I don’t know what this is, I just wanted to write something for Ni No Kuni.
AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26827171
There was this strange idea that so many people seemed to carry, that one could no longer enjoy the things they used to once they were adults. Children seemed to go through life, expecting that who they were as adults would be nothing like what they were as children. Sometimes that happened, sometimes it didn’t.
But Oliver never understood why everyone expected it would. Perhaps it was just because she was hesitant to leave it all behind. There was change to who he was, sure. But it wasn’t really when he was an adult. There wasn’t an exact moment, but he could narrow it down quite a bit. When he was thirteen, after his mother died. After he came to the other world and learned the truth about his mother.
He couldn’t say exactly when, but if he had to say, it was probably just after leaning the truth, when Pea showed him everyone he helped. Whatever the reasoning was, though, whenever it might have occurred, Oliver had changed. It was for the better he was certain, now he strove to help as many people as he could.
Sometimes, he still pulled the Wizard’s Companion and Astra - or any one of the wands he had - out from their hiding spot. He could still use a few spells in his world, mainly Take Heart, Give Heart, Healing Touch and Healing Hand, and of course, Gateway, among a few others. But he wasn’t the kind of person to get hurt all that much, at least nothing that would really need magic. So there was never any reason he would need magic, unless he was going to visit the other world.
As he got older, though, it became harder for him to visit. His time was taken up more and more and soon even his summers were busy. He wished it wasn’t that way, though. He missed being able to spend more time with his friends.
He missed visiting Esther and seeing how she became such a good creature caretaker, taking care of familiars when their masters were away or had died. He missed visiting Swaine and Marcassin, seeing how close they were, somehow managing to find trouble with Swaine. He missed seeing Mr. Drippy and he missed visiting Cassiopeia in the Ivory Tower. He missed all his friends.
Yet Oliver couldn’t fully leave behind either world. He’d miss Phil, Myrtle, and everyone else in Motorville, but when he was there he also missed his friends in the other world. He never really knew what he wanted, when it came to those matters.
“Oliver,” Myrtle called him out of his thoughts, one day. It was, by all means, an average day. It was summer, before Oliver would begin studying at college, and the sun was shining as it often was. Oliver had been trying to find time to visit his friends over in the other world, but was struggling.
“You’re so deep in thought,” Phil noted, looking up from some notes of his. They had so many setbacks, but he and Oliver were so close to their dream. Or at least, it felt like they were. “What are you seeing about?”
Oliver looked up them from where he was sitting on the floor. It was weird, they knew he was a bit odd, but they never seemed to fully believe him about magic. But they never said they didn’t believe him. They just sort of went along with it. So Oliver wasn’t really sure how to respond, “I was thinking about how to find time to visit some of my friends.”
Myrtle tilted her head, “Those friends of yours from outside of Motorville?”
“Yeah,” He leans his head back, “I miss being able to see them as much as I used to.”
Phil turned back to working, “I guess that’s just a thing that happens.”
Oliver shrugged, though he wasn’t so sure. Was it just something that happens? His situation was unique compared to some, but at the same time rather similar. Just he had another world and magic thrown in.
---
The weather in Al Mamoon was, as it almost always was, hot and sunny. It was in a desert after all. Oliver had finally found time to visit, immediately going to Al Mamoon to visit Esther. After that, he go to Hamelin, but for now, he had to go see Esther.
He found her not too from her father’s babana stand, watching as some of the children played with the creatures in her care. Like Myrtle, Esther had grown, though she was still taller than him, it wasn’t by as all that much. He waved to her, catching her attention rather easily.
“Oliver!” He waved back, walking over to meet him. She was smiling, though she kept an eye on the creatures and the children. “You finally came to visit again.” Though it sounded harsh, her tone was playful, she was glad that he had came.
He rubbed the back of his head, “I had to find time when I could come and visit.” He added, “It’s getting really hard.”
Esther nodded, “Well, I’m glad you came.”
Oliver couldn’t help but agree.
---
When Oliver arrived in Hamelin, he barely made it halfway to his destination when someone ran into him. (Un)Surprisingly, the one who ran into him was Swaine, most likely avoiding having to in anyway do work that wasn’t tinkering.
“Oh! Oliver!” Swaine exclaimed, cheerful, though his voice was in a sort of hushed voice. He was clearly trying not to draw attention to either of them. Most of Hamelin knew he had some connection to Marcassin, though they didn’t know what exactly, and nearly everyone in this world knew of Oliver. Oliver had, after all, saved the world, not once, but twice, at least as far as most were concerned. “I thought I heard you were coming to visit.”
“Yep!” Oliver smiled, “I’m glad I finally found time, it’s good to see you Swaine.”
Swaine returned his smile, “Yeah, it’s great to see you.” He looked around, “If you can’t guess, I’m avoiding work.”
With a laugh, Oliver innocently asks, “Aren’t you always avoiding work when I come to visit?”
Swaine chuckled a bit, then shrugged, “I’m taking time off so I can spend time with you,” Though it seemed like he was simply coming up with a excuse, but Oliver could tell he was genuine. He knew that Swaine liked having Oliver around. Oliver liked being around Swaine, Esther, and Marcassin, they were all like family to him. Swaine was probably the closest thing to a father he’d ever had, Esther was like a sister, and Marcassin an uncle. It was hard to say what exactly Mr. Drippy was like to him, but Oliver knew he was family too.
“Right,” Oliver laughed as well, “Well I like spending time with you too. All of you, really.”
---
Oliver tried to make sure every time he visited the other world, he also went to the Ivory Tower and visit Cassiopeia. He wanted to make sure he did whatever he could so she wouldn’t feel lonely again. She didn’t get many visitors, though people had certainly forgiven her. The reason for that, though, was simply how hard it was to get to the Ivory Tower. Unless you were a wizard who knew how to cast Travel, you needed something to fly in on.
Though he didn’t have all that much time to visit, he still found the time to see her. He thought about just using Travel to get there, but he decided against it. He wanted to see Tengri and experience flying again, who knows when he would have the chance next.
The biggest thing you might notice about the Ivory Tower, was that it was, well, big. So big, in fact, that Oliver still hadn’t been able to make a very good map of it. So trying to find Cassiopeia at any given time was a bit hard.
Every hall, as they had been since they saved Cassiopeia, was filled with flowers. Red flowers, blue flowers, yellow flowers, white flowers, and so many more. As Oliver wandered, searching for Cassiopeia, he saw so many flowers. He liked to see them and he was glad that Cassiopeia was happy now.
After a while, he finally found her, in one of the gardens, planting more flowers. She looks up when she hears his footsteps, smiling when she sees who it was. “Oliver! You’ve come to visit.”
Oliver waved, walking over to her, “I always try to visit you when I come here.” He glanced around, looking at all the flowers. “Your flowers look as pretty as ever, I see.”
Cassiopeia smiles at him, laughing slightly, “I’m glad you enjoy them.”
Sitting down beside her, Oliver smiled, “I feel like anyone would enjoy them.” He tilted his head, “Anyone can see how pretty they are.”
They sat in a nice silence, for a while. After what was probably an hour, Cassiopeia finally spoke up, “Oliver, something’s on your mind, isn’t it?”
Oliver looked up at her, “Yeah, I guess.”
“What is it?”
Taking a deep breath, Oliver explained, “I miss being able to visit all of you as much as I did. But I keep finding myself more busy and having less time.”
Cassiopeia looked over at him, thoughtful. Her expression shifted to a small smile, “Even if you’re busy, we all know you’ll find time. You’re our friend, so though you may not always be able to be here, we know you won’t forget about us.”
Shaking his head, Oliver added, “No, it’s not that... It’s just... I don’t know what to do.” He fiddles with the edge of the cape he wore, “I want to be able to spend more time here. It’s not that I’m afraid that you all will forget about me, it’s just that I miss being able to spend time with all of you.”
Cassiopeia tilted her head, seemingly unsure how to respond or what to say. Finally, she says, “I’m not sure how to help you.” Then she handed him a flower, “But I’m sure whatever you do, you’ll be happy so long as you follow your heart.”
Oliver considered her words, “Follow my heart...” He echoed quietly, “I guess you’re right.”
