these in some magic poison to keep them alive, I think I’ll be okay.”

A scientific mind versus a caring one; though the words come across as dismissive they are spoken with kind reasoning, soft the intention of calming any worry that she couldn’t rub away.

But the mention of Hal… The change in Nines posture is visible, their shoulders tightening with tension, hands freezing against lips, balancing berries on the cold edge of their teeth. Right. That cold, empty feeling was for a reason— the ripped open rawness that made it hurt to breathe in the cold, cold air. 

From nothing to everything. From no one to two friends gone, just like that.

“…it’s not your fault in the least.”

There’s an edge to the words, sharpened with tightly wound anger. ( Cold, repressed animosity, days in the making. )

“Us finding him… it was awful, no doubt. I still think about it from time to time— seeing someone who was so kind and friendly silenced like that, for such a fucking idiotic reason…. It hurt significantly more than I anticipated, though I’m not sure why myself. But, because of that, because of us, Hal-san got the justice he deeply deserved.”

The silence settles again, this time on the back of Nines; a sad sigh disturbing the leaves of the berry plants. Without further explanation, one hand raises, offering a berry to Ayano— an apology of his own.

[akai-ayanochan]

Ayano blinked at Nines' explanation. Well...he wasn't wrong, per se. But still...

"...You have a point there."

Seems like old habits die hard.

She fidgeted nervously as Nines went to go talk about Hal. From the sounds of it, they sounded close, or at the very least they were friendly with each other. She raised an eyebrow as Nines commented on being hurt and not knowing why.

"It's okay to feel hurt about it. I'd be too if it was..."

Ayano paused, thinking about all of the people she'd be hurt if they were gone. But...they were all still alive, she can't possibly imagine how everyone else who had lost someone feels like. She fell silent again, thinking about how many lives were lost and how many people were hurt because of it. A distressed look crossed her face as she started to tug at the scarf wrapped around her neck (does she ever even take it off...?)

She was pulled out of her thoughts as she glanced and saw a berry in her vision. She blinked, almost looking confused at why there was a berry in front of her before she realized that Nines was offering it to her.

"Ah...! Thank you!"

She took the berry from Nines gingerly. After a moment of hesitation, she ate it. Well...it definitely tasted like a fruit. She just wasn't sure what kind of fruit it tasted like, but it was good at the very least.

"Oh, right. Um...Nines-san? What kind of food do you like to eat?"

[feudalenflamedfates]

Two Halves | Ch4 | Ayano | Attn; Chifuyu

[pinchingpennies]

It seems a wall(?) has been taken down as Chifuyu’s wandering around. He walks aimlessly in the direction of the vast expanse behind the gates, ending up seeing a deep canyon. He slows down, stopping a good distance from it and surveying it from afar before noticing Ayano not too far away. He’s about to say something, but pauses mid-breath. He has to be careful! She’s awfully close to the edge, and he’d hate for something bad to happen if he just suddenly spoke up and spooked her.

So, he quietly walks back away from the canyon, standing a good distance away from her. From that distance, he talks as if he just now say her, far enough his voice is kind of distant and not suddenly startling. Less of an “Oh!” and more of an “Oh, whats that noise, wind”.

“Ah, hello over there!”

He waves from his carefully planned position, stepping a bit closer as he does. Did he just put way too much thought into this? Yes. Yes he did.

[akai-ayanochan]

Ayano seemed to perk up as she heard a noise, but luckily, it didn't startle her compared to all of the times she got startled by even the slightest of noise. She turned her head to see what that was and saw someone vaguely recognizable heading her way. She squinted, wasn't he part of the Hoshidan side? She remembered him being around where Shoichi was...

Oh yeah! The pacemaker. Right.

Ayano felt bad that that was the first thing she remembered about Chifuyu, but it really was the first thing that popped in her mind. Well, besides their mirror-ing haircuts. She heard him call out to her with a hello, even waving from where he was.

"H-Hello! Chifuyu-san, was it?"

Ayano carefully got up, being very mindful that she didn't trip and fall into the abyss. Because that's something that she felt like she'd accidentally do, and they're already decreasing in numbers already. She walked towards Chifuyu but still stayed a little bit of ways away from him.

"What, ah, what brings you here?"

[feudalenflamedfates]

Platinum | Ch4 | Ayano | Attn; Nines

[waitingmorgue-blog]

Ah, was he truly that scary? 

Ayano’s reaction, though entirely his fault, ( and probably worthy of an apology that he doesn’t give ) quirks the smallest of smiles on Nines’ lips. There’s a moment of pause as he watches his liege struggle in the dirt, but it’s a minor break as Nines offers a hand, and then the edge of his cape to brush the soil off of her hands.

For her own sake, Nines glances away, scanning the berry fields spread out in front of them. The plot was bigger now than last time he was here with Titus, though that truly doesn’t say much, as the plants were still rather wilted for the most part. Still, seeing something alive, thriving in the Nohrian chill— Nines wasn’t one to wax poetic, but there was something thought provoking about it, about the fact that it was ( against all odds) still here. 

“Hello, Ayano-san. What brings you out here?”

It’s a question that easily could be turned back on himself— unlike Nines to be found wandering the countryside, weaving in between plots of land and berry fields —but if there was one thing Nines could do, it was avoid himself as the main topic of conversation. 

With one hand balanced on a hip, he narrows his gaze back to Ayano, gesturing idly to the plot in front of them before he speaks again.

“I’ve been reading through the books in the castle to see if these have a name, but I’m afraid I don’t know enough about botany to narrow it down to a specific species… Basically, I’ve been coming up annoying empty.

Definitely edible, though.”

As if to prove his point, Nines stoops, picking one of the berries and popping it into his mouth.

[akai-ayanochan]

"H-Hey! At least let me wash them first!"

But it was too late as Nines had already began to eat said berries. Well, alright then. Ayano sighed as she began to wipe the dirt off with her own cape, she'll just wash it later (did this place even have washing machines? She has a feeling she'll be washing them by hand).

"Even if it is edible it came from the ground and stuff like that needs to be washed first before eating and--"

Ayano suddenly caught herself. Crap, she was using her "Mom" voice. She momentarily forgot that she wasn't scolding her little sister and remembered she was talking to someone her own age. Ayano laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Ehehe...s-sorry, I didn't mean to say it like that..."

Okay, quick, change the subject.

"A-Anyways, the reason I was out here is because I wanted to see if I can make anything out of these berries and the food in the kitchen! A-Also I still promised you I'd make you something as an apology for dragging you out that early in the morning to the Arena."

Ayano stopped and bit her lip, looking to the side nervously. Right, that morning when she, Nines, and Lowell found Hal/Ryuuji's corpse. A rather distressed look came across her face as she waved her hands.

"E-Erm...I-I'm sorry for bringing that up, a-and I truly am sorry about what happened to Hal-san. If I wasn't so persistant that morning maybe you wouldn't have..."

Well now she can't stop her mouth as she felt more words spill out. She quickly shut her mouth as she stood a bit awkwardly, shifting from foot to foot.

[feudalenflamedfates]

Platinum | Ch4 | Ayano | Attn; Nines

“Hm…”

Ayano was crouched down, staring at the Berry Garden. She had wanted to visit this plot of land after sometime but couldn’t get the chance to due to…certain things. Now that she had found the chance she was slightly puzzled.

“Does anyone water them? Maybe Akihiro-san or Catherine-san tends to them. Ah, but they’re usually in their own places, but they can teleport, so…”

…Was she seriously talking to herself? Jesus Christ she was.

“What kind of berries are these anyways? Are they even edible? Well they must be edible since they’re here, I mean, they wouldn’t grow poisonous berries out in the open…would they?”

Well they did give all of them weapons when they had first arrived here (although Ayano could hardly call her Tome a weapon), but it was because they were all just transported from a war. Why were they even at war anyways? Ayano squeezed her eyes shut, rubbing her temples.

“Aah…this is all still confusing…”

She was immediately snapped out of her thoughts as she heard footsteps approaching her, causing her to flinch and turn her head to quickly…which lead her to losing her balance. With a squeak, Ayano tumbled forward into the plot of land. Smooth, Ayano.

Ayano quickly scrambled up, her hands and arms and knees being coated in a bit of dirt as she awkwardly held her arms up, trying to find something to wipe herself off with. She looked up and…ah, good. Someone she knew watch her fall over like a newborn baby deer. Wonderful.

“…Hi, Nines-san.”

[feudalenflamedfates]

Two Halves | Ch4 | Ayano | Attn; Chifuyu

It was scary how Ayano was getting used to all of this. Well, it might have been easier for her since she didn’t even know the victim or the culprit, so maybe that’s why she didn’t grieve for too long. She frowned at herself. What a horrible thing to think, but it was true, maybe if it was someone she knew, maybe she could…

“Agh…what’s wrong with me…?”

Ayano slapped her own cheeks with both of her hands, a hiss of pain came out of Ayano as she felt the sting on her cheeks. She rubbed her cheeks and sighed. She really has got to stop hurting herself like this.

In any case, Ayano was seated near the…Bottomless Canyon. Okay, Ayano. She was sitting near it with her legs tucked towards her chest, her chin resting on her knees. She was staring into the vast emptiness…she wondered what would happen if she threw a rock or something in it. She was too busy staring down at the chasm that she didn’t notice someone walking towards her.