Chapter 189: Unlikely (II)

Giliath demands your power stones!

*

Yet as Van's group of five soon arrived at their restaurant which was placed to where it overlooked all of Riverside for a good view, they saw the door open. Seeing a few figures step out of the restaurant, they could only step aside.

They appeared to be a somewhat elderly couple, followed by a young brown haired boy and an older brown haired man. Van could see these two as siblings, seeing how close in appearance the two were.

Van couldn't help but feel slightly envious seeing how these two were acting. Van had no familial love back then. He could see the happiness in the two's eyes. Yet Van chose to remain silent as he observed his family. Elaine glanced her eyes at Van's behavior and felt a bit worried, but chose to remain silent.

The group saw the older man let out a laugh as he spoke to the brown haired boy.

"Haha, you sure kept stuffing your face in there. Told ya this place was good, wasn't it, Lloyd?", The brown haired man said, letting out a laugh as he did.

"Haha, it sure was. I'm still surprised you wanted to come visit our grandparents in Calvard during your big celebration, Big Brother.", The brown haired boy called Lloyd happily responded.

"Well, there was a bit of a falling out, despite having me being promoted to Crossbell's First Division. Needed to take a breather. Still, thank you for taking Lloyd and and I to the big capital, Grandpa.", The older brown haired man said, thanking the aged man who was before him.

"Hoho, think nothing of it. We rarely come to the capital either. Enjoying it is the best way to go. I can already see the time was well spent.", The older aged man said, letting out a laugh at the two.

"Right? It's a shame big sis couldn't come, but it's still great being able to see this place with you guys.", Lloyd happily responded.

It wasn't until now did the older man realize they had stopped walking, still standing in front of the entrance to the restaurant, only to realize that another group was waiting to go inside of it. 

"Oh, I didn't realize there was another group. This place is really good. You guys are definitely going to enjoy it.", The older man said, causing Sara to smile.

"Well, considering how great you were reviewing it just a moment ago, it looks like reserving this place was the right choice. Wouldn't you agree, Elaine?", Sara asked Elaine beside her.

"Yes. It's nice to see Riverside is upholding its reputation as one of Edith's most popular touring spots. Though you guys don't seem to be around here.", Elaine said, wondering as she observed the two siblings. Hearing that, the older man nodded his head.

"Ahh. We got a long ride back to Crossbell. Our grandparents live in Calvard, so we decided to have a bit of fun before my lil bro here starts his enrollment back at the Police Academy. Oh and you can call be Guy, by the way. My lil bro here is Lloyd.", Guy said, introducing himself and Lloyd to Van's group as he placed his hand over Lloyd's head, ruffling his hair a bit.

"The Police Academy in Crossbell, eh? Your family must come from a line of detectives. I'm Sara. Elaine here and I are working as Bracers, so if you guys ever get yourself in a pinch, don't hesitate to shout out, alright?", Sara said, assuring the group as they were getting ready to leave.

"Bracers huh? I guess no matter where we go, we'll come across 'em one way or another.", Guy said, turning quiet for a moment after recalling what had happened to him and Lloyd, which was the main reason that promoted his short vacation to Edith.

Despite recently being promoted to Crossbell's First Division, which handled the largest and most complex crimes that occurs in Crossbell, in turn, he had a falling out with whom he saw as his best partner.

The duo used their wits and brawn to tackle anything that would require their work as being detectives. Yet just as he would see his best partner join him in both becoming detectives of the First Division, his lartner up and left him in the dust.

It really did cause quite a disturbance in the police force. This was the same Guy Bannings who was a part of Team Sergei, one of the hired squads that Naoto had a brief encounter with during his stay in Crossbell to help with the cult extermination.

And now a few years later, he still had a fall out with his best partner to fight crime, Arios Mclaine. He suddenly decided to retire from the force, and become a bracer, while Sergei went off to become a teacher at the Police Academy. That was why Guy turned quiet for a moment after hearing Elaine and Sara introduce themselves as bracers.

And on top of that, because Sergei decided to transfer to the Police Academy, Guy figured that his little brother would encounter him sooner than later.

His little brother had just turned thirteen this year and already displayed interest in becoming a detective just like Guy. And for a good reason.

The brown haired boy beside Guy was Lloyd Bannings, who was none other than the protagonist of the Crossbell games. He was the same age as Naoto and Estelle, and likewise a year older than Rean.

And as a result of Guy's promotion and the events had transpired ahortly after, Guy decided to take Lloyd to visit his grandparents and be tourists for a week or two, since their grandparents lived outside of Edith.

However, Guy wasn't expecting to come across another group of bracers that he had gotten experience firsthand by getting into contact with Crossbell's bracer guild branch. Though as Guy remained in his thoughts, he came to a conclusion that it was a good thing to see bracers operate in a country he wasn't too familiar with, since a bracer's number one job was to uphold the safety of a country's citizens to where one was stationed.

"Big brother?", Lloyd asked seeing Guy turn quiet for a moment.

"Nah, it's nothin'. Let's go, Lloyd, I do apologize if we blocked your guys' way. The food here is is really delicious.", Guy said to Van's group. He then turned toward Lloyd again. "C'mon, Lloyd, we still got Trion Tower to see!", Guy happily said, causing Lloyd to smile.

"Yeah!", Lloyd responded, only to see Guy start walking again and joined.

"Hoho, it was a pleasure meeting you guys, but it looks like we'll be on our way.", The aged man said to Van's group as Guy and Lloyd was now in the distance. The grandparents also started walking, causing Elaine to smile.

"Likewise.", Elaine said, nodding her head as she saw the group of four leave the restaurant. Yet for some reason, Van still remained silent during this. It seemed he had recalled some words that was spoken to him in the past. Van's gaze specifically fell on Lloyd seeing him vanish into the streets of Riverside.

"If you ever come across a person named Lloyd Bannings or Rean Schwarzer, do not get entwined with them too much.", Naoto's voice kept booming inside of Van's mind as he remained silent seeing Lloyd leave with his family.

Elaine saw Van's behavior and tilted her head a bit as their group also started to walk into the restaurant.

"Van? You coming?", Elaine asked Van, which snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Yeah. I'm comin'.", Van answered, only to see his group enter the restaurant, which caused him to follow.

Yet similar to how his group had unlikely formed, Van happened to come across another protagonist of the Trails games shortly after he had arrived here in Riverside. Anticipation appeared in Van's eyes, as he soon started to develop a desire to meet the violet haired boy again, even after having gone their separate ways.

*

[Insert picture of Guy Bannings here]

[Insert picture of Arios Mclaine here]

[Insert picture of Lloyd Bannings here]