‘ I didn’t do it.
It wasn’t me.
R i g h t -- ?
P L E A S E,
Believe me ! ‘
Kamen hated sleeping.
With a passion, he hated it.
If it were possible to live without the repercussions of not sleeping, he would have done it without a hint of hesitation-- But some things just weren’t allowed to happen. No matter what he was capable of magic wise, no matter how his eyes shifted from green to bright red whenever he felt the desire to allow it and use his powers, he never asked for such a thing. If he were lucky instead of being so unfortunate, he would have been fine just living a normal life without magic... And even if he could, he wouldn’t of wanted it like this.
Never like this.
Every time he closed his eyes, he relived that same memory that made him what he was now.
( TERRIFYING. MONSTER. NOT HUMAN. YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED ALONG WITH YOUR FAMILY. )
7 years had already passed, but he still relived it so vividly.
The flames that had set his family’s house aflame, smoke billowing up into the sky, and most importantly the screaming of his family trapped inside as he laid on the ground before it all, the heat glowing on his face, incapable of moving no matter how much he so desperately wanted to.
He could hear his father. “KAMEN, GO GET HELP!”
His mother. “Kamen, help us!”
The wailing of his newborn sister.
He wanted to move, he wanted to save them, why why couldn’t he move--
“It sure is painful being the reason your whole world’s going up in flames, huh fire boy? ♪” And among the sound of wood burning and the screaming of his family telling him to save them, someone stood beside him-- and almost as if by that person’s will, he was allowed to turn his head and look up at the individual seeming to just watch his family die slowly instead of getting help.
Eyes with an unnerving triangle spiral to them stared down at him, a malicious grin tugging at the older’s lips as one hand held a handful of what seemed to be strings connected to his person; controlling him. It was because of this man that he couldn’t move.
“Ahh, there it is, there it is~ I’ve been wanting to see what it looks like when you turn into a monster.” And then a sick, twisted laugh bubbled up the blonde’s throat, walking away while humming a cheerful tune. “You’re welcome, fire boy!!”
Wait. Wait, wait, wait--
WHY AREN’T YOU LETTING ME CONTROL MY OWN BODY AGAIN.
LET ME SAVE THEM, LET ME SAVE THEM.
PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE--
Saving them never came. His body was never allowed to move. He was forced to lay there watching the flames of that fire take everything from him, not knowing if his tears were from the smoke and flames or the clenching pain in his heart as he begged for someone, anyone, to come.
And they did, but oh, when they did, it wasn’t what he wanted.
“Kamen!” The voice of the mayor of tone spoke up to him, and just like that, his body seemed to be free from whatever kept him there, and the boy immediately pushed himself onto his hands and knees. “What happened?! Who started this fire?!”
But when he opened his mouth to speak, nothing came out. No matter how desperate he was, nothing came-- It was then he realized that DEMON was in the crowd of people, smiling at him; watching him struggle.
“It was him.”
What?
“Look at his eyes!! They’re glowing red like fire!”
I didn’t do it. It wasn’t me.
( Are you sure, FIREBOY? )
"He’s a monster! He killed his own family!”
Nonono-- PLEASE, BELIEVE ME!
It’s always the same dream.
And as soon as they move to grab him, he wakes up.
Crying. Sweating. Wheezing.
That person that ruined his life deserved to die, that’s what he thought. For taking his family, for turning him into a monster everyone in his village tormented until he was of age to be executed. He was at peace with himself at that point, until the brother of the demon that ruined him saved his life; someone who had also been turned into something terrifying. Not only them, but others as they soon came to find out.
“Kamen, are you alright?” Rou asked, pulling the tired brunet out of his thoughts from where he had been staring into his cup, a worried look evident on the blonde’s face. (A face that had similarities to that person.)
“I didn’t sleep well again.” Kamen responded, giving a slight shake of his head as he looked away.
And Rou knew. He had learned quickly he had nightmares, and they both felt bad in their own way after such words has been said. Rou wanted to take responsibility for his brother’s action, and Kamen...
He was just tired. He was tired of reliving that pain.
“Let’s just move on, Rou. We have work to do with Kona and Hyoga.”
That was also a reminder to himself. He had to focus on his new family now.
14 yr old Konaru > Precious innocent child just going on his journey to discover who he is and get stronger to protect his friends and family that he cares for more than his own life itself.
15 yr old Konaru > Happy Konaru because he is finally back home after nearly a year of traveling with Rou and Nari. His best friend is his partner, he’s learned how to use his magic, and everything is right with the world as he helps Nari and Rou come to peace with themselves and find out who they are. He’s totally fine with not knowing who his own family is because he’s happy as he is now.
16 yr old Konaru > He starts learning too much about himself that he wishes he didn’t. Korren’s takes over his body and he’s forced to unlock his powers he sealed away years ago out of fear of being called a monster while his conscience is stuck with Libra. He’s scared, he’s terrified, he starts being less and less honest and Rou can see it. He meets his real family with a brother that loathes the grief his parents suffered, he reunites with a girl he once cared about that tried to take his life, things are taking a downward spiral.
16 and a half yr old Konaru > Korren gives Konaru the truth of his race. He relives all the memories of his fallen kin one by one despite his begging and pleading for it to stop. It breaks him down so much he runs away from everyone and isolates himself for months, leaving people to think he’s dead.
Almost 17 yrs old > Rou finds him. He’s scared, he doesn’t want Rou near him, and Rou’s never been more angry in his life and fights him for the first time in years. In the end Konaru just breaks down clinging to Rou, and Rou takes him home where he belongs, with his family that love and miss him.
17 yrs old > He’s home. He’s not normal, he’s suffered a lot, but he’ll be okay. His family says they’ll make sure of that.
A gentle breeze drifted through the air above the city below, a mix of pleasant spring flowers and the salty air of the ocean. People walked the crowded streets below, talking among each other, bartering with traveling merchants, and walking in and out of various stores within the city. The city itself was large, though this was to be expected of the port city of Genoxx-- The famed city that held the magic guild known throughout the country of Selkka as ‘Crystal Heart’. It was a guild that was located at the very end of the city, right next to the ocean and right beside where ships were supposed to dock from other places in Selkka and all over the world. Some could call it a gateway city to new places and experiences-- Both for the city itself and the guild more-so considering it’s reputation.
In every city, the guild was always the biggest building, this was a fact-- The only exception was the capital city where the King of Selkka lived with his family. It was always a sight for people to behold to those willing to climb to the top, there was always something in the scenery that left the image in their head.
For Crystal Heart, it had to be the hills covered in flowers, and how the sun set behind them on the horizon.
Though it was only midday at the moment.
Nonetheless, a lone boy sat on the edge of the top of Crystal Heart, a large stained glass window in the shape of a heart directly behind him. His chin rested in one hand with a contemplative expression, silver-brown strands of hair from his bangs flowing with the breeze. Gentle gray hues blinked slowly, a hum escaping him as his free hand traced over the engraving all over the silver staff on his lap. A heavy sigh escaped him, followed by his head tilting with a hum before nodding slightly to himself.
“Yeah... That has to be it.” He spoke aloud, followed by pushing himself to his feet as he stood on the edge of where he was sitting, staring down at the people walking down on the ground below before taking a step forward and falling right off of the edge. Terrifying as it should of been, he seemed calm-- or perhaps even having fun with falling-- before the hand holding that silver staff moved and his legs were lifted up, combat boots standing on it before his falling stopped and he levitated in midair, coincidentally right next to an open window. Putting a hand on the window frame, the brunet floated inside before taking the staff underneath and landing safely on the ground. “Hup!!”
It was then he grinned, running off down the hall, turning a corner to head down a flight of stairs where much more noise could be heard the closer he reached the floor below. The hand that wasn’t holding his staff ran along the wall, though it soon dropped once he reached the end of the stairs, gaze being greeted with the busy main floor of the guild. Various people seemed to be gathered there with different weapons, appearances, and faces. Some of them were bunched up in their own little groups, others stuck to themselves, some seemed to be busily walking to and fro with items in hand-- And then there were the few that slept at tables or corners, no doubt having returned from a mission and didn’t have the energy to return to where they usually stayed to sleep instead.
“Konaru~! Hey, hey!”
The cheerful voice calling out to the ponytailed boy caused his head to turn, focusing on a small group of people sitting at a counter, a girl around his age with long, wavy black hair standing on the other side handing a cup to a grinning girl smiling his way. ‘Konaru’ grinned back in return as he made his way over to the group, the older girl that called him being the first to reach out and pat him harshly on the back. Her hair was short and brown, berets keeping her bangs out of her face while a part of her hair seemed to be braided-- No doubt just for looks. Her eyes were a bright green, seeming to be nearly sparkling as she kept her attention on the younger male, smiling with utmost enthusiasm.
“Hey, there you are, kiddo! We were starting to wonder where you wandered off to again!”
“Owch, Mana, that hurts...” Konaru responded with a laugh, head tilting a bit as he did so. “I’m sorry, I was up at the window again thinking...”
“You’ve been doing that a lot lately.” Another girl spoke up, popping up from behind Mana, short blonde hair swaying a bit as azure hues peered at him with evident concern. “It’s not like you, Konaru.”
“Oi, oi, he’s getting to that age, Spell.” A man cut in with a deep laugh that sat at the counter next to Mana, lifting his own cup to his lips. “Let the little guy have his space. Ain’t that right, Yunie?”
The raven behind the counter laughed in response. “Is that supposed to be a jab at me, Stephan? Don’t drag me into your conversation.” Cue a light tap to the man’s forehead with the pen she held in her hand. “Konaru goes through different things than I. Unless you’re blaming this on puberty?”
Konaru laughed quietly at the conversation being held with the four before him, an appendage lifting to rub the back of his neck. “I’m okay, really! I’ve just been thinking about some things so I wanted to sort my thoughts out...” He assured them. “Do you all know where Zero is? I need to talk to him about something, actually...”
“I saw him in the backyard with Analiese if I remember correctly.” Yunie responded. “He was shooing others away, but if it’s our dear Ace, I’m sure he’ll answer right away, hehe.”
“Hey, I’m no Ace! I can’t even use magic yet aside from flying!”
“You just don’t know how.” Mana commented with a snort. “’Cause yanno, there aren’t many documents surrounding Divus’.”
The main reason for that being the fact Divus’ were nearly extinct. Konaru Lenokka was very aware of this considering when the fact he was one of them was obvious, he and his caretaker-- Zero-- started looking into everything possible to get a better grasp of what he was. Unfortunately there wasn’t much information to go on... 300 years ago they had nearly disappeared according to what they read, for other Divus’ had been hunted down for the staffs they were all known for having that was made of a metal forged from light itself.
Lucerum was still rare to this day, so of course it went without saying that people ended up being protective over the boy, more-so when he didn’t bother to hide the mark on his arm that made it all the more blatant of his lineage. Humans never did change, so the possibility of him being killed for rare metal was always a possibility.
Summoners who were chosen by God... A race not born, but chosen individually. It was confusing to all, but there Konaru stood in the flesh, so they accepted it.
Though, considering there was no other Divus around, the brunet hadn’t learned how to do anything with his magic aside from learning he could stand on the staff he wielded to fly as he so pleased-- He had exceptional balance because of it as well.
“You can’t use magic, true.” Spell agreed with a giggle, hugging onto his arm. “But the Ace is the person that keeps everyone together, right? Everyone gets so happy when they see you, Konaru!”
“I still can’t call myself the Ace when I can’t do anything.” His face seemed to be a little troubled then by the words, but he forced a smile nonetheless. Oh well, there was no point in arguing with these guys. If there was any common trait among the members of Crystal Heart, it was that they were all stubborn. Just like their guild leader. With that, the Divus pulled away from Spell, starting to walk off and waving to the others as he did so. “Anyway, I’m going to go to Zero then! I’ll see you guys later!” he declared, trotting off as he made his way through the guild, walking around and between groups of others talking, greeting a few that seemed to notice him.
A set of double doors were left wide open at the back of the guild, revealing a wide open space that overlooked the water, A black fence outlined the entire area, probably to make it obvious what part of the land belonged to guild itself. Gray hues focused on one person in particular that seemed to be sitting at a table with an older woman, papers spread out between them as they talked away. The woman was the first to notice Konaru running over considering the other had his back facing him, though he soon spoke up to catch the man’s attention.
This man was more or less dressed in complete black-- this was excluding the dark green t-shirt he wore under his black vest, though it was a tad faded from being worn so much it seemed. His pants were also faded, but still a dark shade of black, accompanied by shoes that seemed more like slippers than anything else. (It left the Divus thinking that he had just rolled out of bed an hour ago-- Again.) The most notable thing about his appearance, however, were his gloves-- Though normally they only covered a person’s hands, Zero’s reached up to his elbows. Not many people knew of the reason why, but of course, Konaru did. The perks of being raised by the young guild leader, one could suppose... Though there was no perk in knowing that horrible scars reached that far up his arms due to an incident.
“Zero!!”
Said person reacted then, body turning so his gaze could focus on the teenager, seeming to be pausing in mid-sip of his coffee. He could see one of Zero’s brows raise in curiosity as he stopped before them, tightening his stance a little as he gripped his staff.
“I WANNA LEAVE HOME!”
And Zero’s reaction came immediately, spitting out his coffee and accidentally dropping his cup to the ground. The most bewildered look took over his face, hazel optics widening as he merely sat there for a moment staring at the younger.
“What--!?”
“I said I wanna leave home!”
Still, Zero couldn’t bring himself to answer, head whipping to the older woman sitting across from him who seemed to be just as surprised. “Oi, Ana, I’m not fucking sleeping, am I?”
“Certainly not.” Analiese responded as she stood up, gathering the papers on the table casually before turning to begin walking away. “I think you two need to have a talk, so I’ll leave this paperwork for Howl instead.”
And of course, Konaru waited, taking note of the wink the woman gave on her way back into the guild, inhaling to steel himself as Zero pushed himself to his feet as well and rubbed at his head with a quiet mutter. “I knew you were acting weird lately, but I didn’t think this was what you’d come to me saying.” The guild leader said, lifting his gaze to give the ponytailed male a worried look before moving to put an arm around his shoulders and lead him into the guild. “Let’s talk about this in my office, first off.”
“Ah-- Alright, Zero!” Eagerly, the younger moved to walk alongside the older, smiling happily up at Zero a he did so.
Said raven couldn’t help but scoff, smiling gently before ruffling Konaru’s hair and ignoring his quiet complaints. As they entered the guild, everyone seemed to notice them, waving or speaking up to greet them-- Zero of course responded to all of them, giving a few orders or comments here and there to those that he felt needed it. Being their leader, he had to keep up appearances... Despite the fact he could be lazy at times, though it was more because he worked himself too hard and therefore took to sleeping when he actually had free time.
A respectable guild leader despite his age, someone who seemed rough in attitude, but always strove to treat the guild like the family it was to him.
But of course, this was the way of Crystal Heart as a whole.
Konaru had been raised in such a positive environment under Zero’s care, so naturally it went without saying that his optimistic personality was thanks to being cared for by the people of the guild and their leader. He was thankful for it all and loved them all dearly, wearing the same pendant they all did-- A heart with cracks running through it like veins. It was a design that made people believe it was about to break, but that was the very message Zero wanted to give out.
No matter how broken some of the members might of been, no matter what they had been through, no matter how difficult a mission was-- They still stayed together. They all still came home to the one place they knew they’d belong.
Zero had said those very words before, causing Konaru to laugh quietly to himself as they made their way back up the stairs he had once climbed down, climbing up to the higher floors before eventually entering a room.
The wall opposite of the door had books on shelves from the ground all the way up to the ceiling, some of them being piled on the desk in the room, and some even resting atop a file cabinet and the window seat in front of a window that was left open. The younger of the two stopped in front of the desk, watching Zero walk around to sit in the chair behind his desk with a heavy sigh, lifting his feet to rest onto it as his head rested in one hand.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t keep his feet up there for long before Konaru held his staff out to knock them down onto the floor. His response was immediate, giving a childish pout and clicking his tongue.
“Don’t do that, Nicolette has to clean your office twice a week because you’re so messy, Zero.” The boy scolded.
“It’s my office! It’s not like she needs to clean it!”
“She does because if she doesn’t, she can’t find anything.” Cue a sigh. “She’s my best friend, you know. Stop being so forgetful and take care of at least this.” For a 14 year old to be scolding a man more than 10 years older than him, wasn’t that funny? Of course, that meant Zero wasn’t that old either. At his age, he could still find it in himself to be a stubborn brat.
“Yes, yes...” Zero grumbled, growing silent for a moment before shifting how he sat, leaning against his desk then and focusing his gaze intently on the younger. “Anyway, more importantly: you just said you wanted to leave home?”
Konaru stiffened then, expression turning more serious, returning Zero’s gaze before giving a firm nod, hands gripping his staff tighter. “I did.”
“Why?”
“I... don’t know why.”
“HAH?”
“I don’t know why.” The brunet repeated with a shake of his head, head lowering to stare at the weapon in his hands, fingers running over some of the engraving that covered his entire staff. “I really don’t, but something keeps telling me I need to go.” His head lifted then, meeting the older’s gaze with a more desperate look. “I can’t be Crystal Heart’s ace when I don’t know how to use my magic! It’s not right for everyone to always protect me either! If there aren’t any books that can tell me how, I need to learn on my own!” He needed to travel, to see different kinds of magic and experience things on his own and learn to protect himself.
“You’re a Divus, you know.” The guild leader pointed out, expression turning softer and more serious.
That was the truth. They both knew this.
Konaru was aware saying he wanted to leave home meant he wouldn’t be protected anymore; that someone might try to kill him for the staff he carried.
“I know that.” Hesitation was evident in his voice then, gaze looking off to the side. “Someone might attack me because I’m a Divus... I know that, Zero.”
“Maybe it’s Divus intuition for you to feel you need to go.” Zero laughed then, causing the younger to blink for a moment and look back at him as the older stood up to stand in front of him, leaning against the desk instead. “Because you’re apparently ‘chosen by God’. Maybe this is some push from whatever God there is in that case-- But hey, I’m not religious or anything.”
“Well, neither am I, but I guess that might be it...”
Cue a chuckle from the other, a hand reaching out to pat Konaru’s cheek gently, followed by said boy lifting a hand to touch Zero’s own.
“Are you sure about this?” His words weren’t spoken out of mistrust-- Heavens no, Zero had raised Konaru by himself despite being only a teenager not too much older than he was right now... He was just worried.
Konaru was his little brother; he had protected him and took care of him until now, wanting to make sure he was raised right-- But at the same time that meant he was going to pick up on his stubborn and independent qualities he so constantly expressed due to being the guild leader for Crystal Heart.
“I’m sure.” And the so called ‘Ace’ of Crystal Heart beamed then. “And I kind of have an idea of how to go about my journey too!”
“Oh yeah? What’s that?”
“The Life Crystals!”
And there Zero was again, giving the shorter a bewildered look once more as he pulled his hand away. “What?”
“Ah, I had a dream the other day, you know! About these bright sparkling gems that looked like the gem in the middle of my staff!” At that, Konaru gestured to said gem embedded in the middle of it. “So I asked Analiese about it, and she said they were probably the Life Crystals. You know, the ones that appear every 20 years or something for magicians to have a chance to bring out more of their powers!”
“Right, yes, that’s... true...” But, that would only make Konaru more of a target--!!
“So... I want to go! Please understand, Zero!”
Jeez-- When Konaru was looking at him like that, he couldn’t bring himself to refuse. He was silent for a moment, merely taking in the happy look on his brother’s face before giving a sigh of defeat. “Alright. We’ll start making plans to get you ready to set out, okay?”
“Hooraaayyy!!” And like the child he still was, the ponytailed one bounced up and down before hugging Zero tightly. “Oh, oh! And someone should come with me too to keep me company! That’d be so great! ♪”
“Yeah, yeah, we’ll see.”
- - - - - - - - - - - -
“Aw, come on!” The childish pout on Konaru’s face was as obvious as could be as they stood along the edge of a ship, staring up into the older’s face where he could only see a confident grin.
The ship they had borrowed from Genoxx took them all the way to the south of Selkka, stopping in a more or less empty port town with little to look at. Thanks to Zero being the guild leader who was always helping others, borrowing it for a little while was no problem to the captain of the ship... It was just time for Konaru to say his final goodbyes now and be on his way.
Unfortunately, in the end it seemed like that Zero hadn’t gotten him traveling company after all despite the boy making suggestions.
“What the heck! You said you’d look into it!”
“Ah, no, I said I’d see.” Zero answered, reaching out to pat his head with a grin. “But everyone you would’ve wanted had missions to go on, and I know you’d be too selfless to tell them to give it up just to come with you for however long it takes you to find these things... Besides, didn’t you say you wanted to get strong and take care of yourself?”
“I... Did...” Konaru admitted, giving a look of defeat.
"Hey hey, don't give that look." Zero chided, patting the younger on the back. "Knowing you, you'll definitely be okay and find a fix to that in no time at all!!" If it was a special kid like Konaru Lenokka, then Zero was confident he would end up being okay... He had always been good with people from a young age with that bubbly personality of his. It'd come in handy, he was sure. Of course, no matter how confident he was in Konaru, he still worried. That's what a big brother did, after all.
But for Konaru's sake in learning things about himself, he would try to suck it up.
Zero's smile softened then, bringing the Divus into a short hug before pulling away, keeping one hand on his shoulder and squeezing gently. "I'll see you when you come back home, Konaru."
Cue a grin. "Count on it, Zero!"
And with that, the brunet jumped onto his staff, flying off away fron him.
The raven mere waved after him, waiting until Konaru was out of sight before lowering his hand with a sigh. "You're gonna do great things, kiddo."
[8:35:15 AM] lissen: rou: i love you konaru!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
[8:35:19 AM] lissen: konaru: i love them too....
[8:35:23 AM] lissen: konaru: the fireworks
[8:35:25 AM] lissen: rou:
[8:35:28 AM] *shoves mana maker-kun up my ass* aesthetic: UHFKDGSGSHDF
[6:08:19 PM] Kismesbitch: Punch it right in the herbs
[6:09:05 PM] Kismesbitch: The leaf water is weak
[6:09:23 PM] *shoves mana maker-kun up my ass* aesthetic: (Rou voice) fuck your leaf water
[6:10:44 PM] Kismesbitch: Is he a black coffee drinker he seems like a black coffee drinker
[6:12:07 PM] *shoves mana maker-kun up my ass* aesthetic: you are very correct
[6:12:12 PM] *shoves mana maker-kun up my ass* aesthetic: he loves dirty bean water
[6:16:52 PM] Kismesbitch: I'm just laughing bc I'm imagining him looking down at someone putting tons of milk and sugar in their coffee and him whispering "weak"
[6:17:44 PM] *shoves mana maker-kun up my ass* aesthetic: NFUHFJSFKSGSHG
[6:17:46 PM] *shoves mana maker-kun up my ass* aesthetic: HE WOULD FUCK
In a matter of speaking, he has. When he was 10 years old he got really close with this one girl he cared for a lot-- It probably wasn’t love because being 10 years old is too young and he doesn’t quite understand romance even in his current age. He cared for her a lot though, but she was only there to be his friend to try and kill him and take his staff back to the people that owned her.
Zero saved him of course because he caught onto her and she ran off without a trace, but it still bothered him a lot when he cared for her.
102. Do you love anyone now? Have you ever?
Konaru loves a lot of people! The people he loves the most are Rou, Nari, and Zero! Rou is his absolute best friend along with Nari, and Zero is his big brother who he owes everything to taking care of him and raising him when he was left for dead.
Romantically, he’s as dense as a bag of rocks. He’s always been in that ‘I love everyone! we’re family!’ mentality, so he would have to learn the difference first before falling in love laughs... Even then, he’d be the type to confuse platonic love and romantic love constantly.
In the end he’d be a better partner for life platonically than romantically.
His denseness accompanied by how blunt he can be can be really hurtful, though unintentional as it is.
Fun fact: Modenverse Konaru texts with Kaomojis ehehe
Like so:
ＫＯＮＡ: Rou!!!!!
ＲＯＵ: what is it
ＫＯＮＡ: I got paid today!! (*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)
ＲＯＵ: oh yeah zero gives you your money weekly right??
ＫＯＮＡ: yeah! i’ve been dying to do something! let’s go out!! ヽ(・∀・)ﾉ
ＲＯＵ: wha t
