Forward Together

The sky was covered in clouds as Itsuki and Sayaka's footsteps sounded across the pavement. The air was cold and windy, much more than before. However, unlike the weather, he felt warmth within his chest.

However, it wasn't from his grip power or the steamed fantasy potatoes they'd recently eaten. He was warm for a different reason.

Itsuki lost himself momentarily as he thought about the past few days since he'd awoken after the Diluvian raid, from confrontation and confession to this current moment.

He was in a relationship again. It was a little hard to fathom. Not the concept, just the reality of it all. It was like he'd just run the Nagano Marathon and was now waiting for his head to catch up with the rest of him.

Sure, some things were still a bit awkward, but that was sort of what to expect when starting off. At least, that's how it'd been for him and Kaede. They'd fumbled around a lot when they'd formalized they were dating, so to go through this sort of phase again was almost nostalgic—even with Sayaka obviously being different.

Itsuki bowed his head in silence as a few bittersweet moments turned through his head.

Of course, romance hadn't been the only thing occupying them. Just like Sayaka had said, there were other things to worry about in Lerwood.

He'd brought up the mental image of the artifact he'd seen to the others, and Githl had been combing through holy texts to try and find it. Kiaki had also tried 'pulling some strings' to try and get some additional information, all while Velena was doing her best to lead.

And while he and Sayaka hadn't been doing as much training since then—running around doing research, investigation, and rebuilding were hard to balance—they'd still been learning more about their powers and occupying the training grounds.

They already knew the basics of their powers of course—enhancement and healing for his, dispelling magic for hers—so they'd mostly focused around everything else that'd changed since the last Diluvian raid. Like how their powers seemed to interact with each other.

It was admittedly a time-draining process to brute-force, but he figured that neither he nor Sayaka minded much. It helped that they could just keep talking with each other for hours on end while they explored.

So many things had ended up coming out as a result: worries, memories, and all types of information. Now they were just chatting away while they walked after another one of those full days of progress.

He clenched his fist again as a golden light shone, followed by unseen threads linking to Sayaka, its warmth spreading through both of them. She stirred slightly, looking at him curiously as she stopped mid-sentence.

"Are you cold, Itsuki?"

He shook his head. "No, just had the urge to do so. Was thinking of everything we'd managed to learn these past few days."

"Wow, distracted while we're in the middle of talking? That's romantic."

"Sorry." He scratched the side of his cheek. "I swear I'm paying attention."

"If you say so." Sayaka leaned on him as they turned a corner, nearly pushing him off balance.

"Getting back to the conversation then… Is that really why you always say those catchphrases of yours? Because it was in Kaede's first isekai novel?"

"Well, that's not the only reason," he replied. "But uh, yes. Sorta. The main protagonist always said stuff about 'his style' as a quip. I ended up adopting it as an inside joke."

She shrunk and fidgeted with her bracelet. "Oh… well, now I feel bad about calling you out about it before."

"Nonono, don't. It's admittedly pretty cheesy—both of us were self-conscious enough to know that. So I won't begrudge you for snarking on it. That's just not my style after all."

She deflated a little. "Still, sorry. I never knew it had that much weight—"

Her tenderness turned to a squint on a dime.

"Hold on… Did you really just…?"

He flashed a smile before playfully shrugging.

"What can I say? Finding places to sneak in that line is fun time and time again. Makes me seem cleverer than I actually am—"

A finger raised to shush his lips in annoyance before retreating.

"R-right. But if you say a catchphrase too often, it loses its punch. Hinata noticed that in a few long running series she read, so don't make that same mistake."

"Sounds like they might've gotten along then," he mumbled as he blushed. "Kaede would actually say the same thing."

"…Possibly yeah. It seems like they had quite a lot in common."

A wet breeze brushed their faces. She shivered, pulling in closer to his side for warmth.

"F-finishing that earlier line of thought though, you need to save those quips for big moments, such as in fights against villains or other scene-enders. That way they impact you a lot harder."

Her heat spread through Itsuki's upper arm and the rest of him, making his heartbeat faster beyond any cardio.

"Right, harder. That makes sense…" He tried to distract himself from the softness squished up against him.

"Say uh, not that I'm complaining, but is there reason why you've been bumping into me like this since we've left?"

"Besides the warmth? I thought it would be fine. This is normal for couples… right? A little bit of closeness."

"This close though?" His brow quirked at her hand around his waist.

She blinked as they passed by a few other people with their eyes locked on them muttering, then turned a little pinker.

"Um, fair point. I guess it is a little weird… I probably should've asked before I went for it. I haven't been in a relationship like this since university, so… sorry if I made you uncomfortable."

She posed herself to pull away, grey eyes flicking downward to the ground. But he quickly stopped her, patting her arm in reassurance.

"Sorry, I think that came out wrong. I really like this. I was just teasing you."

Confusion fluttered across her face to replace her sadness. "W-wait. You can actually be sarcastic?"

"Yes, I—hey! Wait. What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing much. Just that it's a little strange that you're using humor beyond corny quips."

He chuckled. "Really? I'll have you know that I am quite a silly guy."

"Fair, you make me laugh a lot." She sighed as she nudged his arm. "You win for now."

His heart perked at the resumed contact, settling into a light silence again.

This was nice.

Feelings he'd hadn't experienced in years had been reigniting one by one, sort of like a floodgate slowly opening. Things like curiosity, looking forward to the future, and a few other aspects.

He hadn't really realized just how much of himself he'd been suppressing these past couple of years. But now that he'd opened up to someone again, things were beginning to feel normal.

"…" Well, if one ignored the fact they were in a completely different world, and that they were still supposed to help save it somehow from the Diluvian. But they were already trying to figure that part out—

"Heroes!" An energetic voice called out suddenly, echoing across the pavement and buildings down the street. "Thank the triumvirate you're here!"

They looked up startled to see what was going on. A young man in priest-like garb was quickly approaching them from down the street, almost sprinting toward them on the sidewalk.

Wait.

"Githl?" Itsuki called out squinting. "What's going on? Did something happen?"

He nearly tripped before catching himself in front of them, standing straight up at attention. His glasses were slightly crooked, and his short light-blue hair was disheveled.

"Apologies, Worldwalkers Kisaragi and Usami. I didn't mean to interrupt your sacred time together. But, um, something did sort of happen." Sweat beaded from his brow as he looked at them and gulped in more air. "It's not exactly urgent, but certainly important."

"Not urgent?" Sayaka asked. "You look like you ran all the way here."

"Well of course I would! You two deserve to know things promptly regardless of priority, and I am but a humble servant of yours and the triumvirate—a little sprint is nothing to me. Anyways though, I should probably relay why I am here."

He gave an earnest bow before continuing.

"An Ardent has arrived in Lerwood, and she wants to see the two of you."

An Ardent? Itsuki shared a surprised look with Sayaka as they thought of the implications.

Unlike mercenaries which were more common, Ardents were like the traditional heroes Itsuki knew. Protagonists from fairy tales and light novels—the closest thing to adventurers and what both of them had once been mistaken for.

If they were here then it was probably for a good reason.

"If now isn't a good time to see her though, I completely understand," Githl quickly followed up. "After all, I'm already intruding enough on your courtship outing enough as it is."

They flushed slightly at the comment, though it quickly gave way to a shared expression as they came to silent conclusion as to what they should do.

If it was this important…

"After you then," Itsuki said, feeling Sayaka's warmth close over his hand. "It's rude to keep someone waiting."

"O-oh, alright! I'll try to explain things as we move to the town hall then!" The head-ward had already turned back in the direction he'd come from and motioned for them to follow.

A chill breeze brushed past both of them, but it only drew them closer.

He and Sayaka both moved toward uncertainty together.