"Damn it..."
Damn it all.
"Damn it Damn it Damn it...!!!"
Diana Burnfury traversed the outskirts of the human continent, rain pouring onto her flesh in the cold, desolate night. Steam rose from her body as the rain water was evaporated by her heated flesh, the woman's steps scorching the Earth beneath her as her bare feet left their marks on the world beneath.
"Damn it... *******... old man... telling me to take a week off..."
A week. An entire week off. What kind of bullshit was that? Take a break? She "deserved it"? Diana Burnfury did NOT take days off. And Velen knew that. That old ****** definitely knew that, and yet, he still ordered her to step away from the battlefield... And it was clear that she was not happy with that.
"Haa... I should found some ******* shelter from this rain..." Diana murmured, her nose scrunching up. A few dozen miles away. A bar. Ugh, a bar. Alcohol disgusted the woman. It dulled one's senses, made one... act illogically. And Diana most certainly did not value the illogical. But... it was the only close place she could take shelter from the nightly rain.
With a kick of her feet, she propelled herself in the direction of the bar. At the speeds she was moving, it only took a couple of seconds for her to reach her destination. Speed was something Diana Burnfury valued very much. It made traveling easier. And God, she ******* hated traveling, even if she did so much of it in her career as a general.
Diana let out a deep sigh, "******* hell..."
She was utterly disappointed with the building. It was small, probably cramped as hell with little amount of seats. She suspected the drinks were also probably subpar, and that the service would be the same. Diana scrutinized the place before she even entered.
"At least it's got ******* light..." She grumbled to herself, before entering. Luckily, nobody cared enough to notice her entering. Everyone in the establishment was either to wasted or to indifferent towards Diana to care. That, she valued. Indifference. Leave her alone, and she'd leave you alone. There could be no better relationship to have with a stranger. Tucking her tail back into her body, she moved.
Diana trudged towards the bar, taking a seat. She glanced towards the bartender, and as usual, she analyzed and scrutinized. An old human man, approximately 72 years of age. Most likely would die in 6 years. A long, thick gray mustache, yet he'd lost the rest of his hair, seemingly. He didn't seem like someone she'd need to kill.
Diana sighed, resting her cheek against her hand. Not like she planned to stay here for long, just until the rain passed. Which... may have taken a while, but, if push came to shove, maybe staying in this dump wouldn't be that bad for her mental health. Her oh, so fragile mental health.
As Diana sat at the bar, the short woman occasionally snorting out a puff of smoke, something caught her in the corner of her eye, at the very edge of the small, cramped building. A large, drunk man, clearly completely wasted... And a boy. Peculiar. Why was a teenage human in a bar in the middle of nowhere?... Talking to some drunk middle-aged man- Oh. That's what was going on.
"Kid-! I told you-... To... b-beat it...!" The drunk man exclaimed to the boy, holding him against the weak, wooden walls by his fragile collar. Diana didn't know the context, or how the kid had offended anybody, but, looks like they had beef.
"...." The boy was unresponsive. No, it was something more than unresponsive. It was like he didn't even notice he was being addressed. As if he was... in an entirely different dimension. It was likely he himself didn't even remember what he did to offend the drunken man.
"You... ignorin' me, you brat-!?" The man exclaimed once more, as if he was about to blow a face. He shook the boy, his drooping black hair waving side to side. His eyes were revealed through this... Those dark, deep, black eyes. It... unnerved Diana. Why were his eyes so... dark? So empty?
Diana turned around completely, beginning to observe intently. The drunken man rose his fist, and Diana saw each and every muscle fiber in his arm and shoulder contract and move. He was going to sock the kid in the jaw, that much was obvious... And that's what he did. His burly, rough fist, slammed into the boy's face. It didn't carry all that much power, but... it bruised the boy's face significantly. Yet it didn't knock him out.
"Answer...! Me!" The man exclaimed once more, once again raising his fist. Whack. Right against the boy's jaw, once more. And Diana observed. The boy didn't react. No, he didn't even seem to notice the man punching him. What was going on with this kid...?
The man continued to punch the boy, over and over. The kid wasn't going to survive, at this rate. No, he was definitely going to die if he kept taking those blows. And Diana wasn't one to step into the frays of humans... Or anyone, really. All races were the same. Violent, idiotic, and illogical, all worthy of a thorough scrutinization. Yet...
She felt something different about this particular human with the black hair. His eyes. His expression.
He looked so... bored.
So... completely uninterested in this man and his fist crashing into his face.
"Oi."
In an instant, Diana shot forward. Saying nothing else, she grabbed the man by his neck from behind, propelling herself in the air. With a mighty heave, she slammed the drunken man's head into the wooden floor, caving in the material beneath and leaving the man unconscious. This... drew more attention to Diana than she'd like, blood dripping from her hand as she removed it from the man's neck. But... that wasn't what she cared about right now. Before she got kicked out, she needed to ask something.
"Kid." Sha addressed the boy...
...And he looked down at her. Black, droopy hair. A weird outfit which resembled a suit. And deep, black eyes like a void.
"...What's your name?" She asked. She didn't expect to get an answer, but, the boy spoke.
"...Yu." He said. His voice was dry, devoid of any and all passion or effort. It was as if the very action of forming words was little more than a chore for him, and Diana could tell he'd probably much rather getting beaten up than having to talk to her. "My name is... Yu."
"No last name?" She asked, crossing her arms.
"...." No answer. As expected. Diana let out a sigh, before asking her next question.
"Why didn't you fight back?" She asked the boy, softly growling. "If I'm right... you could've effortlessly knocked this idiot that I just crushed out. So why? Why let yourself be abused?"
A simple question, and a simple answer. The boy, who called himself Yu, only shrugged.
"Meh. Couldn't be bothered." He said. Diana's eyes widened.
"Couldn't be bothered?" Diana asked, "You're... joking, right?"
"...I'm not good at making jokes." Yu said, once again shrugging his shoulders. "If that's it, I'll leave now... Thank you for helping me..."
"Wait-!" Diana called out as Yu tried to walk away. Her eyes widened at her own action. She didn't know why she was suddenly so adamant on talking to this boy. This random stranger whose name she didn't even fully know. But her instincts were shouting at her... Shouting at her to keep her on him.
"Do you...?" She whispered.
"Do I...?" Yu tilted his head.
Diana grumbled. She didn't know what she was doing. What should she say? That she was interested in him? That her instincts were guiding her, that she had a gut feeling? She felt weird, weirder than she'd ever felt before, but..
"Do you have anywhere you live? Or... parents?" Diana asked. She tried to sound as if she was looking out for him.
"...No." Yu responded blankly, "I don't."
"Then uh... I can give you a place to stay for a while. I live with my little sister, but... I can fit you. For a while, until you... find your own place." Diana offered.
"...Why?" Yu asked. "Why are you... offering me a place to stay...?"
A nerve nearly popped in Diana's head when he asked that question. Even she didn't really ******* know. This was the exact opposite of how she'd normally act, yet, her instincts kept shouting at her the more she tried to resist. She sighed.
"I'm just... trying to help someone in need...?" Diana said. Her smile was... crooked, forced, and clearly so. And as Yu's eyes narrowed, the boy contemplating whether or not to believe her, he noticed how forced it was.
But...
"...If you'll have me, I guess I could... crash at your place for a few days." Yu said, "You have... food... and water...?"
"Yeah. We have both food and water." Diana said, nodding. "So... we can feed you, if that's what you're worried about."
Yu said nothing for a few moments, formulating his response. For a few moments, he contemplated her words. He didn't understand why she'd try and help him for no reason. There was no way it was out of the goodness of her heart. But... he was also hungry. And thirsty.
With one, final shrug, he answered. "Cool. Lead the way."
"...Cool." Diana muttered. His casual answer put her off, and clearly so, but... she wouldn't focus on that. For now, she began walking out of the bar, stammering as fast as she could out of the establishment. Yu followed along slowly, simply staring off into space.
"Haaaaa... What the hell, Diana..." She muttered to herself as she walked out into the rain, her tail shooting out. The large limb hissed at Yu as he walked behind Diana, but, he paid no mind to it.
"..." And they walked.
"..." And walked.
"..." And walked.
"...Nice to meet you." Yu said, causing Diana to pause and blush.
"You're saying that now!? Ugh!" She grumbled, beginning to speed up her walking. "Keep up, human!"
"...Cool." Yu said, shrugging.
And the two of them continued to traverse into the dark, rainy night...