Chương 99: A Day with a Miko

"Are you sure you're okay with just that...?" Ayaka asked dumbfoundedly.

"Hm? Yeah, you should underestimate a twig." Aether said, swinging his "weapon" around. "Let's start."

Ayaka nodded as both of them got into position. Thoma did the counting and once he said go, Ayaka disappeared as she turned into snowflakes.

"Like Mona, huh?"

Smiling, Aether decided to play around a bit. Hopping back and quickly sending a gust of wind from his hand. This sent Ayaka back to her normal form as to prevent herself from scattering. She quickly regained her footing and rushed at Aether once more, her blade imbued with Cryo.

Aether went on the offense this time, rushing at her with his twig. Ayaka was pleasantly surprised to see the twig glowing gold. When the twig hit her blade, an explosion occurred that created a Cryo Crystal.

"Geo infusion?!"

"Cool right?" Aether said with a smile as he kicked Ayaka back. "With just the right amount of Elemental Energy, I can create a Geo Infusion that causes an explosion that isn't harmful in any way."

"However," Aether picked up the Cryo Crystal and did something that just came to his mind at that very moment. He crushed the crystal, enveloping his right arm in Cryo energy... and turned that Cryo energy into a gauntlet using his Gluttony to reform the energy into its solid state. "I can still do some damage when I get the crystals."

"That's kind of cheating not gonna lie..." Thoma spoke from the side, the onlookers beside him nodding.

Ignoring them, Aether melted the Cryo. Why use hand when you have stick? Ayaka, finally deciding to attack again, sheathed her blade and unleashed multiple slashes a moment later.

"Ah yes, she is definitely the storm that is approaching." The blonde commented as her parried all of her blows, without Geo this time. She was definitely fast, but not fast enough for him. He parried the last hit harder than the rest, causing Ayaka to stumble back. "My turn again."

In Ayaka's eyes, Aether just did one slicing motion. Only one. However, when she raised her blade to block the singular slice, she felt multiple hit her blade. Her eyes widened as she quickly comprehended what that meant.

...This monster of a hero was fast enough to perform multiple moves while only one was visible to the naked eye. And that says a lot, knowing that Ayaka was honed in the ways of the blade.

And when she thought he was done, he stepped towards her and-

...

Gone. As soon as he stepped forward, he disappeared. Even the sound of him setting his foot down disappeared, as if it was cut off. Hearing the confused noises of Thoma and the others, she could guess that what just happened really was true. It was as if he was erased in that moment.

...

Then the next moment, she was staring at the sky. Entering her vision was a handsome blonde smiling at her as if nothing weird happened just now. "I win~"

After a few moments, everyone finally processed what just happened.

"What... Are you...?" Those were the first words that came out of Ayaka's mouth as Aether kept on holding her.

With a confident smile, Aether answered her. "I'm the Traveler."

-x-X-x-

Sitting by a shrine, Kazari dangled her legs as she waited for her partner for the day.

"What's taking him so long?" The miko sighed underneath her fox mask.

A few more minutes later, the blonde finally arrived. "You're late." The miko huffed at him.

"Sorry, had to calm Ayaka down after that stunt I did earlier." The miko tilted her head at this. Seeing this, Aether explained to her what happened earlier. Kazari was also dumbfounded.

"You decided to go full speed on a human...?"

"Ahaha... Anyways, what plans do you have in mind?"

Quickly shifting the topic, Aether looked away from the miko. Kazari just sighed as she laid out today's plan to the blonde. The more she said, the more Aether realized something. "Isn't this just a date?"

"Should I just-" Aether couldn't even finish his sentence as the miko put a finger to his lips.

"No, we're walking."

"Guh."

Truth be told, although Aether didn't want to abuse his teleportation due to the Electro Archon watching him, he still didn't want to do the hassle of walking around Inazuma. It wasn't that bad of a walk, he just wasn't used to it.

"Actually... Maybe this is the best option. I might lose my humanity if I kept using my divine powers. I'm not human, but still..."

And so, the two of them walked together.

During the walk, something just sprung up on Aether's mind. He didn't want to ask, but he just couldn't help himself. So, against better judgement, he spoke the words.

"Why don't you take off your mask?"

"..."

I messed up." Aether thought to himself.

Before he could even retract his statement, Kazari spoke up. "It's because there's some things I want to hide from everyone."

He just stared at her. He couldn't tell what her expression was behind that mask. All he knows is that he shouldn't pry any further. So he didn't.

"How about you? Why are your eyes like that?"

"Ah." He was caught of guard by her question.

He tells her everything from the very beginning. His awakening in this world, his death, and his ascension. Of course, he didn't tell her about his sister being the abyss princess. While he was telling her his story, another random question came.

"You can see energy all the time, right? What do you see in me?"

"Huh? Nothing, I only see your Life Force." He replied to her, confusion evident in both his face and voice.

"I see..." She replied back in relief.

What was that about?

Before he could ask her about it, Kazari ran ahead of him. She beckoned him to quickly follow her and with a sigh, the blonde began to hasten his steps. As he followed her, he can't get the question she asked him earlier out of his head.

"What did she mean by that? Is there something different about her that she doesn't want me to not know?"