“So what are you doing?” asked an annoying woman.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, holding my right arm.

“I heard you hurt yourself.” she said.

“And what if I did?” I responded.

“You're pathetic.” the woman responded, “It wasn't even on one of your adventures.”

“Just shut up, Cerise.” I said, “What the hell is it you want?”

“What?” responded Cerise, “I can't just check up on my favorite adventurers?”

“It's very out of character for you,” I said, “that's for sure.”

“Or are you worried someone will think I'm your girlfriend?”

“You're a lot older than me, so I doubt it.”

“Hey! What's that supposed to mean.”

“I didn't mean anything by it...”

It really was weird, standing in my front yard with her, right by our plum tree that no longer produces any plums. I still had to wonder why she was even showing her face her. It just didn't make any sense!

“Spill it.” I demanded.

“I already told you-” she started.

“I'm not buying it.” I responded, “There's no way you're just here for a friendly visit.”

“Ugh, fine.” responded Cerise, “I guess you are correct.”

“You guess?” I replied.

“Jon sent me.” answered Cerise, “He wanted me to check on everyone.”

“And?” I said.

“Most of them seem to have disappeared.” she said.

“I-is that so?” I said.

“Yeah, it seems they're going to different schools now.” said Cerise.

“Say that first next time!” I yelled.

“W-what? What's the problem?” she said, scratching the back of her neck.

“You made me think it was something serious!”

“It IS serious! I can't get them on the next quest!”

“You can find more people, can't you?”

“Well...”

“I don't see the problem. We'll just have different people with us going forward.”

“But we don't know who to bring.”

“...Now that think about it, Jason might not be coming.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Well, we're not really talking anymore.”

“What happened? Did you guys fight? Come on! Give me the details!”

“No, we didn't fight.”

“Then what happened?”

I looked down at the ground.

“He's going to a different school too.”

“I... see. But can't you still contact him?”

“I... don't know.”

“Well, we've got a while before another quest, so I wouldn't worry too much.”

This woman... why was she so concerned? When I thought about it, there was a lot I didn't know about her. Why was she even around? Why was she even helping? What the hell even went through that head of hers? She was truly a person I couldn't understand.

“Tell me. Who are you?” I asked.

“I'm Jon's cousin.” answered Cerise.

“Are you really?” I said.

“I don't know why you'd have any doubts.” she said.

“It's just... there's so much I don't know about you.” I responded, “Like, did you know about Jon's abusive family?”

“Yeah.” responded Cerise, “How could I not have known?”

“Sorry for bringing it up.” I said.

“Hey, don't worry about it.” said Cerise, “I guess I could tell you a bit.”

 

-Cerise's POV-

When I was a kid, I didn't really have anywhere to go. My real parents had completely disappeared. To this day, I have no idea what happened with them. Everyday I found myself wandering the streets, barely able to survive. Then one day, I tried to steal from someone. That person was Jon's uncle. It wasn't that long after that when he adopted me. That's how I became Jon's cousin.

My adoptive father tried to keep me away from what Jon and Jack were dealing with. Unfortunately, it wasn't easy. We didn't live too far away, so I could see the signs of the abuse. I'd see bruises all over them and Jack absolutely refused to talk about anything that went on. I couldn't help but worry about those two. One day, something happened.

Jon took off. Because of that, I followed him and found him in Dovacath. Since I had some “ninja skills” from back when I was living by myself and stealing to survive, I was able to keep myself hidden. When I approached him, he told me not to tell anyone, not even Jack, so I kept my mouth shut. When I returned home, I didn't even tell my father what I had been up to. When I was old enough to move out, I went to live in Dovacath so I could keep an eye on him.

 

-Ron's POV-

“So really weren't lying about being his cousin?” I said.

“How rude!” exclaimed Cerise, “Why would I lie about that.”

“Ah, sorry.” I said, “Anyways, what about your apprentice.”

“Ah, yes.” she said, “That girl kinda just wandered into Dovacath one day...”

“What?” I said.

“Now that I think about it, she was with a guy that looked a lot like you.” said Cerise.

“Definitely a coincidence.” I said.

“That aside,” she said, “do you remember when Jeff was going on about needing blood?”

“Yeah.” I said, “What was that about?”

“That was all for dimension F.” answered Cerise, “I'm surprised you didn't figure that one out.”

“Oh, right.” I replied, “Guess that makes sense.”

I then paused.

“Wait.” I said, “If all worlds were destroyed then-”

“Everyone in the worlds that were destroyed didn't experience the destruction of their worlds because you used that powerful book,” answered Cerise, “to us, it's as if nothing happened. A lot of our magic stuff has this weird affect on people, so they end up not remembering anything that happened or they just live through a world where nothing happened.”

“I see.” I replied.

“Well,” she said, “I got more people to see.”

“R-right.” I said.

Then, she left. To be more accurate, it was as if she just instantly vanished. It was very ninja-like, I guess.