The Foundation of a New Friendship

Izar pulled down the hood of his sandy colored cloak as he looked at the job board thoughtfully, skipping the lower class jobs as he always did, he came upon one that caught his eye. Pulling it from the board he began to read it, his interest in the job grew the more he read. The reward being the deciding factor for him " I wonder if Akumu would be interested in going with me if I got those tickets" he thought before his eye caught something that made his heart sink, the job required a team of experienced mages. Izar began to think of the people he might be able to ask to help him out, unfortunately for him, the list began and ended with Akumu. Izar sighed, there was no way he could ask her. Not only had they just completed a job together but if she went along she would get her own ticket and have no reason to go with him.

Izar began to ponder solutions to his predicament, it wasn't long before a thought crossed his mind. Akumu had a brother "He doesn't even know me" he thought looking back down at the paper "and even if he did, if he started asking questions about my and his sisters relationship, Akumu would kill me". Izar dismissed the idea of asking Akumu's brother but then he looked down at the job poster again, his mind wandered as the thought of being able to take Akumu out on a date to a lovely vacation spot outweighed his fear of painful death. Izar decided he would ask Akumu's brother for help. Making his way into the guild hall, Izar scanned the room for Itari, having only seen him a few times, Izar wasn't sure exactly where to look but it wasn't long before he spotted the Blonde haired boy across the guild hall. Izar began to approach him, unsure of exactly what he would say.

Itari was sitting on one of the couches and appeared to be messing with a series of three cups on a coffee table. Noticing Izar approaching, Itari bounces a bit on the couch in excitement. "Hi there friend, check this out!" He said excitedly as he placed the three cups face up on the table. He creates a ball of light in his hands and then places it floating on the table. Placing the cups face down, with the ball hidden beneath the middle cup, and then switches them around a few times. "Alright, which one is the ball under?" Itari says with a huge grin.

Izar was surprised by Itari's friendly personality, very warm and inviting. He began to feel his nervousness die down a little as he allowed himself to relax. He studied the cups for a moment, despite knowing that Itari could easily just extinguish the light even if he chose right. Izar pointed at the cup furthest to the right "I guess that one" he said allowing a friendly smile to appear on his face.

Itari lifts up the cup slowly, bending down to peek underneath, curiosity plaguing his face. Once the cup was up the floating golden light layed still in it's spot. Itari, with mouth still agape, turns to Izar and says, "Well I guess I'm not so good with magic..." He then bursts out in a cheerful laugh as he lifts up the other two cups to reveal similar looking golden orbs that float up above the third one and morph into a smiley face of light. "It's a work in progress. But hi there! I've seen you around but haven't had the honor of meeting you my friend," Itari says with a smile and a bow, "My name is Itari Renato, I'm new to the guild, but it's an honor to make your acquaintance."

Izar watched the man put on his show, it was definitely not what Izar had expected. After Itari's greeting Izar returned the favor "Hello, my name is Izar Tasya, I'm new here as well actually, it's nice to finally meet you" he said holding out his hand to shake Itari's "That was quite the entertaining performance you put on, are you practicing for something?" he asked.

"Glad you enjoyed it! And nope, I just thought it would be fun to try my hand at something new. So what are you up to today Izar?" Itari said as he returned the handshake and then gathered up the cups and began walking over to the guild bar to return them, gesturing for Izar to follow.

Izar followed closely behind Itari "Well, I know we just officially met and all but I was hoping you might be willing to help me with something..." Izar said pulling the job flyer out of his pocket "It looks like a simple enough job, but it requires more than one mage, so I was thinking maybe we could tackle it together?" he did his best to explain why he was asking the equivalent to a total stranger to help him. Trying to sweeten the pot, Izar continued "If you want you can keep the money half of the job, I'm only interested in the tickets".

"Money is of no concern to me, no need to try and bribe me!" Itari chuckles out and brings up a hand to place it on Izar's shoulder. "Just the chance to make a new friend is all the incentive I need; I'll gladly join you on the job!" Itari tries to peek at the paper in Izar's hand and says slowly, "Now, uh, what's this job exactly?"

Izar smiled, Itari being much different than he had expected him to be. Izar mentally face-palmed at Itari's mention that Izar hadn't even shown him the job yet "Oh right!, sorry!" he said handing him the paper "It's just a construction job, helping some townsfolk repair their village. It does mention that a group of dark mages were in the area so I suppose that's an obstacle we may encounter but I'm sure they wouldn't be too much trouble for us".

"Hmm does sound fairly simple, wouldn't want anything too risky for my first job as part of the guild; would be embarrassing if I didn't complete it." Itari says as he rubs the back of his head with a cheesy smile. "So when do we head out?"

"If you're anything like your sister you have nothing to worry about" Izar said with a smile "It's not too far away, an hour or two by train at most. We could leave now if you'd like but if you'd rather leave tomorrow morning that would be fine as well, we can meet up at the train station at say...ten thirty?" Izar continued, feeling much more at ease than he had upon first approaching Itari.

"Oh so your the Izar my sister has mentioned! That's interesting." He says as he runs his hand through his blonde hair. "It's up to you man, I don't have much planned for the day, so I can either train a bit until the morning, or we can head now. What would you like to do?"

Izar began to wonder what exactly Itari had meant by that. How many other Izars are there? He thought before shaking the useless thought away. He looked down at his watch, "If we leave today we'll make it to sea village just before sundown, we could find a place to stay and then start fresh in the morning. Yeah, I think it would be best if we left today." Izar said "We can go grab our things and meet up at the train station in about twenty minutes, does that sound good?".

"That sounds great! I will go get my stuff ready!" Itari said and lightly jogged away to the stairs to head to the boys dorms. "See you in a bit my friend!"

Izar waved farewell to Itari "See you soon." He said before making his way home to get packed. After getting everything ready, Izar made his way down to the train station to purchase their tickets and wait for Itari. Only after a few moments of waiting Izar spots Itari running up to him, waving him down with a big smile.

"Hey sorry I am a bit late, I had to run back and grab my staff real quick." Itari says with his hand behind his head. "Never know if we might run into some trouble! Plus I figure it might help me carry some supplies in buckets or something." He was sporting a more casual look, with a white and black baseball tee and some dark jeans. He smiles at his teammate for the day and says, "Well do we have our train tickets? Should we get on the road? I'm kind of excited to help these people rebuild! Should be a great chance to make new friends, don't ya think?"

Izar waved back at the overly excited man. "It's fine, you're not late. I got the tickets, the train should be arriving soon." Izar said as the train whistle could be heard near by. At Itrai's question Izar spoke "I suppose it's a possibility." He says as the train pulls into the station. "Here you go man. If you wanna sit together I'll find a spot near the exit ." Izar said, handing Itari his ticket before walking toward the train. After handing the conductor his ticket, Izar found an empty spot near the exit. The train car he had entered, to his relief, was not crowded in the least.

"Of course I want to sit with you, we are guild mates after all." Itari says as he follows Izar onto the train and plops down right next to him. Itari took the time to observe the people who were boarding the train with them, wondering what their story was and where they were going. People began taking their seats and the train was quickly off. Turning to Izar, Itari did his best to make small talk to pass the time. "So I figure this is a good time to get to know each other right? Since we are kind of a team for this job." He slightly laughs out. "So who is Izar? What makes him smile?" His cheesy grin hoped to elicit a sense of warmth and comfort despite his profound question.

Izar took a moment to absorb Itari's question. "I suppose, to put it simply, Izar is Izar. He enjoys writing, cooking, and he likes to travel. As to what makes him smile..." Izar trailed off as he began to think. Of course the first thing that popped into his head was the one and only thing he couldn't mention, Akumu. "Nothing in particular," he said with a nervous laugh. "So who is Itari? What does Itari find himself smiling about?"

"Well Izar sounds like I wonderful person! Perhaps one day I could travel along with him, maybe get him to find something to smile about." Itari says with the most sincere smiles and a small laugh, tapping him ever so lightly on the shoulder with his fist. "Well let's see... Itari is a free spirit who is curious about all the wonders that make up this illustrious world. What makes him smile is this right here." Itari says as he points his finger back and forth between them. "I love getting to know people and seeing how they see things through their own unique lens. It's the greatest gift in life to have friends; and nothing is worth more than the memories you make with them. Getting to know someone is just that first step to a lasting friendship; what's more enjoyable than that!" He says enthusiastically.

A bright smile appeared on Izar's face as Itari spoke. "Itari, believe it or not, you actually remind me of a good friend of mine." he said with a chuckle, "I think we'll get along just fine." Izar shifted in his seat, "So tell me Itari, where are you from?" Izar asked before catching himself, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." remembering how Akumu responded when he had brought up her past.

"I think we will too." Itari smile, but it falters a bit as he think back to his home town and the troubles he faced there with his parents. "Oh I thought Akumu would have told you; but we are from Oshibana. Not a far train ride from the guild. But we don't really visit there much after some stuff went down..." He trails off, his face reflecting hidden sadness. He bounces back and apologizes, "Sorry, got lost in my thoughts. Where are you from Izar?" He looks at the window and notices the sea poking over the hills; showing that they were close to their coastal destination.

"She told me a bit; but I don't think she really meant to." Izar says, understanding that neither of them probably wanted to think about it. "A good friend once told me that, while we cannot change our pasts, our futures are ours to mold in any way we see fit; from bad can be born good and from darkness..." Izar said, cupping his hands together so that only a small hole was available to see inside. He held this cupped hands out so that Itari could see inside,"Can be born light." Izar said as he created a small star in his hands, letting it grow to the size of a golf ball before opening his hands. At that moment, the screeching of the train could be heard as they pulled into the station.

Itari look wide eyed in amazement at the small display of his new friend's magic. "Wow! That's amazing! And beautiful, yet true words my friend." Itari said as he began standing up, preparing to get off of the train. "You know, I know I haven't known you long, but just for the conversations we've had so far I can tell we are going to be great friends, you and I." He smiles as he glances back to see Izar following him out of the train car. "Also," He huffs as he jumps down from the car, avoiding the two steps. "Seeing someones magic can tell you a lot about who they are as a person. You magic is beautiful, collected, and bright. Yet has a sense of vastness and wonderment that lies beneath the surface..." He says reflecting on the small display. "I think one day, maybe as a team or something, our lights can shine together." His demeanor puts on a more bashful and sceptical appearance as he feels he may have spoken his mind a bit too much.

Izar smiled as Itari complimented his magic. As Itari continued speaking, Izar's mind wandered back to when he and Akumu fought the spirits in Bosco. What does her magic say about her? he thought, snapping back to reality when Itari mentioned that they could one day be a team of sorts. He nodded, throwing his bag over his shoulder. "I would like that very much Itari; but first the task at hand." Izar said, checking his watch. "It'll be sun down soon. What do you say we find a place to stay and then we'll find..." Izar stops to check the job flyer "Hiro Zenil in the morning?"

"That sounds like a great idea. How much money do you have on you?" He says while he checks his wallet. "Let's try and get a place with a view! Might as well make the most of this coastal visit." He says cheerfully as they exit the station and look around to get their bearings.

"There's no need for that friend, I have more than enough for both of us." Izar said as he repuipped his wallet, "I've been saving up for a long time." He looked around for anything that wasn't under construction "Perhaps that place over there?" Izar asked, pointing at a building that stood just a bit taller than the others. "Hopefully there'll be a restaurant near by too. I'm feeling a bit famished, how about you?" Izar said as he began walking toward the taller building, turning around to get Itari's answer.

Itari turns his head to look at the standing tower that seems a bit more put together than the other construction ridden buildings. It seems to have large windows facing the ocean, so Itari gets a bit excited at the possibility of seeing the sun rise over the sea in the morning. "That place seems perfect! And no doubt we will find a restaurant nearby. I am definitely a bit hungry..."He says as he places his hand on his stomach. "How about since you will be paying for our hotel, I will treat for dinner? I don't want to mooch off of you; I am sure you could save that money for something special."

Izar brought his hand up to his chin, gripping it lightly. "Now that you mention it, there is something I've been meaning to buy." Izar said. " Sure, Hotel on me and dinner on you sounds fair to me." He said as they continued walking until they made their way to the large building which was indeed a hotel, making their way up to the desk "Can we get two rooms, preferably on one of the higher floors? Also, can you point us in the direction of the nearest restaurant?" Izar asked. The man behind the desk nodded, telling Izar the price. Once Izar paid the man slipped him two keys and gave him directions to a sushi place nearby. After thanking the man Izar turned to Itari, handing him the key to his room. "Sushi sounds fine to me, how about you? Should we try to find somewhere else to eat?" Izar asked.

Itari shakes his head while accepting the room key. "Nope, sushi sounds great to me. Should be pretty fresh too I'm assuming. How about we throw our stuff in our rooms and then walk over? I don't know how much longer my stomach can stand before it starts to eat itself." Itari laughs out.

Izar nodded in agreement. "Alright, we'll meet back up down here and head out." The two went their separate ways for a bit, unpacking their things before meeting back up in the hotel lobby and heading out to grab dinner. They made their way down to the small restaurant, taking their seats and ordering. "So Itari, have you thought about what you're going to do with your tickets once this job is done? Surely someone like yourself would have no problem finding a date." Izar said in an attempt to make small talk.

"Oh, I don't have my eyes on anyone special right now. But I was going to give my ticket to you; you did mention that you were only interested in them anyways. Then you can take your girl out. I'm assuming a guy like you is bound to have one." He says with a smile as he takes a sip of water, enjoying the little boats that float around the sushi bar carrying a variety of rolls.

Izar twirls is glass a bit, allowing the water to swirl into a small whirlpool. "I'd like to think so friend. It's complicated I suppose, I'm not exactly sure where we stand if I am to be honest." Izar said before sipping his water lightly " Regardless, thank you Itari. It means a lot." Izar picked a piece of sushi off of one of the little boats, placing it on his plate but not eating. "Anyways, Akumu mentioned she liked Reading. Do you have any hobbies of your own?" Izar asked.

"Oh so you have met my sister!" Itari says suprisingly as he reaches for a piece of sushimi and shoves it in his mouth. "I though' chi onnie taks to ou 'n -er s'eep." Itari said through a jumbled mouth of rice and salmon. He swallowed hard, took a sip of water, and then cast a boyish smile to Izar. "Sorry, I guess I bit off more than I could chew!" He laughs out. "Well I wish you the best of luck in asking that girl out. And to answer your question, I guess I have a lot of hobbies. Magic tricks, climbing trees, gardening, shopping, drawing, swimming; I like to switch it up a lot and try my hand at something new." He points his chopsticks at the bridge of Izar's nose, as he narrows his eyes and speaks low. "Don't you dare say anything about gardening and shopping, those are very manly hobbies..." His tone was low and serious, but to the trained ear, you could tell he was joking.

Izar straightened up a bit in his seat, blushing slightly but he shook it off. Even if he had heard what he thought he heard, there was no way Izar was going to let his curiosity get the better of him and ruin everything between him and Akumu. "I-uh, Thank you...about the wishing me luck thing." Izar said. He swallowed hard as he became a bit restless in his seat. She thinks about me he thought, an dopey smile in which he could do nothing about plagued his face. Izar snapped back to reality as Itari continued speaking "I understand friend, not many would consider cooking a manly hobby either." Izar said, his energy restored by both dinner and Itari's revelation. Izar checked his watch "The night is still young friend, what do you say we check out what's in store for tomorrow?" Izar asked, getting up and doing a bit of stretching.

Itari stands as well, stealing one last bite of sushi before placing some bills on the table to cover their meal. "That sounds like a plan! We can check it out and then probably call it a night? I have a feeling we are going to need to be well rested for tomorrow, judging by the looks of the town, I say we have a lot of building to do." Itari says as he rubs his belly in delighted content. He swings his arms in a gesture that tells Izar to lead the way, as they both exit the restaurant.

"Indeed, I just want to get a look around." Izar said as the two exited the restaurant. The two walked down the empty streets, every once and a while stopping to examine an under construction building or piece of construction equipment. "Hey Itari, Why do you think a bunch of dark mages would attack a place like this?. I just don't see why it would be worth all the trouble." Izar said as they came upon a half destroyed building that overlooked the beach.

Itari shrugged his shoulders as they looked at the site before them. "Who knows what darkness possessed those mages to want to come and destroy such a beautiful town. Money, pleasure, revenge; I don't know. But all we can do now is help rebuild what has been broken and hope the people of this town will see this as a new beginning."

Izar looked out over the waves, they crashed against the shore nearly silently before receding back into the vast ocean. It wasn't long before something that seemed out of place caught his eyes, someone seemed to be walking along the shoreline, normally Izar would brush it off as someone out for a late night walk; but the desolate streets served to make such a theory improbable. Izar tapped Itari on the shoulder with a quiet "Shh, You see that?" Izar asked.

Itari shifted his gaze to the near shoreline and sees the mysterious figure walking slow along the waterline. He notes that from his body posture and strides that this man seems to be acting more like a scout, than a person out for a calm walk. His strides were too slow, and his body too tense. "Izar, you think that's one of them?" Itari said in a low voice, alluding to the dark mages they were previously discussing. "Maybe they came back to finish the town..."

"I say we follow our shady friend and find out." Izar said before jumping over the small guardrail and onto the sand about ten feet below them. Izar turned and silently motioned for Itari to follow him. The made their way across the beach in pursuit of the silhouetted figure that slowly made its way across the beach. They continued to follow the figure for another ten minutes before witnessing it enter a small cave. The two quickly made their way to either side of the entrance. "What do you say we check out what's inside?" Izar asked in a hushed voice.

Itari nods in agreement as he raises his fist that becomes cloaked in light. He slowly turns into the cave and holds his fist out in front to see. The cave was anything but small, the light bounced off smooth passages that extended down 20 feet before fading off into darkness once more. "This isn't your ordinary cave, this was obviously made by people over a long period of time..." Itari said as they travel cautiously down the path, his body became more tense as they went deeper in, as a few magical pressures became apaprent around an oncoming corner of the cave. "What's our move here Izar?" Itari asks as he looks to Izar for direction on how to handle the magical energy he is sensing.

Izar thought for a moment before speaking. "We can't forget the fact that we don't know for sure that these people are the dark mages that attacked the town. No matter how likely the possibility, going in there guns blazing wouldn't be smart in the least." Izar whispered before going quiet again for a few moments. "I'll take the lead, using my cosmic magic to increase the gravity in the area. Do you think you can have a spell ready in case my gravity field isn't enough to trap all of them?" Izar asked. "Once we're sure they're no longer a threat we can get some answers out of them." Itari responded with a nod, holding up his hand to create a photon shield. "Alright, on three. One...two...three!" Izar said before quickly turning the corner, followed closely behind by Itari. Izar threw up his hands, creating a gravity field within the much larger open area the cave opened up into.

Much to their surprise there was actually six men standing within the room, seemingly gathered around a table covered in papers with a dagger stabbed in the middle. The men turn at the sound of the countdown and one seems to shoot off a few fireballs at them before they were thrust down by the increased gravity field. One man had his head slammed into a table, knocking him unconscious before he could hit the ground; while another was just as unfortunate and had the blade of a sword slammed down into the center of his thigh, unable to lift it from the applied force. The incoming fireballs hit the photon shield around the two Koma Inu mages and were quickly extinguished. Itari dismantled his photon shield as he looked at the mages who were struggling to stand in the midst of Izar's overwhelming spell. "Look at the symbols. These are definitely dark mages from Slain Oblivion. I wonder what they are doing so far from Shirotsume Town..." Itari said as he preps himself for another attack, knowing well that the dark mages would surely overcome the initial shock of the gravity change eventually.

Izar decreased the gravity for a moment before increasing it again in hopes of possibly staggering them once more. After releasing the gravity spell he quickly threw two throwing knives at different mages, hitting one in the shoulder and the other in the stomach. "I don't know. Whatever the reason, I doubt it's good" he said before the mage who was hit in the shoulder shot a weak beam of light magic their way. "Itari!" Izar yelled before requipping Hikari and Yami, shooting a ball of darkness magic at the wounded light mage and one of light toward the mage with the knife in his stomach.

Itari saw the beam of light coming towards him and smiled as he stuck out his hands a seemingly caught the weak attack. Through his photokinesis he was able to hold onto the weak ball of light and put it into his mouth, swallowing it down with a smile. "Poor choice of magic my friend, especially when you are going up against a Light Phoenix Slayer. Looks like I'll take the remaining two Izar, Arrow Rain!" He said as he shot out beams of light towards the remaining two mages, who had just gotten their ability to stand after the second wave of gravity. One of the mages successfully evaded the beam, seeming to possess High Speed Magic, while the other was hit straight in the chest, knocking him backwards. The High Speed mage appeared in front of Itari, throwing a right hook at his face that merely passed by Itari as he bent backwards to avoid it. Itari charged up his fist with a Hyper Fist and retorted with a swift punch in the gut, followed by an elbow in the back as the dark mage was bent over in pain.

Izar's shots connected sending the two already wounded dark mages flying back, landing on the ground with a thud. Izar ran up to them, making sure they were out cold. He quickly turned back upon hearing Itari's voice. Watching one of the last two remaining mages be hit by Itari's attack as the other seemed to move at an incredible speed, appearing in front of Itari. Izar was about to act but Itari had it handled, making quick work of the final dark mage. Izar let out a relieved sigh as he looked around at the six dark mages lie on the ground in pain. He turned to Itari, "What'do say we do with them Itari?" Izar asked, tapping one of the unconscious dark mages with his foot.