3,740Chapter Thirty-Six: Slaying the Monster Within
"Atla, what the #$%!" Fohl roared.
The two tiger siblings sat in the living room of the Spear Hero's house. Along with them were Naofumi and Raphtalia, Keel, Sadeena, S'yne, and surprisingly, Granny.
Keel and Granny had arrived together shortly after Raphtalia managed to free Atla's older brother. Who had been tied up and subsequently gagged in his sleep by his younger sister before she pulled her stunt, as they'd come to find out. They'd come here fully dressed, expecting a fight like Naofumi, only to be met with this.
Amber and Freon, the girl from earlier, were still in Motoyasu's room. The Spear Hero himself could not leave at this time, for obvious reasons.
As for Elena… she wasn't there. But she wasn't asleep either.
She'd gone off to wake up Rachel's husband. She needed his help getting some comfort food prepared for Motoyasu straight away. There was no way in hell even the most slothful and lazy person of the Hero's parties was going back to bed after having witnessed what she had without doing anything to help.
…
As for the girl who'd started it all, Atla was back in her clothes. The scratches from earlier had scabbed over. She wasn't being grilled while half-naked.
But many in the room didn't look happy with her whatsoever. And no one had offered to use healing magic or the like on her.
The only one who didn't look angry was S'yne. Instead of angry, she looked disappointed.
Atla pouted at the unfairness of it all with her arms crossed under her flat chest. "I already said I'm sorry. I didn't realize Sir Motoyasu would react so strongly to me trying to get in bed with him."
"Get in bed?! You tried to rape him!" Fohl continued to shout.
It was a remarkable show of his growth that he wasn't claiming Motoyasu had tried putting his hands on her instead. Actually, the fact that he was grilling her at all really showed how much he'd grown from his days as a complete and total siscon.
"I wasn't gonna do anything like that!" The tiger girl adamantly declined.
"YOU WERE DRESSED IN ONLY YOUR UNDERWEAR!"
"I was wearing a bra too, you know." Atla scowled. "And why does it matter to you that I love Sir Motoyasu so much?"
"BECAUSE THAT'S NOT LOVE, ATLA! THAT'S ABUSE!" Fohl continued to explode in anger.
Many in attendance grimaced at the tiger teen's choice words. However, they did capture what they were all thinking too.
And Fohl was doing a surprisingly good job getting his point across as guilt briefly flashed across Atla's face again.
"Maybe I did go too far. It wasn't my intention to force him…" Atla then pointed accusatory fingers at both Sadeena and S'yne. "But can you blame me for doing that?! Do you see who I have to compete with?!"
"Not to mention, there's also that Larsa woman over in Zeltoble he keeps talking so much about after returning from his trips there! I had to do something drastic if I ever wanted to get Sir Motoyasu to acknowledge my affection for him!"
Fohl, however, continued to seethe. "A little far?! A LITTLE FAR!? YOU TIED ME UP IN MY BED WHILE I WAS SLEEPING, AND THEN PROCEEDED TO TRY AND FORCE YOURSELF ON THE SPEAR HERO EVEN THOUGH HE DIDN'T WANT TO!
"HOW IS THAT JUST GOING A LITTLE FAR!?"
"IT WAS ONLY BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT YOU INTERFERING WITH MY LIFE AGAIN THAT I DID THAT, IDIOT BROTHER!"
Fohl tried to refute that he'd been doing that far less lately, but then Atla did something that surprised all of them.
Pow!
She punched Fohl in the jaw, knocking him onto his back. He hadn't even moved to defend himself because even though they hadn't been getting along lately, even if she'd tied him up in his bed, even though he'd been yelling at her, he never thought his little sister would punch him.
Keel automatically stepped forward, her face brimming with fury. And Fohl rubbed his jawline, looking up at his sister with a stunned expression.
"I HATE YOU! NO, I DON'T JUST HATE YOU, I DESPISE YOU, BIG BROTHER! I WISH I DIDN'T HAVE TO CALL SOMEONE AS USELESS AS YOU MY BIG BROTHER!"
Fohl looked as if he'd been punched again. Only, this one was ten times worse than being punched physically. It was as if she was tearing apart his very soul.
"Stop it!" Keel moved before Fohl and held her fists up to protect him. "That's your brother you're talking to! That isn't how you're supposed to treat family!"
"HE'S THE WORST! HE'S NEVER ALLOWED ME TO LIVE MY LIFE OR MAKE MY OWN CHOICES!
"I DOUBT THIS IDIOT EVEN REALIZES THAT IF NOT FOR SIR MOTOYASU, HE'D STILL BE FIGHTING IN THOSE BLASTED PITS TO EARN MERE POCKET CHANGE! MEANWHILE, I'D LIKELY BE DEAD AND THROWN AWAY IN SOME DITCH, IF NOT LAYING IN BED, KNOWING NOTHING BUT ENDLESS PAIN AND MISERY LIKE I HAVE MY ENTIRE LIFE!"
Keel grimaced, but her fists looked ready to punch the tiger girl regardless.
"HOW CAN HE STILL ACT SO DISRESPECTFUL AND SPITEFUL WHEN SIR MOTOYASU SAVED OUR LIVES!? HOW CAN HE CLAIM TO BE MY OLDER BROTHER WHEN HE'S NOTHING BUT A USELESS SIS-CON WHO CAN'T DO ANYTHING BY HIMSELF BESIDES CODDLE A SISTER WHO NO LONGER NEEDS HIS HELP!?"
Naofumi, despite himself, let out an internal groan. He knew Motoyasu had surrounded himself with some crazy girls, but he never thought that the little tiger girl would turn out to be the craziest one of them all.
He thought that title would stay with Sadeena. Clearly not, as was being showcased here.
Strangely though, the orca woman was remaining silent. Just watching what was going on with narrowed eyes.
"But I've been trying! I really have, Atla!" Fohl got back onto one knee. "Why else do you think I asked Sir Motoyasu to give me a different room-"
"SAVE YOUR BREATH! YOU'RE STILL AS DUMB AND USELESS AS EVER!
"I CAN'T BELIEVE I EVEN HAVE TO CALL YOU MY OLDER BROTHER!"
Fohl's expression didn't change, but the way the light in his eyes dimmed with each sentence showed how much Atla's words were hurting him.
"I WISH YOU'D WAKE UP AND REALIZE THAT EVERYTHING'S CHANGED!
"I DON'T WANT TO BE YOUR SISTER ANYMORE!
"I DON'T WANT TO DEAL WITH YOUR &%$ ANYMORE!
"I WISH YOU WERE DEAD-"
Slap!
It wasn't Keel who ended up reacting first.
Granny's hand slowly withdrew after slapping Atla across the face.
Atla stopped screaming then and instead hesitantly touched the stinging side of her face. Keel stepped back right after, almost stumbling back into Fohl. Neither of the two spoke, though, due to the uncomfortable pressure coming off the Hengen Muso mistress who'd materialized between them and the young tiger girl.
"I've taught you better than this." Granny spat the words out, as if she was mad she even had to be saying this to her student.
"Not only have you misused the sacred art that I've taught you to do something horrible, but you are refusing to own up to it as well…"
There'd been plenty of good reasons why the old woman had been willing to take Hengen Muso to the grave before. However, Elrasla had never believed anyone allied with the Heroes could make her even come close to the agony she felt that day seeing her dojo on fire.
The waves of menacing aura coming off her now proved Atla had proven that sentiment wrong. It was only through immense self-control that the old woman wasn't destroying her mistake right now.
"Stop deflecting your blame onto others. That is very unbecoming of one I considered to be one of my more promising pupils before this."
"B-But Granny-dono, I-" The girl tried to object again.
Slap!
This time, Granny struck the girl's other cheek with the back of her hand. And despite it not having even an ounce of life force in it, this and the previous hit felt far heavier and hurt far more than anything the old woman had ever unleashed during her hellish training of her pupils.
It was Granny not holding back her strength whatsoever.
"Enough! I am tired of you putting your brother down and acting so spoiled when you're the one who hurt Spear-dono!
"That stunt you pulled! Unforgivable, I say!
"Just admit that you entered Spear-dono's room with the intention of raping him in his sleep and be done with it!"
…
Atla's face twisted in shock. And at Granny saying the words, there was a shift in the room. Particularly with Naofumi, whose face twisted with fury.
The gemstone on his Shield flashed a brief red as his mind truly processed the words for the first time that night.
"No- no, I didn't… I only wanted to show Sir Motoyasu how much I loved-"
Slap!
Granny slapped Atla again, and the girl whimpered before becoming silent again.
"Forcing yourself onto someone is not how you show them love. Young Fohl was right to call such an action abuse.
"That only shows how selfish you are in your heart."
…
…
Atla continued to quietly whimper. Granny's face didn't change as she continued to look down, the anger draining from her face as she instead looked at her student with disappointment.
"You are not a stupid girl. I know that much. You've always been eager to learn whatever lesson I taught you.
"So why go so far? Why the vitriol for your older brother? Why the possessiveness for Spear-dono?
"What has he and everyone else done to deserve any of this?"
…
"I… I don't know…" Atla began to sob quietly.
"You do know," Granny said, her tone flat. She was not going to show her student any mercy in this case.
"Atla…" Fohl sighed, appearing beside Keel. "Please, just tell us."
The tiger teen looked tired, more so than he ever had before. Including the times when he came back from tournaments, when he was all beat up and broken from a horrible loss.
Including the times when he couldn't afford her medicine and had no choice but to hold her hand and watch her suffer as he waited till his next match, hoping when no hope was left that her body would stay alive until then so he could win the money needed for her next dose of medicine.
Keel rested a comforting hand on his shoulder, and the tiger teen didn't shake it off.
"..." Atla couldn't open her mouth, though. She didn't know how to express her thoughts.
…
"... if I may." One of S'yne's dolls spoke. She'd brought her Atla one out again while everyone else was talking.
"I would like to claim part of the responsibility over what happened. I'd noticed how Atla had mislabeled her feelings for the Spear Hero a while ago. But I didn't act on that knowledge enough.
"And my own eagerness to return Motoyasu's affections has aggravated the situation too.
"I thought she would gradually understand what she was really feeling before anything drastic would happen. But I should have realized her life experiences up till now would make it hard for her to figure it out."
"... what do you mean?" Atla asked quietly.
The seamstress looked down at the tiger girl with sympathetic eyes. "Atla, you don't love Motoyasu… at least, not in the way I or Sadeena do." The girl herself sighed as the Atla doll set a hand on her shoulder.
"You desire him as a father figure. Not as a romantic partner. It's a different kind of love." She said, her words plain and simple.
…
…
…
Atla continued to look in the older girl's direction, confusion growing on her face. "I… what?"
"You never had parents growing up. For most of your life, it's been just you and your older brother.
"All you knew about your parents was what your brother told you. And beyond that, most of your life has been nothing but pain. Needing to be coddled by Fohl because he was the only one left to care for you.
"Don't tell me you've forgotten everything we talked about before that night I found you here."
"..." Atla remained quiet. Many different emotions went across her face.
She was, at first, angry to be told such a thing. Who the hell did S'yne think she was to actually know anything about what Atla was feeling?!
…
Yet the more time that passed, the more the quiet girl's words made sense.
Not to mention the growing pit of guilt in her stomach at how Motoyasu had reacted to her advances earlier.
…
And then, everything clicked in place.
"Oh… oh no…" Atla quietly muttered before putting a hand over her mouth.
She was going to be sick.
She looked like she was finally starting to realize the weight of what she'd just done earlier.
All this time… Motoyasu hadn't been looking at her as a love interest.
There were no romantic thoughts behind patting her on the head, giving her random piggyback rides, or letting her sit on his lap.
He'd been treating her as a part of his family.
As if she were his daughter.
She even recalled how when he took them in, he'd said they could stay until they could reunite with their family… but they'd chosen to stay with him.
And so Motoyasu had made them a part of his family.
…
And she had torn that trust up and thrown it in his face in the worst possible way.
"Good. It's about time you're starting to comprehend the weight of your mistake, Atla." Sadeena finally spoke, her arms crossed under her massive chest.
However, her harsh tone expressed only the surface level of her rage, and she didn't stop there. "Before I allow you to start feeling guilty, let me ask you a few things. Have you ever thought about why neither me nor S'yne have forced ourselves onto Moto?
"Have you wondered why we both try our best to be honest with him about everything, including how S'yne's pins have the ability to spy on him and others instead of just plain teleportation, how we both have aspects of our pasts we're comfortable or not comfortable sharing, how I'll support his relationship with S'yne even though I also love him?
"Have you ever seriously wondered why I'm so blatantly obvious with my feelings, yet move my relationship with him along at his pace and not my own?
"It's not just because I respect S'yne as the woman he's chosen to set his heart on.
"Moto hasn't flat-out said it to our faces, but he has trauma from his past. Likely even from before his Hero summoning, because of girls trying to force their feelings onto him.
"Neither me or S'yne want to do anything that'd hurt him like those girls did. And you have done exactly that to our precious Moto."
The orca woman looked at Naofumi after she was done speaking, as if asking for confirmation. And the Shield Hero did nod, impressed at Sadeena's deduction of his older brother figure's past. "On our first night in this world, the other Heroes hinted at what brought them here.
"I was the only one who didn't die before his summoning."
Some of the others gasped, not having known this about the process. Raphtalia, however, nodded her head in understanding, given that Naofumi had told her about it before. S'yne also nodded along, while Sadeena's expression didn't change, as Naofumi had told her what she'd guessed to be a factor for most normal Hero Summonings.
"Itsuki pretty much died instantaneously. Ren, I learned later on, slowly bled out on his way to a hospital to get treatment after taking a murder's knife to his gut in order to save his best friend.
"As for Moto… he has never talked explicitly about it, but he was holding his side as if he'd just been stabbed when we first discussed that topic way back when.
"If I had to guess, he had a very bad encounter with a yandere woman before his summoning.
"Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if it was exactly that, given how he reacted when I got Bitch to reveal she had a hidden yandere personality.
"He dropped her pretty fast and helped me defeat the Pope after that.
"We've been good buds ever since."
…
…
Atla continued to tremble. She and the others didn't know what the word yandere exactly meant.
However, the auto-translation feature helped to get the majority of the meaning of the word across. And combined with Sadeena's earlier accusation.
That was more than enough.
"Blechhh!"
Atla vomited onto the floor.
There was no stopping the realization that she had inadvertently triggered Motoyasu's trauma with her actions.
She'd not only torn their father-daughter relationship to shreds, but she'd come onto him as a yandere and provoked him in the worst possible way.
S'yne reacted first, holding the girl's long hair away from her face as the tiger girl continued to empty the contents of her stomach onto the floor.
The seamstress hero's hand then began rubbing the tiger girl's back soothingly as she ran out of stuff to vomit. Yet even the burning of her throat wasn't as agonizing as what was going through her mind.
…
"... no… no… no…"
As Atla finished heaving, she began to sob.
She knew it.
She'd messed up.
No, she'd done worse than that. Far worse. Sir Motoyasu had saved her and Fohl's lives…
And what she'd done had almost ruined his.
What a way to repay him for everything he'd done for them.
"I'm… I'm… a monster." Atla despaired.
"Atla…" Fohl took a hesitant step forward.
He was unsure at first, but as Atla's crying intensified, the older brother in him won out, and he stepped into the pile of vomit as he hugged his little sister. Ready to be beaten to a pulp by her again if necessary.
Unlike previous times though, she began to sob even harder as she hugged him back. "Big Brother! I'm sorry!
"BIG BROTHER! I'M SO SORRY!"
Fohl began to tear up. He couldn't help it.
"You freaking idiot…" Fohl closed his eyes tight, but didn't let go of his sister.
Atla continued crying and sobbing into his shoulder. Admissions came from her mouth rapid-fire.
She didn't hate him. She never had.
She had just wanted him to move on from her since he'd been spending his whole life caring for her since their parents' deaths.
She had been tired of being coddled by him, yes. But she was also worried that since they'd be fighting alongside the Heroes, he wouldn't grow strong enough to look after himself and that he'd get hurt, or worse, killed, if she didn't do something to drive him off so he'd start looking after himself.
She didn't want him to die.
He was the only immediate family she had left.
Dou-Lon's guess turned out to be spot on.
She'd just gone about it all horribly wrong.
…
Next to the Shield Hero, Raphtalia let out a small sigh.
"What?" Naofumi asked his wife friend.
"I can't help but feel sorry for her." The girl admitted. "I understand she did something bad, but… I don't know how to word it.
"I just feel sorry that she has to go through this." The half-tanuki shrugged.
"... well, if you ask me, I'm just happy that we're not the ones responsible for her." Naofumi rolled his eyes.
"Dear…" Raphtalia said in disappointment.
"Don't lie. Imagine if she'd tried raping me while I was asleep.
"How would you have reacted?"
"..." Raphtalia's hands inadvertently gripped the hilt of her katana as a menacing aura materialized around her for a second imagining it.
No, had this happened to Naofumi, then Atla wouldn't be alive to have this conversation right now.
Raphtalia would not have been able to hold herself back from killing her. Which made it all the more surprising that the others here hadn't yet.
"Children these days sure are stupid." Naofumi rubbed the bridge of his nose with his hand again as he sighed once more.
"Now now, Shield-dono," Granny spoke from beside him, much to his surprise. "We all lacked experience at some point.
"That's why we need to share ours when we can."
"…"
Fair point. Naofumi shut his mouth and didn't respond to the old woman as things played out.
The others in the Spear Hero's party remained frowning. Showing an immense amount of restraint as, like Naofumi, they also didn't know how to deal with Atla.
On the one hand, it was clear she knew she'd done something bad, so she would likely never pull a stunt like this again… but on the other hand, what she'd done was still really, 'really' bad.
It was more than just a violation of trust. Her actions would be described as unforgivable in the eyes of others. And they were.
It wasn't just some minor punishment that needed to be dished out. Expulsion from the Spear Hero's party or even the Hero's Nation was on the table. Possibly even execution, if Motoyasu himself called for it.
It didn't help that Atla was blind and would thus have a more challenging time taking care of herself, life force vision or not. Execution could be seen as a greater mercy in that regard, if not for the fact that they needed every strong hand possible to fight against the Guardian Beasts and the Waves.
It was a tough situation. But regardless, something had to be done.
The Heroes had to decide on something since this type of behavior couldn't stand.
…
…
It was at that moment when a tall figure appeared from the stairway.
"Blondie, you should rest." An orange-haired winged teenager said next to the Spear Hero.
"Yea, daddy, please rest." An adorable, blonde-haired girl with red eyes filled with innocent tears said next. She didn't understand what'd happened. All she knew was that Daddy was hurting, and seeing the atmosphere in the room, her friend and big sister, Atla was also hurting.
"I'm fine, Amber, Freon." Motoyasu's voice came out, flatter than usual.
"At least let me do this, then I'll go back to bed.
"I promise."
…
Everyone in the room looked up at him as the two Filolial girls sadly released their Hero.
The tall man's face was still pale from earlier, and he looked more tired than they'd ever seen him. Yet despite using his weapon like a crutch, he didn't stop moving until he was standing before Atla.
Fohl let go of his sister and stepped back, a look of shame and a bit of fear in his eyes. He almost knelt to the ground, wanting to plead on his sister's behalf, but managed to restrain himself.
Mostly because of the vomit covering the floor. Though S'yne was quick to pull a rag from her weapon and have one of her dolls clean it up before putting the dirty rag back into her gemstone.
Keel gripped his hand in hers, and he gripped it back tightly. For once, Fohl was thankful to have his best friend's quiet support.
He could only hope the Spear Hero would show mercy to his younger sister.
…
Atla's mouth gaped open as she recognized who's life force signature was in front of her.
Her first reaction was to apologize… only, her tongue seized up as bile clogged her throat again.
More tears leaked from her closed eyes, and it hurt just to breathe.
She remembered what she'd almost done to him earlier, the monster she'd shown herself to be. And…
So she lowered her head, kneeling to the ground in shame while unable to say anything.
…
…
"Atla…" Motoyasu spoke after a long pause.
…
…
After another long silence, the Spear Hero let out a sigh, looking at the faces of everyone there. "Everyone… I… already overheard what you said earlier on my behalf.
"Thank you… for that. And for caring so much about me, it…
"It means a lot… it truly does… … …
"But I'll decide on what to do with Atla… if that's alright with everyone?" He said, looking all of them in the eyes one by one as he asked.
…
"Yes." "Alright." "Of course." "Sure."
A variety of affirmatives came from everyone there. Including Fohl and, surprisingly, Naofumi.
Motoyasu nodded to his brother last, lips still set in a straight line, before he looked down at Atla again. Letting out another long sigh as he did so.
"Before anything else… I want to apologize, Atla.
"If I did anything that hinted even slightly that I was leading you on, then I'm sorry.
"But I have not, and will not, feel that way about you.
"Ever.
"Especially not after tonight."
…
…
Atla stayed kneeling. Her tears hit the floor as she nodded. Again, a part of her wanted to speak, to say he shouldn't be apologizing to her.
But she just… couldn't.
It was as if a part of her had broken. The part of her personality that'd inflicted such harm on the one person she respected the most in the whole wide world.
The person who'd shown her such kindness and charity and given her a real chance at life.
Whatever punishment he gave her... she'd absolutely deserve it.
…
Motoyasu then, after another pause, observed the angry red marks on her face left from Granny's slaps earlier.
The light scratches on her right arm.
The tiny splotches of red on her outfit from the scratches on her side.
…
He hadn't touched her face, but those other injuries… he'd caused them.
Even if he'd been lost in his Cursed state at that point, he knew they were from him.
"It must have been so scary… seeing me like that…"
…
Without another word, the Spear Hero slowly knelt down and began to mutter something under his breath.
…
Atla didn't realize what it was until he muttered the words for the spell he was casting.
"Zweite Healing Warmth."
Bright red energy surrounded the tiger girl's body. The redness and swelling on her cheeks faded, as well as the pain in her stomach. The scratches on her arm, as well as her side, healed completely.
Atla looked up at him then, her eyelids finally opening from the shock of the action. It was the first time anyone there, besides Fohl, had seen what her eyes looked like.
Her pupils would have been a perfect blue without the white clouds covering them. Despite that imperfection, however, they were stunningly mesmerizing.
"S-Sir Motoyasu, w-why?" Atla managed to gasp out.
The Spear Hero shrugged, his lips finally curving upwards just a little. "You think I like seeing those I care about in pain?
"I'm pissed off about what happened earlier, just like everyone else. It's been a while since I lost control like that, and I don't ever want something like that to happen again…
"But I'm not entirely heartless to the point of ignoring another's pain."
…
Atla's eyes closed, but her lower lip began to quiver. "I… I did something unforgivable…"
"Perhaps.
"Then again, I've done some pretty unforgivable things myself. And you aren't acting the way I was back then after I did those horrible acts.
"It's likely that others will treat you far differently because of what happened tonight. And I won't be able to control what others say or do completely.
"But I can at least choose what I want to do with you, Atla.
"And what I want to do… is forgive you."
…
Motoyasu then, slowly, but surely, wrapped his arms around the young tiger girl after saying those words.
…
He was hugging her.
Even though she'd tried to force herself on him and traumatized him, he was hugging her.
"I-I-I DON'T UNDERSTAND?!" Atla began to cry again. "I'M A MONSTER!"
Motoyasu didn't answer verbally. Instead, he began to rub the back of her head comfortingly.
And Atla lost it.
"WAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The tiger girl cried. Only growing worse with each person who slowly joined the hug.
First Fohl.
Then S'yne.
Amber and Freon joined next.
Keel followed.
Granny and Sadeena didn't join at first, but even they succumbed eventually.
And the little girl in their midst cried her heart out.
A monster being slain by an act of kindness too profound to be understood by her at that moment.
…
All the while, Raphtalia and Naofumi watched from outside the group.
…
The Shield Hero finally rolled his eyes, seeing the group hug complete with everyone else who'd been there. "Somehow, I'm not surprised at what Motoyasu said."
"I imagine it's not how you would have gone about it," Raphtalia said beside him.
"No, it's not…" To be honest, a part of Naofumi was still pissed off for Motoyasu's sake.
At first, he had the thought that only the blonde simp could be this forgiving towards a girl… and this was, admittedly, in part thanks to how much the first few days after his Summoning had impacted the rest of his life.
…
It didn't take Naofumi long to understand, however, after taking a moment to really think things through and why Motoyasu was doing it. And that helped to cool his anger somewhat.
What Atla had done was unforgivable… but she also didn't know enough about life to have known that beforehand.
She had only twelve years of life experience, not twenty. More than that, most of those twelve years had been spent in bed. Unable to move or even eat without assistance.
Compared to that life of pain, she'd only been in the Hero's Nation for over a month. She was not learning as much about love or relationships as she was about life force and combat.
No, her unforgivable act wasn't even close in comparison to what that red-headed whore had knowingly planned to do to Naofumi after living and learning through over twenty years of life… and what Motoyasu himself had done in the past with over twenty-one years of life experience under his belt, because the past him always placed his blind trust in the wrong 'friends'…
And what Motoyasu said in that regard was also true. How Atla acted now after being told what she did was wrong was nothing compared to Motoyasu, who, even after being punched in the face, destroying a village under his leadership, running off into the mountains, and so on; he'd still refused to change until Naofumi's plan with Witch pulled the wool from over his eyes entirely. In that light, what Motoyasu had said and done in the past was far worse in comparison.
Yet, hadn't Naofumi forgiven the blonde man for everything despite that?
…
It wasn't as if he'd be interacting with the tiger girl anyway. He might as well let things play out and let natural consequences take their course.
…
Even with both individuals having come to the same conclusion, Raphtalia still frowned. "This will stick with her for the rest of her life, won't it?
"Things won't ever remain the same for her."
"Yes," Naofumi affirmed. "Clueless or not. Atla's going to have to live with what she did forever."
"And Motoyasu already knows that," Raphtalia said sadly.
"Yeah… and that's probably why he wants to forgive her.
"He already knows all too well what that hell is like. And I'd say for that, I can respect his decision here, even if I don't agree with it wholeheartedly."
…
"... Do you think Atla will change?" Raphtalia then asked. "Do you think this is something she'll be able to overcome?"
"Well, I don't know about her, but didn't you change before?" Naofumi asked with a quirked eyebrow and a soft smile.
She was about to ask what he meant when Raphtalia's mouth closed.
…
…
The half-tanuki heroine looked at the tiger girl again. And instead of seeing the little girl, she saw herself.
Knelt beside the Shield Hero, protecting him from nothing;
Watching as a pair of bat familiars overturned a wood table on a stage… and killed the kids who'd been pleading for her help underneath it.
…
…
Raphtalia let out a shaky breath, her hand having gripped the hilt of her weapon as she recalled the painful memory. "It won't be easy for her."
"Nothing worthwhile ever comes that easily." Naofumi rested a hand over the one gripping her weapon. "But if Motoyasu wants to choose to believe in her still… as long as she has the support of those who love her, as long as she wants to change… she'll turn out okay, I think.
"After all, I think after that day, you changed to become that much closer to perfection."
"So who am I to deny her the same chance?"
…
Raphtalia looked up at his face, her lips softening to a smile. "Let's watch and be ready to help, just in case."
"... I'll let you do that."
"You don't want to help?" Raphtalia asked with a pout.
"Hell no, I'm going back to sleep." Naofumi let go of her hand. "Feel free to join me when you're tired as well, dear."
The woman giggled as she waved a hand at her lover. "Did you really have to jump right through our bedroom window when you heard Motoyasu's scream earlier? Replace it before going to bed at least, will you, honey?"
Naofumi grunted in response before exiting through the front door and walking back to their house, where Filo and Melty were curiously peeking out.
Raphtalia, however, chose to stay behind to assist Elena and Gar when the latter two inevitably arrived with plates of comfort food for the Spear Hero and everyone else.
The Shield Hero's words to his wife friend that night would prove to be prophetic.
It would be a long night for the Spear Hero's party. Obviously, some awkwardness needed to be addressed in the time following the traumatic event. And sorry if the timestamps for what happened afterward end up a little jumbled.
This was, after all, a pretty traumatic time period for the Spear Hero and his party, and Naofumi, true to his word, avoided all of the aftermath that transpired, so there was nothing to be found in his journals about the events or when they took place before the one month mark that changed the destiny of the Hero's Nation going forward. So, what can be said is thus:
At first, despite the Spear Hero's words to her, Atla became withdrawn again.
Despite being forgiven so freely by Sir Motoyasu, as well as by her Big Brother, whom she'd treated so horribly the last few weeks, she was still unable to handle the guilt of what she'd done, of who she'd become.
And nobody bothered her that first day. So that she'd have enough time to reflect and regret by herself in the comfort of her own room.
…
And then, that same Big Brother, after giving his precious younger sister one day to sulk, suddenly burst into her room the second morning after she'd tried to force herself on Sir Motoyasu.
"Alright, Atla! Wake,y Wakey!"
"Wahhhhh!" Instead of crying, Atla screamed in surprise as, before she could respond, her mattress was raised up rapidly, and she toppled to the ground in a blind mess of limbs and blankets.
"Ugh…"
"Come on! Everyone's about to have breakfast! You'll need to eat something if you want to grow as big and strong as your Big Bro!" Fohl continued to yell, a wide smile resting on his face as he leaned down next to her, radiating an annoying amount of happiness and optimism at this time of the morning.
Atla couldn't see it. But she could sense he was genuinely happy for some reason. "B-But Big Brot-"
Fohl grabbed his younger sister by the wrist. "No buts! You've complained plenty about becoming stronger than me lately, so I'm not going to let all my hard work catching back up to you go to waste because you didn't feel like training with Nightmare Granny anymore!"
"..." Atla wanted to protest, but in her life force vision, it was as if she could see his dazzling smile. Feel the lack of judgment he held towards her.
"We might be in separate rooms Atla, but it's still my job to make sure you stay nice and happy! So I'll be damned if I don't get to see a single smile from you by the end of the week! You hear me?!" The tiger teen said brightly.
"B-But I-" She again tried to weakly protest.
"No buts! Now hup hup! We've got a long day ahead of us!"
"... ok."
And so, Fohl forced Atla back outside to eat a small breakfast Amber had cooked for her.
This was then followed by a brutal training session with Granny that was far more grueling and unforgiving than her usual.
"A-Ack! I can't-"
Chop!
"You can, and you will! If I could learn Gather, Wall, and Bead from Spear-dono's girlfriend at my advanced age, then a youngster like you should have no problems learning all three as well!
"You've already got two down! No need to slack on the third!
"Now, again!" Granny ordered.
"Fast Aqua Shot!"
"Fast FireBall!"
"Fast Earth Shot!"
Other students Granny had lined up fired off their magic attacks at the tiger girl. Who had no choice but to try and use her life force to collect, concentrate, and throw these magic attacks back at her peers.
"Zweite Earth Pillar!" This was made all the harder when the old woman decided to join the magic fray as well, using her life force to buff what was already an impressive magic attack to ridiculous proportions.
She was refusing to teach her student any offensive moves in Hengen Muso for the foreseeable future. Motoyasu had forgiven the young tiger girl, but Elrasla had not. But since she was already capable in life force, Elrasla might as well make sure Atla knew how to defend herself and Spear-dono down the road.
It was, needless to say, not a good time.
Following that training session from hell with an even worse version of Nightmare Granny, after healing magic was used to heal her injuries, Fohl pulled her aside to join his training with Dou-Lon.
"Breathe down to your stomach. And up through your chest."
"Yes, Fayon-dono," Fohl said calmly. Now more used to sitting in the lotus position on the hard ground.
Atla sat beside her older brother, trying to mimic him.
The tiger man was having them do simple breathing exercises while they meditated. Atla didn't know how this was supposed to help her out.
"As your body breathes, allow your mind to wander.
"Let your life and its struggles flow over your soul like the flow of a river.
"You are not drowning in it but going along with the flow.
"You are letting it take you to your core.
A place of peace, of security, of tranquility.
"A moment of your life where you could feel safe and happy."
Atla frowned as she tried to visualize it. It helped that Dou-Lon was describing in a way that was more feeling than seeing for her sake. But a part of her didn't want to.
There was nowhere to feel safe and at peace anymore in this river of life.
Not for a monster like her who didn't deserve it…
…
A gentle hum came from beside her, and that river of troubles faded into the background.
"When one person loves another,
"What do they lose in return?"
She was… lying on a bed of straw. Covered head to toe in bandages.
Nearly consumed by pain. Unable to live her life, not having hope that she'd ever be able to live her life…
"When time seeks, what was lost in time…
"The song it knew..."
But Fohl's hand was in hers.
Her Big Brother sat beside her through it all.
His voice was soft, guiding her into a dreamless sleep, where she could escape her pain and feel at peace.
Day after day. For so long.
"When you're lost and left to wander,
"What do you think you will see?"
But this memory was from a time when she didn't immediately fall asleep after her brother's first stanza. When she heard what he said beyond it.
"When one seeks, what was lost inside…
"The song it knew…"
Even though she could feel his sadness, she could also feel his unbreakable spirit and determination leaking out through his voice.
"You will find me there my daughter.
"Out far beyond the sea.
"In your soul, always in your life.
"The song you knew…"
…
…
"Atla… no matter what happens, I won't give up on you."
"Ever."
"One day. You will get better.
"You will be able to walk and eat and do everything I can.
"And when that day comes, when you're finally able to live, I'll do my best to be there for you.
"Until then. Just hold on for me… ok?"
…
"Atla, you're crying." Dou-Lon pointed out worriedly.
"You ok, Atla?" Fohl asked, a concerned frown on his face.
"I… I'm so sorry again, Big Brother!" Atla broke down again as she abandoned the meditative pose to hug Fohl.
To think her happy place would be from a time of pain and suffering.
Yet because she had her brother there beside her, his hands gripping her, that had been all she'd needed to feel safe and happy all her life.
And she admitted to as much before her brother and the man Fohl called his uncle.
She hadn't felt like talking to Dou-Lon before. Unlike her older brother, she did not feel any particular attachment to her hakuko heritage or felt the need to acquaint herself with the tiger man.
But Dou-Lon listened to her words. And he didn't judge her for what happened.
Not just that. He helped her reflect and understand what she'd bottled up deep inside.
And when she left…
"Just know, if you ever need someone willing to listen, I'll do that whenever you join me and Fohl for these sessions," Dou-Lon said politely as he headed toward the training arena.
"Same goes with me." Fohl raised a fist proudly before chasing after his mentor.
Atla did not have the energy to follow for that day. So, instead, she wandered back home for lunch. Assisting Amber with taking care of Freon in the house afterward, before she inevitably found herself back in bed after dinner.
And in the days after, events happened similarly with some variation for the young tiger girl.
Rinse, squeeze, repeat.
Waking up. Eating.
More training. More hurting.
More feeling. More reflecting.
Gradually adding more and more to her schedule. From starting to familiarize herself with Dou-Lon's fighting styles to taking Freon outside where she could fly around and enjoy transforming in the new magic outfit Motoyasu and S'yne had knitted for her.
These first few days were especially hard for Atla. After being so brash and brazen before, she was afraid to do anything that would come off as rude or harsh toward others.
It didn't help that rumors had quickly spread through the town of what'd happened that night. Some were idle gossip about possible minor disagreements she'd had with the Spear Hero, while others claimed that Atla had tried to assassinate Sir Motoyasu in his sleep.
It inevitably led to the Spear Hero being forced to put his foot down, saying such a thing had never occurred. He only went as far as to say that something had happened and that Atla was already being punished for it, and left it at that.
Atla hadn't interacted with others much before all this. But she ended up interacting with almost everyone else even less following the events of that night.
Motoyasu also forbade everyone from asking her what she'd done. But she could feel their distrusting stares during her sessions with Granny and feel their judgment through their life force when out and about with her older brother or Freon or whomever.
The inevitable meeting she had with Melty about what happened sometime after that night was as awkward as could be. As the governor, she was told by Naofumi what had happened.
Rape was taken very seriously in Melromarc, as was well known. And the Hero Nation's laws were largely based on Melromarc's.
The young princess had to bend many rules to keep Atla free, and she only allowed it because Motoyasu and Naofumi promised to keep that knowledge from going public.
She, at the very least, said that Atla had to pay for the damage caused in Motoyasu's home. Yet, it was not as punishing as Atla's social standing among the townspeople plummeting to rock bottom.
Sometime after that...
"Sadeena, I'm sorry."
The orca woman scowled, just short of the door to her room, as Atla once again stopped her before she could retire for the night.
"Sadeena? Who's that? Last I checked, you used to call me 'Big Ugly Titty Monster' or something along those lines." The orca woman drawled.
"Yes. And I'm sorry for that." Atla said softly. "I was jealous that you had a big chest while I'm always going to have nothing but this…"
Sadeena crossed her arms. And Atla could feel the woman's rage towards her, which still hadn't lessened a bit since that night.
"I… I really am sorry, Sadeena." Atla said sincerely. Trying her best to follow the advice Dou-Lon had given her earlier that day. "I… I know I don't deserve to be here… and I truly believe Sir Motoyasu needs you and S'yne in his life more than he needs me.
"So I won't get in your way with Sir Motoyasu anymore." Atla bowed her head before turning to face her bedroom door. "I'm grateful… he has someone like you around to rely on…"
…
Just as she was about to close the door behind her, a hand grabbed her by the shoulder.
There was still anger coming off the orca woman. But she was noticeably calmer than before as she let out a deep breath. "Know that I have a 'very' long memory, Atla.
"You will have to work hard to earn my trust back. Got it?"
… Atla nodded her head.
"Good." The larger woman let her go. "And… just know, Sir Motoyasu needs all of us. Not just any individual person.
"That includes you.
"He wouldn't have spared you otherwise if that wasn't true."
…
Atla turned around at the words, but Sadeena had already closed the door behind her, leaving Atla in her bedroom all by herself.
There were times besides the above where Atla apologized to the members of her family, specifically S'yne and Sadeena. The former for trying to sabotage her relationship with Moto, and the latter for calling her a big and ugly titty monster (even if the big titties thing was most certainly true).
S'yne sort of just accepted it in her own way. But Sadeena, as shown above, found it hard to be around Atla.
Unlike most of the others, every time she saw Atla's face, she remembered how Motoyasu had reacted that night… and it took everything in the orca woman's power to not drag the young tiger girl out to sea and drown her in the depths of the ocean for harming the man she cared so deeply about.
But like the Spear Hero, S'yne freely forgave the young girl. She was a little cold at times, but she did her best to continue acting like Atla's big sister, just as she had before.
This was why Sadeena slowly relented, forgiving Atla in her heart as well. However, in most cases, she kept her distance from the young tiger girl so as not to be aggravated by the memory of her actions while they were still fresh.
Time would not erase Atla's mistake, especially when most everyone didn't want to be around her. But in the end, it'd turn out to be a much-needed reality check for the young tiger girl.
When it came to the yandere personality she'd been developing before this in the background of events, it'd been squashed in its entirety.
Never again would it make an appearance and traumatize Motoyasu.
Who, thankfully, did not treat her any differently from before.
"Way to go, Atla! Granny says your skill with life force has been seriously improving!" Motoyasu patted the tiger girl on the head one day at lunch. "You're managing to protect yourself from a lot of different attacks simultaneously!"
"Have you seen what she's been putting her through?! Atla would be dead where she stood if she stayed complacent!" Fohl yelled on her behalf.
Motoyasu laughed though, and later, he could be found cheering her on as she had to go toe to toe with Granny, who was fresh off of implementing some of Dou-Lon's combat styles into the Hengen Muso style.
It was, needless to say, another very bad time.
One day, Motoyasu brought her along to the Capital for a couple of hours while he was there on business so she could meet Uncle Aultcray again and listen to his stories about her mom. It'd also be a chance for her to escape from all she was facing in Lurolona.
"And then… young Atla, is there something… on your mind?" Aultcray asked curiously, pausing midstory to focus on the little tiger girl sitting on his lap.
Atla gripped the edge of her outfit, her head facing down, and tears ran down the sides of her face.
"Mother was such a wonderful woman… wasn't she?" She weakly asked.
"To think a monster like me could have been her daughter…" It'd been an especially hard day. It felt like nothing good was happening, despite getting to meet her uncle again.
"Young Atla… what brought this on?" Aultcray asked, worry entering his slow, halting voice.
Atla's grip on the edge of her outfit tightened. "I… I did something horrible to Sir Motoyasu!"
She admitted to her uncle what she'd done in full. Not hiding a single bit of it.
Perhaps it was because of the especially bad day. Or maybe it was because she'd just wanted someone to treat her like the monster she was since the people in town weren't allowed to.
Because Motoyasu, Fohl, S'yne, Sadeena, Amber, Freon… not even Elena treated her with any hatred. A bit of resentment, yes. But nothing resembling fury. Some of those individuals even refused to treat her with resentment.
So surely, the Wise King who'd hated the hakuko so passionately for most of his life would do that for her.
…
"Young Atla… I understand your pain all too well." Aultcray sighed sadly when she'd finished.
"H-Huh?" Atla turned her head up, confusion on her face.
"I… also can't help… but consider myself… a monster… for my past actions."
The damn man, he didn't even have to forgive her. He empathized with her pain because he was going through the very same thing. And had been for the last few months.
"By my hand… thousands of the younger generation… followed me to war.
"By my hand… many fathers lost their sons… and many sons lost their fathers… because I failed to use… sound strategies… in a time of anger… when I lost your mother…
"By my hand… the hearts of those survivors… were turned towards hatred…
"And by my hand… my family… my country… was nearly torn apart…"
He told her all this and more. Opening up about the great sins caused by his hatred. Which had dominated so much of his life, leaving him feeling empty and without anything thanks to it being gone.
Much like how Atla felt right now.
…
When Motoyasu and Mirellia finished their business and found them, the pair had been crying together. And it was almost heartbreaking to have to separate them.
"I'm so sorry for bothering you, Uncle. I didn't mean to make you relive all that pain." Atla said when they'd finally let go of each other.
"It… is fine, young Atla…" Aultcray slowly patted her on the head, his lips curving upward in a genuine smile as he looked up at his wife and the Spear Hero.
"It hurts… going over the past… but… on the same token… it also helps… one to see… how far they've come… since then."
…
"You… are young enough… and still have… a long life… ahead of you…
"Don't give up… young Atla… the best… is still ahead…" Aultcray rested his hands on his niece's shoulders.
…
"Hey Atla, how about me and Aultcray give you a piggyback ride before we head back? Sound good?" Motoyasu suddenly asked.
"Wh-Wh-Wha?!" Atla immediately pulled out from the shock of Aultcray's statement to focus on the Spear Hero again.
"I mean, it wouldn't do any harm. Don't you think so, Mirellia?" Motoyasu smirked at the young ruler.
"No, I see nothing but benefits from this." Mirellia smiled widely behind her fan. More than pleased with the Spear Hero's suggestion.
"Aren't… aren't I too old for that now?" Atla wanted to protest. Even if it wasn't obvious, she had long since finished growing to adulthood, just like her brother.
Motoyasu's schedule was still full of other things. She especially didn't want to accidentally take time away from Sadeena or S'yne.
But Motoyasu was quick to place her on his shoulders and run around with her through the Gardens and hedges outside the castle.
Aultcray also took turns. He was not as fast or as energetic as his young counterpart, but when he was allowed to spend quality time with his niece, he somehow came to life long enough to ditch the staff he leaned on and take her piggyback style to the best parts of the Royal Garden, where flowers and plants his young blind sister had loved to smell grew in spades.
It lasted only an hour, and then she and Motoyasu teleported back to their home…
But the results of that hour led to…
"Yay! Freon's so happy to see Big Sis smiling again!" A small, energetic blonde-haired girl with large white wings sticking out of her back crashed into Atla's side with the energy of a ray of sunlight.
"Wh-What the hell?! How did he manage to get her to smile while I've been trying and failing?!" Fohl pouted at the dinner table.
"I- what?" Atla said, confused and uncertain.
"Ehehe. Didn't you notice?" Motoyasu rubbed the top of her head again. "You were practically beaming after that last spot Aultcray took you to. I'll need to ask him about it next time we visit."
Motoyasu then went to the dinner table, where he sat himself down next to S'yne. He happily chatted with her and Elena while Freon stopped hugging Atla and pulled on the tiger girl's wrist.
"Come on! Freon wants to try flying with Big Sis on Freon's back this time! It's been so long since Freon saw Big Sis in such a good mood!"
"But… But I…" Atla tried to resist.
Not to say Atla wasn't feeling better, but she was still awkward and ashamed of herself. Yet Freon's selflessness and excitement refused to dampen.
"Pleeeeeeeeease!~" Freon tilted her head to the side while putting her hands over cher hest to make a heart like Motoyasu had taught her.
Too bad Atla was blind. She could only attempt to make out what she'd done through the flow of the girl's life force. But Motoyasu's reaction from the dinner table spoke volumes of how adorable it must have been visually.
"Motoyasu! Your nose is bleeding again!"
"I can't help it! My darling daughter's just so perfect, I say!" Motoyasu swooned, not even attempting to stem the blood flow down his face. "I love you Freonnnnn!"
Atla, smiling softly, relented. The cheerful little Filolial girl dragged her older sister outside, where Atla became the first person in millennia to ride on the back of a flying Filolial for the first time.
It was not the first time she'd realized she had smiled, but that, unlike almost everyone else, the little Filolial girl hadn't changed how she treated her at all.
And more than that, Freon saw Atla as her big sister. Much like how she saw Fohl as her Big Brother.
…
And like that, light began to enter into the tiger girl's life once again.
In this time, almost a week had passed for the Hero's Nation.
The townspeople were still shunning Atla, much like what had happened to Itsuki after his cursed rampage long ago. But Atla, not being a very social person, wasn't affected much by it.
Dou-Lon and Fohl helped her with her feelings. Sadeena and Granny pushed her to improve mentally and physically in her training and leveling. Aultcray helped her learn how to live and experience happiness despite her mistakes.
And… like the final, silent puzzle piece, there was S'yne.
"Can't sleep, Atla?"
The tiger girl nodded as she entered the seamstress's room late at night. The girl was staring at the front gate of the town, but her Atla doll, which she pulled out of her weapon, floated up beside her to talk to Atla.
"No… I'm just confused about something. I… wanted to ask you about it if I can."
The Atla doll nodded, and with a wave of her hand, the portal she was viewing through disappeared. S'yne then focused her attention on the tiger girl. "What is it?" She asked with her real voice.
While still colder compared to before, there was genuine concern toward Atla.
"S-Sir Motoyasu… is still treating me the same," Atla said slowly and softly, doing her best to keep her voice going.
"Today, after showing him and Granny that I'd learned to pull off Bead, he… lifted me up in the air and spun me around. He…
"He told me he was really proud…"
S'yne nodded. She was smiling now as Atla opened her eyes again, her foggy blue irises looking troubled and vulnerable.
At this point, S'yne learned that when Atla did this, she was being truly open and vulnerable with those she trusted.
"Is… is that really how… fathers… treat their children?" Atla asked.
"The good ones, yes." S'yne's Atla doll spoke again as the girl smiled warmly. Her earlier coldness was vanishing like morning dew in the sun. "Does it bother you?"
"No… I mean, yes… well… I don't know…" Atla sagged. "... I never imagined having a father, or a parent in my life could feel like this.
"Like, there was something I was missing…"
"And now it's there." S'yne supplied. "And you don't know what to do about it."
Atla nodded, closing her eyes as she looked down at her hands solemnly.
…
S'yne took a Sir Bubba doll out of her weapon. It floated to Atla, its feet settling on her hands before its arms hugged her torso warmly.
"Don't worry." S'yne rubbed a hand through the girl's hair as the Atla doll spoke again. "One day, you'll come to understand the love true fathers hold for their daughters.
"And until that day comes, I'll be there to help you every step of the way."
…
…
"... S'yne," Atla spoke quietly again. "If Motoyasu is acting like a father to me… then what are you?"
…
"I don't know." The silver-haired girl shrugged after a moment. "I haven't figured that out yet myself."
"I see… Thank you." The tiger girl nodded, wrapping her arms around the doll.
"I think I'm starting to realize… Sir Motoyasu is very stupid, isn't he?"
S'yne laughed. "All good dads should be a little stupid towards their daughters."
Atla giggled. "And that's why he needs you and Sadeena to protect him."
"And everyone else as well." S'yne smiled. "That includes you."
…
It was almost exactly what Sadeena had said…
…
Atla then had a thought come to mind, and instead of pushing it away, she voiced it aloud. Not wanting her time with the otherworld seamstress to end.
"S'yne, can I have your help embroidering something for him?" Atla asked.
"Yes." S'yne's real voice said, full of warmth and pride.
The two would spend the night together. Not getting a wink of sleep as the seamstress helped the blind girl with her request.
It would have been far easier and far faster for S'yne to do it on her own. It was probably aggravating enough walking a blind girl through the process. Much less, a tiger girl who'd never even touched a sewing needle in her life before that point.
But while there was a mysterious Clanging sound at the start, S'yne eventually helped Atla understand how to hold the needle and move her fingers around on the cloth.
A gross oversimplification to be sure, as it took hours to get to the end, but that very next morning…
"Sir Motoyasu… I have something for you." Atla said, approaching the Spear Hero with S'yne following behind her.
"Oh? What is it?" Motoyasu asked. He smiled upon seeing Atla, but his smile reached his eyes when he saw the beautiful silent heroine standing behind her.
S'yne rested her hands on the tiger girl's shoulders. Giving them a comforting rub that made Atla realize how she'd inadvertently tensed up.
She then realized that a part of her was still jealous that Motoyasu would always be happier seeing S'yne or Sadeena instead of her, even though she didn't deserve him to be happy to see her at all.
Even after everything that'd happened, those jealous and greedy aspects still rested at her core. Glaring black flaws in her person that'd stick with her no matter how much she changed.
…
She gripped the thing in her hands tightly, realizing that for herself was proof enough of how much she had changed and how much she wanted to change going forward.
"I just… wanted to give you this, to thank you for saving my life!" Atla bowed her head before raising her hands in front of her to show off what she held.
It was a simple red handkerchief. In rough, white embroidery, with frayed ends and in a barely recognizable shape, was the image of a Filolial's head.
It was her best guestimate of them, since, obviously to point out once again, she was blind, and it was really hard to recreate that image without another's help.
Still, regardless of how rough it'd turned out, it was her best attempt to apologize for what'd happened, without putting it into words. As well as a symbol of her promise that she'd grow to become a much better person in the future.
…
"Atla… you made this?" Motoyasu slowly took the handkerchief with trembling hands, bringing it up to his eyes to examine it.
"I had help." The tiger girl looked up at S'yne. "I'm sorry if it didn't turn out great. I wanted to do most of the work myself, and I-"
"IT'S PERFECT, I SAY!"
"Wh-Wh-Wha?!" Atla sputtered midspeech as Motoyasu's yell cut her off.
"I'm so attaching this to the pauldron of my armor! A Filolial head, there could never be a better house crest in the entire world, I say!" Motoyasu exclaimed, absolutely giddy with delight.
Atla continued to sputter in disbelief, but S'yne's smile grew as her hands moved to hug the girl from behind. "That sounds like a fantastic idea, Moto." S'yne's Sir Bubba doll spoke for her. "Why don't you do that right now before Amber has breakfast finished?"
"Ehehehe!" Giggling with delight, Motoyasu joined the hug. He also took the opportunity to kiss his new girlfriend on the lips to express his happiness before rushing off with the handkerchief.
Sure enough, he reappeared with it sewn over the metal part of his right pauldron barely a few minutes later. Atla imagined it was probably as ugly as it looked, with the job being rushed.
But Motoyasu didn't care how ugly it looked as he picked her up and spun her in the air again, because she'd put her best effort into making it for him. So he wouldn't care what others had to say about it.
As a proud dad, he wouldn't accept anything less.
…
Yes, her dad.
Her true dad.
In the end, in the aftermath of it all; at her core, Atla still had some jealous and greedy tendencies. Eventually, they'd surface in healthier ways to affect those around her.
But the yandere part of her personality would stay dead. Never to see life again in her future relationships with others.
And regardless of what happened in the future, she was ultimately on a far better path than before. And Motoyasu would benefit all the more from it.
…
It's a good thing too, as Motoyasu's other yandere problems…
Were far from over.
Author's Notes:
Yeah, sorry Atla. I love you, girl, but your yandere personality wouldn't have been a great fit for Motoyasu.
A harsh reality check to be sure, but a necessary one nonetheless. Sorry that she'll be kicked out of the race of love for the Spear Hero. But I believe there are plenty of other strong options for Motoyasu to choose from (if he doesn't get S'yne, Sadeena, and Larsa later on. Seriously, Moto, what is up with your harem protagonist powers that even I, as the author who hates harem stories with a passion, am being swayed by your overwhelming rizz?!)
As for the earlier Rishia scene in the previous chapter… I'd actually like to thank a Guest reviewer from ff . net who recently left a string of hate-filled commentaries on the angy Naofumi portion of the Spirit Tortoise arc, all delivered with the energy of an angsty twelve-year-old Goku fan on Reddit. Not like anyone will ever see what those comments contained, though. Dude really should have left such vitriolic comments as a user if he wanted to immortalize them.
But at the very least, I was able to glean something of value from that pile of stinking dog crap.
Yes, it is frustrating when a character regresses instead of grows. Actually, scratch that. Frustrating doesn't even go far enough to describe how aggravating that feeling is, whether we watch it happen to others or see it in ourselves. But that's who we are as humans.
We learn. We live. We make mistakes. We grow. We repeat those mistakes. We grow some more. And yet we still deal with parts of those mistakes, sometimes for the rest of our lives, to our endless frustration, and sometimes, regret.
Growth and Regression are parts of what it means to be human. And so is learning to face those aspects we don't like. Whether that's through learning to overcome it like Atla, living with it as Naofumi has chosen to do with his Wrath, or confronting that part of yourself and ultimately making the decision to turn away from it like Rishia did when she stepped away from the cliff and in turn, her fear, of her own volition.
Instead choosing to acknowledge that she is still afraid despite all her growth, but that because of her growth, she refuses to let that fear control her life any longer.
That's the awesome thing about being human. Growth and Regression come in all forms, shapes, and sizes for every person on this Earth, regardless of who they are, where they're from, what their status race or gender is, etc. And all of us have our own ways of dealing with or overcoming our sins, shortcomings, and mistakes.
Sorry to preach to the choir like this. I acknowledge it has been a while since the last time I've done this. And I'm certainly not just putting this down since Atla's fate will probably go down as one of the most controversial things I've written to date (and yes, of course, that plays a part in it. I know some people won't like this chapter, much like the Rifana death chapter or the angy Naofumi chapters, so whatever. I'll just T-pose my dominance once again when this pays off in the future like every other past time, lol).
I sincerely hope and pray, though, that this speech I gave helps the right person who needs to read it.
Because at least a small part of me can acknowledge that I am one of those people who needed this message right now in my life.
For that, I will thank you, edgy Goku guest stranger from ff . net who hates me and my work. Should you ever read up to this point somehow, I shall congratulate you for hopefully going through your own character development in real life to have forced yourself to reach this far, or otherwise curse you for doing something as useless as hate-reading of all things when life is too short for that kind of time waste. Regardless, whatever your circumstances, I shall pray that you continue to grow and develop as a human being and that you won't ever end up learning the hard way just how imperfect the human race is capable of being in real life outside the story.
Because regardless of who you are or how bad life is, I doubt it could be worse than what happened to the people of the Trail of Tears, the Bataan Death March, the Holocaust concentration/death camps, or Unit 731.
That is all. See you guys and gals again in two weeks.
Hero Clips!
Who's the Best Hero?
"It's obviously Daddy, of course!"
"Nuh-uh! Noodle is the best Hero of them all!"
"Amber doesn't know. Amber thinks Blondie is becoming the best one by far."
"Yayyyyyy~! Daddy's got my vote too!"
The Filolials of the Hero's parties sat around a circular table. Filo, Blue, Amber, the newcomer Freon, Rikka, and even Fitoria were there.
"Is it weird for Freon to be calling Spear Uncle Daddy since Filo calls Daddy by Daddy?" Filo tilted her head to the side curiously.
"Maybe Freon could call the Spear Hero by another name like Father or Dad?" Fitoria suggested hesitantly.
"No! Daddy is Daddy! Freon doesn't want to call Daddy by another name!" The little adorable girl pouted innocently.
"Ehhhhh~!?" Filo tilted her head to the side in confusion.
Had she just been dethroned as the cutest and most innocent of all the Filolials by the newcomer?
"Anyway," Rikka suddenly interrupted with an eye roll. "Rikka thinks it's pretty clear that Cool Awesome Hero is the best one out there. No offense, Amber."
"None taken. Can Amber at least hear Rikka's reasoning before Amber explains why Blondie is the coolest?" Amber asked curiously.
"Because Cool Awesome Hero is cool and awesome." Rikka stated simply.
Whack!
Blue hit the back of his best friend's head this time. And she held the area with tears in her eyes. "What was that for, Blue?"
"Rikka's always too simpleminded when it comes to these things!" The preteen boy complained. "Of course we know that Noodle is awesome and cool! But that's because of who Noodle is and what he's done!
"Fighting that weird spirit woman to a standstill! Taking down the Spirit Tortoise! Learning to become a blacksmith! Being super nice to me and giving Blue headpats and good jobs and-"
"And his selfless, wholesome relationship with Cool Hero's Awesome Mate?!" Rikka suddenly said with stars in her eyes.
"Ew, gross-"
WHACK!
This time, Rikka hit her friend upside the head. Unlike his strike though, hers knocked him out on the spot.
"All good things, to be sure." Amber put a hand to her chin in thought. "Amber would say where Blondie has the Sword Hero beat, however, is his bottomless heart and selfless attitude.
"Not to say that the other Heroes don't possess those attributes. But Blondie was put through something horrible by Atla, and yet Blondie chose to forgive her almost immediately afterward. And that's only the most recent thing.
"... yeah. That's pretty fair." Fitoria nodded her head, and while Rikka frowned, she nodded reluctantly in agreement.
"What was it Daddy went through again? Freon didn't really understand it." The girl tilted her head curiously.
"Trust me. Freon is better off the way she is." Fitoria ran a hand through the little girl's hair lovingly (and Gods was she small. Even Fitoria and Filo were taller than the flying Filolial. So adorable, I say!).
"Ehehe!" Freon giggled happily.
"Well, does Filo have anything to say?" Amber asked the last one there with a smile.
"Filo thinks the others have brought up great points about Spear Uncle and Sword Uncle, and Filo won't refute those points.
"However, there is something that Filo's Daddy has that Filo's other uncles aren't as capable of doing." Filo said with a knowing smile.
"And what would that be?" Rikka asked with a suspicious stare.
"Cooking!"
…
…
…
The other Filolials didn't respond immediately. Even Fitoria had a faraway gaze in her eyes as drool fell from her mouth.
"Eheheh…" Freon drooled as well. Short as her lifespan was thus far, even she had gotten to try Shield Uncle's cooking at least once.
"Yeah." "Agreed." "Yes."
And thus, all the Royal Filolials, including Blue once he'd awakened, agreed that Naofumi was the best out of the four Heroes.
It'd never even been a contest. Good food was just that important to them.
…
"This is bull $%$#." Itsuki sulked in the corner, viewing the room with a stink eye glare.
Maybe he should have gotten more screen time by investing in a Filolial of his own if he'd wanted to join this conversation.
Not to worry though, he'd receive plenty of focus in the coming arcs soon enough.
Eheheheh…
"DAMN YOU AUTHOR-KUNNNNNNNNNN!" Itsuki shook his fist at the ceiling.
Till Next Time
Allen