The Wastes: Part 1

"Hey everyone…?" Kaya whispered.

.

Aisha looked up from her breakfast, three small platters of omelets, beans, rice, and soup. It didn't take much for her to put it down, she wasn't particularly fond of the taste. Other meals sat in similar half-finished states across the table. In front of Liberta, a big cookie, among other ridiculous sweets. In front of Rennala, a salad. And in front of Kaya, the same meal as Aisha, only… much less. 

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Aisha wanted a nice, oily, cheeseburger… Her eyes glazed over as she started to fantasize about eating a nice, warming, greasy meal. Maybe while being pet, and hugged… by multiple girls, all with huge, soft bodies… and of course, they would also be feeding her.

.

"-because your fat butt is taking up so much space on the bench." Liberta shot casually at Rennala, missing the way Kaya shrank further and further into her bench.

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"I have something to confess." Kaya said, slightly louder.

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Aisha's ears perked up, and she looked curiously at the short girl, who wouldn't meet her in the eyes. She was tempted to scoot closer to the girl, but decided to give her a bit of space. While the other two, sitting across the table, clearly didn't even hear her.

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"You're jealous because you have no ass." Rennala scoffed. "Which is surprising, since you…"

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"I-I-I-I- I'm not all girl!" Kaya said louder, almost whimpering.

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"Oh." Aisha frowned, disappointed, going back to poking at her food with a bored look.

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Rennala looked over for a split second, processing what she had heard.

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And gave Kaya a thumbs up, who visibly shrunk in disappointment.

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"That's it..?" She muttered.

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"Did you want a bigger reaction?" Aisha asked, raising an eyebrow.

"W-well, no, but… I…"

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"Wait." Liberta said loudly.

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"Oh, there it is."

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"Are you telling me that this whole time, there was dick here!?" She cried indignantly, a hand reaching out to snatch Kaya's wrist. "Dammit, we're getting a room right no-"

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"NO!" Aisha snarled suddenly, slapping Liberta's hand away with a frightening intensity.

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It was like time had stood still, as Liberta's face showed another new emotion. Fear.

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"I get her first!" Aisha said coldly.

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"What!?" Liberta sputtered. "I… I…"

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"Shouldn't Kaya choose?" Rennala asked softly.

"Yeah, and she chooses me, right!?"

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"I…" Kaya blubbered, clearly still in the midst of processing the change in attitudes, from a complete lack of caring about her sex, to now, caring very much.

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"Kaya is mine." Aisha asserted possessively, hugging the short girl tightly around the waist. "I am not sharing."

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"You don't get to do that!" Liberta argued. "We're all equals in this team! That means we get equal share in her! And I called dibs!"

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"I'm clearly the leader, that means-"

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"Oh lord, why don't you two just duel for it, or something." Rennala sighed, before dropping the volume of her voice to a whisper. "Then I can have my turn."

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"Okay!" They both chorused.

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It was almost comical how fast Liberta twisted her head to look at Aisha suspiciously, who just smiled back at the elf. Aisha had seen the extent to her powers, so to willingly accept a duel seemed suspicious at best.

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Kaya and Rennala also gave similarly surprised expressions. It wasn't that they doubted Aisha's proficiency, but… they had seen the extent of Liberta's powers.

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Was Aisha really that confident? And was she right to believe in her capabilities?

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Rennala leaned over the table, stomach pressing into the wood as she whispered a few words to Kaya that the entire table heard anyways.

"Are you really going to honor the result of this?"

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"I… " Kaya swayed absentmindedly in her seat. "I'm okay with it… I mean, I'll probably end up… with both of them eventually."

"You're really okay with giving your first time out like that on a whim?"

.

"First time?" Kaya's brows furrowed indignantly. "Wh- I'm not a virgin!"

"Oop."

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Aisha rolled her eyes. "Why don't we get a contract, and then do it on the road?"

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"What?" Liberta stuck her tongue out in disgust. "I don't know if I'll even want to have sex by then."

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"Dear Maruna, it's only going to be like, an hour at most." Rennala sighed, leaning her head against a hand. "You're really afraid of making a commitment for that short of a time?"

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Liberta wheeled around, an uncharacteristic anger in her eyes as she stared intensely at the tall mage. 

"I'm not afraid!" She shot curtly. "Just… I don't want to, okay?"

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"What's with you?" Rennala asked, unintimidated by the outburst. "What are you, a child? You get angry at such the stupidest things."

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"I'm…" Liberta stiffened. "Not angry."

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Liberta returned to her food with a dour expression, shoving the muffins into her mouth by the handful. Rennala looked around at the others to see their thoughts on the outburst, but found that nobody was watching - Aisha trying her best to stuff her hands into the waistband of Kaya's pants.

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"Whatever." She rolled her eyes.

.

.

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It was only a few minutes later before everything was back to normal, the girls conversing aimlessly in the guild lobby as the usually so reserved and quiet hall stared at them. Out of the corners of their eyes, the girls couldn't help but note a few nervous glances mixed in with the judgment-laden ones, but without any further information, there was nothing to act on.

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"What about this one?" Aisha suggested, holding out a piece of paper to show to Kaya, catching a nervous, and also slightly apologetic glance from the clerk. She frowned, but paid it no mind, returning her attention to the contract.

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"Uhhhhnnn…" The now noticeably shorter girl murmured. "I dunno, I… actually, sure. It looks good. Probably doesn't matter anyways."

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"That's true." Aisha nodded. "I guess the only thing that matters is the travel time at this point. Ugh they're all at least three days of travel, though…"

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"Then I guess…"

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"Hey, the name on that one…"

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Suddenly, the doors to the guild were wrenched open forcefully, the air forcefully sucked out of the guild by a vacuum. Instantly, all heads turned to the offender, only to find multiple - A familiar, cyan-haired visage, adorned with a stern expression, flanked by two armor-clad guards.

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Akane instantly locked her eyes onto Aisha, walking over with long strides and a scowl.

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"Do you think you can just cause trouble wherever you go?" Akane demanded, jabbing a finger into Aisha's shoulder, the fey girl looking quite sheepish as she limply held a contract in her hands.

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"Hey look, that's your name on the contract!" Aisha interrupted, smiling cheekily as she held up the paper.

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"I-... yes." The captain's eye twitched. "Multiple eyewitnesses report seeing four women matching your description at the site of building C-9437."

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"How could you know that it was us?" Aisha said, feigning ignorance, and relishing slightly in the stern-woman's flash of annoyance.

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"For one, there are only a handful of people in the capital that could possibly cast a spell with the elemental signature left at the location. Two of which are here right now!"

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Akane pointed at Rennala, who also decided to start feigning ignorance, and Liberta, trying her best to sneak out of the guild.

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"Furthermore, the descriptions match yours' exactly!"

"You can't be sure it was us."

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Akane glared at Aisha as she fiddled around with her contract absentmindedly, without a hint of nervousness or panic. The guards at the door blocked the doorway silently, blocking Liberta's exit, despite the raspberries she blew at the stoic soldiers.

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"You seem to be under the false assumption that the Arcadian system of justice applies here." Akane said coldly. "There do not exist the same loopholes that allow criminals to avoid persecution."

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"Even though you're not sure that it's us?" Aisha frowned.

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"It is obvious that it's you!" Akane shouted. "Don't play dumb. There is no point!"

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"Alright alright." The fey girl mumbled. "So what are you going to do?"

"You four will be taken into the tribunal to await judgement. There, a judge will decide your punishment."

"Which will be?"

"...Jail time and community service."

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"How about we skip the jail time and just do this?" Aisha suggested, holding up the contract directly in front of Akane's face.

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The piece of paper blocked Akane's twitching face from view, and consequently, the brief look of apprehension, fear, and resignation that flashed over her face for a few seconds.

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"I- fine." She mumbled, vile hatred in her voice, like she was forced to spit the words out.

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Aisha immediately frowned and looked around, searching, but finding nothing. The suggestion was just teasing, she hadn't assumed that Akane would have actually taken it. Truth be told, she was just stalling - she didn't have a plan, her only inkling of an idea was to maybe charm Akane or some authority figure, although it was dicey at best, her magic only lasted as long as she was in close proximity with her target.

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Akane would have never accepted her request. Aisha didn't even have to scan her, or hell, even think about it that hard.

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"What?" Aisha blurted out, more of a demand than a question.

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At Aisha's suddenly suspicious expression, Akane's face flashed guilt - but then, just as suddenly, her face turned stoic, her voice going even once again.

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"It is more of a desirable outcome than what would come out of trying to apprehend you all." She said stiffly. "I'm sure-"

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"You're sure?" Aisha asked slowly.

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"..."

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Akane's face stopped, in the middle of her bullshit explanation. Even Rennala and Liberta were silent as they watched Aisha stare, with that calculated expression, unwavering, but also betraying a bit of the intense thought process behind those eyes. It was that expression that subconsciously put a bit of respect for the fey girl in their hearts, as well as a tiny bit of fear.

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But the gaze was quickly broken as the cyan-haired woman quickly snatched the contract out of Aisha's hands, walking briskly over to the front desk and tossing the paper to the guild clerk. Drawing a pen from her pocket, her hand flew across the paperwork that usually took Aisha ages.

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"Hm." Aisha frowned.

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"What's wrong?" Rennala asked.

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"The bitch showed leniency." Liberta commented offhandedly, from across the room.

"I'm literally right here."

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"I have a feeling that a move is being made on me." Aisha mumbled. "But…"

"It looks like we have no choice but to accept." Kaya said quietly.

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"Yeah, especially since she's already done with the paperwork." Rennala observed.

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And indeed, the stern guard captain was already making her way back over to the group, the judgmental gazes on the back sliding off of her like raindrops. Her gaze was even steelier and colder than usual, and her hand twitched towards the handle of her blade constantly.

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Not only that, but her eyes kept flitting. Frustratingly fast that even Aisha couldn't see - she considered using the angel's stolen eyes again, but before the idea even entered her mind, the tick stopped again.

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How frustrating.

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"We're leaving now." She said curtly.

"Huh?" Aisha frowned.

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"I said we're going now." Akane repeated, glaring at Aisha.

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"Me and Libba have unresolved business." Aisha said evenly. "It can wait."

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Kaya went slack-jawed. "You're really still-"

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"You don't have a choice in the matter." Akane scowled. "This may be a contract, but you are still a criminal."

"This is important."

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"You can't be serious!" Rennala balked.

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"I don't care." Akane glared.

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"..."

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"..."

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"Alright, fine."

.

.

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"Hey, why is she coming with us?"

"I don't know."

"Is she just going to stay silent the entire time?"

"I dunno. Who cares?"

"You guys want to make a bet?"

"I'm… not sure we should antagonize her."

"Nah, I think we can antagonize her all we want."

.

Heads turned to Aisha with curious expressions, clearly wanting a bit more elaboration on her statement of blatant provocation. Looking to their teammate, her usual relaxed, aloof expression was hard, calculating. Clearly thinking about… something.

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"There is something stopping her from arresting us." Aisha observed. "Probably orders… from that fox woman… Azamu or something."

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Kaya raised an eyebrow. "The commissioner? She shouldn't have any influence over the guard."

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"She does." Aisha insisted. "She was like a loyal dog."

"She's already just like a dog." Liberta muttered.

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Aisha nodded.

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"What do you think the point of this is?" Kaya asked curiously. "Are you being targeted by the commission?"

"I have no doubt that I'm being targeted." Aisha sighed. "But I don't have any information myself. Those assassins -"

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"Oh, you ran into those too?" Liberta frowned. "Strange."

"I…" Rennala stiffened. "I also ran into them."

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Aisha's eyebrows furrowed at the slight hesitation in Rennala's tone.

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"Did you kill them?" Aisha asked slowly.

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"...Yeah." Liberta nodded solemnly. 

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Rennala took a long pause, before answering with a hard gaze.

"...Yes."

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"Did they do anything strange? Anything notable?" Aisha asked.

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"Nah, I took care of them before they could really do anything." Liberta responded evenly.

.

"Renna?"

"They knew how I fought." The mage elaborated stiffly, eyes unwilling to meet any of her teammates. "They had countermeasures."

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"What kind of countermeasures?" Kaya asked.

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"Silence spells…" Rennala muttered. "And they kept reaching for my rune bag."

.

"How'd you get them back?"

"..."

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Rennala's eyes fully hardened. Recognizing the look, Aisha instantly drew her attention elsewhere, although Kaya and Liberta's gazes lingered.

.

"Whatever." Aisha mumbled. It seemed like more and more, the secrets that her teammates had been holding were beginning to unravel. She couldn't blame them - Aisha had her own secrets she was hiding.

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And she would be lying if she said she fully trusted all of her teammates.

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"So, Miss Akane." Aisha sidled up to the cyan-haired woman, not close enough to touch, but just enough to somewhat intrude in her personal space. "Where are we going?"

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It was Akane's turn to get all stiff and dodgy, and judging by the way her gait desynchronized-

"Oh come on!" Aisha grimaced in frustration. "Just answer the damn question. I'm tired of playing these games!"

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"Okay, fine." Akane mumbled, uncharacteristically quiet and informally. "We're going to the wastes."

"WHAT!?" Rennala screeched.

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Aisha frowned and turned around, searching for the source of the outburst, but found similarly shocked expressions on Kaya and Liberta's faces. Her brows furrowed as she turned back to Akane, but saw nothing but a guilty, apprehensive expression.

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"I don't understand."

"Then you're clearly still too green for your occupation." Akane mumbled.

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"Aisha, there is a reason contracts in that location are higher-division exclusive." Kaya balked. "There is a 9% return rate. And to this day, nobody has returned unscathed."

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"How could it be that bad?" Aisha wondered, a flash entering her mind of a soft, warm smile, adorned by a wonderfully loving and fluffy woman.

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Just the thought of her mistress brought an uncontrollable smile to Aisha's face. It had been a long time since she had thought of her…

.

A long time…

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"It is that bad." Kaya shook her head. "There is an entire order dedicated to traversing that place - The order of Izec - They send out an expedition every twenty years, and there have never been more than ten returning members."

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There was that name again. Izec. Her very own last name. Taken, but still - the thought of learning more about her mistress, piqued her curiosity. 

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"Have any of you ever been in person?" Aisha asked suspiciously.

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"I have." Liberta said quietly. "It's not a place we should be going to, Aisha."

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Even Liberta looked scared… Kaya, even Akane too. Rennala also held an apprehensive expression, but it was different in a way that Aisha couldn't put her finger on.

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"I'm not going." Rennala hissed. "I refuse."

"You don't have any choice." Akane shot.

"I don't want to go either." Liberta frowned. And Aisha knew that meant that she definitely wasn't going to go. Or at least, without suitable incentive.

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"You will all go, or die here, by my hand." Akane snarled, sweeping a leg backwards and putting both hands on the blade at her hip. "You are all still criminals!"

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"You really think you could take on all four of us?" Liberta furrowed her brows, the ground beneath her beginning to shake, as she too, took a fighting stance.

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"I have - " Akane stood resolutely, but hesitated as she glanced sideways at Aisha and Kaya, watching the exchange coolly. "It doesn't matter! If justice folds to a show of force, then there is no point in justice at all!"

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"You don't want to go either." Aisha observed. "What are we doing in the wastes, anyways? Can you tell us?"

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"It doesn't matter." Akane insisted, stiff and wary, eyes sweeping the space between Aisha and Liberta.

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"It matters a lot, if we're going to be going in there. We have to at least know the objective."

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"Urk… " Akane grimaced, being called out for her dodgy reasoning. "Fine. We are to collect chaos magicite."

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Aisha's eyebrows furrowed.

"I can't imagine what use that would be to a member of the guard." She sighed, looking upwards absentmindedly. "Isn't that interesting… Is there any way that we could convince you to abandon this pursuit?"

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"I will not compromise on this." Akane winced. "Either I complete my mission… with or without your help, or I die. By your hand, or by the wastes, it matters not."

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"We could just kill her and say it was to a greater demon." Rennala narrowed her eyes. "Nobody would know."

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Akane's eyes twitched, and all of a sudden Aisha felt a bit of sympathy for the woman, once more. She didn't want to go. She didn't want to be here. But she was being forced to by Azamu, and now, she might die, not even while completing her mission.

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She was scared. Not just of the wastes, but of them as well. But her sense of duty…

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"I agree with Renny." Liberta narrowed her eyes. "Let's just kill her."

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The hand on Akane's sword began to tremble slightly. Aisha sighed.

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"Oh, I wish I could instill the kind of loyalty you have to that fox." She said, shaking her head. "But, well, let's see."

"What do you mean?" Kaya asked.

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"Don't kill her." Aisha sighed. "I'll go to the wastes with you. I won't try to force anyone else to go, and Akane won't either. Isn't that an agreeable arrangement?"

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"I…" Akane bit her lip, but decided to cut her losses. "F-fine."

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"Aisha, this is stupid." Rennala reasoned desperately. "Even with the four of us, there's no way-"

"I'll go too." Kaya said softly.

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"Not you too!"

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Liberta looked hesitant between Aisha and Rennala, her expression wavering. To her, it seemed like the two weaker - and cutest - members of their party were sending themselves to their deaths. But at the same time, she really didn't want to go!

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"I will protect you all to the best of my abilities." Aisha said simply. "I won't promise anything. Promises are cheap, anyways… But I have been to the wastes too. I climbed the chasms of the rifts. And I'm still here, today."

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Aisha turned to the guard captain, her hands still firmly placed on the handle of her sword. "Akane."

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"...What?"

"If I die, and you live, promise to let the others go free and continue working as adventurers?"

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Akane tilted her head sideways at Aisha, a new expression creeping into her face that vaguely resembled "respect."

"...Fine." She muttered.

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"Mmh."

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Kaya leaned over to whisper into Aisha's ear. "I thought you didn't know what the wastes were."

"Shut up." Aisha whispered back, out of the corner of her mouth.

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Well, she wasn't entirely lying. She had indeed scaled the cliffs of the wastes… it was just… she didn't know if it was real, or if… that man had kept her safe from the supposed dangers.

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A big part of her wanted to go out of pure curiosity. To see if he was lying, or if he was even real. To see her mistress's home. To test her skills.

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But also, she felt bad for Akane. She wondered where that sympathy came from.

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"I changed my mind." Liberta said quietly. "I can't let someone so cute die… but I am going to run if things look bad."

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"You're full of shit." Rennala retorted.

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"..."

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Now faced with three expectant gazes, Rennala shrunk under the implicit peer pressure - although nobody had said outright that she should go, at this point, not going would probably alienate the three girls from her for a long time.

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Assuming they came back.

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"I'll go to the edge, but I'm not crossing the border." Rennala mumbled. "That is final."

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Aisha nodded. "That's good enough."

.

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"It's getting late." Liberta mumbled. "We should set camp."

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Aisha nodded.

"You didn't forget to bring a sleeping bag again, did you?"

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"I didn't bring one on purpose!"

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"Ah, of course."

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The conversation had been stifled from the point at which their uncomfortable conversation about the wastes had taken place. The thought of assassinating Akane had seemed to exit the party's minds, but the looming threat of their incoming destination dampened the mood significantly.

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"We are not stopping."

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"...What?"

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It hardly was the first time that Akane had said something ridiculous, with a completely straight face. But still, the suggestion that they shouldn't rest, after walking an entire day…

.

"You can't be serious." Aisha frowned.

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"There should be no fear of bandits or monsters." Akane said simply. "And you should all have the constitution to easily walk for days."

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"That doesn't exactly mean we want to." Kaya drawled.

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Akane looked downwards at Kaya and winced, quickly looking away.

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"Regardless, it is a waste of our ti-"

"I think we should kill her again."

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"Stop that." Aisha just sighed, rubbing her forehead, before turning to Akane. "You too. This is ridiculous."

"...If you all cannot handle walking through a single night, then-"

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"There's no reason to do such a thing." Aisha said softly. "We all could, sure, but why?"

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"To save time." Akane mumbled robotically. "To train discipline."

"We are going into what might be the hardest encounter of our lifetimes." Aisha frowned. "You really think this is a good time to train discipline and fatigue ourselves for no reason?"

.

"Such things are just shallow excuses for laziness." Akane hissed. "I will not take part in such a thing!"

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"Ok, well we are, though."

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"..."

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Begrudgingly, Akane stopped her gait as Kaya began to lay out her quilt on the side of the road, snapping her fingers. The grass from the fields began to uproot themselves from the ground, and with another motion, the water began to drain out of the blades like a wrung sponge, leaving nothing but brown husks.

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A small pile soon formed, and with a little poke from her finger, Kaya lit the pile of kindling, the thing bursting into flame.

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The other girls piled logs on top of the flame, and before long, a roaring fire was lit, lighting up the sky and sending out warm, calming waves of heat.

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Liberta was the first to lay down on the quilt, and Rennala joined her, sitting down next to her head, just close enough to be more than a respectable distance, but far away enough that she could deny sitting next to her on purpose.

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A pointless gesture, though, as Liberta quickly climbed on top of her lap, resting her chin on the mage's thick thighs. She squawked in indignance, but said nothing else - and after a while, she relaxed, resting a hand on top of the elf's head.

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Aisha took a much less reserved path with her cuddle partner, grabbing Kaya around the shoulders forcefully and pinning her to the ground, hugging and nuzzling the girl aggressively. Kaya just giggled and smiled in turn, taking the opportunity to exchange nose boops with Aisha, as well as a few chaste kisses.

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Before long, everybody had settled into their places near the fire, each with their cuddle partner. Except for Akane.

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Looking at the woman again, Aisha couldn't help but feel a pang of that strange sympathy. She looked cold in her ornate, yet thin outfit, and on top of that, she didn't seem to have brought a sleeping bag for herself. On top of that, she stood a good few meters away from everyone else, staring aimlessly into the night.

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"What do you think of Akane?" Aisha asked Kaya, softly.

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"Huh?" The short girl raised an eyebrow. "What about her?"

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"What's her deal?"

"That… doesn't really answer my question."

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Aisha rolled her eyes. "I mean, why does she do the things she does? Or at least, why do you think? What do you think of her behavior?"

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"Her dedication is admirable." Kaya pursed her lips. "But everything else is… unremarkable. In the end, dedication means nothing if you cannot yield results."

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"How pragmatic." Aisha observed.

"Eh." Kaya shrugged. "I dunno, I don't really care. Think about me instead!"

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"Aw, only a few nights together and you're already getting this demanding, huh?" Aisha smiled.

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Kaya smiled back, before touching Aisha's cheek with her own.

.

"You're so cute." Aisha giggled.

.

"You're cute too!" Kaya giggled back, hugging Aisha tighter.

"No you!"

"No you!"

"No-"

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Meanwhile, Akane desperately attempted not to throw up, as the flirting and cuddling got more and more blatant behind her.

.

She wanted so desperately to not be here. She didn't exactly know where she would rather have been instead, but god, anywhere would have been better than this moment, walking to her impending doom in the freezing cold, forced to watch the most affectionate, disgustingly cute girls she had seen in her lifetime.

.

But honestly, it wasn't much better than what awaited her at home. A cramped one room apartment with a singular futon. A closet to store her outfits, and a bathroom.

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That was it. That was all a warrior should need.

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So why did she feel such longing, at the sight of these girls indulging themselves?

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It sickened her. Not the sight itself, but also her reaction. A samurai shouldn't long.

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"Hey, Akane?"

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Akane wheeled around and instinctively snarled, not out of any particular malice, but a habit made out of constant anger, and annoyance.

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Emotions that didn't change as her gaze settled on the second-most promiscuous member of the group she had been forced to pick up.

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"What do you want?" Akane scowled.

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"Actually, I came here to ask you that question."

"What I want is to complete the mission and be done with you criminals." Akane mumbled. "Until the next building is destroyed, or law is blatantly disobeyed."

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"No, I mean, why do you choose to be captain of the guard?" Aisha shook her head. "Why do you hold yourself to such high standards of discipline? … and everyone else?"

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"There is simply nothing else to it." Akane's eyebrows furrowed. "Without discipline, there is nothing. If everyone was to participate in blind indulgence, there would not even be society."

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"You don't think any good can come of it?" Aisha's eyes went half-lidded, her red irises dancing in the firelight. "At all?"

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"No."

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"Why do you think that?" Aisha pressed.

"Why do you think the opposite?" Akane challenged back.

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Aisha frowned at the aggressive retort. She wasn't used to people pushing back on her.

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That was right… her appearance, her cuteness, had always been an incredible advantage over others. People opened up to her easier. Disarmed by her appearance - the only people that had ever remained closed to her were…

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Those two.

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And now Akane.

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Aisha closed her eyes. "Because humans cannot live together without indulgence."

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"Preposterous." Akane scoffed audibly. "What are you talking about?"

.

"You said that organized society would not exist if people only participated in indulgence…" Aisha mumbled. "But I would argue the converse is also true. To begin with… I think companionship is illogical. To trust, to love, without any guarantee of return… I consider… I considered it stupid, to even begin with."

.

Aisha's eyes took on a wistful quality, and suddenly, she felt all the fatigue escape from her body, letting her posture slump, and her face relax.

"But I've learned that through what you call 'indulgence…' This is what allows people to form 'bonds.' Through sharing sadness… happiness… That is how humans turn our illogical, indulgence, into society."

.

Akane looked at Aisha and frowned, seeing the happy, cool Aisha fade away, showing off the ugly, tired version of herself. The expression in her eyes was hard, and distant.

.

How was it possible that someone so young could hold an expression so… weathered? So… beaten down?

.

"I've misjudged you." Akane mumbled.

.

"Aren't you going to give me your answer?"

"I have never made any such promise." The guard captain muttered.

.

And once more, that chilling expression was set on her once again, purely, intensely focused. Akane felt the hairs on her arms rise - it had been cold before, but now, it felt like she was freezing to death. She was sure that Aisha could see every single muscle twitch, every small finger movement, but she would be damned if she gave her anything.

.

But just as fast as it started, Aisha stopped.

.

"See you in the wastes."

.