brother's retry (the beginning after the end)

Earth

Without hesitating I bolted from the rooftop. Running as fast as my legs would take me I realized I couldn't use elemental magic nor could I sense mana in the atmosphere. "That flea bag!" I shouted as I skidded across a roof looking down to see that house.

That damned house where it all started. I saw through the window that there was a tv playing what looked like a tournament. Shockingly I saw Rin and her sister sitting on the couch together. How was she alive? Sakura should've been dead.

I watched with wide eyes as I saw two urns sitting on a shelf behind the couch. Did... did something change? Did I not-

Is that me?

I moved closer as I hung on the window sill as I watched my old self fighting against a younger girl, one I knew well. Cecilia. We both smiled as our ki blades clashed together. Did I never meet rin? Did I never stop her from being kidnapped that day? Was she even in danger in this world?

Why are her parents dead then? Gilgamesh and Angelica. Leaping up to the next roof I took off for the warehouse district. It wasn't an issue. The roofs were closed the whole way there so very little mana was needed.

"You two... what are you like?" After an hour of running I finally reached the district only to see a pristine house off in the distance and many construction sights. A large sign saying 'Ainsworth construction' was hung up as I saw this place was no longer the slums that I grew accustomed to, but a place that was prospering.

"This is because I never dragged rin to this area..." I stared in shock as I looked out around the city. It was my fault we all had such shit lives. If I hadn't helped Rin, Gil and Angelica could have been amazing people, Sakura would be alive and the damned brats wouldn't hate each other.

I turned and headed to find a place to sleep. It was getting dark after all. It didn't take long to reach a bridge that I had slept under many times. It was a bit more lonely this time around.

____________________

The next day I woke up to the tapping of the rain on the concrete and asphalt. I pushed myself up only to see a man that I couldn't stand to look at. His dull dark green eyes sent chills down my spine. "Hey there kiddo, you need a place to stay?"

"I'm fine I don- actually. Yes, I'd like that very much." I quickly changed my tune as I looked up to him.

"Alright then, come with me then. I'm Odin, it's good to meet you kiddo." he gave a smile that I couldn't even tell was fake, well minus the fact I had already gotten that smile a million times.

His brown hair was slicked back and his broad frame made him look like a behemoth of a man. The square face covered with a brown beard made it hard to read him. "Name's Ashton, no last name." I got up and started to follow him as he walked out from under the bridge.

He simply waved me to follow him through the rain. He didn't offer a coat or umbrella as we walked through the city getting to increasingly fancier and more pristine houses.

Walking to what looked like a perfect house I knew that the inside was barely hanging on. As he opened the door I was met with a tall woman with green hair and a slender frame. She had nothing but a white gown on as she gave me that forced smile that still sent chills down my spine. Her blue eyes were hollow of any emotion as she looked me over. "Hello, welcome to our home. I hope you find it suitable."

I gave a small bow and said "it will be much better then what I had before."

A hardy laugh droned in my ears as I felt a large hand smack me on the back. "Good job kiddo I couldn't have said it better myself!" I'm gonna rip his throat out...