Chapter 11: Childhood

I'm seven now. Life has been really good for me recently, my day-to-day life hasn't changed much, it was the same stuff over again. In the mornings I trained the sword with Iris and Claire, in the afternoon I would go around in the wheat fields to either practice magic or play with Rias.

We found a small hill South East to where the mansion was, it was in between where Rias' house was and where my house was, so it was pretty convenient for both of us. On the hill was a tall weeping willow, its roots crawled on the ground and down the hill. Rias named it the Crying Tree, it's not a creative name but it works pretty well.

Recently I have been trying to further hone my healing and support magic. I asked Mother for advice but her information wasn't really useful… As expected, some people just aren't built for teaching I guess. She was able to give me all the incantations for healing and support magic up to imperial class, it's really impressive just to have that on the top of her head, she must have really been an impressive mage back then…

With my target locked for today, I prepared to head out for my day of training. I held the textbook of magic in one hand and my wand in the other, a wooden practice sword strapped to my back. I headed to the hill where the Crying Tree stands magnificently.

//

It was still pretty early, the time should be around twelve, the sun was shining down from right above. Under the tree, I swing my sword, using supporting magic to strengthen my swing then use wind magic to make the sword slice through smoothly. That was one advantage I have on all swordsmen, I was able to use magic, not Claire nor Iris can truly use magic to make their attacks more deadly, given their skill it's not like they really have to. Right now Claire was an advanced class swordsman, same for Iris, although it was still pretty clear there was a skill gap between the two.

"Did I keep you waiting for long?" A squeaky voice said as golden hair popped out from behind the tall tree.

"Not at all," I said, "I got here a little earlier to practice." 

Ever since I drove the boys off, Rias haven't been bullied again, at least not that I know of. 

I figured that I probably frightened those boys too much that time, it's kind of funny how those boys act tough and all, just to run away and never get seen again. 

Playing with Rias has been really fun, what we referred to as 'playing' was chatting or playing tag, just your usual childhood games. Sometimes Rias would trip over the thick root crawling around the floor and injure herself, this was actually really good practice for me.

"Gryne? Can you teach me how you do that?" Rias asked one day as I was healing the scratch on her knee.

It was a surprising question, I never thought anyone would take interest in magic, especially not a young kid. "Sure, I can! But are you sure you want to learn this? It will take quite a bit of effort."

"Yes, I do." Rias said firmly, "I want to be able to heal myself, I don't want to bother you with every little injury and maybe I can help you also… I alway see you practicing with your sword, I want to help out also."

That certainly wasn't the response I was expecting, Rias was mature, way more than I was when I was her age, I would shy away from any form of challenge. I sure do envy her…

I used the textbook to give her the basics of mana and magic manipulation. To my absolute astonishment, her mana pool was already incredibly big, although there's the fact that she doesn't understand how to manipulate it properly. I guess some people are just naturally gifted for this sorta stuff, aye?

For the next few weeks I taught her how to cast beginner level spells, even with her incredible mana pool it took quite a bit of time for her to properly master a spell. Rias by the end of the third week was able to use about ten different beginner level spells. With her mana pool we can go on for almost half a day without taking a break, this made her progress skyrocket.

About a year has passed since I started teaching her spellcasting. She has made significant progress, right now she can cast elementary level spells without much of a problem. Still there was room for improvement, Rias was poor at handling water and earth spells, she could handle fire especially well and wind pretty well also.

If I remember Rena's words correctly, there are things known as 'affinity schools'. As the name suggests, some people had an affinity for certain elements of magic. But these 'affinity schools' come at a 'cost' not that anyone has a choice, but there's something called 'ny-affinity schools', it is the opposite to affinity, ny-affinities are element or elements in which the person is weak at. There is a cause for every affinity, nobody is born with one, past events affect your affinity, some affinities or ny-affinities might build up even after you become an adult.

First time I met Rias, she was shivering in the snow which is a subcategory of water and was getting kicked with boots covered in mud and dirt. It explains her ny-affinities pretty well, although I think she has gotten past these bullying and has toughened up, I believe there was still a sort of instinctual fear lingering.

For Rias affinities it can be pretty easily explained also.

I myself have no real ny-affinities, I was pretty comfortable with all kinds of spells, no matter the element, even the ones which aren't really in the basic elements, like shadow or light based spells, I have no trouble with. 

Despite her struggles with the water and earth spells, Rias never had a single word of complaint, and just worked harder if she ever failed. She was a real hard worker, she never slacked off. Since she reached intermediate level, I lent her my wand, the one Rena gave me. That said I felt kind of bad for working her so hard, her workload wasn't really something any six year old should have.

"Rias, why don't we rest for a bit now." I said, before sitting down on the spiky grass underneath the shadows of the weeping willow.

"Gryne, when can you teach me how to heal people?" She asked as she sat down next to me.

Hmm? That huh? I don't know if I would be able to teach that well, I myself can only use up to intermediate level after all… I thought about it for a bit, that was Rias' original request, learning how to use healing magic. 

"Let's start tomorrow."

//

I headed to the hill at about the same time as always, normally Rias wouldn't be here this early, coming about half an hour after I arrive, which gives me time to practice swordplay under the shadows by myself.

I arrived at the hill, to my surprise I saw Rias perched there waiting, sitting atop one of the thick tree roots Rias blasted small crackling fireballs off the hill, the fireball would explode far away in a spectacular burst of multi-colored flames. As she launched the spells she hummed a soothing melody, one that truly represents the serene and peaceful landscape.

I hiked up the hill stealthily, without being noticed, I snuck behind Rias, the tree acting as a wall separating the two of us, beneath the tall tree I sat, the beautiful echoes of Rias' humming ringed across my ears.

Her cute voice, the soft melody, the rustling of the leaves, the sissing of the wind, the tune was like nature itself giving me a song… As the humming died down after the climax, finally stopping with a long dragged on "mmmmm—" I came out from behind the tree almost tripping over another one of the tree's roots.

Rias looked at me, her face instantly flushed red with embarrassment, "Did you hear that?" She asked.

"That was a beautiful tune you were humming." I replied.

Rias takes another glance at me before burying her flushed tomato red face into her hands, she mumbled something I couldn't hear.

"Hey Rias, didn't you say you wanted to learn healing magic?" I asked, trying to break the awkwardness.

"Uh–Huh," Rias mumbled, her face still buried in her hands.

"How about we start our first lesson?" I said, trying my best to break up the awkwardness of the current situation.

"Uh… sure."

"Okay then, where should I start?" I mumbled, "Ah yes, let's start like this." I pull out a small piece of parchment paper from my back pocket.

On the floor I created a small puddle of black liquid, the liquid was thick and fluid, like ink. This mixture was made from water and fire magic along with the dried grass.

I walked away trying to find something to write with, maybe a stick or a feather. I looked beneath the tall tree, bending down and picking up a small sharp stick, it was almost the perfect stick for writing. I turned my head back at where me and Rias were sitting, Rias looked curiously down at the black dye I created.

I held the parchment firmly against the downward sloping floor, my belly laid on the hill, I began scribbling with the magically created ink, first I wrote a line of incantation for the basic healing spell, 'Heal'. And next to the writing, a sketch of the human body with a line showing how the mana should move. (The sketch looked surprisingly good if I do say so myself, maybe I could really have been a mangaka if I didn't give up halfway… Sigh—)

Healing magic was complex to understand, it isn't like the other spells where the setup can be interchangeable, just for maybe weaker effects, if the mana flow isn't controlled correctly the spell would fail. On top of the requirements for accuracy, the reversed movement just makes it even harder. 

The theory behind it was pretty simple, it's really easier said than done, healing magic is to heal and restore, while most normal magic is to injure or break. This phenomena is known as… Positive mana flow.

I finished up my speech on explaining the theories to Rias. I'm pretty proud of that, it's one of the best speeches I have given out, it's at least a million times better than the presentations I was forced to do at school back then.

"Shall we?" I asked as I hinted to Rias to try the 'Heal' spell.

Looking down at the parchment paper on the floor, with her hand held out in front of her, Rias began chanting, "May the glorious golden light which soothes the body, restore the power they lost, heal the wounds they have on their bodies, allow the glorious light flow through their bodies and grant them strength to rise again— Healing."

Nothing happens.

Rias wasn't at all disappointed, with a determined look on her face, she began her chant again.

Nothing happens.

Over and over again throughout the afternoon, she chants and nothing happens. I couldn't figure out what was going on, everything seemed to be working just fine, I could feel the flow of her mana being positive, I could hear that every word she chanted was correct… What was wrong? I myself had to try a few times myself when I first learned this spell, but it was because I pronounced the incantation wrongly.

The sun started to set and we went home. I allowed Rias to keep the parchment paper with the instructions on it just so if she wanted she could figure out the problem herself.

//

I didn't have an appetite when dinner came by, my mind was solely focused on finding the problem in why Rias couldn't cast the 'Heal' spell. I couldn't wrap my head around it, I couldn't see anything that was wrong, nothing had to be tweaked, the things she did were almost perfect.

I didn't say a single word throughout dinner time, my head laid atop the long rectangular wooden dinner table, my eyes blankly stared at the food on the plate.

"Gryne?" Mother asked, "What's wrong? You seem to have something in your mind."

Mother's words brought me back to life, I blink blankly at her, I couldn't hear what she said before, with a face of flat confusion I replied, "What?"

"I just see you starin' at the dish without eating it, is something wrong? You don't normally do this…"

Claire butts in, loudly she said, "Yeah! You always finish your food so fast like a pack of hungry wolves."

Was I really that easy to see through? "Yeah… Right… I'm just thinking about something I can't understand…"

"What is it?" Mother said, her tone all high and almighty, "Allow your mother to explain to you any problem that you might have."

"Ummm—"

"Gryne… Just say it already." Claire whined as she slumped over the table, "It's not often you get stuck on anything, you are a genius just like Von."

I thought about it a bit… "Okay… I can't figure out why my friend Rias can't use healing magic, even when she had the correct incantation and form and everything else…"

"Hmmm…" Mother mumbled curiously, "Maybe it's her background? I'm sure that you are aware that some people have affinities which impact what elements they can use… This applies the same with healing magic, although it doesn't count as an element, if ny-affinity may still impact if the person can use healing."

Mother's explanation made sense, I had learned before anything magic related has affinities to certain people… But what can I do? I can't delete someone's ny-affinity, can I?

"Hmmm… There's a way to get rid of these ny-affinities," Mother said just like she read my mind, looking up at the ceiling and tapping her chin she continued, "If I remember correctly, there has to be some sort of event in their past that caused the ny-affinity to the element, as long as the person is able to get over that trauma they can easily get rid of their ny-affinity along with it."

After my mother's lesson of affinities, it enlightened me, I knew what I needed to do… I needed to get rid of whatever trauma that holds Rias back…

I smiled, "Thanks mother!" I said before running up the stairs back to my room, leaving my untouched food on the dinner table still warm with little traces of steam coming off it. If I wanted to help her reach her goal, I had to come up with ideas to help her get over her past. I knew it wasn't going to be a simple click of the delete button on my computer, it wouldn't be erased even if I did that unlike my search history.

I devised a plan, I wouldn't say it's one that is straight forward, but it would mostly just go like this, I would first ask her if there is any events that still haunts her, then if she could name it I would dive deeper, asking more questions until I get what the situation was…

//

Well… This is rather troublesome…

So this shit is really the thing holding her back, those little brats really got in the way of everything didn't they… Back in the day, I would have pretty damn quickly lost my temper and would've gone to assault those kids by now.

Getting past trauma from unconditional bullying from discrimination is something not just everyone can get past, after all it's something none of us but god could fix… I myself took over fifteen years just to get past mine, mine wasn't even unconditional… It was due to my own actions in the past. Even that took a strong-willed teenager fifteen years, I can't imagine how hard it would be on her, a six to seven year old child.

Rias Flemari

It was a rather sudden question that he asked. Gryne was always a protective guy, he's always reliable, even when he has all these traits, he rarely asks me about my past or any personal stuff, it seems as though he's trying to keep a distance.

Has I been too pushy?

He had already taught me all about magic and other things about the world, maybe this time it's my own problem… I shouldn't bother him with all that, after all it was because of my problem that I can't use healing magic, he tried his best to teach me.

I told him that I still had lingering fears of the bullying I faced and how I have been left in pain with no one ever helping me, even on the sides of the streets, people would just pretend they don't see me, just walking by, whispering, sissing. I would just be curled up in a ball as my already bruised body got hacked by the hard metal parts of the other boys' boots.

I wanted to heal people, I didn't want people to get hurt like I did before… What can I do… There must be something that doesn't bother Gryne… I need to find a way myself.

That day I continued to practice, Gryne didn't talk much throughout the whole day, he was thinking about something… Hopefully he wasn't thinking about my situation… He shouldn't be…

As we parted ways and headed home, all he did for a bye was a cold simple, "See you tomorrow."

I knew that it was me that was bothering him, it wasn't like I wanted to… I want to figure it out myself… I shouldn't rely on him for everything…

After I finished dinner, I stood in my room, a plant with a snapped stem in front of me. I took a deep breath, I chanted, "May the glorious golden light which soothes the body, restore the power they lost, heal the wounds they have on their bodies, allow the glorious light flow through their bodies and grant them strength to rise again— Healing."

Nothing…

I close my eyes again, I chant once again, "May the glorious golden light which soothes the body, restore the power they lost, heal the wounds they have on their bodies, allow the glorious light flow through their bodies and grant them strength to rise again— Healing."

"Healing… Healing… Healing…"

Nine, ten, eleven, twenty two, twenty six…

I hear a knock on my door, a calm voice speaks, it was mother's "Hey Rias, don't push yourself too hard okay, I'm sure your friend Gryne would figure something out by tomorrow."

I don't want to put everything on him, he has already done so much for me… He went out of his way to save me at the start, he played with me after the other kids pushed me away… And— He never ever said the word 'filth' in front of me, his eyes were kind and gentle…

I have to do this myself, it's my problem after all.

"Okay, ma…"

Twenty nine, one hundred, one hundred eighty, two hundred, two hundred and one…

I was nearly drained out of mana, my body becoming weaker and weaker, slowly seeming to lose consciousness, drifting away… 

I saw a warm light, it wasn't bright, just warm, lukewarm…

"Did I do it—"

I drifted to sleep collapsing onto the wooden floor.

//

I woke up late the next day, finding myself on the hard wooden floor, I looked up to where my bed was… The plant… It's healed?!

I know for a fact that it was still snapped yesterday, it wasn't like mother or father knew how to use healing magic either… I did it right? I did it—

I was still stunned at what I did… 

Just to confirm, I snapped one of the leaves off the plant, leaving it to dangle with the little tissue that holds it to the main branch.

I chanted, "..."

A warm light, the colour of the rays of sunlight at dusk, the light exerted from my palm again, the dangling leaf slowly crawled back up, before long the once broken leaf was once again connected to the main branch of the plant.

"I did it— I really did it." I stuttered as I mumbled under my breath, "I really did it—"

"I did it!" I said loudly, throwing my arms up in celebration before giggling uncontrollably and running down the creaking wooden stairs.

I repeated "I did it! I really did it!" over and over again, I jumped about on the crackling floor boards like a maniac.

It was sooner or later that my parents were going to notice my mood shift, it was sooner or later that they asked…

"What did you finally do, Rias?" Father asked in his usual gruff and manly voice.

"Yeah, what is it darling?" Mother asked, her eyes looking curiously down at me.

Still giggling, "I did it… I can use healing magic now!" 

Mother and father looked at each other in both surprise and confusion, they locked eyes tilting their heads slightly. They only knew that Gryne was teaching me something but little did they know that 'something' was magic.

"Is this what your little friend Gryne has been teaching you?" Mother asked again, turning her gaze back down at me.

"Hahaha," father laughed in his deep voice, "that boy never ceases to surprise me, next thing he's going to say is that he's an imperial class mage." Father continued sarcastically.

It came to my realisation that I had never told my parents anything about what Gryne was giving me lessons on, "Oh yeah," I said, "Did I tell you that I can also use up to intermediate level magic for some elements now?"

Once again my parents turned to each other, their mouths opened but couldn't find a word to describe their astonishment, they were too stunned to speak, when they turned to look back at me, I saw their desire to hear more and learn more about Gryne.

I started from the beginning, talking about how he saved me from the bullying to become my first ever friend, I went on rambling all throughout breakfast till early in the afternoon.

"Oh man, Julian you lucky man, you lucky lucky man," Father snorted, blowing out air from his nose aggressively, "First a beautiful elf wife, then now a genius as your son." Father said, looking up at the ceiling.

A threatening aura flared across the room, it came from next to father, filling the air in suspense, all was silent… 

"Are you saying that you aren't lucky… Sir Heyrm…" Mother said, her voice fuelled with anger while having an unsettling calmness.

As father looked over, grumbling under his breath, I caught a singular word… "Shit—"

"Mister Heyrm… I think we have a lot to talk about… A calm long talk…"

Back in her cheery tone, mother turned to me saying, "Also Rias, better go tell your friend Gryne that you already succeeded, I'm sure that you are excited yourself aren't chu?"

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot," I said before trotting over to the door, putting on my shoes and opening the front door, "Bye a, bye pa." I said as I waved goodbye.

"Rias don't leave me here— Darling we can have a talk about this—" Father groaned as the front door slammed shut.

Gryne Notros-Farion

I couldn't sleep for the past few nights. Rias and I play about four to five days a week, during some days we aren't able to meet up due to whatever reasons it might be, I haven't seen Rias in two days. 

"Damn my eyes are feeling heavy today," I mumbled as I touched the bottom of my eye, slightly massaging it. I looked at myself in the mirror, my eyebags were dark and drooped all over my face.

Maybe I gotta take some sleeping pills or herbs or whatever the hell they use here, maybe I could even get Mother to sing me a lullaby, I'm sure that she's down for that.

Sigh— I still can't figure out an effective solution— I aggressively scratched my scalp messing up my hair.

"Better go meet Rias now, I don't want to keep her waiting…" I muttered as I put on my surcoat.

//3

Gryne trekked up the path and headed up the slope of the hill as he normally would, there wasn't much happening , the spring breeze blowing his hair back.

Seeing the place didn't really give Gryne any comfort, he was still stuck thinking about how to help Rias use healing magic.

Remembering the situation how Rias perfectly chants the incantation and still nothing happens, Gryne scratches the side of his head.

As he got closer to the top where the Crying Tree stood in all its glory, he heard soft giggling come from there, a nice click came to his head, somehow this giggling relieved him, he was put somewhat at ease as the cute laughter reached his ears… For a brief moment his mind was relaxed, he sighed…

Finally reaching the very top of the hill where a plateau stands, He looks around, seeing the familiar golden blond hair, the familiar warm smile, the familiar cute face.

"Rias, what happened?" He asked, confused at Rias' unusually joyful attitude today, it wasn't often that she's so cheery, she was more of the quiet introverted type, the bookworms at school, or your quiet classmate that sits in the corner of the classroom.

Giggling, Rias turned around, in her hand was a branch snapped off the tall old willow at the center of the plateau, the branch was odd, lushed with bright lime green leaves, "I can do it now!" She said excitedly.

Gryne takes a second to understand what she meant, but after a few seconds of observing the branch, he figures it out. A slight shiver was sent down his spine, he wasn't scared but surprised, he was caught off guard. Gryne didn't know how to react, he understood the situation and was 'proud' of Rias' achievement, but somehow he had this weird eerie feeling built up, he couldn't muster up the words to congratulate her, he couldn't figure out what was stopping him either. He had felt like this before, but it still felt brand new… Even still he couldn't describe the weird emotion.

Gryne Notros-Farion

I was quite shocked at Rias' growth, I was proud of her for being able to finally achieve her dream. But something in me did not seem happy, in fact it was like the complete opposite, this eerie feeling only lasted for a couple of seconds before disappearing like it was never there in the first place… Maybe it was just some random thoughts, but still that emotion rebuked my pride… 

It was unsettling.

"Congratulations Rias!" I said right after the weird feeling fades, "You figured it out all by yourself!" 

"Thank you Gryne!" She replied, smiling, her voice filled with happiness and gratitude. She continued, "You helped me so much… Taught me so much…"

It was like all of a sudden everything turned to slow motion, every tweet of the birds, every rustle of the grass… I feel a gush of warmth approach me as I feel soft arms wrap around my body, a whisper in my ear…

"Thank you Gryne…"

Closing my eyes— I feel a light touch against my cheek, a soft moisturised skin like texture brushes against the skin on my cheek. I'm sure that that was it…

I opened my eyes, looking back at Rias who stood only a body length away, her face flushed with a tinge of redness. She looked down at her hands as I stared, her face flustered with embarrassment. Turning her back on me, she looked back walking down the hill, giving her a hand gesture which implied for me to follow her…