One boy's struggle for manliness [Leiss,Saga|DONE]

[hoffman]

The black of midnight hung like a curtain over the humble, space-bound hamlet only known as 'Traverse Town'. Stars hung high and low, all 'round, and were it not for the generally known fact of star travel, one might foolishly think the stars to be an outside light seeping in through the holes of this metaphorical drapery.

The nearly juvenile 'theory' had some intrinsic value at least - it was the kind of tale that some mothers told their children at bed-time. Imagination helped these children find happiness and hope in their home, which in turn made their own families happy. Though these childish stories never played a massive part in helping the community come together, it did in fact create the motivation to not complain about one's circumstances.

It was touching, to say the least. But for a cynic, it was sickening.

A green-haired youth walked along the cobblestone roads of Traverse Town's First District, detesting that one small mythos of the grand community that surrounded him. And little did he know, he was the Town's first visitor in a while. Perhaps not a long while, but a good while - a couple of days, at the most. Such was rare for a town of its nature, in any case.

But the oft busy district was incredibly silent compared to its usual state. He knew this, for his present visit to the town hadn't been the first time. As he stopped to lean against one of the district's many streetlights, he was reminded of this and how irritating it had become each consecutive visit. The source of it all were the stories - those wretched, ridiculous stories. He had thought little of the bed-time stories; moreover, he detested them. To him, it seemed like the stories were nothing but an effort of unlawful denial made on the part of parents in order to 'forget' about their plight.

That must have been it.

The boy felt like he was divinely privy to these social secrets - and more - that no one but him had uncovered, and rightfully so. After all, who else could do any good with it? Only he could. This he felt strongly, and he wouldn't have it any other way. But he wouldn't do a thing. No, he would sit back and watch, for it wasn't his job to get involved in the affairs of others.

Because today, he was a reconaissance man. For whom and why, that was unknown, and he would be ever vigilant in keeping that a secret.

His name was Leiss Proctor, a living symbol of vanity. Though at the tender age of seventeen, he wouldn't have anyone telling him that he was too young to be out, and he certainly wouldn't have anyone tell him that he looked like too much of a "nancy" to be doing a man's work.

"Think like a man. Feel like a man. Be... a man."

[raiho]

Finally her working hours in the café of Traverse Town were over and she was closing it for the manager left earlier today.

The last days were quite eventful and her long term goal to create a team that helped her to evolve mankind into a new lifeform was progressing quite well. She already acquired two followers and was working hard to get the attention of one girl called Antique for her beauty and cuteness were something Saga found charming. There was also that mercenary Gerald, but you can't never be too sure with mercenaries because they did anything for money, even betray their current client.

"If only I had a better income source I could easily buy all the available heroes into working as dispensable tools for me"

Finding people with potential to become her followers was no easy task, so the other alternative was finding fools who worked for her without caring about anything else than fighting.

"I'll hire some mercenaries later when I have enough ... my my, what is what I see there?"

The bunny maid loving scientist (who was wearing as usual her provocative bunny maid clothes) moved next to a young man who who was never seen before. He didn't look that impressive but his eyes shone with the shine of experience and seemed to be focused in whatever he had in mind.

"You, how good are you fighting? I can see that you aren't just a cute face"

Her augmented senses couldn't lie her, even if he constantly bathed, the smell of blood and battle were still impregnated on his skin and with her eyes she could traces of already healed scars in his body, product of adventures in strange and dangerous places.

[hoffman]

Were Leiss unbothered, he would have eventually wandered off. But this wasn't the case as a voice - which came seemingly out of the blue - yanked his carpet of concentration right from under his feet.

"You - how good are you at fighting? I can see that you aren't just a cute face," he had heard, his thought process shattering quite easily. Leiss focused his gaze on this new, suspicious stranger, now coming to terms with the sudden lack of motivation to inwardly reflect on his business that evening. What could an exotically-dressed bunny maid possibly want with him?

But as aforementioned, he could no longer keep to himself - he had the urge to speak. This urge and the maid's "cute" compliment inwardly irritated him greatly, but he chose not to disclose it for he would be infringing on the discrete restrictions of his affairs. Rather, he decided to keep a cold demeanor about it as he spoke aloud, trying not too sound too interested nor too abrasive.

"...What's it to you?"

[raiho]

"Acting with indifference? It's fine with me, not even all the training of the world can help you hide secrets from me"

She knew she touched a nerve of the effeminated man. Like an animal who can understand everything from it's prey just by feeling it's smell, she could read everything about a person with her superior animal,like senses product of her superhuman research she experimented on herself. Nobody could like to her.

"For your information I'm looking for strong people who wants to change this universe completely. My project would erase completely the menace that heartless and nobodies represents for the rest of mankind but I need more manpower to pull it."

She already had her two followers completely devoted to fulfill her goal even if that meant death for them, getting somebody with similar devotion was what she wanted to find.

"Appearances are often deceiving. I can sense that despite your looks, you could make an adult bodybuilder cry like a girl with your talent and skills, and I'm not a simple waitress but a scientist whose major goal is to research the heartless and nobodies and find what makes them work and how to destroy them once for all. It's up to you if you believe me."

No matter what he said, she would at least know if the young man was a potential ally, just a random person or an obstacle like that Jadis witch, who would never understand the importance of her research.

[hoffman]

Leiss stood there silently, taking in everything that the eccentric young woman had to say.

She had definitely struck a few of his nerves with her accurate deductions, and he was nothing less than surprised about that. He had some restraint over his actions, however, and he chose not to verbalize it. Rather, he played stupid.

"I appreciate your unfounded praise, but I'm not interested," he had quietly stated with a stern glare. The sternness was obviously a cover for his intrigue in this woman - he didn't give a reason for his apparent lack of interest, nor did he elaborate on the affairs that brought him to Traverse Town that evening. He had thought that, for all intents and purposes, the acting would serve to deter her from prodding further.

Leiss was a terrible fibber.

[raiho]

"Not interested? Then I shall waste no more time here."

Just like she did with her follower Jack, she was going to test the truth in the words of this man by simply leaving. At first she would leave slowly but if after 3 seconds he did nothing, she would leave for real to focus in her goals.

"I have things more important to do than socialize with people who doesn't appreciate the limitless potential of my research, farewell."

Said that she started moving, leaving behind the young man who wasn't true to his own feelings and was always hiding his true nature with a facade.

[hoffman]

The boy remained silent for a moment, and at that point in time, it seemed like he would have let her take off. But alas, he wasn't as stubborn as a boulder - at least not about this subject.

"This doesn't concern me... I'm not a humanitarian," he had affirmed, yet ever still curious about the bunny maid's lofty goals. Was his intrigue in this self-proclaimed scientist even justified? Was he being distracted from his mission? Maybe he wasn't meant to collect information after all. Maybe he was doomed to be a private courier for the rest of his days. "I'm certainly not some kind of lab assistant, either. I really don't know what she wants."

One second had passed.

"...but this is the kind of information I'm looking for! I can't come back empty handed," Leiss had decided, gingerly taking a step toward her. He really didn't want to be stuck doing a courier's job - he knew he could do more, but he had to show his superiors that he was capable. He knew he was capable! "Intrigue and reconnaissance seem to coincide today - I won't get reprimanded for it."

Two seconds had passed.

"...hold up," Leiss called out at the last moment he had available, catching up with her on the cobblestone. "Tell me more about these philanthropic efforts of yours, miss -..."

[raiho]

Bingo. The young man was interested and now was literally begging to know about this issue. As long she could get new followers, she was willing to say still the beans.

"Now that's better. Be more honest next time."

She looked at the young man straight into his eyes. He was truly interested in knowing about her project and the eyes, being the window of the soul according to the culture of her world, would never lie. Most likely he lived a life with lots of hardships that made him be so .. fake.

"I'll pay honesty with honesty. I bet you already know about he heartless and the white ones known as nobodies some I'm gonna make it short: I want to find their weakness to kill them easily, that one of my goals but my major goal is to use them to find a way to make mankind evolve into it's next evolutionary stage."

As usual, she omitted the part where she was the first product of her research, having her body enhanced and mutated with heartless and a monster's DNA, but that was something he didn't need to know right now.

"Once everybody evolves into a new superhuman race, the heartless will be a thing of the past and even the untrained could wipe out an army of heartless with no effort"

[hoffman]

As she began to explain in depth the details of her research, Leiss glared straight back at her. This is what he had been looking for! Information on the residents of Traverse Town that his superiors were scrounging for.

Even still, there was doubt in his mind in spite of him being so magnetized towards her. He only saw her as a self-proclaimed scientist wearing a bunny maid costume - perhaps only a second-rate "scientist" at that who wouldn't even get close to her goals. In fact, the only thing he believed that she had going for her had been her predatory-like perception.

But Leiss underestimated the woman. She was so much more than that. He could hardly hold back his shock as she got down to the dirty details - that she wanted to evolve humanity, and that she believed the secret lied in the existence of the nobodies and heartless.

"Once everybody evolves into a new superhuman race, the heartless will be a thing of the past... and even the untrained could wipe out an army of heartless with no effort."

After hearing that, Leiss felt dumbfounded and completely at a loss for words. The military boy didn't want to admit it, but he was spooked. Most of his doubt had been removed from his mind - though she had no evidence on her at the time to prove her conviction in her research, she sounded confident enough to make it all sound plausible.

"...miss, I'm not even sure what I'm supposed to say."

[raiho]

"Simple, just say yes or no"

The confidence in her research came from her own experience with genetic manipulation and forced DNA insertion. Not even in his wildest dreams the young man would imagine she used to be a 59 years old aging professor in an university of her world a few months ago.

"If you accept just be warned, I'm not responsible for anything that could happen to you, it's the typical risk of dealing with the capture and experimentation on heartless"

Destroying a heartless can be sometimes hard and sometimes easy, but what never changed was that capturing one was always harder than simply sending them back to the darkness. Hurt them too little and they will counterattack, hurt them too much and they would fade away.

[hoffman]

"In that case, then... -"

Leiss paused.

"...I have to back up," the boy mulled. As he casually brushed his bangs to the side in an unnecessary and compulsive manner, he passively reminded himself that he had put too much faith in this woman's words.

The skepticism was warranted. As much as he wanted to trust her, Leiss knew that she could have only been another charismatic face. He also knew that she was a stranger, just like anyone else - that he should have brushed her off, regardless of her claims! What made her so different?

"...but I can't, I have a job to do. I can't say no right now. I also can't yes, either. If I jump ahead and take this opportunity so carelessly, I'll get barked at... possibly removed from PURGE - and I don't want that. I... have to get ahead. I want to spelunk for a while and see how this girl reads, but I can't do that without securing my safety net first."

This conundrum drove him to irritation as there were a few complex variables to consider; if he didn't carefully think about his decision, he would likely make an unwanted enemy out of one party or the other. At least he thought so.

After what seemed like a few eons of silence, Leiss had completed his sentence, albeit confusing when juxtaposed to the words that he already spoke. The boy had obviously thought about his answer quite heavily. "...then - I don't want to burn any bridges, but I can't give you an answer today. I am interested in your offer, but... this is kind of hard for me to decide on so abruptly."

"I'd like to give you an answer later this week - that is, if you're willing to accept that, and if you have an address that I can reach you at," he eloquently added.

[raiho]

"Time waits for no one. That's how cruel life is, lag behind and better adapted organism will surpass you completely. But I'm going to do an exception for you"

She wrote in a small piece of paper she took from a notebook she was carrying the address of her home, which she nicknamed "fortress of ultimate science", a fancy name fitting for the kind of mad science she performed inside despite being a completely normal house with a large basement.

"This is where I live, just don't come during working days and hours, I'll be busy working in the café. It's a real shame but there's no future here for scientists, I can't earn money using my talents in this backward world."

Indeed, in this town where most of the jobs were related with supplying the constantly growing number of inhabitants with the basic needs like food and houses there was no need for scientist who worked to discover new technologies and create progress, and if she wanted to build her research facilities she had to work into something that paid well, like in the café restaurant, that place was always getting new clients and she could find potential recruits this way as a bonus for many adventurers ate there.

[hoffman]

Displaying some confidence, Leiss wasn't at all demoralized by the dreary and oft-spoken "time waits for no man" speech. He had already foreseen the possibility that he would have been turned down if he couldn't give an immediate answer.

Yet still, he was relieved. He already had some basic information that his superiors would be anxious to have - and by some kind of miracle, the girl had been gracious enough to allow him enough time to make a decision on whether to join her cause or not.

It was a theoretical win-win. If he could convince his commanding officer to let him get involved in these lucrative affairs, he would gain more intel that they could use. It would also satisfy his unexplained desire to investigate this strange woman further.

Never did it seem like things could work out so well, and never had he been as optimistic. As she passed him a slip with the address written on it, he began to daydream - in clear detail - what the future had in store for him. A rank promotion. Being taken more seriously, along with spearheading some large-scale operation. More importantly, any person who's ever insulted his appearance being heavily reprimanded. It was a glorious vision.

"This is where I live - just don't come during working days and hours, I'll be busy working in the café. It's a real shame, but there's no future here for scientists... I can't earn money using my talents in this backward world."

In spite of its grandiose nature, Leiss's daydream didn't last long. As soon as she had finished speaking, he reminded himself that he had to say something in response... however minor it would have been. As he folded the slip into the pocket of his leather duster, Leiss spoke.

"You have to start somewhere."

[raiho]

"Exactly, but it's really a shame that this world isn't interested in progress and maintains the status quo. In fact, there's a witch of which you should be careful, her name's Jadis and hates anything resembling scientific progress. She would rather save people who doesn't appreciate life and lack talent and teach useless magics than try to understand the wonders of my research"

Her encounters with the white witch Jadis were always conflictive. The witch was one whose vision of the world was obsolete and lacked foresight, doing the bare minimum to keep herself busy during the boring days of her existence.

"Nevermind, for now go and do the business you came to do in this world, I'll not be leaving this town anytime in the nearby future"

[hoffman]

"A witch," Leiss had mentally repeated to himself. "You have got to be kidding me. I suppose there are some things that are even MORE farfetched..."

"Nevermind, for now go and do the business you came to do in this world," the bunny maid had mentioned. "I'll not be leaving this town anytime in the nearby future."

Reflecting on their conversation, the boy could have sworn there was something he was forgetting - he wasn't sure what, and he wasn't even sure if it was even important enough to bring up. Discarding it as meaningless worrying, he nodded and turned around.

"Expect a visit from me soon," he foreboded, now walking away. As he found himself at a street's distance away from the maid, he discovered that neither him nor his newfound acquaintance knew one another's names. It was more or less due to a lack of friendliness between the two - she never asked for his name, therefore he never asked for hers.

Furthermore, the maid's explanation of the dead-end town had now led him to plot out his future interactions with her. He believed that there was something that XMR could do for her, but he would have to take things slow at first.

"I think I've investigated enough around here. Looks like it's time to head back home."