Feeling up my body, she says, “Your clothes really are made of Orb’s hair, how cool. To think you would be able to do this you're really talented.”

Hearing her words of praise I go from being shaken, to very bashful and say, “Thank you!”

For the next few minutes, we simply sit there in silence. Why hasn’t she let go of me?

Suddenly she starts to smell me, and says, “You have a very nice aroma.”

What the hell is going on? Is she marking me as her? I have been marked as hers. When are we going to get married, no isn’t she already married? Then I guess I have to be this girl's dog.

Under my breath, I say, “Woof.”

“Woof?”

“Nothing!”

Loosening her hug on me, Maple says, “I am sorry for taking so much time to start our conversation, it was rude.”

“I-It is no problem.”

“I am also sorry about attacking you to get you to listen to me. I am not good at doing things in different ways so I decided to be an idiot and try to engage with you the only way I know how headfirst.”

With a bright smile on my face, I turn around and say, “Oh please don’t worry about that, in fact I enjoyed having a fight with you. If you ever feel like it just attack me, and we can enjoy a bloody deathmatch.”

Realizing that I have lost control of myself yet again, I say, “S-S-S-S-SORRY!”

“No, I am happy that you have decided to be honest with me.”

She then tightens her grip again. I see so we're back to this, well I do enjoy this as well so I don’t see the issue. Her body is soft, but not bouncy like Atalanta so it sort of feels like my mom is hugging me again.

Maple then says, “Hey Suzuka.”

“Yes momm-, I mean Maple.”

“Why do you always say Fox art, instead of Fox battle arts?”

“Because my fox art isn’t officially recognized.”

“Huh?”

“You see Battle arts are the names given to recognized schools of combat by Cordum, and derivatives of battle arts simply go by arts, which applies to mine since it is just a derivative of my family's Gozen battle arts that I use.”

“What’s the difference.”

“Not anything much, I simply incorporate my evil legacy into my battle strategies, and I would never sully the name of my family's fighting style by using the same term and this disgusting legacy.”

“Could you tell me about Gozen battle arts?”

With Fervour, I say, “It is a style in which you send spirit energy into a target to destroy it from the inside.”

With a face of confusion, Maple asks, “How is that different from Orb’s Helix battle arts?”

Breaking out of her grip, I stand up and say, “It isn’t the same as all, Gozen battle arts is about hard work and dedication, Helix battle arts is just masochism that a pervert would use.

Taking someone's force and using it against them, sounds like you just like getting hit. No Gozen battle arts is about enforcing the strength of your soul on the world, that is why it is one of Seirei's two great battle arts.”

Maple starts to laugh then falls on her back and son huffing and puffing, I say, “What’s funny.”

“Nothing I just like seeing you so excited like this.”

Feeling embarrassed, I fall to my knees and say, “Sorry.”

“No I enjoy it, and you're right anyway. A masochist is a great way to describe Orb, but still, I don’t really understand the difference.”

“Helix battle arts, build up rotational or spiral energy and send it throw a surface as a shockwave. But Gozen battle arts sends your spirit energy into an object and makes it go bomb like a bomb.”

“But I thought you can’t send spirit energy into a vessel already containing it.”

“That isn’t entirely true. Like, imagine if two people were holding a sword, and both poured their spiritual energy into it. If the two get along both of their spirit energy will be added to the sword, but if they hate each other they will fight each other within the sword. If one is stronger it will push the other spirit energy out but if they are equal they will constantly reject each other causing an explosion.

Gozen battle arts use this principle, by hitting our opponents very hard in one place, we temporarily make the spirit energy there fluctuate, and then we send our spirit into the body, and since the body is infused with spirit energy the rejection principle will activate causing an explosion.

It doesn’t work on Wonderbeasts or those who don’t use spirit energy. But it was a battle art mainly used for battles against spirits, and against those being made of pure spirit energy, it is debilitating.”

“I see that really is interesting, but it does surprise me that your father would let you learn it when you're were so gifted as an artist.”

“My father told me I had to learn it to punch all the men who try to date me away. He said if someone wanted to marry me they would have to beat me in a fight first.”

In that moment Maple taught; So your father made it impossible for you to get married.

“And anyways, it helped me with all of my craft work. My mother used to pull all nightery for multiple days straight, to finish her work and if I didn’t train in Gozen battle arts I wouldn’t have been able to keep up with her.”

Thinking about the faces of my parents, I say, “And I am glad I did because it allowed me to find out so much about them.”

“I see you're lucky then because my father wouldn’t hated the fact I fought. In fact, I had to constantly sneak out of my house to train, and when I requested to take the warrior test and passed his rage almost heated up all of Fimbulwinter.”

“I am so s-sorry, I shouldn’t have been bragging about my training then.”

“No need to apologize, it isn’t your fault it is his for being an idiot. How could he expect not to want to be a warrior with how cool he always was.”

“I know what you mean, my mother despite all her stress was always smiling as she worked, almost as if it gave her the life to surpass her limits, my dad was very much the same, and seeing that made me want to be like them both. Because they're the strongest.”

Maple then says, “Stop right there Suzuka, the strongest is my father.”

“Maple, I can’t let such slander go. My parents would destroy your father.”

“My father would kill a man in one blow.”

“My father would kill 50 men in one blow.”

“My father would destroy a building in one blow.”

“My father would destroy a town in one blow.”

“My father would reshape a mountain in one blow!”

“My father would reshape Fimbulwinter with one blow!”

Suddenly Maple, starts to laugh causing me to laugh as well. “It seems we got a bit caught up there.”

“I guess we did.”

“Why did you even bring up your mom, if she isn’t going to fight.”

“My dad likes to show off when my mom is in sight, so her being there would make him surpass his limits. If I was there cheering him on as well, he would have completely destroyed any opponent.”

“My father was the exact opposite, he hated having me watch him, because despite how strong he was, he was also equally weak.”

“Weak?”

“He got scared easily whenever anything happened to me, if I got sick he looked like the sky just fell, and every time I went to join the warriors' hunt he would stick close to me like we were conjoint. He always looked stressed.”

Falling back to the ground behind her, Maple says, “When my mother was alive, apparently they didn’t talk. They used to just walk around the village not saying a word to each other all day, but they were smiling all the while.”

“Isn’t that very strange? I couldn’t imagine my parents ever being quiet.”

“Most people thought the same, but still they were happy, and my father never had a stressed or worried expression, like he always had with me. My mother died giving birth to me, so sometimes I wonder if my dad would have been happier if I wasn’t born, because at the very least I would be alive.”

Seeing her disheartened face, I jump over her and say, “My dad told me, humans can be happy doing anything. It is simply a matter of warping your brain enough to feel happiness.

Regardless of whether he choose he would still suffer and feel happiness. So he chose for the happiness of me and all of the suffering that came along with it. And your parents choose that for you.”

With my fingers, I count, “Orb, Cyrus, Atalanta, Me, Iancu, all of the people here, are only here due to you being here, so please don’t say something so sad.”

Getting up Maple hugs me, and says, “Thank you Suzuka.”

Freaking out, I say, “No problem.”

Hugging me tighter, Maple says, “Hey Suzuka.”

Feeling my heart beat repeatedly, I say, “Yes.”

“Would you please.”

What is she going say, WHAT IS SHE GOING TO SAY!!!!

“Be my friend.”

Still pounding endlessly, I say, “Why?”

“You don’t want to?”

“I do, I really do. But why me?”

“I have very few friends, so I wanted to ask you to be mine since you're very adorable.”

“Really?”

“Yes, so is that a yes.”

Impassioned, I say, “YESSSS!”

As I hug Maple many thoughts go through my head. Mother and father, I finally have a female friend, a best friend!

As I hug Maple, over her shoulder, I see the annoyance Iancu.

He notices me, so I give him a look of superiority, and then mouth, “Look who has no friends.”

He then gets embarrassed and runs away in frustration!

Gripping my fist, in victory, I say, “I WON!”

“What?” Maple says.

“Nothing!”

Pulling back, I say, “In all honesty, I wanted to be friends with you too.”

“is that why you have been stalking me?”

Nodding my head, I say, “Yes, Orb told me it is the best way to make friends.”

Maple in front of me makes an irritated face, which causes me to ask, “What's wrong!”

“Doing that is a surefire way to make people hate you, Orb played a prank on you.”

Coming to this realization, I get up and start to run away!

I run so far and so fast, that I end up running into Cyrus training in the forest, and when I see him I jump and give him a tackle.

“Suzu-u-uka, what’s wrong?”

I simply rub my face into him repeatedly, which causes him to freak out. Noticing this I calm down and say, “I made a friend.”

Cyrus smiles gently, and says, “Good to hear. Who is it?”

Filled with excitement, I say, “It’s Maple, and she is just the best. She is very nice to me so nice that if she were to ask me to become her dog I would. She sort of gives you that slightly creepy feeling that Orb does, but it is nowhere as bad as him.

Did I mention she is also very nice to me, and she is a great fighter so we can spar every now and then? She also said I am her favourite person in the world, and if she was to have a kid it would be named after me.

She told me I am an angel that has descended to be her best friend for life, and that her life was empty before she met me. She said we will have many sleepovers from now on and be together forever.”

Cyrus overwhelmed by Suzuka, says, “I-I-I-I-I see.”

“Hey Suzuka, are you ok? I saw you run over here?” I hear Orb’s voice say.

Walking through the forest, Orb sees us, and says, “Cyrus I have been wondering where you have been. Give me a hug I want to touch your tail.”

But before Cyrus can move, I rush over to Orb and punch him in the face.

Get sent backwards, Orb recovers, and says, “Suzuka what’s going on?”

“Did you think your joke was funny?”

Orb's hair turns green, and says, “It was actually.”

“You're dead!” I say running towards him.

Activating his legacy Orb, says, “Try me!”

“P-P-P-Please do-o-o-on’t fight!” Cyrus says.

Suzuka and Orb start to fight, and Cyrus tries to stop them from hurting each other. A scene that one could easily mistake as siblings playing with each other.