She kicked the stone yet again. The Shimada was trying to see how far she'd get with it. She had idly rolled the small chunk away from a pile of rubble and had been marking her path with it ever since. She'd spent the day today retracing the locations where the rifts had opened. The plan was to try and spot clues that could explain why the particular spots were chosen. She intended to use that information to see if she could derive and deduce the next potential location. She was convinced that there was something to learn.

When an idle mind is left as such for a long period of time, it sometimes turns to seek answers where there aren't any, it asks the wrong questions and falls into a vicious cycle of disappointment. Nonetheless, victim to that very plague of boredom, she ventured forth, surveying location after location. Perhaps it would serve her better to seek another who had had the misfortune of fighting the Abyssinian creatures. But she didn't want to risk using her secret access to the Rune Knight database for such a small curiosity. Surely people around her knew her, she and Adel had held off fairly strong demons and word had probably spread about it (just like she had intended, back then at least).

Maybe she would get lucky and be approached by one of these worthy combatants. It would certainly aid to know more about the sort of specific hardships they endured. If nothing else, she could use this mild itch, as an excuse to perhaps see Tsuru again... He surely played a part in the defence of the town... Her eyes scanned the area around it, the population was sparse, but small mends were certainly being made to the grievously wounded city...

They had won the fight, but the cost was dear. There were many casualties and the town had taken quite the beating. Naomi was advised to stay in bed and rest after that fight against the demons. She would have sneaked out; but she knew if Kyo found out, he would follow as well. She can’t have that. He needed his rest. Knowing that people out there needed help with the rebuilding made her impatient, however.

Finally, after a week, she was discharged from the hospital. Walking out, Naomi noticed that the town was being repaired at a rapid pace. However, it was still a long way from its former glory. There were plenty of flyers pinned in all the bulletin boards, requesting volunteers for various tasks. Naomi wasn’t ready to head back to Magnolia yet. She wished to help with the rebuilding. Besides, the doctors did say Kyo needed a couple more days of therapy before they can let him walk out confidently. So, in the time when she wasn’t taking care of him, she figured she could help the town.

The auburn-furred Neko was busy clearing the rubble in one of the most-devastated streets of the town. She overheard the other volunteers talk about it. Apparently, the alley they were in had the misfortune to be the target of one of the biggest rifts that opened. Naomi didn’t doubt them. There was literally nothing left of the street. Almost every building was torn down to its foundations. It’s been a week and they were still not done clearing the rubble in this area.

Naomi hovered a few meters away from the group that chatted while worked. She preferred the quiet; unless it was Kyo humming his songs. As she swept the street, she heard the mild but coarse sound of a small stone rolling on the floor. The noise grew louder as the stone came closer to her and she turned around to see what was causing it. It was a young human girl kicking a stone while she strolled. At first, Naomi didn’t recognize her and was a little annoyed that the girl was walking around doing nothing while the rest of them were working. But as she walked closer, the Neko got a clearer look at her and immediately recognized her. Along with the recognition came a small pang of guilt for judging the girl so fast. It was Akira Shimada. The youngest Captain-Commander within the Rune Knights, who—if what she heard was true—had fought to close the biggest rift that opened in Orchidia.

Naomi wasn’t one to fangirl, but even she couldn’t resist the temptation; especially because the one she was looking at was far younger than she was and was already one of the strongest mages of Fiore. The Neko wished she was as strong at that same age. Had she been, her village would still be standing.

When Akira was close enough, Naomi smiled at her. “You are Akira Shimada, right?” she asked. Realizing how rude she was being, she quickly apologized and introduced herself. “I’m so sorry. I’m Naomi,” she said, extending a hand.

When luck strikes, there is no event that allows you to anticipate it. Aki had been idly scanning the folks working to repair the town, some of them were swift, others much lazier... Reflecting the usual disparity in any field of work. She was definitely intimately familiar with this concept, it was rather pronounced amidst the Rune Knights, at least that was her belief. She'd kept her eyes averted, pretending once again that she had blinkers on. She didn't want to witness the destruction around her, because it was an acute reminder of what had transpired. A threat that was as deadly as it was constant, loomed over their heads now and Aki feared that there was nothing much she could do about it.

Without a firm grasp on her magic and with her crippling injury, she wasn't even able to quite provide assistance with something as menial as the repairs. She wondered if running into Tsuru was a possibility, he used to be the sort to involve himself in such tasks... Maybe he had changed, maybe there were other duties that demanded his time and attention. She tried in vain to push thoughts about him away from her mind. Their recent, extended reunion had left her a little more flustered than she would've liked to admit.

A voice that referred to her, snapped her out of her reverie. She looked up to lock eyes with a rather determined looking Neko. Her gaze lingered on the aspects of the creature that were starkly different from hers, the ears for once and the markings of whiskers. She noted the difference in the way they dressed too. Perhaps she'd been silent for too long after being addressed, because the quiet provoked the girl to go on and introduce herself. The name was unfamiliar with that particular face. The only Naomi Akira knew of, was a council member. Could it be? The Shimada had never met that one in person...

'There is no need to apologise.' Aki said, her tone was devoid of any emotions as she regarded the female somewhat cooly. There were always threats to be aware of, Aki could never be too careful. 'Can I help you with something?' she asked, as flatly as the words uttered before. While the question was sharp, there was no edge to her tone, which would betray anxiety and only escalate potentially dangerous matters.

Now that she got the attention of Akira, Naomi realized she had nothing in particular to ask of or say to the Knight. She figured she just wanted to confirm if she had recognized the right person, and maybe exchange a few words so that she can go back to the hospital and tell Kyo that she met someone very important that day. Knowing him, he would probably write a song about it, adding some flavour to the encounter.

However, Naomi couldn’t possibly tell Akira the real reason. That was too silly. So, instead, she mustered up the courage to ask for something bigger. “I want to fight demons like you. Will you please teach me?” she blurted. Her long ears twitched—which they did only when she was extremely embarrassed. She tried stopping it, but it was out of her control.

The Neko held her breath as she realized what she had just asked of. There was no way someone so strong was going to agree to training a novice like her; especially a novice they had just met. What’s the worst that could happen? She says no and the bunch of girls behind you will laugh at you, her brain retorted, giving her some courage. It’s true. The Neko didn’t care much about what the girls thought or mocked her for. She wasn’t going to see them after the day ended. The Fairy Tail member simply hoped Akira didn’t laugh at her.

She was so used to people laughing at her, she very rarely encountered those that admired her. As she'd expected though, words of her feat had made the rounds. From the way Naomi seemed to be conducting herself, the Shimada was compelled to deduce that this wasn't the Naomi from the council. Unless there was some undercover business. There was no real reason for the Shimada to be the victim of that, besides why would she risk using her real name in that case?

So this was some other Naomi. The young girl wasn't someone who thrived of admiration, but witnessing some in her favour certainly didn't hurt. She saw it in the girl's stature, the way she held herself and in her eyes. Aki had never had someone look at her that way. It wasn't off-handed gratitude, nor was it anxiety or fear, it truly was a sort of veneration. She politely waited for the woman to answer her question, which was met with a counter-question. She was taken aback at the request, mostly out of fear of incompetence. Aki wasn't sure she could really fill that role, the Shimada had never been much of a teacher.

She did possess a fair bit of knowledge regarding Demons and Daemons alike, that wouldn't translate to a victory in a fight too easily. 'Very well...I can try.' she said, hesitantly, unaware of the embarrassment the girl felt. 'Did you encounter something unpleasant when the incursions happened?' she added, curiously. She wondered if the neko lady had attempted to play a part in defending the town and had witnessed something that had left her helpless. She clasped her hands behind her back, making gestures almost to check in with her magic. The Shimada was hoping for it to start working somewhat consistently.

Naomi really didn’t expect Akira to agree, but was extremely honoured and happy that she did. She was almost done with clearing her section of the rubble. So she didn’t feel so bad abandoning it for the time being. “Oh! Thank you very much,” she said with a wide grin and bowing slightly to show her gratitude.

The Neko took a step toward the section of the street where the rubble had still not been cleared. There was literally nothing to salvage in this part of the town. So, it would be no harm to just use it as training grounds. Besides, it had the advantage of being realistic. When fights occurred, this was usually how the terrain was.

“It's not about today,” she said, shaking her head, but then realized that might come across as her saying what happened during the incursion wasn’t unpleasant. So, she quickly added, “Not that what happened today wasn’t unpleasant or scary. But the reason why I have always wanted to fight the demons was because my family—whole village actually—was murdered by the demons,” she said. She didn’t speak of that incident much, but didn’t see any reason to not give Akira the true reason. The Knight agreed to train her even though they had just met, after all.

Naomi was surprised that she spoke of her village without breaking down. In fact, she spoke in a very matter of fact tone, with a tinge of vengeance. During the early days, every time the topic was breached, she either got extremely angsty or vanished into her room to break down into tears. It looks like time had healed her wounds a little, but the fire of revenge in her heart had not simmered down.

She remained silent as the Neko narrated the heart wrenching story with a rather eerily still exterior. Seeing her put on such a brave front, coaxed the same from the Shimada, who blinked away the tears that had begun pooling in her eyes. Sometimes, the illusion of courage, even in the face of despair was as important as possessing courage itself. It was a bit of a fake it till you make it deal in this scenario. But even the thought of losing the people she loved, filled her with a sense of doom and a peaked sense of frustration.

The Shimada was glad she'd opted to help in whatever way she could, although this information made her feel burdened with a heavy weight of responsibility. She swallowed before managing to bitterly state her take on the matter. 'Demons operate under different rules. They're incapable of adhering to our kind of morality and we're not equipped to deal with that survival-of-the-fittest-and-cruelest mentality. To force them to retreat and think twice about tearing up our homes and families, can often seem insurmountable... But we can't give up...'

Akira surveyed the area, she was wondering if they should move onto another more isolated location, but there was nothing much hindering them from indulging in the venture right here. The only issue Akira noticed was that in case she were to fail, there was a likelihood of more townsfolk witnessing it. In the past, she was quite accustomed to being looked down at and to be dismissed as someone bound to fail, but a lot had changed over the last few years... Now was not the time to deliberate on her metamorphosis of sorts.

As they seemingly settled on talking and training right where they were, Akira decided it would be better to push aside the pile of rubble so that they'd have a slightly even, albeit small field. To do so swiftly, she used the spell she had channelled, into the tips of her finger. She closed her eyes and tried to create a specific trajectory for it. She decided to evaluate the way the rubble was strewn to decipher if she succeeded or not. The girl had to work very hard at keeping things precise so as to not hurt the neko in front of her. She did successfully avoid the girl and scatter the stones... Following which she and the neko discussed their encounters with demons, the recent ones and ones from the seemingly forgotten past...