The time: midday. The location: Neptune Guild, Neptune Island. Within the grand castle that makes up the guild's headquarters, the Mages could be seen and heard going about their daily lives. Some were chatting, others were arguing, and possibly even fighting. And still there were some who were keeping to themselves. One such Mage sighed out of boredom, not knowing what to make of his free time. He laid out on his back over one of the tables as if it were a bed and stared at the ceiling with dissapointment. "Damn it!," he said, with disdain in his voice, "you'd think there'd be something for me to do right now!" The young man sighed out in protest yet again, looking rather fed up with all this sitting around. Now feeling bored with his own boredom, if it were even possible to begin with, the Mage sat up and continued to stare vacantly out into space as his brain tried to think of something to do.
One possible, and very enticing thought came across his mind. "OH! Maybe one of the ladies here would like my company?! Hehehe..." Shade chuckled with delight at the thought of even being in the presence of one of his fellow, female Mages. He grinned as his lustful feelings grew. "After all, there's nothing like being around a beautiful woman to cheer any man up!! Nooow..." Shade held his right hand over his eyes as his head darted to and from in search of any women for him to spend time with. "I wonder if Liliana's around here somewhere! She's always such a delight to be with!" After a second or two of looking, Shade came upon the crushing realization. "Huh? ... WHERE ARE THE BEAUTIFUL LADIES?!!" Having put his hand down from its position and leaving his mouth open to gape in dissapointment, Shade soon knew that either most of the female Mages were away on jobs, or were elsewhere on Neptune Island. Shade's body collapsed, facing forward, onto the table he was sitting upon.
"You've gotta be kidding... The girls are gone too? Now what...?" Shade returned to thinking of a solution to his boredom, and a solution to his newfound dissapointment. Having rested his left cheek upon the table, and raising his rear end in the air in a rather strange position, Shade came upon a decision. "...I guess i'll just take a job. Better than nothing, I suppose..." Getting up from his slump and having marched down to the jobs board, Shade scanned the posters for any decent work to do. While his eyes darted from poster to poster, Shade continued to think out loud to himself, not aware that he was even doing so in the first place. "Well, I haven't seen Draco all day, so I guess I can't exactly do something that requires a full team of Mages... Oh well, a simple job should be enough to kill my boredom."
That's when Shade found it, a job that he could do. He began to read the job's description. "A D-Class assignment... I wish it would be something tougher and more exciting, but I guess this'll have to do. At least it doesn't have any requirements and the pay is decent. And besides, a missing son sounds pretty damn sad to me, so i'd love to help anyway." After glancing over the poster, Shade ripped it off from the board and began to head down towards the guild's exit, with the poster gripped in his left hand. Unbeknownst to Shade however, another Mage had taken notice of him.
Yakan walked to shade "Hey shade did you take the D-Class job with the lost son?" Shade nodded his head to Yakan "Oh well do ya mind me joining? Since ide really like to help the father find his son plus looking for him wont be easy alone right?"
"Heh, sure, whatever floats your boat, Yakan! Though I have to admit, I am pretty damn surprised to see one of our own S-Class Mages taking an interest in going out on a mission with me of all people! You must be bored out of your skull as well! Hahahahahahaha!"
"lm not bored, I just prefer normal jobs since there more relaxing and not a pain in the butt" Yakan looked at Shade and then at the reward at the request "Hmmm looks like a decent jobs we can split the reward in half too so lets go"
"Eh?! Split?!" Shade looked at Yakan as if the man had two heads, having hoped to have kept most of the reward for himself. But in the end, Shade gave in and decided it'd be best to share with Yakan after all. "Fine, we'll share the reward 50-50, like you said. So that would be..." As Shade began to calculate the pay, Yakan had already begun walking, expecting Shade to get the message that they should head out as soon as possible. Luckily for Shade, what little understanding of social behavior he had pulled through in the end, as he took immediate notice and rushed after Yakan. "HEY, DAMN IT!! I'M COMING, I'M COMING!!" And with that little outburst, the two Neptune Guild Mages were off to complete their D-Class assignment.
After a long time they reached Pork Town and went to their client "So your the daddy whos son is lost?" Yakan said to the client who was worried "Yes my son wasnt seen for days im starting to get worried please you have to find him" "Dont worry will find him right Shade?" Shade pointed to the guild symbol on his forehead and smirked confidently. "Heh, got that right! Noone gets jobs done quicker and finds sons better than Neptune Guild!"
"Oh, thank you two so much!," the father replied, feeling grateful that these Mages had taken up his request. "Think nothing of it, old man!," Shade exclaimed, now beginning to go back into his old, socially awkward habit, as he went and made a rather impolite remark concerning the client. "Er... Old man?," the father half-heartedly echoed, not exactly sure if Shade even realized what he had just said.
"lgnore him sir, Hes god more bones then brains" Yakan said showing a happy look in his eyes while patting Shades head "But seriously he has bones then brains" Said Yakan and went back to his previous bored look "Yet he does bring some humor into the guild right lets get searching"
"Right!," Shade cheerfully agreed as he and and Yakan then went on in search of the missing son. But the two hadn't done so much as take five steps before Shade realized what Yakan had told the father. His eyes widened in surprise. "Wait, what do ya mean I have more bones than brains?!! You calling me dumb, Yakan?!!" In the end, despite his shock, Shade shrugged it off. He grinned a little as a thought popped into his head. While still walking alongside Yakan, Shade decided to tease Yakan a little, in response to the "more bones than brains" comment from earlier. "Ya know, Yakan. That's quite the statement from the guy who can't even read! Hehehe!" Shade chuckled a bit, feeling as if he had made a clever comment. Of course though, Shade forgot to take into account that he was teasing an S-Class Mage. Nontheless, Shade enjoyed the joke he made at Yakan's expense as the two kept on walking. From behind, the father could be seen scratching his head in bewilderment as he watched the two Mages head off in search of his son. "So those two are Mages from that Neptune Guild...? They sure are... 'Interesting,' to say the least. I sure do hope they find my son."
Yakan looked at Shade after his last comment "Actually i can read i only cant understand what doesnt really interest me like details and job requests, Unlike you who pays details to females more than his work" Said Yakan without showing any anger about Shades comment "Hey now, that's only because you don't understand just how great it is to be amidst such lovely goddesses, like I do!" Shade smiled happily as he began to imagine images of countless beautiful women in his head. He closed his eyes as he did, which caused him to have a rather foolish looking expression on his face. "One of these days, Yakan, i'm gonna have to explain to you just how wonderful women truly are. I mean, after all, you seem to spend a good deal of time with that Chloe woman, right? Or am I mistaken again?" Shade opened his eyes, ended his grinning, and shoved his hands into his pants' pockets as he continued his talk with Yakan.
"Yeah i spend alot of time with Chloe so? I like her shes nice afterall except when shes angry, And so you know i know how beautifull and important women are proof i was once married to the most beatifull woman in the world, And im not saying it as a compliment" Yakan looked at Shade after he finished talking and scratched the back of his head. Shade smirked in response, having taken a liking to Yakan's reply. "So you DO understand where i'm coming from. I see now... I have to say, Yakan. You're one lucky guy, as far as the opposite sex goes. To have been happily married to a woman like that, and then get to hang out with someone like Chloe... Hehe, I have to say that i'm a little jealous of you, man! I hope that a wonderful woman comes into my life soon as well..." After that last statement, Shade went quiet as he contemplated on that thought. His thoughts soon began to drift from one thing to another, until the job at hand returned to his mind.
"Heh, i'm sure i'll get lucky one of these days. Who knows? Maybe this job of ours will give me the chance to meet a lovely face along the way! OOH! Or maybe someone back at the guild will have heard of the awesome job we did, and want to go out with me! OH, THAT WOULD BE THE GREATEST REWARD EVER!" Shade's eyes appeared to look as if they were hearts upon that exclamation, as he held his hands together in hope that his wish would be answered. "You know what, Yakan?! Keep the money! I just want that as my reward!!" It was official, Shade's mind had gone straight into lovestruck territory once more.
Yakan looked at Shade "You dont know what im gonna do with the money do you?, Well i might as well tell ya, I donate the money to an orphanage since i dont really need any money and stuff" Yakan then stopped scratching his head "And im not as lucky as you think, About the whole wife thing." Upon the news of what Yakan would do with the jewels once they got their payment, Shade snapped back to reality and listened to what Yakan had to say. " I see... That's very noble of you, Yakan," Shade said with complete seriousness. He then continued to listen in on what else Yakan had to say. Once Yakan was finished, Shade looked up at him with a puzzled expression. "Oh? How come? Did you go through some horrible divorce or something?"
Yakan apeared sorrow "No divorce we were never close to that, Not even one bit, What happens was...." Yakan took a deep breath and looked at Shade "She died along time ago by a dark mage." Shade's eyes began to grow big at first, but just as quickly as they had grown, they began to shrink back down to normal size, as Shade absorbed the tragedy in what Yakan had to say. "I see...," Shade solemnly replied, with a sort of despair in his voice. He turned his head away so as to stare at the road ahead of them. "What a horrible thing to happen to you... I get what you mean by not being so lucky now. I'm... Er, i'm sorry for your loss... Yakan." Shade continued to look down the road as he walked alongside Yakan, now being reminded of just how painful losing a loved one could be. After all, Shade had lost his parents at the tender age of 9. While he had gotten past the mourning stage already, it was still sad for Shade to think about whenever he would be reminded of it. Shade spent the remainder of his time just looking down the road (and often letting his head droop a little as well,) not exactly sure if there was anything he felt like contributing to the conversation.
Yakan looked at Shade "Its been 7 years since then, I miss her but i cant stay stuck at the past forever, And we cant stay here forever too we need to start looking around cmon every second counts." Shade picked his head up to look at Yakan. He nodded in agreement. "You're right. We should focus on the present. We have a job to do and it's our responsibility to make sure that we get it done." With that, Shade tried to cheer himself up again, in order to have the necessary energy and determination to find this missing son. He began to swivel his head left and right as he tried to look for this missing person. As he did, his thoughts began to wander again. "You know, this is probably the first time i've ever gotten to really get to know Yakan since joining this guild. I mean, normally I don't spend much time with guys as opposed to girls anyway, and with him being an S-Class Mage, I bet he's usually much more busy than I am. But to be honest, I kinda like hanging out with him. I never expected Yakan to be such great company." Just then, Shade realized something important that he had ignored up till now.
"AH! Wait a sec, Yakan! Do we even know what this guy looks like?! We could be searching for a needle in a haystack, for all we know!" Yakan turned to Shade and showed hima picture "The father gave me this picture before we left guess i forgot to tell ya, Anywho hes short, blonde, blue eyes and brown clothes along with a green coat." Shade's eyes began to show signs of him being a bit dissapointed at Yakan for not telling him sooner. "...You forgot to tell me?" Despite this, Shade returned to the matter at hand. "Oh well, as long as we have a lead on who the son is! Now we just need to find this short, blonde, blue-eyed, brown clothes and green coat-wearing guy and bring him back to the client!" Shade bumped his fists together as he began to psyche himself up for the search. "So then..." Shade went back to moving his head to and fro again, in pursuit of the person who matched the identity of the son, among the crowd of people that Yakan and him were standing in. "Where IS this guy?"
Yakan looked around and tried to match the people to the picture "Well there all grown ups and this picture shows that hes probably 12 to 13 so lets look for the short ones" Yakan kept on looking around but couldnt find anything. Shade went over to Yakan and took a closer look at the picture, to see that Yakan was right. The son looked rather young in appearance. "Ah, you're right! So that narrows down our search a bit..." Shade then went back to scanning the crowd of people around him, but now paying more detail to the children in particular. "Nope, not him... Not him... That's a girl... Not him... Girl again... Not him..."
Yakan went to Shade and pointed at a tall tower that was placed in the middle of the town "Look at that tower, The son might just be there, Here look behind the picture its says 'The only high enough place in this place for suicide is the only tower within it' The son might be in it." Shade followed Yakan's instructions as indicated. Upon the word, "suicide," Shade seemed rather surprised as his eyes almost jumped out of his skull. "Suicide?!! Wha... Why would the son be in some tower, just to commit suicide?!! I thought he was just missing!!" Shade began to panic a little, as he has always been touchy about the subject of death. "Why would this son WANT to commit suicide anyway?!! This wasn't in the job description!!"
"Calm down im sure he doesnt literally mean it right?" Yakan wasnt sure about the suicide either yet they still went into the tower "This place looks like a haunted house only its a tower"
"Cozy!!," Shade exclaimed strangely. Well, that is, it was strange to anyone OTHER than Shade, as he was quite used to being in dark places and surrounded by such a creepy atmosphere. "Kinda feels like I haven't left home in a way." Shade walked around a bit, examining the area around him. "Still can't believe this guy's son would probably be in a place like this. Seems kinda strange..." Shade then turned his head to look at Yakan directly. "Hey, Yakan? You think this kid would be at the top of the tower?"
Yakan looked at Shade "Why would you think that?" He then heard something coming from over his head "Okay lets check it out before we lose it"
"Yeah!," Shade agreed as he headed off with Yakan towards the sound from above. As they made their way to the noise, Shade decided now was as good a time as any to answer Yakan's question. "Well, when you think about it, every time someone wants to hide something in a tower, they put it at the top! The top's always the best place to hide stuff!" Shade pointed his left index finger up in the air to emphasize his point. "I got the idea from the fact that in books and stuff, the hider ALWAYS hides his stuff at the top of towers!" Shade put his finger down afterward and seemed to be in thought. "Though then again, some people also like to hide things in basements... Oh well! We're heading to the top anyway!"
Once they reached the top they saw a chest in the corner, Yakan walked to it and openned it, Inside it he found a letter "Ah cmon not this old trick again, They capture the kid and ask for the money cmon people get original, I bet theyre hiding him in some abandoned storage case." Shade scratched his head upon hearing the news. "So I guess this job was more than it appeared to be, huh? Makes sense as to why the kid's been missing for so long, though." Shade began to crack the bones in his knuckles and neck in anticipation of what was yet to come. "Right, so I guess we gotta find out exactly where they're holding the kid then. I hope we get to him soon, because i'm getting a little sick of going on a goose chase, to be honest."
After a long search for the son, Yakan and Shade had reached an abandoned building "If its not here then its nowhere lets go see" The two entered the building, A person came to them "Hello hello hello who might we have here? Two mages one two only two not one only two and i a mage too? Who are you who am i what is this place? hello" The two looked confused at the man that came infront og them "Ahhhhhh hi" Yakan said to the crazy man "Hello hi sup whats going on ya need money? Too bad im broke hi bye see ya the sons over there toodles haha yahoo." Shade seemed to be much more confused now, after meeting this strange man. He scratched his head in bewilderment. "Well then... That was...... Wierd." Whether it was wierd or not, Shade decided that as long as they now knew where the son was, then the job could finally be completed. He spared no time in heading off to where the man directed him and Yakan.
"Heh, so much for the whole ransom thing, huh? I mean, that guy's gotta be a lousy kidnapper if he's just gonna tell us where the son is anyway. And he didn't even ask for the money! We've got this in the bag now, Yakan." The two walked into a room, There they saw the son tied to a chair "What the hell did he do?" Yakan went to the son and untied him, He looked at the picture and saw no difference, They found the son "We did it yes haha" The son looked at Yakan and Shade "Its a trap" The two looked at the son, Suddenly the lights were out and it was pitch black, The man from before walked to them "Hello birdy in the cage lets sing a song haya" They both realized they were in a large cage and the strange man was outside
"Haha boss is gonna be happy right boss?" The strange man looked to a dark corner, A man with nothing but black clothes came to them, He only had his right eye, It was red and it looked at them "Who are you?" Yakan said to the other man who came to them "This is the wrong action for you Zeke" The man with the black clothes turn to the strange man who his name is apparantly Zeke, He looked frightened from the man "Please Izan i brought you two mages from Neptune Guild aint that good?" Izan looked at Zeke and grabbed him by his head "Like hell" Suddenly Zeke began being shocked by black lightning from Izans hand, He then fell to the ground dead and fried
Izan looked at Yakan and Shade "Im sorry for the trouble you may leave and never return" Izan disapeared fromn the room completely as he enetered the dark corner "Wow looks like crazy did a mistake so lets get out of here." Shade nodded his head in agreement, though he couldn't help but stare at Zeke's fried body for just a few seconds more, before getting ready to head out with Yakan once more. "Damn, I wonder who that guy was... That Izan guy..." After mumbling a bit to himself, Shade stepped up to the lock on the door of the cage. He turned his head over to Yakan. "Hey, Yakan. You wanna smash this cage with your magic, or should I just pick the lock?" Upon uttering the phrase, "pick the lock," Shade held up his right index finger, showing that he had used his Bone Magic to make his finger-bone grow past his skin; and had curved and sharpened it to make it match the likeness of a claw. He smirked as he revealed his claw-like finger to Yakan, feeling amused that he was showing what he was capable of to an S-Class Mage.
"Ummm well if ya wanna pick it okay, I'll just wait in outside" Yakan phased through the cage and took the son with him, He sat down on a chair, He let the son sit next to him "Okay you can go ahead and pick the lock." Shade stared at him with complete shock, not having expected Yakan to phase through the cage instead. "WAIT, IF YOU COULD'VE PHASED THROUGH THIS THING, I WOULDN'T HAVE SUGGESTED PICKING THE LOCK!!!" Shade sighed a little afterward, deciding to just get this over with. He went to work at picking the lock with his claw-like extension. It took quite a bit of effort, and some time before Shade finally freed himself as well. Once the door was opened, Shade jumped out of the cage and headed over to rejoin Yakan and the boy. He seemed rather dissapointed as he looked over at Yakan. "Er... Yakan... The next time you're able to break the two of us free at the same time with your magic, PLEASE DO!"
"Sure okay, Just thought i should see a locksmith in action, Since i havent seen any locksmiths in action, Oh well lets go" After a while Yakan and Shade returned the son to his father, The two hugged each other in happiness, The father gave the two the reward and thanked them, After a long walk back to the guild Yakan looked at Shade "Hey Shade question, Do you think that Izan guy was gonna use the son for something?" Shade looked at Yakan in response, and seemed to be in thought. He finally returned the question with his own answer after a few seconds of thought. "Not sure. To be honest, this is the first time i've ever met that Izan guy, so I don't really know much about him, other than his name. I'm still confused over what's happened today..." Shade looked up at the sky as he went over everything that had happened. "First, we learn that the son was kidnapped. Then it becomes some trap just to catch us. Then when it seemed that Izan guy may have done worse things to us, he goes and zaps his partner instead! That, and he just lets us go afterward! None of this is adding up to me at all... Was this all one huge plan for something that went wrong at the last minute...? Urgh! This is so confusing, that it's starting to make my head hurt!" Shade began running his hands through his hair frantically as he tried to relieve himself of his headache.
Shade sighed soon after. "At least we got this job done, and it managed to kill more than enough time for me. You satisfied, Yakan?" Shade looked back to Yakan once he said the man's name, wondering what Yakan had to say about this. "Pitch Black Izan, A powerfull Dark Mage, I heard of him once never went toe to toe with the guy though, I heard he had alot of power in one hand, Even the fact that he can use black lightning is unknown how, But you know what they say? They say that he has darkness beyond any other human being and that it took over all his magic, That is why people think he can turn his lightning black." Shade seemed astonished to hear such information, not expecting Yakan to know as much as he did. Though then again, Yakan WAS a former Guild Master once, and has been quite the experienced Mage for years. It only made sense that he would've heard of this Izan fellow. Shade, while still walking alongside Yakan, seemed amazed that he had come face to face with such a man. And he was a Dark Mage of all things! Shade dug his hands into his pants' pockets as he continued to head back to Neptune Guild with Yakan.
"So that explains his powers...," Shade finally responded. "But now that's got me even more curious about Izan. Like, why would he take any interest in us? Maybe he wanted to get close to you or something? That's the only reason I can think of, as to why he would be a part of this whole trap thing. But to go to such a measure to just get to see an S-Class Mage... Izan seems suspicious to me." Shade held out one of his hands in order to stroke his chin. Izan seemed to be a new, complex figure to Shade now. He began to wonder if this Izan should be kept accounted for, or not.
"No one knows what Izan wants nor what he does, But i dont think he would want me i mean i was a guild master but that doesnt mean anything good enough, Afterall our guild master is powerfull right?" Yakan said while he still walked with Shade "Hmmmm maybe Izan wanted to test something"
"Huh, I can see what you mean by that. But if he didn't want to see you, and if a simple Mage like me wouldn't be worth his time, then... You think he was trying to test the abilities of a Neptune Guild Mage? Would he have any interest in our guild?"
"Hmmm perhaps but we can never be sure, Ah what the heck if he attacks our guild he'll get it real hard in the face aint that right Shade?" Yakan said happily to Shade. Shade returned Yakan's statement with a cheery one of his own. Shade grinned as he begun his reply. "Damn straight! Our guild's the best! I'd like to see Izan try and get past all of our amazing Mages!" "Yup no cmon lets stop in a resteraunt im hungry lets eat" Yakan said while heading towards a resteraunt that they recently reached. "A restaurant...?" Shade looked at Yakan absent-mindedly as the man headed into the restaurant, regardless of Shade's reaction. He could then feel his stomach growling, as if to answer his statement. "Aw hell, why not? Seems walking around can really work up an appetite." Shade then started to follow Yakan into the restaurant, hoping to satisfy his now apparent hunger. "Hehe, I wonder if I can somehow squeeze in a date with a lovely lady here as well...," Shade said to himself, grinning from ear to ear as he did so.
They both got into the resteraunt and were about to order there food "So Shade whats your favorite type of women? Since i see you going after alot of women." Shade, at first, was surprised to see that Yakan would ask him such a question, but soon went back to his more casual mood within seconds. He rested his elbows on the table the two were sitting at, and placed his head above his clasped hands. He closed his eyes as he began to think about this question. Shade seemed to be acting as if he was asked what the meaning of life was. He soon began talking again after several seconds of silence and contemplation. "Heh, you want to know my favorite type, ay? Well... I'm not sure if I can put it into words exactly, but..." Shade began to get that same, goofy grin he would usually have, whenever he began to think about girls. He opened his eyes to reveal a sort of enthusiasm that was going on in the depths of his soul. His nostrils began to flare as he went on about his tastes in women. "I guess you can say I like pretty women, for starters!" Shade's voice seemed upbeat in tone, almost as if he was in true bliss from the sheer thought of a lovely lady. "But that's not all! I'm not some pig who's all about looks, my friend! I also like a lady who is funny, smart, kind, and a true joy to be around!" Shade's voice soon became more romantic in tone when discussing such matters. It seemed he was getting himself so worked up, that he had completely forgotten where he was exactly, or who was near him at the time (save for Yakan, that is.)
Shade then began to calm down as he approached his point. His voice began to sound more like its usual tone now. "So I guess that, in a way, I have many types. It's not all that easy for me to choose, when there are so many gorgeous faces for me to admire..." Shade sighed, enjoying the last of his flirtatious daydreams before returning to the real world. "Heh, it's not really an easy question to answer when you're a slave to love like me. But now you've got me curious, pal. Just because you brought up the subject, and because i'm kind of interested to know what you would say, what's YOUR favorite type, Yakan?"
Yakan looked at Shade for a while and there was a silent moment between them ".........I dont know i guess i like women who wear glasses and are nice, kind and will be a good mother" Yakan answered in a calm tone. Shade leaned back in his seat as he looked at Yakan straight on. He rested his arms behind his head. "Huh, seems simple enough. Definately gives me a good idea as to what you're like most of the time, Yakan."
"Let me show you something i keep with me most of the time" Yakan took his hat off he put his hand in it and pulled out a white rock "This rock is what i have last from my previous guild." Shade leaned forward from his relaxed posture and gazed at the stone with interest. "Huh? A rock from your other guild? Why's a rock so important to you?"
"I dont know myself i just keep it in my hat all the time, I guess its because i miss my previous family" Yakan sighed and put his hat back on. Shade went silent for a while afterward, allowing himself to process what Yakan meant by what he said. After a few seconds, Shade began to speak again. "I see... What happened to this family of yours? Did you guys get separated? Or was it... Was it that dark Mage who attacked your wife?"
"We werent seperated not like we wouldve ever, You dont know what i was in the previous guild do ya?" Yakan laid back on his chair while scratching his head. Shade noticed Yakan's action, and felt the need to do the same. He too began to return to leaning back in his seat as he answered Yakan. However, he instead rested his left arm over the top of the chair and let it dangle out in the air. "Well, not really. I've heard from some of the others back at Neptune Guild that you were once part of another guild, but I never knew what your rank was in the guild. I always assumed you were an S-Class Mage, like in our guild."
Yakan sighed "Zero that loud mouth cant keep a mouth shut, Well atleast he didnt spit everything out" Yakan looked at Shade "The first guild i was in was called the Full Moon Guild and in well you might be i dont know your reaction but........I was the guild master and founder of my previous guild." Shade's eyes grew in surprise to the news and he leaned forward once more, resting his left arm alongside his right one upon his lap. "Woah, no way! You're saying you were once a guild master?! That's awesome, Yakan!! That explains why I get that sort of strong vibe from you whenever I see you! And to think! Someone as strong as you came with me today in order to complete some D Rank job request! Hehehehehe! That's so cool!" Shade chuckled a bit when he realized he had been spending the day with a powerful Mage, and former guild master to boot. "So then... When you said family, you actually meant your guild members! I can see why you'd miss them so much. I'd be down too, if I ever lost any of you guys from Neptune Guild somehow."
"Yeah well i blame myself for what happened since i couldnt actually protect them from only one dark mage a god slayeri couldnt defeat him" Yakan looked down with a sorrow look "I dont know what happened later i was knocked out and when i woke up......Everyone were on the ground.......They didnt move one bit i realised it then they all died"
"Ah, I see...," Shade replied, having a mournful tone in his voice. "I guess it was the same dark Mage that killed your wife then, huh...? I'm... I'm terribly sorry for your loss, Yakan... I wish there was something I could do to make it better, but... I really don't know how I could do something like that... If it helps, I understand your pain. While I haven't lost an entire guild, and nor do I want to, I still know what it's like to lose someone precious to you." Shade's head drooped upon remembering his own sadness. He too began to take on a more melancholic attitude.
"Well it was all in the past, My wife always told me to not stick to the past too much no matter how painfull it is.......And thats what im doing im trying to forget the past but i cant forget it was my fault for not being able of protecting them" Yakan looked at Shade "If your loss is also painfull then you shouldnt stay with its memory too much it will only cause more damage to you"
"Heh... I know that. It just came to mind today, when you mentioned how you lost your loved ones is all..." Shade looked up to see Yakan face-to-face. "I agree though, it's not healthy to dwell on your own sadness. Especially when I had less control over what happened to my par... I mean, what happened to my loved ones. ...And if it means anything to you, I can also understand why you can't forget. Death is something that can't easily be shaken from one's memory, moreso if it was the death of someone close to you. I should know after all, having been surrounded by it for so long..." Shade sighed after saying his piece. He decided that if it could help him and Yakan, then maybe he should suggest something different to talk about. "Oh, I forgot that we're supposed to be here to eat. I'm still starving... If you want, Yakan, we can always change the subject. It's not going to do us any good by just wallowing around in our own self pity. After all, we should be celebrating. We completed another job, even if it was a small one. So here's to Neptune Guild, right?"
"Already ahead of you" Yakan was already eating some chicken meat "Im faster in operating then you think, Plus i come to this resteraunt alot so i know this place well and thats why the waiter always knows my order" Yakan pointed at the waiter who was with another table, The waiter waved his hand to Yakan saying "hi" to him and Shade "Hes a nice guy." Shade's jaw dropped and his eyes widened as he looked over to the waiter. He soon turned his head slowly back to Yakan. "How do you keep doing stuff like this?!! You need a bell around your neck or something!!" Shade felt his stomach growling again. He held his stomach with his hands in order to ease the pain. He then turned back to the waiter and waved to him, signaling him to pay attention to Shade. "Hey, waiter!! I'd like what my friend's having!! And soon!!" Once again, Shade's lack of proper social skills became apparent, as he made his somewhat rude request. Nonetheless, the waiter nodded in agreement, and went into the kitchen to deliver the order. Shade returned his attention back to Yakan shortly after.
"Hmmm... You think he's gonna spit in my food after that? That kind of happens to me at restaurants for some reason..." Yakan looked at Shade while chewing and still having his bandages on his face "Nah he wont do that hes not that type i think"
"Oh, that's good. For a minute, I thought i'd have wet chicken for dinner!" Shade chuckled at his remark, finding the idea somewhat funny. A few minutes later, Shade's order was served (without saliva,) and he began to dig into his meal. As he ate, he tried to think of something else to talk about. "Sho feh (So then...) Yahkha (Yakan.)" Shade then swallowed the food in his mouth. "Anything else on your mind?"
Yakan had finished eating his food and looked at Shade "I dont know, Dont really talk alot but.........Ah heres an idea ya wanna see my face behind the bandages?" Shade put his meat down and looked at Yakan with an interested expression. "What? Really?! You'd show your face to me?! Sure thing! I'd like to get to see what you're hiding under there."
"Okay sure here goes" Yakan started to slowly remove the bandages from his mouth "Now get ready to see what is behind these bandages" When Yakan was near getting his bandages off suddenly a carrige came in and hit the table where Shade and Yakan were sitting filling the place with dust, After the dust cleared Yakan got up from his chair and got ready to walk with his bandages on his face "Well i just finished my food and removed my bandages for ya we should get going now." Shade coughed a bit as he tried to wipe the dust away from his face. Once he could breathe again, he looked up to see Yakan walking away, fully covered once more. This shocked Shade, who was expecting to see Yakan unmasked. "Wha-! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!! I GOT RIPPED OFF!!" Shade then received multiple surprised looks by his fellow restaurant patrons, as well as angry expressions from some of the waiters nearby. Shade slowly got up from his seat, and grinned sheepishly, realizing that he had just accidentally insulted the restaurant and alarmed the people who were eating there. He raised his hands in the air, palm side forward; up to where his face was, in a rather apologetic manner. "Er... Uh... I didn't mean the restaurant. I, uh... I mean..." Shade nervously looked over to a waiting Yakan before finishing his apologies.
"I mean... Huh? What was that?! You want me over there right now?! Oh well, I guess I better be going then! Um..." Shade then made a large bow in front of everyone (excluding Yakan) in the restaurant. "THANK YOU FOR THE FOOD!" And with that, Shade hurriedly dashed over to where Yakan was waiting, hoping to get out of the restaurant as soon as possible. The rest of the waiters and patrons merely stared at him as if he had a screw loose. "What a strange young man... Rude too, since he insulted us and didn't even pay the bill," said one of the waiters as he was about to add more water to someone's glass.
The two mages returned to there guild after completing a job and having some talk, And also nearly getting to see Yakans face but luck wasnt on Shades side today.
THE END