Arc 2: A vigorous first month -
Rosemary was walking to her room about to end the group's first day at the mansion, she says goodnight to Soku and Ophelia, then she goes to say goodnight to Gray. Knocking on his almost shut door.
Rosemary: "Can I come in?"
Gray: "Oh hey, yeah come in!"
Rosemary: "I just, I just came to say goodnight."
Gray: "Oh that's nice. A lot of stuff happened today."
Rosemary: "Yeah, you did get beat up pretty bad."
Gray: "Nuh uh, these are symbols of my work!"
Gray smirked, holding up his bandaged arms and smiling with his bruised bandaged face. Rosemary smiled, stepping further into his room and looking around as they spoke. As they did, she opened the door to his small balcony, stepping out with him to star into the night sky.
Gray: "Yeah that did suck. What about you? What happened after I passed out?"
Rosemary: "Well Musashi had Soku and I spared as a team. We didn't do very well but he still accepted us."
Gray: "What about Ophelia, did she have a good day?"
Rosemary: "Yeah she said she had fun, she also said that Al is pretty nice. "
They stared toward each other, with Gray inching his hand closer to hers on the cold balcony. Standing under the falling snow, warm together. However she quickly stepped back with embarrassment on her face, speaking quickly as she backed up.
Rosemary: " I don't wanna keep you up so I'll see yah, good -
But before she finished, Grays tone fell like it did the first day they spoke, speaking from his heart.
Gray: "To be honest, I'm still a little spooked about the Sect. The way they showed up last time was outta knowhere. I know we have Musashi here, but..."
Rosemary: "But you're scared they'll attack first?"
Gray: "Yeah."
With that, Gray snapped back into place with a large smile on his face.
Gray: "Sorry I know that's lame I don't wanna keep you up!"
But Rosemary stepped forward, greeting him with a smile.
Rosemary: "I'm glad to told me that."
And, suddenly, she dropped her shoulders and sighed with a small chuckle.
Rosemary: "I've been tense about the same thing all day. I was gonna sleep in the same room with Soku and Ophelia but they didn't have room."
Gray: "Well, um, y'know, you could um, always uh, do uh, stay, YOU COULD ALWAYS STAY IN HERE."
His eyes widened, his face blushing, and his arms flinging to his sides, leading into him bowing up and down reapdedly.
Gray: "But not in a weird way I swear I'm not creepy or weird or untrustworthy or anything!"
Rosemary blushes, leaves the door cracked, and activates her stages for a brief second to blow the candles in the room out. She then walks over to the bed and then lies down beside Gray, placing some extra pillows and blankets between them.
Gray: "So, what is your power exactly?"
Rosemary: "Oh, my power? Oh my power! My mana works in stages once I turn up the juice, when I use my mana there is a click where the mana shifts in power. The limit is ten stages, but only a few Golden Knights have been skilled enough to make it that far. My body can only handle three at the moment, and fourth as well, but that's only for a few seconds."
Gray: "I think I would know something about mana hurting your body> That just means we can work on our bodies together while we live here then."
Rosemary: "I would like that."
Rosemary smiles laying down and staring off into the ceiling. Gray takes a moment, closing the balcony doors and sitting on the edge of the bed.
Gray {I'm really in another world. A super dangerous one at that! There's no way I can fall asleep!}
Ophelia: "HEY YOU TWO WAKE UP! I AND AL MADE BREAKFAST!"
Rosemary slowly wakes up while Gray bursts onto the front of their bed, standing up right with his fists up. Rosemary blushes, getting out of bed while Ophelia oooooooooooo's at them.
Gray: "Hey quiet would yah!"
Soku: "Don't mind him, Ophelia, he's spending quality time with his girlfriend."
Soku smirks at Gray while he and Rosemary begin to blush heavily. Gray, overwhelmed with the need to do something, leaps at Soku.
Gray: "YOU THINK YOU'RE FUNNY!"
Soku runs out of the room, with Gray running after her. Soku summons a blast of wind sending Gray flying out of the open window at the end of the hallway.
Gray: "HEY WHAT THE HELL! AH!"
Rosemary: "GRAY!"
Soku: "Oops"
Gray freezes, preparing himself for a three-story fall. Rosemary, without thinking twice, jumped out of the window, catching Gray mid-air, then proceeding to land.
Gray: "You came to my rescue!"
Rosemary: "You're welcome."
They are about to walk inside when Gray notices a Woman, she seems to have such a strong presence that Both Gray and Rosemary freeze in place. Though she doesn't dress or look like she has any bit of malice in her heart. She has long white hair, short bangs, white armor with black cloth underneath, and a long piece of purple cloth that stretches from her waist band to her legs being held on by a belt that also holds her katana. She also on light red lips stick, and a hair clip that looks like a flower with pink petals and a yellow pistil. The strongest and most otherworldly part about her is her golden eyes which have pupils that spiral continuously.
Gray: {This woman… She's an enigma, she feels otherworldly or should I say other, otherworldly}
Gray: "Um… who are you?"
Kioshi: "Me..? My name's Kioshi! I'm Musashi's one and only daughter!"
Gray: "Cool."
Gray and Kioshi begin to walk inside the mansion.
Kioshi: "I'm used to people being scared or super excited when they meet me, this is a nice change of pace."
Gray: "What do you mean? Because you're a strong guy daughter?"
Kioshi: "I feel like a strong guy is an understatement, he's the most skilled swordsman in the world!"
And with that, all the hope Gray had for ever beating him shattered around him.
Gray: "WAIT WHAT!? I thought he was just really strong not THAT strong! Wait, how strong are you then?"
Kioshi: "Oh me, man they were right, you don't know anything. I'm one of the Seven Gods of War. The Seventh! Oh yeah, and I'm the strongest one."
Gray: "Dang!"
Kioshi: "Yeah, but I'm also regarded as the strongest in the world."
And then everything shattered around him once again, showcasing just how far down the food chain he really is.
Gray: "So, what makes you so strong? Do you just have a bunch of mana like me oooorrrrr?
Kioshi: "Well kinda, I just have a couple of marks of providence."
Gray: "Marks of providence. I have heard of them but what are they?"
Kioshi: "Well to put it simply, babies with really strong connections to spirits sometimes get blessed by those spirits, granting them an ability outside of the usual magic type. But it's usually just a different application of mana, like lightning or somethin. With a mark somewhere on their skin. Sometimes it just makes you stronger, or sometimes it can go as far as making you invincible to physical attacks."
Gray: " WHAT!? THAT'S BROKEN! AND YOU HAVE MULTIPLE!"
Kioshi: "Well, I don't have anything that strong. I only have three of them though even having two is unheard of. Mana flows into my body from the air, so I don't use any of my own. Anything with mana filled in flowing in it will dissipate if struck at me with ill intent. And the more damage my body takes the stronger I get."
Gray: "So you're unbeatable, got it."
Kioshi: "Well marks of providence come with disadvantages. I don't have much mana on my own, so if there is not that much mana in the area I don't have much to work with. And I will automatically take the mana from my teammates even if I don't want to."
Gray: "Not much of a debuff."
Kioshi: "I guess not, more of an annoyance hehe."
They start to walk inside while Rosemary stands still, still frozen, Gray leaving this unnoticed continues walking inside. It left Rosemary feeling a bit left behind, until her heart rose when he looked back at her.
Gray: "ROSEMARY! COME ON DON'T JUST STAND THERE!"
Rosemary: "Coming!
Rosemary ran to catch up to them as they conversed in the dining room.
They make it to the dining room and they sit down to wait for Al and Ophelia to bring them their breakfast.
Edward: "You okay Gray? You look stressed, same with you Rosemary, did you not sleep enough?"
Soku: "Hehe"
Gray: "I guess you could say that."
Ophelia: "BREAKFAST IS READY!"
Gray: "Nice!"
Across the table was freshly squeezed juice in fancy cups, and various assortments of beef and fruit.
Gray: "Meat again? They don't seem to have very breakfast-type foods here. Hey Ophelia! Wake me up tomorrow and I'll help you make breakfast that I ate back home."
Ophelia: "Wait really! That would be awesome! Can he help AL?"
Al: "Why not? I hope to see what you come up with."
Musashi: " Alright enough for breakfast talk, just eat, and then Gray you'll come with me, Edward you help Rosemary and Soku with their practice."
Edward: "Got it."
Gray {Of course he goes with Rosemary, Ugh, and I get to get my ass beat again.}
After they finished eating breakfast, Ophelia cleaned up while Rosemary left with Soku and Edward. Stepping through the halls of the castle togehter, the windows letting in the shinning warm sun reflecting off of the thin lair of white snow on the ground.
Edward: "Soku I'm surprised you're still wearing that coat, it seems old and it's way too big for you."
Soku: "Well, I have had it for so long I'm just used to wearing it."
Edward: "Al could sow it up for you if you want."
Soku: "I'll think about it."
Edward: "Does Gray not like me?"
Both Soku and Rosemary reached in an obvious way, with Rosemary quickly backing up behind Soku.
Soku: "What do you mean?"
Rosemary: "I don't think he dislikes you...it's just, I think he's a bit hard on himself. And seeing somebody as important as you probably doesn't make him feel good. But that's not on you! That's just something he's gonna have to deal with."
Edward: "Well sometimes he just looks at me with such an aggravated face. Like he hates me"
Soku: "I wouldn't say he hates you, he's just thinks you're trying to steal his new -
Rosemary quickly rushed back up, using her stages to speed up and bump into Sokus shoulder to stop her from talking.
Rosemary: "What do you think about him?"
Edward: "Well his tenacity, or drive to get what he wants, it's almost inspiring. A bit brutal and filled with mainly anger though. And he's a bit reckless, but in this line of work you kinda need to be."
Soku: "I guess that's true."
Rosemary: "I agree. And he's very kind to me, and his personality is flamboyant. I think he would be happy to know we're talking about him."
Rosemary begins to do basic workouts with them. Rosemary spends most of her time at the mansion exercising, and though she doesn't put as much effort as Gray or Edward, she still tries to grow. On the other hand, Soku hardly trains. Soku practices for about an hour or two a day, then she goes and relaxes outside as she watches Gray get beat up by Musashi. The next day Ophelia starts to wake Gray up early to make breakfast.
Ophelia: " Gray get up…"
Gray: "What... Oh… yeah hold up let me get dressed."
Gray lazy sleeks out of bed, slowly gets dressed, and begins to walk toward the kitchen.
Gray {I think this is the right way.}
Ophelia: "Finally you're here! Okay, so what are you going to make?"
He turns into kitchen, a large one than he's ever been in, but it wasn't massive, still keeping a closed and compact atmosphere. It's stone walls and floor were also a big contrast to the mostly wooden walls and floors the rest of the manor has.
Gray: "You'll see, okay if I remember the ingredients correctly, we need some eggs, flour, milk, and some oil. Oh if you have any syrup that would be greatly appreciated!"
Ophelia: "Got IT!"
Al: "You seem to be having fun."
Gray: "Oh hey Al, yeah she seems to be really into it."
Al: "How has your training been going?"
As he speaks Gray pulled his sleeve down, showing his newly forming muscles on his relatively skinny arms.
Gray: " Pretty good, since I have a small healing factor I can take a lot of punishment, and then my muscles and bones heal, getting stronger in just a few hours. It's like I'm speeding."
Al: " I see, that is very useful. Ophelia informed me that you have a strong affinity for the spiritual arts."
Gray: "Oh yeah I do, I only know the spell Cenic, since it's really easy to use."
Al: "Once you master Cenic, I can inform you how to use a spell on a higher level. But to be honest I don't know much about the spirit arts."
Gray: "Anything would be helpful, so thanks!"
Ophelia: "OK GRAY I GOT IT! Now, what's next!"
Gray: "Okay young chef! Pour the oil, and milk into a bowl and mix it with the egg!"
Ophelia: "Understood head chef Kyojin!"
They begin making the breakfast, Then once the mixing is finished they begin to cook the meal.
Gray: "Alright so.. How do I use this stove?'
Ophelia: "Just turn this knob to the temp you need, then the Fire crystals inside will automatically heat the top or bottom."
Gray: "OK now pour the mix into the pan, and when I say so, flip it."
Ophelia: "Got it!"
Al: "How do you feel about living here Mr. Kyojin, has it been a nice few days?"
Gray: "Well I've spent the last three days getting my ass beat by the best swordsman in the world… So… PRETTY DAMN COOL! I'm learning how to be a DAMN KNIGHT! And learn magic, what more could I want!?" It's only been three days but I already feel stronger, and this mansion feels homier every day."
Al: "I'm glad to hear that."
While he listened to Al, Ophelia repeatedly tugged on his sleeve. Once he turned his head, he saw the sight of something horrid; he saw slightly burning pancakes.
Gray: " OH! FLIP! FLIP NOW!"
Ophelia: "OH! FLIP!"
And with that, it flipped and flipped and flipped. Since Ophelia flung with with all her might, it barley missed the celling, coming crashing down. Before it could slam on the floor, Al snagged the pan and caught it, landing on the uncooked side as needed.
Gray: "Okay nice, let it sit there for a sec, then you're done"
Ophelia: "Is it done?"
Gray: "Yep! Now if you feel ready, you and the other maids can make more for everyone else, and I'll try and go back to sleep."
Ophelia: "You're so lazy, but okay. So what is it?"
Gray: "That right there is the greatest breakfast food of all time. A PANCAKE!"
Ophelia: "Pan…cake, COOl!"
Gray goes back to sleep, waking up later to eat the pancakes with everyone else. They are all happy with how it turned out. They spend days doing the same thing. Over the weeks they all get more accustomed to living at a mansion with everyone. Gray spars with Musashi, Learning the basics of mana training and the sword. Soku relaxes, getting more used to living like a " spoiled high-class daughter" as she would put it. Ophelia practices making more food from Gray's home world. Cleaning, cooking, and doing everything else a maid would do. Rosemary slowly prepares her body to withhold the higher stages of her power, getting closer to Gray by the day, and making sleeping in the same bed with him normal. Edward wakes up early and then proceeds to walk to Gray's room to wake him up.
Edward: " *whispers* Gray let me speak to you outside."
Gray: "Fine… whatever."
Edward: "Get your armor and your sword."
Gray gets his things, meeting Edward outside."
Gray: "Dude… it's like 6 in the morning why are we out here, Oh hey it's snowing?"
Edward: "I want to spar with you. You don't seem to like me very much, so this might clear the air. Swinging my sword is how I relieve stress."
Gray: "I don't hate you, dude."
Edward: "But you don't like me."
Gray: "Why do you think this?"
Edward: "I can sense it. And I see how you look at me, aggravated and possibly jealous."
Gray: "What are you talking about, I'm not jealous."
Edward: "I can tell when you're lying. I don't have any intentions with Rosemary if that's what you're on about."
Gray {Where does this dude get off, trying to be the "bigger man" ugh I guess I'll spar with him}
Gray: "Fine I'll fight you, I didn't spend… what, almost a month of training to not use it."
Edward: "OK then, Do you want me to put full effort in?"
Gray: "Go all out."
They both pull out their swords. Gray's straight sword and Edward's Great sword leave their sheath. Gray smirks as Edward looks on, focused and serious. They step back, ready. Gray, as usual, leaps forward, with his time spent training with Musashi he has grown in power. With better mana control and a stronger body, it's almost like this is a test. To draw a new line in the sand to compare to his last real battle. Edward blocked Gray's swing with his sword, pushing Gray back, and allowing for an opening. Before Gray would have been hit here, though surprisingly Gray was able to swiftly move out of the way
Gray { He's using that big ass sword like a shield, and on top of that he's swinging that sword like it's just a normal weapon! there's no way a normal person could swing anything like that, let alone pick it up. I need to use my slight speed advantage, get behind him, then strike!}
Gray releases as much mana as his body can handle, struggling to keep it flowing smoothly. Edward continues to play defense, planning on wearing Gray out. Even with the large skill gap, Gray is putting up an actual fight, swinging his sword, continuing the momentum with each swing being stronger and more focused. Even if this is just the basics of sword fighting, it still puts him up way higher above an average swordsman. For a while they continue swinging at each other, Gray tries to use small surges of mana to boost his speed but with no luck, Edward's defense and offense are greater than Gray can handle.
Gray {COME ON, FOCUS DAMMIT, I KNOW I CAN'T WIN BUT GET A HIT IN AT LEAST}
Gray bites his lip, causing it to bleed. Using this pain to keep his focus, he then overflows his body with mana, the same amount of mana that would break and tear at his muscles before is now just a small power-up, though it still hurts a lot. Gray uses this surge in mana to lunge at Edward, using a faint sword swing, he curves around Edward, and instead of going for an attack on his body, he aims for his hands.
Gray { I can't risk using this shot on some armor, I need to hit the skin, and he won't expect me to aim at his hands!}
Edward goes to block the strike, having to try, since he was surprised by the faint, he almost got his hands sliced. Before he can block it though Gray grunts his teeth, taking a deep breath.
Gray: " I'M FROM -!"
Edward gets surprised by the surge in mana, allowing Gray to slice at the top of Edward's arm, Edward goes to grab the sword, catching it in his hands, holding it with such a grip that Gray can't get it free or cut him. Gray lets go of the sword, jumps, and lands on the hilt of the blade, surging a good amount of mana to his arm, more than it can handle, causing him to tear up. However, he doesn't falter, going straight for a punch to the head. Edward catches his hand, though now Edward doesn't have any open hands, letting Gray surge mana to his leg, kicking Edward in the side of the head, freeing his sword and arms. But then Gray jumps back and takes a deep breath.
Gray: "CENIC!"
Gray cast Cenic launching himself toward Edward going for a head-on strike!
Edward pauses, staring in disbelief.
Edward { I will not lose, even if I lose myself to it. I WILL NOT BE BESTED!}
Edward loses focus on everything other than Gray.
Gray { what… the hell, no.. somethings wrong I can feel-}
Gray halts his thoughts as Edward rushes out of the smoke, like a tornado of force, before Gray can react, he feels the blunt side of the Great sword smash into his chest. Feeling his ribs crack and break, getting the air out of his lungs, from one strike Gray was about to be knocked unconscious.
Edward jumps into the air, about to bring the greatsword down on Gray.
Gray {HE'S LIKE A WILD ANIMAL!}
Gray grips his sword and then explodes with mana, With his adrenaline rushing he can bypass the pain, they both are prepared to clash swords with their full strength! Both looking like wild animals, Gray uses another faint, rolling to the side, dodging Edward's swing, which slams into the ground. Then he leaps forward, going in for another swing.
Gray: " CENIC, CENIC, CENIC!"
The entire area gets filled with black clouds, Edward tries to swing his sword, to push the smoke away but to no avail.
Edward { EVEN IF I CAN'T SEE HIM, HE STILL RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME!}
Edward prepares to block the coming attack, but surprisingly Gray runs in a circle, coming in from behind. He throws his sword at Edward which stabs into Edward's shoulder, and while he's open Gray focuses all his mana on his arm, ready to destroy it if it means victory! Edward forces himself through the pain, putting the force he can into swinging his sword Whichever one connects first will most likely die, with both fighters being completely enveloped in the art of battle, and they continue to complete the final clash. Thankfully, before either attack can land, faster than either of them can react, they get pushed away, and the force of them being moved pushes all the smoke away.
Edward: "What just…"
Musashi: "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING!"
Gray: "SORRY, UGH! We.. we JUST!"
Musashi: "If you're going to fight this seriously, invite me to watch first! Dickheads I missed a lot of the fight!"
Gray: "Um.. okay...blah…"
Gray slowly loses consciousness, while Edward wipes the sweat off his face. He then quickly apologizes to Musashi.
Musashi: "Hope you get well rested! You got a big day today!"
Gray: "Damn..it…"