[IC] [Damiann47]The Legend Of A Hero Gone Wrong[Hebigami Shiho]

[Hebigami Shiho]

As expected of a politician, she saw right through his lies. But she wasn't sure. If she was, she'd be way more upset. It was in the bag. Noboyuki just had to follow it up now. Lying gave him another huge talent. Being a great actor. He frowned when Rena said that. It was a most natural frown that no one would actually expect for it to be an act. He had regained his cool and was now ready to follow up with his lies. "Well, to be honest, it hurts my feelings that you do not believe what I just told you. Unless you would've preferred for me to lie about it." He said, sounding a bit hostile. Well, that should at least settle down the girl's alarms of whether or not he was telling the truth. She wasn't sure about hence why she said such things before going back to sleep.

Noboyuki kept on his frowning face until he saw that Rena was well out of his range of sight. He sighed. "G'night." He shouted at her on her way to sleep, sounding a bit annoyed. Well, now, he should be able to be alone with his thoughts for a while re-organize them in one way or the other. Maybe he would also smoke another cigarette. He walked a bit farther away from their camp for a bit, with only the light of the moon shining upon him and giving him some kind of light. He took out his cigarettes and checked on them to see how fast he was burning through them.... he still had a good 10 cigarettes to smoke, then again, when he arrived, he had about 15. It had been two months already and, to be honest, he was making a good job refraining on them for the most part.

But he was burning them out all the more quickly if that was really the case. Lately, and just in these last three weeks, he had already smoked 5 of them, despite putting up with it for the first month. Yeah, Rena's attitude as of late had him a bit worried, no, really worried. And even so, he decided to take a cigarette out and light it. Smoking to calm himself down, just now the thought came to his mind. He had already analyzed it, he was now calm about it. Taking another shot of his cigarette and releasing the smoke into the air, he said the conclusion he had come to, "I am in love with that woman." The mere thought of it made him laugh. How could a man like him fall for a girl like that. He took another smoke out of his cigarette, "She's not cute at all." He said while releasing the smoke inside his mouth.

Yeah, there was no doubt about it. Maybe it was just how much time he had spent with her. Or maybe the experiences they had gone through together. It was a phenomenon with some kind of name that he didn't recall right now, but, apparently, having their heartbeats accelerated under a dire situation often had an effect like that. "Damn you, scientists." He quietly cursed. He burnt through his cigarette in a single shot and threw the butt to the floor, before stepping on it.

"Let's get some sleep, then." He stretched out, making some of his bones crack. Yeah, it was time to sleep. Something also told him that he'd have some kind of good dream today, in one way or the other.

[Damiann47]

It was an open field, nothing of note other than the crimson skies above, streaks of thinned clouds broke the screen of that redish orange. There was a simple sense of peace, simple and pure like that. The air was fresh, clean, a gentle current of wind made the long grasses dance. Over the horizion the setting sun was dipping, out of sight for another night before it'll meet the new day. A distance thundering could be heard, and yet that didn't matter, for it was unrelated to the serenity of that lone field. Almost beyond sight, just almost, stood a set of abandoned banners, their owners were gone leaving those symbols of power behind. That didn't matter.

It was a dream.

[Hebigami Shiho]

It was an enclosed space, a little room. People moved around, but their faces could not be made out. They were all but humanoid sillhouettes. They laughed and talked between each other in unintelligible speeches. Only between them did they knew what the other said. It all seemed unreal, it didn't seem to actually be happening as the onlooker watched. Between the unrecognizable faces, only one had a dsitinguishing feature on him. A pair of squared glasses. It was all apart from the others, as if to seclude itself from the others. It seemed to be.... bored, as it supported its head on one of its round hands. Other sillhouettes approached it, and the bespectacled one turned to them. It seemed happy, but not exactly right. It seemed to be... pretending to be happy. Its face gave it away instantly.

That is the only way things can be.

Echoed through the dream. Yes, a dream.

[Damiann47]

The next day Rena did feel better, lot better then she had felt for the last handful of weeks, it was a liberating to put it in a single word. The night before she did have a strange dream, one she doesn't typically dream so dreaming is rare in of itself, and two it was fairly creepy, not a nightmare, just unsettling. Of course she mentioned nothing of that dream to Noboyuki, a dream is a dream and nothing more. Although one nagging thought remained, how will she confront him about... the potential lying, she still held onto the hope that he was not a lair that it was only born from paranoia on her part.

---

Back to the field, although this time it was different, visually everything was the same, but the atmosphere was different. It was no long cheerful, the peace was no longer there, even if it appeared nothing had changed, and yet there was no dread, there was nothing, no feeling. This time the thunder was louder, much louder that it almost seemed to dominate the landscape, however after some time the thunder changed... in a way. Steadily it became not the distinct sound of the heavens clashing, no... it was footsteps, not a single set but thousands, enough to seem like thunder.

A realization dawned that these were not just footsteps, but the sound on many boots marching in step, coordinated to stay in perfect timing, it was the sound of an army on the move. They were unseen but easily heard, invisible, yet visible, forces of ghosts. The banners from before were closer... their details more obvious, the cloth was tattered and ripped, burned in other areas, this was true for every single one. Clearly the image of what these banners used to represent were still present, still easily identifiable.

The royal seal of the Kingdom of Eskar.

(Red background with a yellow four pointed star in the middle.)

[Hebigami Shiho]

The sun of the morning came again to dawn a new day upon the pair. Noboyuki woke up, feeling a bit groggy. He had a good night's rest, and he felt as if he had seen a pleasant dream, a really calm and clear one, for a change, but it still felt wrong, somehow. He did not say anything about it to Rena, of course, neither did he make any comment about what happened yesterday. If she still had the slight suspicion about his lying, then he needed to play it off as if that was never the case. Soon enough, it'd go away from her mind and completely forget about the incident, as many others did before. But nevermind that, they had to get moving now.

---

The same grey scenery, still filled with sillhoutes as the last time. They still moved around and talked between each other as if it was completely natural for them to be doing so. They do seemed to be a little taller, though, than last time that they resembled little children. Mayebe they were now teenagers? They also seemed a little less generic and was easier to tell them apart easier this time. Some of them even had hair now too. They bustled about as last time, and the same one with the glasses on, though still with no other distinguishing features, remained alone. It seemed to take some books out, but only one of them stood out. It's title read House And Philosophy.

The little sillhoute put away all the others, while it opened the only remaining book. It read it intently and with great attention... until another sillhoute approached it. This one had long black hair, though. It seemed to be calling out at the bespectacled one, and it turned to the other one quite quickly. A great smile, like no other appeared on its face. It seemed really happy at the arrival of the other sillhoute. They chatted between each other and everything seemed to be fine between them.

Is it okay for me to feel like this?

It echoed again through the dream.

[Damiann47]

A continued dream, well that was a first, she still remembered the first one, so it was very obvious in some way the new dream she had the night before was somehow connected to the original one. Whatever the case was Rena opted to ignore these messages, the belief being that it was really only by chance that she, again someone who normally doesn't dream at all, had two extremely similar ones in succession. The subject of the newest dream wasn't that obvious to her, it was a jumble to her, with only a few elements identifiable even then she couldn't understand them. Noboyuki seemed to be fine, at least that almost seemed to be the case, as it had been recently she was no longer confident in reading the man, could he be reflecting on their conversations that was still just a few nights ago? What could he be thinking about.

---

There was no field this time, but it was indoors. At first there were only gray stone walls, these walls made a massive featureless room devoid of any defining features, and lined in total darkness. It was quiet. Then as time went on this empty room became more furnished, large wooden benches, almost pews, hugged the far walls on both sides. Then red tapestries hung across the walls, only that one solid red. Then there were windows, streaming light into the room, each one cutting a hole into the gray stone at even intervals. More and more was added to this room, carpet being gold and red, more benches, new chairs, candles and torches, until eventually the entire room was almost alive, resembling a royal court.

As if from nowhere, it seemed, there were people. Many people in fact who filled the entire space, most of them looked to be well dressed, clean, and obviously wealthy. Yet they didn't have faces... although that wouldn't be the right way to describe them. They did have faces, eyes, a nose and a mouth, but they didn't... perhaps words couldn't explain after all. Among these well dressed individuals were what appeared to be heavily armored men, clad in metal plate, wielding lethal looking halberds. They had a stoic air to them, cold and commanding. In the middle, where everyone was looking at, one of the Faceless was different, being that he in fact had a face, strong features, among them being a groomed beard, a shallow one, and he appeared to be aged, not white with years, but old. Sound came rushing in, yet none of it was clear, it was muffled, a male voice was speaking, it appeared to come from the Faced One, he was angry, he was shouting. To whom couldn't be seen, maybe a far off figure, up beyond the steps that lead to a throne, to the master.

The Tyrant

The Faced One continued his shouting, although before long the armored men, The Executioners, grabbed the Faced One, roughly pulling him from the court, the muffled words becoming more frantic... as only if he were pleading, scared. Without transition the Field had returned, yet the Court had left. The banners still held their place, alone and abandoned, now the skies were no long just a shade of orange, but truly red now, a unnatural color. Nothing there was now there, at the base of the center banner, one of the armored men once present in the Court, maybe, no longer stoic or commanding, still cold. He... if he were a he, laid limp and lifeless. Only a shell now.

The shouting of the Faced One rang out, clear.

Falkren! You traitorous bitch! How could you!

[Hebigami Shiho]

Noboyuki woke up, with some kind of bizarre dream again. As a man that often dreamed about other things, probably dreams more fitting for men like defeating some kind of titan or racing in the streets against your rival, it was one of the few times that Noboyuki had two dreams like that. What was worse, they were a bit too similar for it to be just a coincidence. Even so, as last time, he wasn't able to make heads or tails out of it. It was frustrating, but the man didn't let that show in his face. At least, not in front of Rena. Whenever he had time alone, though, he decided to put his mind to good use and think long and hard about it. Even so, the fact that the dream seemed to be random, and still clearly organized in some way that someone would be able to make sense of it made it all the more confusing for Noboyuki. Maybe, another dream would show up next time he went to sleep. Maybe, it'd also give him some more clues. Maybe, it had something to do with his heroic powers and, to be honest, he felt like a kid in christmas, awaiting for the holy powers to arrive.

---

For a change of pace, the sillhoute with glasses now finds itself outside, in a scenery that seems straight out of some kind of artwork. Colorful cherry blossom petals fall down as the bespectacled one waits eagerly for what is to come. It is now characterized by a new feature just added to it, though it is more of a commonplace for a person its age, or should eb, at the very least. With gigantic braces now in its mouth and traces of slight facial hair, it fidgets, it moves around and paces back and forward, seemingly trying to get its mind away of what is to come. Suddenly, it seems to pick up something with its ears and it quickly and eaferly turns around to see just what arrived, with a great smile on its face, or in what should be its face.

The sillhoute with black hair appears yet again, though its figure seems a lot more womanly and mature. It is now easy to tell it apart from other sillhoutes as it now resembles a woman even more. It seemed to be quite eager as well, and the glasses of the other one shine on with expectation. However, the expression of the long haired one drops and becomes a frown as soon as it spots the one with glasses. The other one doesn't seem disheartened though. It seems just as eager as before, maybe even more, as it now jumps with expectation. Soon enough, the both of them engage into a conversation, with the one with glasses making exaggerated hand movement and seemingly becoming flustered from time to time, while the other one merely looks down and.... disappointed perhaps? It seems to only nod out of obligation to everything the other says.

Finally, after a while, the one with glasses seems even more pumped and finishes its exaggerated hand motions to finally make its point across. And even so, while it seems nervous and happy to finally get it out of its chest, the long haired one simply nods acknowledging it. before looking away from the one with glasses and moving its mouth to say something. Even so, it cannot be heard to anyone but the one with glasses, and when it does, all of its energy seems to leave its body, as well as the color of the scenery.

It seems frustrated, but suddenly, an idea seems to pop in its mind. The scenery gains more color, though it isn't as vivid as it was first. It suddenly strikes a pose with its hand on its waist and smirks. It starts talking but, again, none of it is heard. The black haired one, that also seemed to be really sad about the outcome, whatever it was, also recovers its smile, it even starts laughing. The other one seems to have calmed down now that it seems things are all right again.

This is the only way to protect what I have, instead of losing it all

[Damiann47]

Rena woke that morning in a thoughtful mood, it was too obvious now that these dreams were connected, that clearly something was weaving them together into... a story, although a story of what she couldn't tell. There were characters, like out of a story book, a boy, had to be a boy, perhaps that was a hunch at best, but Rena thought that made sense. The other was a woman, or would it be a girl to go along with the boy? It felt like a love story, figures... seeing as her own life was beginning to parallel one, speaking about, well when it came to her love life, suppose it could be called that, she still hadn't confronted Noboyuki yet. If she were to guess part of the reason had to be how he seemed to be thinking a lot, though he hid himself well, his actual mood still bled through his shield. Wonder what he could be occupied with...

---

Back to the Field again, not the Court. It was not empty like the other two dreams, no a group of figures wandered in the grass, maybe fifty men give or take, like the other Faceless from the Court they did not have their faces, while still having them. Unlike the Court Faceless, the Field faceless did not look like they were well off, if anything they looked tired, weak, perhaps hopeless. Unlike the Court Faceless the Field Faceless, did not dress in bright colors, no they were "armored" but not liked the Executioners. Iron pots that looked like they were hammered down to function as breastplates, ragged leather gloves, torn shirts, they had weapons, but not the shiny halberds, farming tools, the sickle, the scythe, although a select few wielded dull swords, clearly not well maintained.

This time the air was tense as the Faceless moved forward towards whatever objective they had in mind, to whatever destiny awaited them.

Not Faceless... Freemen...

Those bodiless words rang out, yet these Freemen seemed not to hear them, but at that moment, almost like a quick snap, the world pulled into focus. The Freemen then had faces, they looked human as anyone else without that distinct element of unknown that once plagued them, much more was revealed, such as every single one was male, and every single one had a grave expression about him. It was clear they were uncertain, that is all but one Freeman who lead the group.

The Fool

The Fool waited before the Freemen ordering them to stop the march, he had a speech, although like the Faced One his words were also muffled, yet they were still strong. As he spoke, whatever he had to say, held a positive effect among the Freemen, they nodded at his
rhetoric, enveloped into the passion of this man's speech. Before long the Freemen were actually motivated, the Fool fueled this by raising the volume of his voice, pacing before the Freemen, they were now cheering, they looked not happy, but under the fervor produced by the Fool. The Fool lifted his hand into a fist.

The Fist of Revolution

The Fool looked triumphant. To liberty, my brothers!

He spoke.

Not the Fool... the Leader

The Freemen were stunned, the Leader was stunned... blood dripped from his chest, the scrap breastplate held pitifully against the arrow. The Leader feel to his knees, then forward, where his blood continued to pool before him.

Not the Leader... the Deadman.

More arrows rained from the sky, thousands, if not millions covered the heavens above, looking like they were vengeful winged demons rather than arrows fired from a man made bow. The Freemen crumpled without resistance, the arrows forced them down, onto the ground, now soaked in red.

Not the Freemen... the Deadmen.

In the distance, along the horizon far from the Deadmen, stood the silhouettes of Executioners, cold, stoic, and commanding as always. The Deadmen were left behind, the Deadman, almost appeared separated from his brothers, no longer seeming as the leader, but the outcast. The banners had more company, graves, shallow and barely marked by the ever symbolic wooden cross. The Deadmen rested... yet not truly so.

The Tyrant of Eskar continued to expand Her dominion.

[Hebigami Shiho]

Yeah.... Even Noboyuki wasn't enough of an idiot to not see that the dreams were connected. They were telling a story. But what kind of story? Maybe the story of the Kingdom of Eskar? If so, why would it start showing now, when they were countless kilometers away from Rena's home kingdom? He recognized the symbol, but, given that he could not read anything in that world, everything else was nothing but a mere guess from Noboyuki's part. It could also be a war, a revolution in another kingdom. Referring to the leader of that same revolution as a tyrant, though.... The name Falkren... Not enough info to go on Thought Noboyuki. He would continue on being pensive that day as well. He did make a mental note to remember that name, though. Falkren. Maybe he'd need to go check with Rena if she knew anything about that. Maybe, going to Rena would be best, but he wanted to wait until he was able to make some sense of what he was seeing.

---

The recurrent bespectacled protagonist of the dreams has now become nothing but an espectator in the sidelines. It watches intently and, not exactly eager about what he is watching. Even so, it seems that he is watching the whole thing out of compromise, maybe because it is the one that set it up? It also seems to have grown messy dark blue hair now as well. The scene is focused on him, until it moves into the inside of what seems to be a classroom.

The one with long hair is speaking with another sillohoute, one with spiky blonde hair. They are talking for a while, until the long haired one seems to say something that takes its breath away. The spiky haired one looks at it, seemingly surprised, before nodding happily. The one with long hair also seems happy and they hug each other. The bespectacled one seems to be hurt by the whole scene, being able to do nothing but clench its little fists and bite its lip. It seems to shade a tear, before shaking its head and leaving the place.

Even if it is a lie, I can live comfortably with it, right?

The voice seems to come from the little sillhoutte, as it disappears between the crowds bustling about in what seems to be a hallway.

Later on, the one with long hair approaches th bespectacled one, still happy about the outcome from before.

Thanks a lot! It couldn't have been possible without you. A female voice echoes.

No, it is the least I can do as a friend. A male voice echoes this time. It seems to come from the one with glasses, as it smiles at it. It seems to bid the long haired one farewell and walks the other way, with a sad smile on his face.

Yes, in this place there's no place for someone like me. If so, then I just have to change who I am. Become someone I am not, even if it is just to fit in with others. I don't want to be left alone ever again. Never.

Time seems to fast forward. The little sillhoute with glasses is now taller, a bit too tall to be honest. It also now sports a pair of blue eyes under his glasses, and can now be identified easily as a male. A male perhaps 16 years old? As any typical teenager, it is now resting in a bed with an uninterested look in his face. It seems to receive a message in a phone, even though the concept is foreign to the people of Eskar. With the same uninterested look, it stands up and leaves the place he was in.

Images flash by. The same sillohoute with messy blue hair with other sillohoutes of various sizes and shapes, along with their own distinguishing features, seemingly having fun in various places. It even changes to single shots of it with another woman like sillhoute, a different one every time. But one thing remains in all of the shots. His disappointed expression in each and every one of them.

Just what am I doing? Is there any point to this? Aren't I... The other sillhoutes slowly disappear from the image, leaving only the one with glasses in a dark room. The loneliest like this?

Even so.... Even so... there's no way I can let the truth be known now. It would be nothing but a fool's errand. This life, it's foundation..... is lies. I am nothing but a liar. And I must stick to that life until the end. Otherwise, I will only end up lying to the only person I don't want to lie to.....

[Damiann47]

Thus that morning Rena woke with a start... the last dream, the latest of this strange chronicle it told so much. Perhaps while it wasn't a huge problem in Eskarian culture, just different expectations, certainly plenty of people end up stigmatized, outcasts for whatever reason when growing up. Maybe this wasn't what was happening here, but it felt close, or maybe the root to that problem. Still the main realization hit her like a hypothetical truck, the boy was really starting to look like a certain... individual in her life. It was starting to make sense to her, the foreign look of the rooms, the odd clothing, it could no longer be anyone else, now the main question is how accurate were these dreams, how much did they tell of the hero.

She waited until the next night, they were sitting around a new fire in a new location. Rena had to admit, Noboyuki was much different to her now, especially since their first meeting. She had a respect for him, due to his status as a holy warrior, and respect for his actual proof of strength after their numerous encounters with demons. Although that was no longer the case, sure she still had that respect, but it wasn't as prevalent anymore, as much as she didn't want to admit it, the man in front of her was a liar, she had come to believe that, and to make it even more confusing, well she was also tackling fledgling feelings towards him, that she had come more than able to accept even if it took a while.

Maybe Noboyuki noticed her staring at him, she had to think about her next move, she was obvious, that was fine seeing as she didn't want to hide. The way Rena saw it there were two ways to go about it, subtly ask him, just to confirm before anything else, or get right into it, directly attack him with words. Attack was an ugly word... but she was worried he may try to run otherwise, there were times to play cloak and dagger then there were times to charge into the fray, metaphorically speaking. Rena reached forward to grab Noboyuki by the shoulder, maybe it'll help him to relax, maybe not, still it felt like the right thing to do, somehow. She breathed deeply, steeling herself before starting.

"You are a liar, you have been one for your entire life."

[Hebigami Shiho]

Noboyuki thought he had finally pieced the puzzle together. The fact of a revolution that happened, or would happen, was certain. Then there were the things about a tyrant. A female. It was that that made him think that, maybe, the dreams took place in the future. Falkren, the tyrant. If he wasn't mistaken, Rena's last name was that, and as far as he knew, the king (obviously) was a male. Then, were those....

"Dreams of what is to come?" He muttered to himself. "No, that is too far fetched. Rena doesn't have a power to look into the future, as far as I know." Then, what was it? Noboyuki HAD to make sense of it. At the very least, he knew the dreams were connected in one way or the other to Rena. Why? No frigging idea, to be honest, but there was still the fact that Rena had some worries in her pretty little head. "Maybe... Those were dreams of what she fears will happen when she takes on the torch from her father. She fears she'll be a tyrant. Something like that." Noboyuki really needed some more info. His mind wasn't as complex as that, he was sure of it, so he could barely make any sense of it. There might also be the fact that he isn't as smart as he wished to be.

That whole day, Noboyuki was absent, thinking only of how he would confront Rena about this. It seemed like some kind of personal matter. To be honest, Noboyuki didn't really heed any of Rena's calls all throughout the day, just trying to make some kind of sense of what had been in his dreams lately. Still, he would have never expected Rena to be the one on the offensive during the night and around the campfire. When she put her arms on his shoulders and talked to him a bit loudly and with a... commanding voice, Noboyuki was taken aback. Really so. How did she even....? He even fell off the cut off log he was sitting in at the time, freeing himself from Rena's hands.

"H-How do you-!? I mean, what are you talking about!? That's preposterous! I've never once in my life have lied to someone else! I... I...!" For the first time in his life, Noboyuki was at a loss for words. He had been confronted before by his mother, his father, other people who 'cared' about him, or the false Noboyuki he had created. Even so... how did this girl even know about that!? He started moving back through the floor. He was intimidated by Rena. Somehow, she had become something more scary than any evil god or demon king ever. Something he couldn't just fight with a sword. "I don't know what the fuck you are talking about!" He was angry, somehow. He stood up and turned around, before dashing into the forest. 'What the hell am I doing!? Why am I the one running!? I could've just... I could've just come clear to her! But what if she left me when she discovered I had been lying to her....?'

No, for once in his life, he had to be a man and face the consequences of what he had said. He stopped before going deeper into the forest. He was just like some kind of girl running away from what scared him. He just waited there. If Rena came after him, then he'd spill the beans. If she decided to stay in the campsite by herself, then that'd be the end of it.

[Damiann47]

He ran... damn that was exactly the last thing that she wanted to happen, instinctively she lunged for the routing hero, but only met the dirt, her face skidding along a very short distance along the ground. She swore under her breath as she rose, she scratched herself and even opened a few shallow cuts, little bit of bleeding but obviously not even close to lethal. The leaves rustled, betraying the path that he ran down. Rena, without a second thought, gave chase.

Through the foliage that blocked her progress, it was thick here, making Rena seriously question how Noboyuki was able to push through at all, still guess a lesser man would've been stopped, but not him. Why did he take off like that? No... that was a rhetorical question, she knew very well why he ran, but that didn't mean she fully expected him to, what did he think when she finally got down to question him? Noboyuki... had his own problems, deep ones if the dreams were any kind of indicator.

Soon she stopped, out of breath, she had not realized how fast she was going, she was only so far into the wilderness, and yet she already had to stop. Rena only took a very short break, the fear of what might happen to her only companion was too great, she couldn't lose him. She chuckled to herself... if she had any doubts about her... love... they were gone now, really why would she go through so much effort for anyone else but him?

Ready to go again, but not really, Rena pushed back some bushes, she had to hold a gasp, she had already caught up! Noboyuki was just standing there, this was her chance. Prepared to fight until the end, she rushed out from behind her cover, she didn't trust him enough to not run again, hoping to catch him off guard Rena practically threw herself on him, maybe pinning him down at the legs.

It was almost... almost like a hug.

She held on, despite her being considerably smaller than the man, she held on like no other, there was zero chance in hell she was going to give up. She realized she got him from the front when looking up at him, it was a blur, but she swore there was shock on his face, she could only wonder what she looked like, all she knew was the burning sensation around her face. Rena dug her hands into him, willing for him to listen to her... he just had to this time.

"You need to stop running! From me... from yourself! Hell especially yourself, just enough! Don't you get tired?! Don't you at least trust me to trust in you?! Come on! Let me trust you!"

[Hebigami Shiho]

After a while, Rena finally found him and, well, he expected her to be careful, even so, he didn't expect for her to do what she did. She threw him down and they both fell to the ground, after the sudden tackle from Rena. Noboyuki was indeed surprised, even more by the words that came out of her mouth. She was right, Noboyuki was just running from himself. He needed to stop, like, right about now. But it still scared him. It scared him out of his mind. What was he now anyway? Was he anything aside from the lies he had been telling up until now? Noboyuki suddenly found himself at a crossroads. He did not know what the hell he was supposed to be in reality.

And as he thought about it with Rena on top of him, he knew that he couldn't just take forever like that. His breathing became agitated.Yeah, he needed to just come out and say something. He couldn't help but put a hand on her head. "I am.... I am... Scared.... Damn. That's the truth. I've known it for a while now. But I didn't want to face it. No matter what, I didn't want to. I wanted to protect the same dull life I leaded in my world. I didn't want anything to perturb that peace. And then, I was dragged against my will to this world. I knew nothing of it, neither did the inhabitants of this world knew anything about me. It was perfect. A new start. I may have longed for that for quite a while without even realising it."

He starts speaking with his heart, instead of letting his brain devise the perfect route to follow when talking with others. It was high time for him to stop doing so. "And then, in here, I went on lying. With things of less importance at first, until you had to ask me what I thought about you. I told you you were just a dear friend to me... only because I didn't want to lose you! I couldn't stand the mere thought of losing you! If you didn't feel the same way as I... I wouldn't know what to do! I was just so scared of that.... of you not ever wanting to see me again." He felt his eyes watering. Yeah. He was speaking a bit too much from his heart. If he didn't stop anytime now....

"Rena, I...!" No, stop. "I...!" You will be all alone again "I love you!" Get it back. Lie your way out again. You still have time. You can still protect what you have now. You can remain static at this point. "I love you so much! I don't care whether it is just some kind of blessed coincidence or part of some stupid study! I don't care anymore! I just can't keep it anymore in my chest and continue lying to you! I love you, Rena Falkren!"

Noboyuki shouted at the top of his lungs. It was done. There was no going back anymore. He could just pray. He couldn't just lie now, like he did long before. A grown woman wouldn't just fall for that. Now he just had to wait. He could talk to her about the dreams after that.... If they ever talked to each other again, that is.

[Damiann47]

What? No really what?! Rena almost took a double take, she almost didn't believe him, that at first she couldn't believe that was a honest to God love confession. She laid there, just absolutely lost for anything to say, even her mouth hung there stupidly. This just took a really really unexpected turn, she thought that he would get defensive about his past again, that he would try to deny it again, yet never in her wildest dreams she ever thought he would confess. Her heart was beating so hard and fast, for a brief moment she even thought it might explode, her entire body felt hot, she was an absolute flustering mess at that moment.

That was it, she couldn't take it anymore, Rena clutched him even harder then threw her face into his shirt, giving him some kind of tight hug. "I love you too!" she was muffled, hell what if he couldn't hear her? She rose her again to look him directly in the eye, with a clear determination, and spoke those words again. "I-I actually love you too, Noboyuki!" There he couldn't have missed it that time, he knew, she knew. Their love was mutual, it almost had to be offical now.

She buried her head into Noboyuki again, this time tears even streaming down her face, she was crying? Such a happy moment that brought tears, such a paradox but she couldn't stop them. Rena continued her tight embrace, almost unable to let go, time passed, maybe five minutes, maybe fifteen minutes, time fell away to her, it felt way too good, to finally become this intimate with someone, it felt like heaven.

She loved Noboyuki, her first true partner, they would never ever be able to go back now, they both had knew that, still Rena was perfectly happy with how things turned out, she would never want to go back.

[Hebigami Shiho]

The words that Rena spoke made his heart flutter. Was it real? It wasn't a dream, right? He felt tempted to pinch himself and see if that wasn't a dream but, to be honest, he was scared that it was indeed a dream and that he'd wake up if he did such a thing. He was happy, to be honest. Not only did he let his feelings out in the open, despite his fear for rejection, but Rena felt all the same, and it was a relief that she did, otherwise, in which rock could Noboyuki have hidden under?

But that wasn't important right now. Right now.... What should he say? He did just declare his love to the girl that was on top of him, but how could he follow things up in any way? Being all like 'oh, yeah, right', seemed inappropriate, maybe a kiss? Nah, it would seem a bit too sudden in their current position and start of their relationship. Then there was one thing that would show his aggection and not seem as sudden. He put his arms around her and hugged her gently, while smiling to himself.

"That's... a relief. I wouldn't have knwon what to do if you turned me down. I'm so happy right now. I promise not to lie to you ever again." He simply said. Haha, just what got into him there? Suddenly, he just couldn't help but remember what he said and blush slightly. That voice in the back of his head too.... it didn't quite seem like his, to be honest, but since it came from his mind, he didn't really pay it any more attention, maybe it was only his imagination. He held her even tighter after building up his confidence to this time confront HER about her own dreams.

"So, Rena..... is there anything else that is troubling you? I dunno, maybe in the future or something?" He was fairly sure now. The dreams had something to do with the both of them. Certainly, Rena sure caught up fast to his lies, even though he is an expert liar. Only people who knew him to his very core could tell when he was lying, such as his mother or father. In other words, Rena might have been seeing dreams about him... while he saw dreams about her. He was almost sure. "Or should I say, Falkren the Tyrant? What is it that scares you Rena? Won't you tell me?" As far as he knew, Rena didn't really want to inherit the position from his father. "I'll do everything I can to make sure I protect you, so don't worry about it." He said, even before he got an answer. That's just how he felt about it, and what he would honestly do despite everything.

[Damiann47]

Wasn't this something? Rena didn't panic, really coming from a very relaxed state from just laying there, she barely registered his words at first, although it sank in soon enough. She didn't say anything, but she sat up, which was a shame if only they could stay like that for a while longer. She really did feel calm though, in another situation, or with someone else she would've denied anything. Thing was now they finally put everything out there, their love and feelings, she essentially made a pact to always trust him, to trust Noboyuki. Maybe it was foolish to do so already, when their relationship had just started not even an hour ago, but she thought it out long enough beforehand, the time was right.

"It is rude to go from our first time cuddling, then into questioning me like this. Guess I did the same, fair is fair, but first let's go back, its chilly out here, can already feel a cold coming on." Rena got up from the ground, of course she stopped to help her partner on his feet, offering her hand. The walk back was uneventful, but happy, at least she was. Although along the way she was still worried about what their going to be talking about, more so she wanted to know what Noboyuki even found out. She still had not pieced together the possibility of him having his own dreams.

The couple were back around the fire, it died down some without being cared for, the low lighting set the mood just right. Rena leaned back on her hands, just thinking for the moment, it was so odd to be thinking clearly after hearing, and especially giving love confessions, maybe that was just her, Noboyuki could have been emotional still for all she knew. Now where to start?

"... So, you've done some discovery yourself huh..." She spoke slowly, trying to be delicate, "Well to start with how did you figure me out? I don't usually tell you about my worries, I mean those specific troubles really..." Rena sighed, "But yes, I'm just not, uh, just ready for what's next if you understand me..."

[Hebigami Shiho]

Noboyuki gladly took Rena's hand to help himself up and went on with her back to their camping site. All the way there, though, he was unsure of whether or not he should take the girl's hand. He slowly approached her hand with his own, but is taken aback by any slight movement. After a while of trying and not succeeding, Noboyuki finally gave up on that after they finally got to their encampment, and he heaved a heavy sigh. 'It was the perfect opportunity and yet... I let it slip through my fingers.'

Now, seating there, and almost like a reflex, Noboyuki sit beside her, and he almost felt like cuddling with her in that state, but even so, he was feeling a bit bashful right now. So he decided to be a good boy and just keep his hands to himself for now. he listened to what Rena had to say and, as expected, she was getting right to the heart of the matter right now. Well, it was good. Like that, he didn't have any time to think of anything he shouldn't. And that not only applied for bad thoughts of what he could do with Rena now that he knew they loved each other, but also to keep his mind from thinking of a way of lying his way out yet again. He didn't let her see it, but he was actually panicking quite a lot in the inside.

'Screaming on the inside would be quite more accurate right now.' Noboyuki thought to himself a bit. Yeah, he should focus on Rena right now instead of his own problems. As expected, it seemed that she was scared of what was to come, and also, as expected, she asked how come he knew about that. He laughed a bit. "Well, I could ask you the same. It seemed as if you knew of my past before this a bit too well to me. I'm guessing that maybe you had some kind of dream as well. And yes, by that I mean that I know of this because I dreamt about it." Noboyuki turned quite serious, but even so, he put his hand over Rena's shoulders and brought her close to himself. "Well, in any case. I'm pretty sure everything will work out in the end. I'm here with you, so don't worry. Besides, King Noboyuki has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?" He joked.

In any case, though, there was still the fact that the dreams had been extremely bizarre. "So, what do you think is the reason behind those dreams? They were awfully on spot."

[Damiann47]

He was already starting to get a little... uh loving? If that's the right word. She was obviously unused to be physically close to someone, course their cuddle from earlier was spontaneous, you know born out of sheer emotion. Here though it was different, it was a conscious decision on his part, she was thinking how this would all work out, where or when does she know when they could be, well lovers? It was then Rena was becoming all too aware of her lack of experience with... everything, no idea how to be in real relationship.

Guess at best she'll be able to do is wing it, couldn't be that hard, should be natural right? Just go with what feels right. All the same though she was self-conscious as Noboyuki pulled her in, she didn't fight it though, nothing changed that she liked it anyway since it felt comforting. He talked, he seemed so much more supportive than before, so this was him as an honest man. Finally. She returned a smile, really a smirk, "No... you wouldn't be king, inheritance doesn't work like that, I'm not even sure what you'll be, you know a princess doesn't typically end up with someone from an entirely another dimension."

Rena snuggled up against her partner, just felt like the right move at the time. She sighed deeply, she still couldn't believe this happened, it was almost too perfect. "Thank you for being here though, guess you've seen an uglier side of me, I don't want to know what you seen, not yet, couldn't have been pretty. I know what your dreams, or whatever they were, shown me." She played idly with one of the buttons on Noboyuki's jacket, so shiny. He looked to be fine with this, so strange, its gonna take a while to get used to... how causal they were towards each other, just felt too soon, but what did she know?

She looked up to him, her head was nestled just in his armpit, she gave another smile, both to stomp down some of her vague doubts, maybe also to help with Noboyuki's as well. "I don't know what those dreams are about, they have to mean something right? Still they've helped us, don't think we would be here right now otherwise, has to be a good thing just because of that." Rena paused for only a moment before continuing, thinking if she needed to say this, it did feel natural though. "I really do love you Noboyuki. I really do..."

Those words still made her heart skip a beat, still without fail.

[Hebigami Shiho]

It was good that Rena followed up with his antics, and even if it was just some small shows of affection Noboyuki still appreciate them quite a lot. "Hehe, you've seen an ugly side of me as well. One I wished people never saw, to be honest. But when it's all done and said, I think that indeed ended up helping us. So, I can't say I really regret you ever seeing them." He smiled at her. The only thing he regretted was having to arrive to the next town in such a short time. He wished they had some more time to be alone like that. He wasn't one to push his luck, but he indeed wanted some alone time with her.

He looked back at Rena, staring right into her eyes, and then Rena said those words again. They made his own heart skip a beat, and he even blushed a bit after hearing it. But even so, he didn't look away from her. Those words meant a whole lot to him. The whole mood and atmosphere.... Yeah, something told him that it would be a good time to push his luck right now, even if it was just for a bit. He leaned down and planted a kiss on Rena's lips. Even if it wasn't something really big and just something out of impulse, Noboyuki thought the time was right. "I love you too, Rena." He simply said, with a sincere smile in his face, one he had never shown anyone before.

He wished time would just stop. In that simple night that seemed a bit too perfect. They were about to arrive to the next town too. "Can we stay like this for another while? I suddenly don't feel like sleeping at all." He put up now his usual sarcastic smile of always.

Even then, though, the night continued on. It would be the next morning anytime soon, even if Noboyuki wished with all of his heart for that not to happen. Even so, he may want to push his luck again and ask her to sleep together, of course, without trying to imply anything else and.... Yeah, he'd better not do that, or he'd get punched.

[Damiann47]

Rena's eyes widened, of course in response to his quick kiss, on the lips none the less. Noboyuki was bold that's for sure, she couldn't tell of that was a good or a bad thing, she knew their relationship wasn't going to be boring at the least. Still Rena was somewhat turned off by the gesture, he was advancing quickly, little too quickly, but she didn't feel pressured, they just started after all. After they parted Rena was blushing, "I-uh, I... that was my first kiss... by the way." Yeah, that's right, there was her first actual kiss ever, wasn't filled the passion she perhaps hoped for... ah well, there will be more in the future.

They continued to sit there, she agreed that it was nice, and of course expressed that ending the night would be a shame, a huge one. Rena engaged in small talk, first ever since their date last month, she didn't discuss anything of much importance, this time she went into her own family. King Halthor Falkren 'the Silver-tongued' of Eskar, of course was her father. Rena explained how he earned his name, the Silver-tongued, as she said many times before her father was a great diplomat, diplomacy perhaps being his biggest asset. Hell he'd even taught Rena herself from a young age, that was before she started traveling.

Her mother... well died after childbirth which was the prime reason Rena was an only child, King Falkren refused to remarry and so that's what resulted in her becoming the sole heir, no one else was there to take it. Seeing as she never even met her mother, Rena didn't have any regrets, which was the most she ever said about the subject. Turned out the house of Falkren wasn't that big, her only other living relative was an uncle, Duke Gerald Falkren of Thermia, a powerful man who personally oversaw about a third of the kingdom. He was described as being a man with strong features, among them being a groomed beard, a shallow one, and he appeared to be aged, not white with years, but old. He was only just a few years younger than her father after all, she didn't have much else to say about him, other than the man was known to be very kind, making him popular among the people.

Before long though Rena ended up passing out, still on Noboyuki's lap, it simply became way too late, plus after the rapid series of events that night it was a wonder how the princess managed to stay awake for as long as she did. She slept peacefully, and without another dream.

---

The next morning, or uh maybe only a few hours later really, they were needless to say back on the road, couldn't get caught up in what happened, you know in spite of how much as Rena wanted to relax at that spot more, in fact she had a feeling that Noboyuki thought the same. If she were to guess they had to be only an hour or two away from the next town, a major one if fact as it was a walled city, complete with large buildings including a chapel, and a keep. It was ruled by a lesser Earl, a new one actually since he very recently inherited the title after death of the previous ruler, being the new Earl's great grandfather. Unfortunately that was about the extent of what Rena knew.