The next day

"Hm♪ Hm♪ Hm♪"

Artemis was walking home with a smile on her face as she had the best sleep in a while. Cirrus was also looking better than the day before.

When they arrived back home at the Moonlight Tower, they found Ai already waiting for them.

"Hmm..." she got up and sniffed around Artemis. "... Seems you held up the deal."

"Of course, I would."

"But I can still smell his scent on you, especially in his two favorite places."

"!!" Cirrus' eyes widen as he hears this.

He then slowly left the conversation.

‘Did I tell them my tastes!! Ooooh, fuck!!!’

Cirrus made his way to Nox’s room, where he found her still sleeping.

"Hm… Guess she’s more or less a heavy sleeper."

He goes to the bathroom, gets out some new clothes, and takes a shower.

"Fuuu."

‘Today I’m going with Ai… It’s really odd to see that head-butting Renard grow up to be such a beauty... Hmm, she was going into the dungeon the last time I saw her plus Kushida seems like a good instructor and someone to look up to... So I guess it’s not impossible.’

Cirrus gets out of the shower, and as he is drying himself off, the door suddenly opens up.

Whoosh!

"… Ai, what the fuck are you doing?" Cirrus said, staring at her, still dripping wet.

"Sorry, I thought you were bathing with Nox," Ai said, quickly glancing at him up and down.

"… You know I knew her more than I knew an owl than a woman, right?"

"And I wanted to check, besides…" She looks at his body and finds very few scars on his torso, but the scars on his arm remain, a result of his body not being strong enough to handle his armor. "You really grew." She said, looking down below the belt.

"I didn’t think you would grow to be a pervert, Ai." Cirrus covers himself. "Also, I am a child. I should call the Ganesha Familia to take you away."

"Is it so wrong to look at my husband's naked form? But that’s beside the point. Hurry and get dressed. I have the day planned!"

"… You’re not gonna attack me and ‘eat’ me up, are you?" Cirrus said, still drying himself off. "Also, get the fuck out."

"No." She said it bluntly. "And another no, unless Artemis did something to you last night, did she?" She raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

"No, we just shared the same bed and slept."

"Hmm… Did you enjoy her breasts?"

"… I rather not answer that. Get out or close the door."

"No need to be flustered! Even I taste those divine plentiful mountains along with you."

That peaked Cirrus’s attention.

"When did you know you were Bi?"

"Around the time, I had to get Artemis to like me enough to agree to a polyamorous marriage."

"I forgot you're my 2nd wife… Then I guess you must have joined in the fun?"

"Of course! Our first night as fiancées and the following nights, even on our wedding night, we always shared. Oh, and it was the sex with Artemis that really cemented it. She should be called a goddess of beauty with how—"

"That’s good to know." Cirrus cuts her train of thought. "Now, can you get out? I’m trying to change?"

 

After changing, they went down and went on with the rest of the day.

"So… where are we going?" Cirrus asked.

"First, we're going to eat some early lunch!"

They walked down West Main Street.

Murmur~ Murmur~

Murmur~ Murmur~

Murmur~ Murmur~

Cirrus could see several eyes on him and Ai. Many of the adventures passing by a glance at Cirrus to find how he really has regressed back to a kid. The most notable reaction was primarily from the women, who all wanted to fawn over him.

"Mmm…"

‘I don’t like their gazes.’

Cirrus does not like the attention, so he puts on his deer mask without the antlers and keeps walking until they arrive at the place.

"… The Hostess of Fertility?"

"Yup! A good pub that serves your favorite pasta!"

"Drool! Fuck, I can go for some pasta."

They enter the pub to find a few people with pretty waitresses; the most eye-catching one is the elf.

"Hey, Mia! Can we get the usual but replace the wine with—wait, what drink do you want?"

"Water."

"Sure thing…" Mia looks up to see a young Cirrus wearing a deer mask. "Hey… No masks in the pub."

Few eyes landed on him, including the waitresses.

"You didn’t have any signs upfront, so no. If you want to take my mask, I’ll be sure not to let it go without breaking a few bones. Crack!" He cracked his fingers one by one with his thumb.

Mia and the other waitresses could feel the edge he had. It was something they had seen in many children and even in themselves during the Dark Era.

"Mia, couldn’t you make an exception this time!" said Syr as she walked up to Cirrus.

Mia never had a rule like that, but she wanted to see how rough around the edges Cirrus was.

"Fine, go and get the order back to May and the others." Mia returned to what she was doing previously.

"Thank you, pretty lady," Cirrus said to Syr.

"Fufu. Not at all." Syr bows and walks off.

Ai and Cirrus took a seat to wait for their order.

"So, do we usually come here?" Cirrus said, looking around.

"A fair amount is given that we’re very busy, or well, I’m busier now, taking over your responsibilities," Ai said, resting her arm on the bar while looking at Cirrus.

"You look tired?"

"Not for long, I won’t."

"Um… Are you really Cirrus?" said a female voice.

Cirrus turns around to see Ryuu.

"Oh, do you know my older self? I’m sorry if I don’t know you, miss…"

"My name is Ryuu Lion."

"Well, Miss Ryuu, it is nice to meet you." Cirrus pulled his mask back up to show his face.

"!?" Many of the patrons took a quick glance, and they immediately couldn’t look away. Ryuu was the same. Syr (Freya), and Mia, who have met Hera, fully understand why he wore his mask during those early years.

‘Ah. Ottar mentioned he looked like Hera, didn’t he?’ Freya remembered bumping into him long ago in an alleyway.

Cirrus bore with this glancing for now. After all, there weren’t many people there.

"So, who were you to my future self?" Cirrus said, slightly smiling at her.

Ryuu could see he kept his slight smile and general features but was much younger and more feminine. If he was cross-dressing, he could easily fool anyone into thinking he was a girl. This was a thought many in the pub had. His eyes have a sharpness to them that the older version of him polished off when not in a fight.

‘He’s on edge. From the form of his clothes, I could see a dagger behind him and another in his left arm.’

Ryuu, not knowing he has Shadow Storage, does not know Cirrus was even more armed to the teeth than when he was in Dark Era.

"I was one of his Familia members."

"Ah… was." A sad look grew across Cirrus’ face that Ai and Ryuu quickly noticed as if it were a look they had never really seen.

They had seen Cirrus sad before, but this expression was more childlike—the glum expression as if something was pulling down his cheeks and watery eyes.

"Oh, um sorry. Ahem!" His expression returned to normal, but his eyes were still watery.

"Cirr—"

"Meow!! What are you doing!!!" Shouted Chloe as she goes into hug Cirrus.

"!!"

Cirrus reflexively jumped out of the way, causing Chloe to miss and fall.

Thud!

"Oof! Meow, I was just going to give you a hug!" she shouted. "Beautiful boys shouldn’t be sad!!" she declared.

"Yeaaah… I felt you were aiming for something else that I really am not comfortable with." Cirrus said with his hand on his dagger.

"Come on, just one hug!! Huff! Huff!"

The expression on Chloe’s face made Cirrus take a step back.

"Alright, that’s enough," Lunoire said, taking Chloe back.

"Nooo!!!! Look at him!!! He’s the perfect shota—Gak!?"

Ai knocked her out.

"There! Problem solved! Sorry I had to knock her out, Mia." Ai said to Mia.

"Not at all. I was gonna do that soon, anyway." Mia then glanced at Cirrus. "I don’t want my girl to lose an eye or a finger."

"I wasn’t gonna poke her eye out or cut her finger," Cirrus said, offended, slowly removing his hand from his dagger.

"Then what were you gonna do?" Ryuu asked.

"Poke both of her eyes and bash her head into the ground."

"…"

Gulp~!!

An audible gulp rang through the pub.

Lunoire’s grip loosened, and Chloe slowly straightened up and bowed.

"S-sorry, sir." She said it respectfully.

She then walked quickly into the back.

‘I am thankful I met the teenage him.’ Lunoire thought. ‘Any younger and my hands would be meaty pillows along with a meaty pillowy face. Ah.’ An old trauma resurfaced.

 

The food was ordered and arrived hot and ready a short time later.

Cirrus got the utensils, and he salivated from the smell alone.

"Ooh~ It smells great!" He gets a forkful and opens his mouth and eats. "Hmm!!!" Cirrus smiled as he ate.

"Tasty, huh!"

Ai looked at Cirrus and she enjoyed his child-like demeanor.

"Yup!"

After eating, they pay their bill and walk around for a bit.

"So, where are we going next?"

"Somewhere to test your skills! Remember when you called me a battle junkie?"

"….Ah."

 

Colosseum.

"Here is your sword," said Eupheme, tossing Ai her sword. "Honestly, making me wait hours for you. You could have come by and gotten it!"

"Sorry, Euph! I’ll be sure to pay extra!"

"You better. Honestly, I could have been doing other work."

"Anyway!" Ai looked at Cirrus. "Cirrus, get out your spear. Oh, Euph knows about your Shadow Storage."

Cirrus holds out his hands, and from the shadow of his arm, his spear shoots out into his hands. He then spun it around to get a feel for it.

"Hmm, it’s very well balanced."

"It should be, Lord Lugh; he made it for you," Eupheme said.

"Ah, he did… Seems he’s doing well." A slight smile grew on his face. "It seems you know I’m more skilled with the spear than the sword."

"Of course, I would. What kind of wife wouldn’t know her husband?" Ai said proudly.

"Well, I’ll be up in the stands; Circe will put up the barrier soon," Eupheme said, taking her to leave.

"Hmm… this spear is not something I’m used to."

"I forgot you used a 3-sectioned spear." Ai puts her sword on her hip.

"Yeah… but this would still be enough. (Damocles)." The spear then floated.

"Heh… I wonder how you will fare with the tools you have." Ai placed her hand on the handle of her sword, and she got into her drawing stance.

"Let’s see."

The barrier forms, and as soon as it finishes, Cirrus' Ceryneian armor fully appears.

"Ha!!!!!!!!" they both shouted.

 

Ai took off, closing in on them. With her thumb, she flicked her sword out of its sheath. It shot out faster than the blink of an eye as she grabbed the sword and slashed forward.

Clink!

Swish~

Cirrus, upon seeing Ai quickly cover the distance, jumped back, but Ai quickly drew her blade in what Cirrus thought and compared to:

‘Holy fuck, that’s Jetstream Sam!!’

As the attack was about to hit, Hecton pushed him back through the shadows of his clothes even more with his hands.

‘He needs distance!!’ Hecton reflected, knowing how capable AI is.

While he is being grabbed back, Hecton’s hand appears under the shadow under his boots and pushes him, launching him through the air.

           Swish!

WHOOSH!!

Ai’s slash caused a massive amount of wind to kick up the dust in the arena.

"Hecton." Ai sheathed her sword and examined the dust she created for any shifts in the clouds of dust.

‘So you could use him like that again, huh? Seems you really are a natural genius like what Fels talked about you. Let’s see how good you were at stealth when you were a kid.’

Ai watches the dust, and a slight movement in it caught her eye.

‘Got you!!’

Swish!!

Kirk!!

Ai slashed again to find a shield that caused the shift in the dust.

"!!"

Tap!

"!"

Ai looked below to see Cirrus’ foot in her stomach.

"Sharp to a fault. It seems you never fought a small opponent." Cirrus said, smirking.

"Damm—" He then kicked her as hard as he could. "Thud!!!" It was a very meaty kick. "!?!?" Ai herself felt as if her insides would vomit out of her mouth. "Grrrr!!!" She gritted her teeth and pressed forward.

Whoosh!!

They sent Ai flying back, but she stopped herself by stomping the ground.

Skirt-Rumble~

Skirt-Rumble~

She quickly regained her breath.

"Fuuu~"

‘This Cirrus is unpolished, but his techniques are still as clever and ruthless. His small stature is worked into that as well as my senses. Dangerous.’

Ai smiles as she could understand how Cirrus could survive so many situations. She felt bad for the people who faced Cirrus when he was this sneaky and ruthless.

"Now to—!" Ai could feel a dull pain where Cirrus kicked her. She touched it and found blood lightly staining her clothes. "Shit."

‘Ruthless doesn’t describe him right. He is a downright nasty fighter!’

When he kicked Ai, he had Hecton pop out a stiletto to puncture just under the skin. He wanted to cause damage, not kill her.

"Sorry, but even if you are my wife, I can’t take it easy on you. (Damocles)!!!"

He spun the spear so fast that it looked like a blurry blue shield. He created more of the dust, hiding in it.

"A survivor… That’s what you are…" Ai reached back and took out an antidote and potion, which he downed quickly. "How tragic that you have that mindset at such a young age." Her eyes grew sharper, and she no longer had to worry about hurting Cirrus. He was strong enough to survive her might.

‘Here I come!!’

An aura surrounded Ai as a blood-red magic circle appeared under her.

"(Rage. Eighty-thousand men cannot quench my thirst. 

Two arrows pierce my ribs and throat, one swing of the blade.

Today I will live, tomorrow I will not lose my life.

I shall save myself, lament. Tamamo no Mae) [Yonbi Kōgō]!!!!!!!"

A blood-red aura covers her. Dyeing Ai in a blood-red hue with 4 tails.

‘Beastification!?’ Cirrus stopped moving due to the bloodlust oozing from Ai. ‘So she’s treating me as a foe, huh? Fuck, I should have ended it far sooner. Disengage.’

"(Exousía, Adorn: Chimera)!!"

Cirrus yelled, and Ai was already within cutting distance.

‘Such speed!!!’

"Got you."

Her appearance matched what his eyes saw: blood.

Spurt!!

A bottle cap-thick slash ran across his body. It wasn’t any thicker because of Cirrus’s armor blocking some attacks in time, but now it was Cirrus’s turn to be flying back.

Whoosh!!

Bam!!!

"Gah!!" Cirrus was struck into the wall.

The strike provided a clear view of Ai. The armor was fully equipped, and the slash was quickly healed.

‘Now that his armor is on, he’s even more dangerous. I have to make him waste even more magic.’ Ai sheathed her blade again and prepared herself to kick off again.

Cirrus got himself out of the wall and stood lethargically.

"Fuck… It seems you really know me. Hecton."

Gram appeared from his shadow and entered his possession.

"Ah fuck." Ai said. "You are not going to use Gram!!!" Ai kicked off toward Cirrus.

"It seems you know this sword from your reaction. Nox told me its qualities, so let me go into my quote, ‘Beastification’!!! Gram!!! Max level release!!!"

The sword glowed brightly, and the focus shot right at Ai.

Ai herself felt the same level of gaze as when Artemis aimed at her during training. Ai likens it to the eye of a hunter gazing at its prey.

Blip!

"!"

A blur appears right in front of her before her body jumps back and a slash runs across the top of her chest.

‘Fast!! I need to—!’

Trying to jump back, the sound of a rattle caught her ear.

Rattle!

‘Dammit!!’

Her jumping back was cut short as chains bound her leg, bringing her back to a sidekick to the rips.

Crack!!

The sound of her bones cracking reached her ear, and so she went along with the kick, sending her into the wall.

"Gah!!! Grr!!" Ai kicked off the wall and came at Cirrus again.

She didn't care about the injury, which she could heal on her own; she needed to keep Cirrus in her line of sight.

Clang!!!!!!!

The sounds of the swords clashing filled the arena, and the force of the attack even cleared out the dust.

The ground would have broken if not for the difference in weight, sending Cirrus back, grinding against the ground.

 

Back up on the Coliseum seats.

"Hmm… It seems we have to wait till Cirrus runs out." Said Nox.

"So Ai is better than him?" said Eupheme.

"In skill, yes, a thousand times over, but Ai lacks what makes this Cirrus so formidable: his wit and ruthlessness to survive. Unfortunately, it’s just that Cirrus hasn’t had time to get used to his armor yet, so he’s wasting too much magic."

"Yup, I could feel his magic being used up too fast, even without the barrier." Said Circe.

"Say, how's the remedy going?" asked Eupheme.

Clang!!

Boom!!

Crash!!

"Very good. It should be done tomorrow."

"Hmm… Do you guys wanna get a drink or something?" asked Nox.

"… I’m game." Said Eupheme. "I finished up early anyway, you Circe?"

"I’ll go, oh, wait just a second."

She reached into her bag and put a case of potion on the stands.

"Hecton!! These are potions! Alright, let's go."

As the sounds of fighting and the shaking of the arena continued, the three of them left.

 

Late at night.

"…"

"…"

"So," Cirrus said this as he lay exhausted and injured on the ground. "You won; I can see we fought enough times for you to learn my attacks."

"Of course," Ai said, lying down opposite him, exhausted with injuries as well. "We sparred with one another for years."

"Years, huh? I wonder how close we got."

"Very… You know I stole your first kiss?"

"You always were aggressive, but it seems you grew even more than you became a strong person."

Splash!

"Thanks, Hecton."

"Thanks, Hec."

"Is there anything else to show how close we were?"

"I’m sure I got your heart, Alcides."

Cirrus remained silent for a bit before smiling.

"You really did… Did you know I never planned to tell anyone that? I planned to keep it for myself as only me and my mother would know it. a sort of special connection I still have with her... A name she gave me with a heartfelt and regretful voice as she left me behind."

"…" Ai remains quiet. Tears welled up. "… Thank you for telling me, Cirrus. I know it means a lot to you."

"Hey… Did my future self ever tell you about… Israfan?"

"… He did. During the fight with Evilus, he lost himself with a combination of Gram and your Cerebus armor. He painted a good section of Orario red. He confided in me after that night."

"Ah… Seeing as we are married, you helped him with that baggage?"

"I did. But you are still reserved about that."

"Hm… I see. What about Artemis?"

"You told her as well. She took it better than I, or even you, expected. Apparently, back in Heaven, Art did some really messed up stuff."

Cirrus remembers the myths around Artemis.

‘I can see that. Butcher is an alternative or possible meaning for her name.'

"Heh… I am glad I grew to at least open my heart to you and Artemis. It's difficult, but seeing as even the most powerful women aren't afraid to be gentle with the person they love...I’m happy you were the one who was gentle with me."

Ai could feel her heart skip a beat and a familiar fire dance across her heart.

"… You are still good with your words."

"I’m glad. I hope I get better as I get older."

Ai gets up and hangs her head over Cirrus.

Another sense of nostalgia came over him.

"I think you're pretty good already."

She leans in and kisses Cirrus.

"!!" His eyes widen as she leans back.

"That’s twice I stole your lips." She stands back up. "Come on, Artemis is probably going to come to look for us."

Ai walks away, knowing she has dealt the finishing blow.

Cirrus remains on the ground as he moves his hands to his lips and gently touches them.

‘Ah… so that’s what stole your heart, huh?’

Then another thought came to mind. He gets up and runs as quickly as his legs can take him.

He yelled as he ran past Ai.

"I’m gonna tell Artemis you kissed me!!"

"!!!" Ai immediately tenses up and chases Cirrus. "NO WAIT!!! DON’T TELL HER!!!!"