Chapter 76: Chapter 76 I'm so sorry for having lied to you...
Then, more or less an hour and a half later, it was now 17:11 pm and both Tatsurou and Livanya were now leaving the arcade, but there was something that surprised anyone that walked around the outside of the arcade, and that something, was the two very different expressions, that Tatsurou and Livanya had on their faces, as they walked out through the arcade's front door...
"This...was...so awesome! I still can't believe, that I finally got a chance to play all the original arcade versions of my favorite games! Feels as if I'm in a dream of sorts and if I am in one please don't wake me up!" Livanya said with an extremely excited expression and happy tone, as she clasped her hands before she began to wiggle her body a bit.
"And all of the games were so good, but it was the fighting and on-rail shooter games, that took the prize here, no questions asked! They were simply the very best, right mister Tatsurou?" Livanya asked still with her happy tone and her hands clasped, as she turned towards Tatsurou, that had an expression, befitting of someone that had gone through hell and back, stamped on his now pale face.
"Y-Yeah...they were all great...especially the Tekken 7 and Time Crisis cabinets..." Tatsurou said with a faint stoic nervous tone, as he let out an equally nervous laugh before he looked up at the sky for a bit.
"I completely agree with you, mister Tatsurou! But I have to admit that I liked to play on The House of the dead cabinet, more than on the Time Crisis one! But I still enjoyed both of them nonetheless!" Livanya said still with her happy tone, as she looked at Tatsurou with a big smile on her face, while she ignored the way Tatsurou was acting.
"God...after seeing Drakon-san beating the high score on the Final Fight cabinet, I knew, that she was quite skilled at video games...but I would have never imagined that she would wipe the floor with me on every single game we played after it..."
Tatsurou thought both impressed and scared, as he briefly remembered how Livanya, defeated him on every arcade game they played, which went from, not letting him win a single round in a fighting game, to scoring higher and hitting criticals on the rail-shooters.
"Well...I kind of asked for it, when I asked Drakon-san to show me her skills...but I wasn't expecting that she was going to turn into a Michiko 2.0 on me all of a sudden...!" Tatsurou thought again, as he closed his eyes, while he began to scratch his head a bit, but Tatsurou's thought was suddenly interrupted by Livanya, that pulled on the sleeve of his jacket.
"Mister Tatsurou, mister Tatsurou! Now that we're finally done with the arcade, it's time to go and find, a money exchanging machine, right?" Livanya asked with a curious tone, as she pulled on Tatsurou's sleeve one last time, while she smiled.
"Heh? Well...about that, Drakon-san..." Tatsurou said with a faint nervous tone, as he began to look to his left and right side, while he scratched his cheek with his left hand, as he tried to come up with an excuse to not let Livanya exchange money, but once again, Tatsurou was interrupted.
"You're not trying to break the promise we made before we entered the arcade, are you, mister Tatsurou?" Livanya asked with a very faint angry tone, as she placed her hands on her hips after she stooped in front of the gachapon machines, outside of the arcade.
"Of course not! But I feel bad letting you treat me to something, Drakon-san...so don't worry about it, because I don't mind paying for everything...!?"
Tatsurou said with a reassuring tone, as he moved his right hand a bit, but he suddenly stooped, as he saw a red aura akin to a fire, appearing over Livanya, as she pouted.
"But I feel really bad for letting you pay for everything all the time, when I have money with me! And the worse part, is that you want to break your promise of letting me treat you to something! So I refuse, to let you pay for anything else today!"
Livanya said with a very angry tone, as she took a few steps towards Tatsurou while she kept her hands on her hips and in response, to this, Tatsurou took a few steps backward, while he raised his hands a bit as if he was telling Livanya to calm down.
"But Drakon-san I...!" As Tatsurou said this he stooped walking backward, but Livanya interrupted him once again, as she also stooped walking, after pointing her right index finger, at Tatsurou's chest.
"You promised that you would let me treat you to something, mister Tatsurou! So no more buts or we'll go back to the arcade and decide this with a Tekken or Blazblue match!" Livanya said again with an angry tone, as she briefly pointed at the arcade, before she pointed at Tatsurou again and upon hearing Livanya, Tatsurou got shivers down his spine, while he jolted.
"Alright, alright, you win this one, Drakon-san! I'll let you treat me to something, so no need to play any other matches!" Tatsurou said with a nervous tone, while he flailed his hands a bit.
"Really?" Livanya asked with a stoic tone and expression, as she pouted, while pointing at Tatsurou.
"Yes! Really!" Tatsurou said still with his nervous tone, as he nodded a bit and upon hearing this, Livanya began to smile brightly.
"Good! Now, onwards to the closest money exchange machine, mister Tatsurou!" Livanya said with a very happy tone, as she turned her back to Tatsurou before she began to slowly walk away from the arcade.
"Thank god, I'm safe..." Tatsurou said as he let out a relieved sigh, while he began to slowly follow after Livanya.
"I feel a bit bad for letting Drakon-san, treat me to something...but then again, if we had another match she would win regardless...so I might as well accept this, instead of embarrassing myself again trying to avoid the unavoidable...!" Tatsurou thought once again as he let out another sigh, but as Tatsurou did that, he glanced at the arcade's gachapon machines, that had a prize that caught his attention.
"Wait, those are..." Tatsurou said with a surprised tone, as he got close to the gachapon machine.
"Oi, Drakon-san, before we go, do you mind if I take something from these prize machines here?" Tatsurou asked with a curious tone, as he pointing at the machine with his thumb, while he looked at Livanya, that stooped walking as soon as she heard Tatsurou.
"Hmm? I don't mind! If you let me have a look, mister Tatsurou!" Livanya said with a happy and reassuring tone, as she did a quick twirl, to look at Tatsurou, that squatted in front of the machine, as he took his wallet out.
"Sure! Get over here, Drakon-san!" Tatsurou said with a happy tone, as he signaled Livanya to come close, something that she did almost instantly.
"Yay! I always wanted to see these machines in action!" Livanya said with a happy tone, as she finally got close to Tatsurou, that smiled as he placed a coin inside the machine...
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Then, a few minutes later, after Tatsurou got his prize from the gachapon machine, he took Livanya to one, of the several, money exchange machines of the shopping square, as he had promised her.
Then they went to the large rectangular-shaped, resting area, of the shopping square, that had both small and big grey sofas, with tables in front of them, spread evenly across it and a vending machine for each side of its rectangular shape and the finishing touch that was the true attention grabber was the tall artificial tree that stood in it's middle and the other smaller plants that stood close to either the sofas or the vending machines and inside this resting area, Tatsurou and Livnya were sitting in one of its sofas, that was close to a vending machine.
"Finally! A comfy seat!" Livanya, that was holding a can of strawberry soda, said with a tired and pleased tone, as she got herself buried away on the grey sofa.
"Yeah, after walking and standing around the arcade so much, my feet were staring to beg for a rest..." Tatsurou, that was holding a can of cola, said with a tired tone, as he stretched a bit before he also buried himself a bit in the sofa.
"Agreed! All that standing around also took a toll on my feet, but the arcade was so much fun that I ignored it completely!" Livanya said still with a relieved tone, as she moved her feet a bit.
"Once again, mister Tatsurou, thank you so much for taking me there! Oh, and I hope that you enjoy the cola I gave you! Although, it's not much compared to everything you did today..." Livanya said with a happy tone, which turned into an embarrassed one, as she regained her posture before she looked at Tatsurou.
"You don't really have to thank me for it, Drakon-san! Just knowing that you had fun today, is more than enough! And I'm also really grateful for this cola since I was getting a bit thirsty!" Tatsurou, said with a happy and reassuring tone, as he also regained his posture, while he smiled at Livanya, that blushed a bit.
"I'm happy that liked it..." Livanya muttered with an embarrassed tone, as she briefly looked away from Tatsurou, before she looked at him, taking a sip from his soda can.
"But speaking of the arcade, I have to be honest with you, Drakon-san...when I said, that I wanted to see your fighting game skills...I wasn't expecting that you would quite literally wipe the floor with me like that..."
Tatsurou said with a stoic tone, as he stooped taking a sip from his soda can, while a mischievous smile grew on his face, before he looked at Livanya that jolted a bit, as she heard Tatsurou.
"I...I'm so sorry about that, mister Tatsurou! I usually tend to hold back, when I play any type of video game...but after hearing you say that you wanted to see how good I was...I just couldn't contain myself..." Livanya said with an apologetic and embarrassed tone, while she blushed a bit, before looking away from Tatsurou, that began to laugh, as he placed his left hand in front of his mouth.
"Come on, Drakon-san, I'm not angry about that! I'm impressed by how good you are, if anything!" Tatsurou said with a reassuring tone, as he briefly laughed.
"And to be honest, you kind of remind me of a friend of mine, that also loves to play all types of video games there is and a tendency to not hold back whenever someone plays with her...I swear that I already lost count of the times I got destroyed by her, in every fighting game possible..."
Tatsurou said with a happy tone, as he calmed down with the laughs, while he remembered how he always lost to Michiko whenever he went to visit her or when she invited him over to play some video games.
"No way! You have a friend that also loves video games, mister Tatsurou?!" Livanya asked with a very curious and impressed tone, as she looked at Tatsurou with sparkling eyes.
"I sure do! Whenever I visit her, she is always playing either new or classics games, but fighting games are what she plays the most, since it's one of her biggest passions, so much so, that she's always taking part in online tournaments, that she wins without breaking a sweat! Honestly I would really love to see a match between the two of you!"
Tatsurou said with a happy and informative tone as he raised his index finger a bit, while Livanya just kept looking at Tatsurou in complete awe.
"Oh, my heavens! I would love to meet your friend and have both a match with her and a very long talk about video games, mister Tatsurou! But unfortunately, I do think that it will be impossible to do that...since I won't be staying here for too long, after all..."
Livanya said with a happy tone, which slowly turned into a sad one, as she began to look at the ground, and it was at this moment, that Tatsurou was hit with sudden realization, as he opened his eyes a bit wide.
"Oh, no! I completely forgot that Drakon-san is here visiting Takamagahara, not staying!" Tatsurou thought a bit worried, as he placed his left hand in front of his mouth, but it didn't last long, as Tatsurou put on a determined face.
"Well, you might be here just visiting, but that does not mean that you can't meet up with this friend of mine, Drakon-san! We just need to arrange a day and we can go meet up with her, no problem at all!" Tatsurou said with a reassuring tone, as he moved his hand away from his mouth before he gave Livanya a thumbs up.
"I'm really happy that you are ready to arrange a meeting between me and your friend, mister Tatsurou...but I would feel really bad, especially if I was going to bother her or if she had to cancel any plans to meet up with us..." Livanya said with an embarrassed and worried tone, as she moved her left hand around a bit.
"You don't have to worry about that! This friend of mine, believe it or not, rarely has things to do! She's honestly free most of the time and despite being a little bit shy, if it's to meet someone that also loves fighting games, she'll come running to have a chat!"
Tatsurou said again with a reassuring tone, as he gave a thumbs up and a smile to Livanya, that in turn began pondering about accepting or declining Tatsurou's offer, as she looked up, then down, then to her sides and after a few seconds...
"W-Well, if that's the case, then I would love to meet her, mister Tatsurou...but you have to promise me, that she's not busy and that I'm not bothering her, by meeting up!" Livanya said with an embarrassed tone, that quickly turned into a happy one, as she pointed at Tatsurou.
"It's ok...she won't be bothered nor will you bother her, Drakon-san! Now all that we need to do, is to choose a day to meet up! You just need to say the word and I'll give her a call!" Tatsurou said with a very happy and reassuring tone, as he gave Livanya another smile.
"I still don't know for how long I'm going to be staying...but once I know, I think that we can plan this meet up, without a problem!" Livanya said with a happy tone, while she smiled.
"That's fine by me!" Tatsurou said as he gave Livanya a quick smile and wink, that ended rather fast...
"I shouldn't have talked about this so suddenly...especially after everything Drakon-san told me earlier..." Tatsurou thought as he let out a small sigh, while he scratched the back of his head a bit, before he remembered what Livanya told him about her life back in Russia and how lonely she was there.
"But then again...I think that meeting other people, besides landmarks or buildings, while she's here in Takamagahara, is a good thing and if she ends up becoming friends with Michiko...they could talk over the internet, play video games and whatnot together, once she gets back home...and also, this could help Michiko get a bit more comfortable with strangers too, especially when they have a lot of common interests..." Tatsurou thought again, as he glanced at Livanya, that took a quick sip from her can of strawberry soda, while she smiled.
"This is so good! I didn't even know that strawberry soda existed!" Livanya said with a happy and pleased tone, while she licked her upper lip, something that made Tatsurou smile as he looked at Livanya.
"I know...that this won't change the fact that Drakon-san is all alone back in her village...but if I can do anything...anything at all, to help make her feel less lonely...I'll do it! But before that, I'll have to help her with her "other" troubles..." Tatsurou thought as he gently gripped his soda can, while he began to look for opportunities to start convincing Livanya to go to the Soteria headquarters and take care of the people that were following her around.
"Well, nowadays there's a lot, of strawberry flavored drinks, but I think that out of all of those drinks the strawberry iced tea is the best one around!" Tatsurou with a happy and informative tone, as he raised his index finger a bit.
"Wait really? There's strawberry-flavored iced tea?" Livanya asked with a curious tone, as she looked at Tatsurou, with her eyes open wide.
"Yes, there is! But it's pretty rare to find it on District 4 or the whole island for that matter around this time, since it's a limited-time flavor that is put on sale between July and August...and funny enough, it goes out of stock pretty quickly..." Tatsurou said with a informative tone, as he laughed a bit.
"Eh, really?! I wanted to try it out now...heavens, that's such a shame...!" Livanya said with a very faint sad tone, as she let out a sigh, that didn't last long, as Livanya placed her left hand on her cheek before she opened her eyes wide.
"Hold on! Since we're speaking of rare, mister Tatsurou, I believe that we still haven't seen what my prize from the arcade is, have we?" Livanya asked almost instantly, as she looked at Tatsurou, after she placed her can of soda on the table in front of the sofa, she and Tatsurou were sitting on.
"That is true! But well, it's not that late to have a look and I would be lying if I said that I'm not curious, about what type of prize you got, Drakon-san!" Tatsurou said with a happy tone, as he briefly rubbed his chin, while he looked at Livanya opening up her shoulder bag, from where she took the small white paper bag with the prize she got in the arcade inside it.
"Say, mister Tatsurou...what do you think that it is?" Livanya asked with a very curious tone, as she gently shook the bag, while she looked at Tasturou, placing his cola can next to Livanya's strawberry soda can.
"Hmm, hard to tell, but that girl from the arcade did say, that it was something anime or video game-related...so it must be something along those lines, right?" Tatsurou asked with a happy tone, as he rubbed his chin once again, while he looked at Livanya gently and slowly open the paper bag.
"Good point! Now without any delay...let's see what's inside!"
Livanya said also with a happy tone, as she slowly took her prize out from inside the paper bag and once outside, Livanya's mysterious prize, was a small transparent plastic bag with two wristbands inside it, one of those wristbands was black and had a white sideways cross on it, as for the other wristband, it was white and it had a pink cross on it, and we had to admit, this wasn't something that many people wouldn't find interesting in the slightest or something befitting of a prize.
But in Livanya and Tatsurou's case, they simply couldn't take their wide opened eyes away from this prize.
"T-This is...the super rare wristbands from Melody black and Melody white, from the original Melody cure! Melody Cure: Justice Heart!"
Tatsurou and Livanya said at the same time with very impressed and surprised tones, as they looked at the two wristbands, that belonged, in fact, to the two main characters of the popular magical girl anime Melody cure, to be precise, they belonged to the original first season, Melody Cure: Justice Heart.
"Eh?" Both Tatsurou and Livanya said as they looked at each other briefly with puzzled expressions on, while they repeatedly blinked in complete silence for a whole minute, until...
"Drakon-san! Are you a fan of Melody Cure?
"Mister Tatsurou! Are you a fan of Melody Cure?"
Both Tatsurou and Livanya asked at the same time with very curious tones, as they pointed at each other, something that made the two of them blush a bit, before they briefly looked away, then back at each other, before another long silence followed, a silence that ended up being broken by Tatsurou.
"S-So...are you a fan of...Melody Cure, Drakon-san?" Tatsurou asked a bit embarrassed and curious as he scratched his cheek a bit before he looked at Livanya, that nodded.
"Y-Yes, mister Tatsurou! I am a fan of Melody Cure and a very big one at that...I have always watched the original, ever since I was little, and even now, I still love to watch it over and over again! In a way, you could say that it's my favorite anime ever and truth be told I have some merchandise of it!"
Livanya said with a nervous tone, which very quickly turned into a happy and excited one, as she fidgets a bit before she looked at Tatsurou.
"And what about you, mister Tatsurou...are you a fan too?" Livanya asked both curious and embarrassed, as she looked away from Tatsurou.
"I sure am, Drakon-san! I also watched it when I was little and to be honest...I still like to watch it a lot, I like it so much, that I still watch the reruns of the original Melody Cure every Thursday and the new episodes of the new season Melody Cure every Sunday without fail and I even record it to watch again later or if I missed the episode...as for merchandise, I don't own any, but I have a few mangas of it!" Tatsurou said with a happy tone, that turned into an embarrassed one, while he scratched the back of his head a bit.
"Oh! I didn't know that there was Melody Cure manga, that's so cool! As for me I own the Blue-ray boxes of the original show and the most recent seasons, so I don't have to worry about recording the episodes! But when it comes to the newest season of Melody Cure, unfortunately I still haven't watched it, since we're only going to get it in Russia next year...your so lucky, mister Tatsurou! You can watch the newest season already, while I have to wait! Oh and that reminds me, no spoilers, you hear!"
Livanya said with a happy tone, that slowly turned into a faint angry one, as she pouted a bit, while pointing at Tatsurou, that smiled, as he heard Livanya.
"But of course, I would never spoil anything to a fellow Melody cure fan, Drakon-san!" Tatsurou said with a happy and reassuring tone, as he gave Livanya a wink.
"You better not, mister Tatsurou! But spoiler apart, there's something really important that I need to know asap!" Livanya said with a happy tone, as she pointed at Tasturou again.
"Hmm, what is it?" Tatsurou asked, with a curious tone, as he tilted his head a bit.
"Its simple! I just need to know who's your favorite character, from the original Melody cure, mister Tatsurou? Is it Melody black or Melody white?" Livanya asked with a very curious tone, as she leaned a bit forward, towards Tatsurou.
"My favorite character? Well, there's no one else, then Melody black for me! I always liked her design the most and I especially liked how her magical girl uniform and regular clothes are always black, but in all honesty, what I liked the most about her was how she would only fight an enemy when push came to shove...I basically loved how she tried to solve anything without violence..." Tatsurou said both happy and embarrassed as he scratched his head a bit, as he looked at Livanya regaining her posture.
"Oh, I see, I see! For me, it is Melody white! Because of her white clothes and her kind personality, but most of all, I loved that she would always fight without wanting anything in return! But I also have to admit, that I liked Melody black because of her mysterious personality and how she always tried to reason with the enemies first, instead of fighting right away! And they are so funny together, especially after they fight bad guys!" Livanya said with a happy tone, as she raised her index finger a bit, before she smiled.
"They sure are! I just love to see them bickering with one another when that happens!" Tatsurou said also with a happy tone, as he laughed.
"Me too! I especially loved to see how Melody white, would always pull Melody black by her ear when she tried to receive any form of compensation for their work!" Livanya said with a happy and excited tone, as she also laughed with Tatsurou.
"Good heavens, mister Tatsurou! This prize is the best! And just looking at the wristbands I can already hear the girls say "Power of love! Power of Justice! Transformation!" while the transformation into magical girls happens, it's so cool!" Livanya said with a happy tone, as she looked at the bag with the wristbands for a bit.
"It sure does! And well, looks like all that hard work on the Final Fight cabinet paid off!" Tatsurou said also with a happy tone, as he looked at Livanya, that nodded as she smiled.
"It sure did! I can't wait to add this rare item, to my ever-growing collection! Thanks once again for having taken me to the arcade today, mister Tatsurou!" Livanya said with a very happy tone, as she made a slight bow towards Tatsurou.
"You don't really have to thank me, Drakon-san! I'm just happy to know that you got something that you liked!" Tatsurou said also with a happy tone, as he moved his hand a bit.
"No, no! I have to get away to compensate you! Since if it wasn't for you, I would have never got something so cool, as these wristbands! So if there is anything that you want, just say the word, and I'll do it, mister Tatsurou!" Livanya said with a very excited tone, as she quickly regained her composure, before she placed her prize and the white paper bag it came in, inside her shoulder bag again.
"You don't have to do anything at all, Drakon-san...well...I mean there is something, that...!" Tatsurou said as he looked a bit away from Livanya, that suddenly grabbed his hands.
"I'll do it! You just have to say what it is, mister Tatsurou and I'll do it!" Livanya said with a very happy tone, as she awaited Tatsurou's request, but what followed was a long silence, that Tatsurou broke, when he took a deep breath.
"Well then, Drakon-san...I...I want you to come with me to the Soteria headquarters, as my compensation..." Tatsurou said with a calm and determined tone, as he looked at Livanya, that got a confused expression on her face, upon hearing him.
"You...want me to go with you to the Soteria headquarters, mister Tatsurou?" Livanya asked both confused and surprised, as she tilted her head a bit.
"Yes...I know that you probably don't want to bother anyone with your problems, Drakon-san, but...I'm worried about you and I want to help you out with the problems you have...so please, come with to the Soteria headquarters, I promise that you won't bother anyone, by reporting those two women, and if you do that you'll be able to walk around town without having to worry about anything and I would feel more at ease too..." Tatsurou said with a reassuring tone, as he looked at Livanya, that slowly began to turn her gaze down, while she held Tatsurou's hands tight.
"I'm so sorry, mister Tatsurou...but...but we can't do that...we really can't..." Livanya said with a worried and somewhat scared tone, as she now looked at the ground.
"I know, that you are scared, Drakon-san...but I promise that everything will be alright once we get there and you won't need to be scared anymore...!" Tatsurou said again with a reassuring and comforting tone to Livanya, that interrupted him by holding his hands even tighter.
"No, mister Tatsurou...we can't go there...because...because...I'm not in trouble..." Livanya said with a worried tone, as she closed her eyes and upon hearing this, Tatsurou just looked at Livanya a bit surprised.
"Wait, we can't go, because you're not in trouble? Drakon-san, I know that you're scared, but you don't need to lie, it's ok..." Tatsurou said with a reassuring tone, as he looked at Livanya that remained silent for a bit, until she finally began to raise her head, to look at Tatsurou.
"I'm not lying here, mister Tatsurou...I'm not in trouble and I have never been..." Livanya said with a sad tone, as she looked at Tasturou, that had a confused expression plastered across his face, as he heard Livanya.
"Wait, Drakon-san...I don't understand, then what about those two women in the park?" Tatsurou asked both worried and confused, as he tilted his head slightly.
"Well, I believe that it's time to finally stop lying and tell you the truth and what is truly going on, especially after everything you did for me today, mister Tatsurou...so to start things off, I believe, that I need to tell you who came with me, to Takamagahara and why I am here, in the first place..." Livanya said again with a sad tone, as she slowly let go of Tatsurou's hands.
"Well then, mister Tatsurou...first...I came here to Takamagahara with my older sister Talya, that I have been telling you about, but we did not come here for a vacation or something of the sort...the real reason I'm here is that I have to meet a doctor...that has to take a look at a little problem...I have..." Livanya said with a worried tone, as she intertwined her fingers a bit.
"You're here to see a doctor? Wait, don't tell me that..." Tatsurou asked more worried than curious, as he looked at Livanya.
"Please, do not worry, mister Tatsurou...I'm here for an appointment with a doctor, yes...but it's not because I have a rare disease or anything...it's just sort of check-up if you will..." Livanya said with a reassuring tone, as she moved her hands a bit.
"I see...so you're just here for that appointment and nothing else?" Tatsurou asked with a curious tone, as he tilted his head a bit.
"Yes, I am here, just for that appointment...but I was promised by both my parents and sister, that I could visit and explore the island, once my appointment was over...but you see, the doctor's not here in Takamagahara as of now and her flight back was delayed, so has to be rescheduled...and as you can imagine...I was happy when I got this news, because I thought that I would be able to visit Takamagahara as much as I wanted, while I waited..." Livanya said as she made a small pause, to catch her breath.
"But...my parents...my father...told me, that I couldn't get out of the hotel, that I had to stay inside until the doctor came back...and even if I tried to ask him to let go somewhere, his answer is always the same... "You have to do what I say and that's final!" but in a certain way...I'm used to being told this all the time..." Livanya said with a sad tone, as she looked down once again, as she made another small pause.
"I'm used to always hearing that, but this time...I...I got so angry and tired of my father...I got angry and tired of being refused simple things, such as going out of my home or exploring my surroundings and I simply couldn't accept, that I had to do the exact same things that I have to always do back in my village...I couldn't accept that once again I had to be confined to a single room, that I had to be confined to a single building, that I had to stay locked away and not being allowed to go anywhere else...right when I finally had a chance, to go out of my village and visit a new place for the first time in my life...I couldn't accept any of this and I couldn't contain my anger towards my father, anymore, so in the end I...I ran away and decided to explore by myself...even if it was just for a bit..." Livanya said still with her sad tone, as she kept looking down, while she began to grip her white dress tight.
"Drakon-san..." Tatsurou thought with worry, written all over his face, as he clenched his hands hard, before he looked at Livanya, that took a deep breath before she began to talk once again.
"But of course, once I started this "Unauthorized" exploration of mine, I was followed shortly after, by my sister that caught me entering that public park in the downtown, so I ran away from her again and when I finally lost her, I climbed up a tree to hide and you pretty much know what happened next, mister Tatsurou..." Livanya said again with a sad tone, as she began to raise her head.
"I see...then that silver-haired girl with the maid uniform, that approached me and Honoka, back in the public park...was in fact, your older sister...Talya-san, right Drakon-san?" Tatsurou asked a bit curious, as he scratched his head a bit.
"Yes, that was my...sister Talya...that I have been telling you so much about all this time, mister Tatsurou..." Livanya said with a faint nervous tone, as she hesitated a bit, on saying that Talya was her sister, before she looked a bit away from Tatsurou.
"I see...so that girl is your older sister..." Tatsurou said as he placed his hand on his chin, while he briefly looked away from Livanya.
"Well, now this explains who that girl in the maid uniform was and why she also was so desperate to find Drakon-san, I'm kind of relieved that Talya-san, isn't some stranger that wants to hurt Drakon-san...but then again, after hearing the truth, I feel really bad for having lied to Talya-san back in the park and sending her on a wild goose chase and to make matters worse, she must be worried sick..."
Tatsurou thought, as guilt began to flood his mind, while he glanced at Livanya, but this wouldn't last long as something else, suddenly and quickly flooded Tasturou's thoughts.
"But we still have one more mystery left unsolved here...just who was that woman from the park, that wanted to take Drakon-san's beret away? How does she fit into all of this? Well, thinking and trying to figure things out on my own, without more clues, won't take me anywhere here, and asking won't hurt, as long as it helps shine some light into all of this..."
Tatsurou thought once again, as his gaze briefly turned towards Livanya, while he placed his hand in front of his mouth before he began to tap his index finger a bit.
"Say, Drakon-san, and what about that woman, back in the public park? Just who was she and what did she want from you?" Tatsurou asked with a curious tone, as he moved his hand away from his mouth.
"I'm sorry, mister Tatsurou...but I don't know who that woman was or what she wanted from me...well she wanted to take my beret off, that is true...but I don't think that she wanted to steal it...since she just told me that she was a hat collector and that she never saw a beret like mine and that she wanted to touch it a bit...but the way she acted and talked towards me, was a bit strange and when I told her that I don't like when people touch it, she insisting on touching it anyways...so I tried to run away, but then, she suddenly grabbed my arm and well...I think you also know the rest, mister Tatsurou..." Livanya said with a faint informative and worried tone, as she placed her hands on top of her beret before she adjusted it a bit.
"I see, so that woman just wanted to take off and touch your beret, no matter how right? But is that all that happen, Drakon-san? Didn't that woman want your money, your camera, your shoulder bag, or anything else, just you're beret?" Tatsurou asked again with a curious tone, as he looked at Livanya, that nodded once again.
"Yes, that is all, mister Tstsurou...and she never mentioned any money, my bag or my camera, she solely talked about my beret..." Livanya said again with an informative and worried tone, as she looked at Tatsurou, that rubbed his chin a bit, as he heard Livanya.
"I see...so it was all about the beret and nothing else..." Tatsurou said as he stooped rubbing his chin before he slowly placed his left hand in front of his mouth again.
"So that woman...was really after Drakon-san's beret and nothing else? This is quite weird...just who would go so far, as to be forceful towards someone, all to just steal a simple beret, an accessory, that you could get in any clothing store on the island?But wait, Drakon-san told me that in her village there's a store that makes handmade clothes...her beret could be a hand-made one, that makes it unique and a must for any collector since it's one of a kind and exclusive..."
Tatsurou thought a bit impressed, as he kept his hand in front of his mouth, as he now tapped his index finger, while he briefly glanced at Livanya's beret.
"I know that there are collectors that do crazy things to get exclusive things for their collections, but going as far as to harass and scare someone, to steal a simple beret in broad daylight...is just weird, especially when that woman, could have snatched the beret away when Drakon-san was distracted or something, but why didn't she do that? I know that it might just be me, but I bet, that there's more to this, I just know it...!"
Tatsurou thought, as he slowly moved his hand away from his mouth, as he tried, to no avail, make sense of what that woman wanted or what she could be up to, but his thoughts were suddenly interrupted, as Livanya grabbed the tip of Tatsurou's sleeve.
"M-Mister Tatsurou...you're...angry at me, aren't you?" Livanya asked with a very worried and sad tone, as she gripped Tatsurou's sleeve tight before she looked at him.
"Hmm? Wait, Drakon-san, what are you..." As Tatsurou was about to ask Livanya what she was talking about, she interrupted him.
"I...I know, that you are angry about what I did, mister Tatsurou...but I still want you to know, that I'm very sorry, about all of this...I want you to know, that I...regret lying to you in such a manner..." Livanya said with a guilty and sad tone, as she began to slowly let go, from Tatsurou's sleeve.
"I swear, that I didn't want to lie, mister Tatsurou...I...I wanted to tell you the truth, I wanted to tell you what was really going on, when we were in front of that fountain, in the public park...I wanted to tell you that I wasn't in trouble...but...but when you saved me, from that woman and told me that we should leave the park...I...I decided to not tell you anything, because I thought that thanks to that, I could explore and visit a few landmarks before I told you the truth..." Livanya said with a sad tone, as she placed both her hands on her lap.
"But I honestly never expected...that you would take me to a crepe store or that you would take to an arcade...I...I never expected that I would do all of that and I was really happy that I had a chance to visit those places, but at the same time, I felt bad seeing you pay for everything, wasting your time, and worse of all, making you think that I was in trouble, when I never was in any type of trouble, to begin with..." Livanya said again with a sad tone, as she began to slowly look down, while the bangs of her golden blond hair began to cover her eyes.
"Wait, Drakon-san, I..." As Tatsurou said this he was interrupted by Livanya, once again.
"I know, that I should have told you the truth from the beginning, mister Tatsurou...but I thought that if said anything, my visiting and exploring of Takamagahara, would be cut short...so I decided to keep silent and have fun...without caring how worried Talya must be right now or how I was, troubling and worrying you...to put it simply, I was a bad, selfish and spoiled girl, that only thought about enjoying herself and having fun first, while I ignored the feelings of everyone around me..."
As Livanya said this, tears began to slowly descend her small and round cheeks, until those same tears, began to fall on top of her hands.
"In all honesty, after doing all of this, I have to admit that I didn't deserve going to any of the places I went today nor did I deserve to have so much fun and enjoying myself, as much as I did and I didn't deserve what was one of the best and most fun days I've had in years...but most of all...I didn't deserve the friendship or kindness that you gave me, mister Tatsurou..." Livanya said with a very sad tone, as she began to sob and shedding even more tears than before.
"Wait, Drakon-san you're being too hard on yourself...!" As Tatsurou said this, he was once again, interrupted by Livanya that raised her head to reveal the trails of tears on her cheeks.
"No, I have to be hard on myself! Especially after lying and worrying to the only friend I ever had in my life!" Livanya said with a sad and angry tone, as she panted a bit while looking at Tatsurou in the eyes, but this didn't last long as Livanya began to clean her tears, with the sleeves of her dress.
"I'm so sorry, for both lashing out at you just now and for all the troubles I have caused you today, mister Tatsurou...and...I understand, if you don't want to be my friend anymore, because of this...so please, let me at least pay you back for everything we did, before we part ways...!"
Livanya said again with a very sad tone, as she stopped cleaning her tears before she quickly opened her shoulder bag, but as Livanya took her wallet out of her shoulder bag, Tatsurou suddenly got up from the sofa, he was sitting on.
"I don't want you to pay me anything back, Drakon-san..." Tatsurou said with a very faint angry tone, as he glanced at a very surprised Livanya, from over his shoulder.
"I know that your angry, mister Tatsurou! But this is the least I can do, after acting in such a selfish, spoiled, and unbecoming way and causing you so much trouble...so just accept it...!" As Livanya said this, Tatsurou quickly turned around, before he placed himself in front of Livanya.
"Wait, what are you doing? OW!" Livanya asked with a curious tone, as she looked at Tatsurou, that suddenly hit Livanya, with a gentle head flick on her forehead.
"W-Why did you do that, mister Tatsurou?!" Livanya asked with a faint pained and angry tone, as she got up from the sofa after she placed her hands in front of her forehead, and in response, Tatsurou gave her an angered sigh.
"Do you want to know why I did this, Drakon-san? I did it because I can't stand, no, I just hate to hear you talking so awfully about yourself like this!" Tatsurou said with an angry tone and expression, as he placed his hands on his hips, and for a bit, Livanya just looked at Tatsurou in silence, as she gently rubbed her forehead.
"Just how can I not talk about me in such a manner, mister Tatsurou?! I lied to you, I made you worry, I wasted your time and money...I simply don't deserve any forgiveness for this type of behavior...I..." As Livanya said this, she slowly moved her hands away from her forehead, before she was interrupted by Tatsurou, that sighed once again.
"Drakon-san...right now, I don't see that bad selfish and spoiled girl you're talking about so much and I have never seen her, ever since we met today! And besides, if you were really a selfish girl, you wouldn't have offered to pay for the arcade games we played or to pay for the soda we just had! If you were really a spoiled girl you wouldn't have asked if it was always alright with me, to choose or do something! If you were really a bad girl, you wouldn't have told me the truth, you would have kept lying and triking me to the very end, isn't that right?" Tatsurou asked with a calm yet faint angry tone, as he looked at Livanya, that began to tear up again, while she looked down.
"But...but that doesn't excuse anything I did...I...I still..." Livanya said with a sad tone, as she closed her eyes to stop herself from crying, but Tatsurou didn't let her do that for too long.
"Listen, Drakon-san...to me, the only bad thing you did today was running away from your sister and lying about being in trouble...and of course I'm a bit angry, about being lied to like this, but in all honesty, I would have been a lot angrier, if you kept everything to yourself and ended up not telling me the truth at all, so please don't cry!" Tatsurou said with a reassuring tone, as he slowly and gently placed his right hand on Livanya left cheek, to make her raise her head.
"But none of that still excuses, what I did today...to both Talya and you...and I just can't understand, why you aren't angry or lashing out at me, but instead, you are forgiving me so easily, after doing something so bad..." Livanya said with a worried and sad tone as she looked at Tatsurou moving his hand away from his cheek, before she placed her clasped hands, close to her chest.
"The answer to that is pretty simple! I just hate to give someone an earful and lashing out at them, since I myself, hate to receive those kinds of things and I refuse to give them, especially after hearing that you regret what you did and that you feel bad for it, which is more than enough for me to not do that at all!" Tatsurou said with a happy and reassuring tone, as he briefly crossed his arms a bit before he smiled, but Livanya on the other hand just looked at him a bit confused.
"Well, what I'm trying to say here, Drakon-san...is that knowing that you regret running away from your sister and lying to me, is all I need to forgive you and I'll still be your friend, regardless of what happened! After all, friends forgive each other, right?" Tatsurou said with a reassuring tone, as he placed his right hand on top of Livanya's beret before he began to gently head pat her and as he did that, Livanya simply opened her eyes wide.
"Mister Tatsurou...you're still...my friend..." Livanya muttered both surprised and impressed, as she kept looking at Tatsurou, but something strange happened with Livanya's eye pupils, that briefly became vertical before they returned to its normal circular shape in the blink of an eye, something that Tatsurou saw, but only a glimpse.
"Hmm? Did...did Drakon-san's eyes just...!" As Tatsurou thought this, he quickly blinked, before he looked at Livanya's eyes once again, but he would be interrupted by Livanya, that began to sob before tears began to fall out of her eyes as if they were a fountain of sorts, and weirdly enough, Livanya's crying was looked sort of cute, especially when she began to clean her tears with her hands and blushing.
"Wait, why is Drakon-san crying...! Oh no, I completely forgot that I'm touching her beret!" Tatsurou thought a bit confused, before he was finally hit with the sudden realization, that he was head patting Livanya and by consequence touching her beret, which Livanya said that she disliked when people touched it.
"I'm so sorry for touching your beret so suddenly, Drakon-san! Please forgive me!" Tatsurou said with a nervous and embarrassed tone, as he quickly moved his hand away from Livanya's beret before he began to flail both of his hands around.
"No...I'm...I'm not crying because you touched my beret, mister Tatsurou...I'm crying because your willing to keep being my friend, even after I did all those bad things...I don't deserve this and yet your willing to be my friend..." Livanya said with a faint sad and happy tone, as she kept wiping her tears away with her hands, to no avail.
"Come on, don't say that Drakon-san! It's alright now!" Tatsurou said with a calm and reassuring tone, as he slowly warped his arms around Livanya, hugging her gently, before he head patted her once again, something that surprised Livanya a bit, but not for too long, as she placed her forehead on Tatsurou's chest, while she warped her arms around Tatsurou before she closed her eyes.
"Thank you...mister Tatsurou..." Livanya said with a happy and relieved tone, as slowly rubbed her forehead against Tatsurou's chest, while a smile grew on her face.
"Everythings alright now, don't worry Drakon-san..." Tatsurou said again with a happy tone, as he kept head patting Livanya.
"I swear, that I don't know what goes on inside the head of Drakon-san's dad...but doing all these things to her, locking her away in her own house, not letting her visit her village and when she finally has a chance to visit something, she has to stay locked away again, while he allows her sister to go out...this is just wrong and painful..." Tatsurou thought a bit sad, as in a certain way, Tatsurou knew how Livanya felt, he knew just how painful it was, to live locked away from the world.
"I know that shouldn't judge the way a parent raises their children, but then again, I don't know why he is doing this and I believe that Drakon-san doesn't want to talk about it either, so I'll leave it be for now...!" As Tatsurou said this, he was suddenly interrupted, by two very unfamiliar voices.
"Fufu! Children these days act quite fast, don't you think so, dear?"
"They sure do! Took us way longer to act so boldly, back in our time, but let's just go and give them so privacy!"
A cute old couple, said as they saw Tatsurou hugging Livanya before they made their way to one of the resting area's sofas and it was needless to say, that Tatsurou began to blush from hearing to hear, as he heard this couple and realized that he had been both hugging and head patting Livanya, for quite some time already.
"Again?" Tatsurou thought very embarrassed as he looked a bit away from Livanya, while he kept blushing more and more until Livanya interrupted him after she moved her forehead away from his chest.
"Is something wrong, mister Tatsurou?" Livanya asked more worried than curious, as she looked at Tatsurou's blushing face.
"Heh? N-Nothing's wrong! Nothing's wrong at all, Drakon-san! Why are you asking?" Tatsurou asked with an embarrassed tone, as he slowly stooped hugging Livanya, before he laughed a bit nervously.
"No reason at all, mister Tatsurou!" Livanya said with a happy tone, as she gave Tatsurou the same bright smile she always showed, wherever they went, while she placed her hands behind her back.
"I see..." Tatsurou said also with a happy tone, as he scratched his head a bit, while he smiled.
"Mister Tatsurou...I'm so sorry for causing this much trouble..." Livanya said with a faint worried tone, as she began to point her index finger at each other, while she blushed.
"It's ok now, Drakon-san, so don't worry about it, alright?" Tatsurou said with a reassuring tone, as he briefly head patted Livanya, that blushed a bit, while she smiled and nodded.
"With that said, I guess that it's better to warp up our sightseeing and take you back to your sister, don't you think so too, Drakon-san?" Tatsurou asked a bit curious, as he placed his hand on his hip, after he stooped head patting Livanya.
"Yes, I do believe that's the best thing to do now..." Livanya said with a faint happy tone, as she nodded once again.
"Very well then, so where should we go? By this time, your sister could be anywhere on the island...hmm, perhaps we should go to a police station, no?" Tatsurou asked with a curious tone, as he glanced at Livanya.
"We could go to one, but I believe that it would be better to go back to the hotel I'm staying at, since I bet that Talya is already there waiting for me..." Livanya said with a faint worried and informative tone, as she raised her index finger a bit, while she looked at Tatsurou rubbing his chin.
"I won't deny that you got a good idea yourself, Drakon-san...but after seeing how worried your sister was, I have a few doubts about her going back to your hotel...but it's worth a shot!" Tatsurou said with a skeptical tone, which quickly turned into a determined one, as he turned towards the table where he and Livanya, placed their soda cans.
"But before we go, let's grab our soda cans! Oh, and by the way, which hotel are you staying at, Drakon-san?" Tatsurou asked with a curious tone, as he grabbed the soda cans.
"The hotel I'm staying at? Hmm, if I remember correctly, it was called Hoshi, Hoshi...yes! It was the Hoshikama hotel!" Livanya said with an informative and happy tone, as she pointed at Tatsurou, that handed Livanya her strawberry soda can.
"I see...the Hoshikama hotel, huh? It's not far from here, let's go!" Tatsurou said with a very faint stoic tone, as he began to walk out of the resting area, with Livanya walking very closely, next to him.
"The Hoshikama hotel!? Wait, isn't that one of the most luxurious hotels here in District 4?!" Tatsurou thought quite surprised as he tried his best to not let his face show it.
"I can't believe this...don't tell me that Drakon-san is the daughter of some bigshot back in her village?" Tatsurou thought again, as he looked at Livanya, that was happily taking a sip from her can.
"Why didn't that hug with mister Tatsurou last a bit longer?" Livanya thought a bit embarrassed as she stopped sipping on her can, before she beganto look at Tatsurou.
"Good heavens, how I wish that it lasted a bit longer...but I can't complain here, especially when mister Tatsurou, still wants to be my friend after everything that happened!" Livanya thought happily, as she began to blush and smile while she kept looking at Tatsurou...
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Shionokami
Shionokami Hello there, Shionokami here!
Today I bring you chapter 76 of Endbringer!
Took me long enough to publish the newest chapter right?
Well, I had a few things to take care of, you know life gets in the way sometimes and we had Easter day, not so long ago...
Which reminds me, Happy late Easter for everyone! XD
Once again, I'm sorry for the delay!
With that said, I hope that you enjoy today's chapter as much as I did writing it!
Now, without any further ado, please enjoy and have fun!
Until then
P.S: Yay! More Melody Cure talk! And what about that hug? Yay or too soon?
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone