Garden Of The Abyss

—Seven months until Purgatory—

It was an exciting, yet terrifying day. The talk of the house that week was news of the Outlanders who were sent out on an expedition before Ren's arrival were finally returning.

From what he had heard, that group was sent out to the neighboring kingdom of Vesta, a demi-human ruled nation, to handle a highly-important quest.

"Wait, I'm confused—if we're all basically the most wanted criminals in the land, how the hell do we even get quests?"

"Where did that come from? That doesn't matter right now, focus on what's today!"

"Right, right--this "Monster Hunt" thing. Do I really have to participate?"

Ren let out a sigh, just enjoying the fact Iris was sitting behind him on his bed as she fixed his messy bed head. He didn't really care about being presentable, but she insisted on him looking his best to leave a good first impression on the others.

"Mo- Beatrice, said that it would be a bonding experience for all of us. The entire event is meant to help you out more than anything."

"Mmm...if you say so. I still think it's a bad idea--I mean, how is hunting and slaying monsters going to help us "bond"? I don't know about you, but having monster guts all over me isn't going to make me very sociable."

--Although, maybe I could impress them with my new skills. Wait, this might actually be awesome, what the hell?

"Can you not wear that perverted smile when I'm touching you?"

Iris suddenly said with a concerned look, adjusting strands of his hair still.

"It's just a smile, not a perverted smile! You're only saying that because it's me."

"Where there's smoke, there's fire."

"I don't think that one works here, Iris."

He had been teaching her a lot about Earth since their agreement a couple months back. What Ren had realized is Iris really liked to hear about were the idioms from their original world.

"There--you're all set!"

Iris announced confidently as she handed him a portable mirror to check his own appearance. There was hardly a noticeable difference, only the absence of the bangs that had draped over his eyebrows. Though, the proud look on Iris' face stopped any complaints from him, not wanting to squander her moment.

"--Ren, just one more thing…"

Iris grabbed the sleeve of his tunic as he set the mirror down and stood up.

"Hm? What is it?"

"The Outlanders who are returning today...they can be a difficult bunch."

Iris bit onto her thumb nail, focusing as if trying to find the proper way to explain this to him.

"A difficult bunch? Unlike Sora, the rowdy pervert? Tristan, the gun-toting deadpan sociopath, or maybe Brahmi who only thinks about fighting sixteen hours a day? I'll be fine, Iris, don't worry!"

Ren assured her, stretching his arms behind his back as he gave her a wide smile.

An echoing call belonging to a titan ray traveled through the skies, audible from the bedroom window. Reaching both of their ears, Ren and Iris pressed themselves against the pane of the window, watching as a titan ray--larger than Delilah came into view, making its way towards the base.

"The hell is that? That isn't an Argonaut, is it?"

Ren asked quietly, watching closely with curiosity.

"--No, that's Gunther!"

"Gunther?"

"Delilah's brother--which means that's them! They're back!"

Before he could even ask another question, Iris had bolted out of his room, hearing her sprint down the stairs in haste. Now that the time had come, he felt his anxiety swell up inside, taking a few deep breaths before he forced himself to go out front to meet the returning Outlanders.

The wind pressure generated from the elder brother of Delilah felt as if he were standing under a helicopter, watching as Gunther landed upon the sturdy leaf floor. Up close, Gunther was definitely larger than the already behemoth-sized Delilah, his beady eyes alone were the size of Ren's head.

"Welcome home--!"

Iris welcomed them back with a bright smile.

--Ah! I wish I was on that titan ray now so I could be on the receiving end of that adorable welcome!

A shadow loomed over Ren, looking up to see the silhouette of a person, standing upon Gunther's head as the rays of light from the sun obscured their appearance.

"That voice...Iris! Oh, and who is this with you?"

The person standing atop Gunther's head asked, the target of his words shifting to Ren. Jumping from the titan ray, the unknown Outlander landed in front of Ren. As the Outlander stood up straight, once again, the streak of Ren being the shortest male among the Outlanders continued.

"--I'm Ren Nakamura, I guess I'm the thirteenth Outlander."

"Ren Nakamura, hm? Aren't you kind of on the shorter side? Or are you still growing?"

The man looked down at him, tapping his hand against the top of Ren's head as if patting a child.

"The hell--? I'm taller than average, for your information! Just who the hell are you anyways?"

If it came to an exchange of insults regarding appearances, Ren would run out of ammunition quickly.

Tufts of black hair--slightly shorter than Ren's own, drooped over his pale cheeks. His azure irises were entrancing as if staring into a kaleidoscope of azure waves. The man looked to be no farther in age than his early twenties--simply put, he was in a different league altogether.

"Sirius Federov--burn the name into your memory, because that's the name of the strongest--"

The hot-headed attitude of his was unbefitting of the neat, wrinkle-free attire he wore. It looked like it came straight out of the nineteenth-century military era; dressed like a decorated veteran.

"Ah, are you being a jerk again, Sirius?"

An androgynous, bored sounding voice spoke out, coming from atop the titan ray again. Sirius held a smile and looked back towards the source of the voice.

"Come down, Lucas--you two as well-- Fai, Natalia!"

Sirius called back to the other Outlanders who had yet to come down from the large creature's back. Following his call-out, three more figures hopped down from Gunther, standing by Sirius.

"Wait, aren't these characters being introduced all a bit too fast?!"

Ren felt himself shrink under the sudden presence of new people now in front of him. Swallowing his introversion, he faced the three new faces. It was easy enough to match the name "Fai" to the tan guy with the brown ponytail.

However, the name "Lucas" didn't seem to match either one of the other two mysterious Outlanders.

"Let me guess--you're Natalia!"

Ren guessed, pointing his index finger towards the young girl with short, golden brown hair. Silence followed before Sirius and the man he suspected to be named Fai fell into a fit of laughter. A scornful glare dug into Ren from the girl he guessed to be Natalia.

"--For your information, I am Natalia."

The other woman with curtains of illustrious silver hair, flowing in waves over her shoulders, corrected Ren, holding an amused smile as she twirled her strand of her hair around her slender fingers.

"...so that means--"

"I am Lucas. Remember that well."

Before Ren's flustered brain could put two and two together, the person he thought to be a girl fixed his false guess. Looking at "Lucas", the androgynous figure possessed pale, fair skin that would make most girls cry out of envy. Between the gentle pink that inhibited his lips and those dazzling verdant eyes, as well as a figure that most girls hoped to reach by summer--there was nothing "manly" about Lucas besides his slightly boyish voice, and maybe his attire.

The short, black trousers that he wore cut off slightly above his knees, wearing shin-high socks and a blazer to match the dark shorts he wore seemed to function as a way to retain some level of masculinity, but only ended up increasing the cuteness factor he possessed.

--Seriously, if you don't like being mistaken as a girl--maybe don't paint your nails black too!

"You're a dude--?!"