Serena was one of the toughest people he knew. That girl faced any danger with unwavering resolve and could scare off men three times her size with just one glare. She gave Kurosaki a run for his combat experience when it came to the Lancers and never hesitated to settle things physically if dueling wouldn't work. Despite all this, Reiji witnessed first-hand the sight of her gawking at snow like a child in a candy shop.
It wasn't only simple surprise that lined her face, but such genuine wonder and amazement. He wondered how a child raised in the toxic trappings of Fusion could still hold onto that type of innocence, but then Serena was always going against his expectations. He should have stopped making predictions concerning her the moment she had decided to join the Lancers.
"What?" He was brought out of his musing by sharp green eyes. "Academia was in the South. I knew of snow, and then there was my first time in Standard, but to finally see the real stuff..." She returned to gazing at the white wonderland, a small smile painting her features.
He didn't say a word, instead leaning forward to tighten her scarf. When she directed another weird look at him, Reiji sighed and adjusted his glasses before explaining.
"It can get colder than you expect out here. Would be a shame to survive a war only to get sick a few weeks later."
"I thought that wives tale that you got colds from the cold was just a myth."
"True, but the cold can awaken any dormant virus lingering in your system."
"Ah," Serena seemed unsure what to say, so she went back to watching the snow fall. He supposed health myths and their accuracy weren't the most engaging topic. Still, she was the one to invite him out here. If she had something to bring up then, now was the time.
As if reading her mind, Serena tugged on the side of her overcoat.
"You're right, it's getting too cold for my tastes. Let's go inside."
"Alright," He considered contacting Nakajima to drive them back to LDS, but Serena seemed so enamored by Miami in the winter. Instead he decided to lead her to that decent cafe a few blocks down. He didn't get out much, but it was a quiet place he had discovered one stressful evening.
The owner greeted them as, "Mr. Akaba and his lady-friend," but Serena didn't seem very interested in clearing up the misunderstanding. Instead she ordered a "hot chocolate with the small marshmallows," and on a whim he got the same. The owner raised a questioning eyebrow over the fact he didn't get his usual tea, but Reiji ignored the silent assumption. He had just saved multiple worlds, might as well indulge himself a bit.
She burned her tongue on the first sip, a mistake he smugly avoided to her annoyance. He couldn't help but smile at the way she scrunched up her noise in anger, but Reiji made sure to hide it behind the rim of his cup. He couldn't give her any material to use against him.
In the end he found the drink too sweet, however Serena seemed to enjoy every last drop of it. She was so preoccupied with her beverage, she seemed to forget he was even there, directing her attention once more to the snow outside. Still snow was snow to him so instead he decided to study Serena herself. He kept these little moments to himself, mostly because he knew any attempt to explain it would be seen as an excuse, but also partly because no one had called him out on it. It was interesting to observe the way people unconsciously acted, and when dealing with a Bracelet Girl or Dimension Boy, it could be necessary in identifying them. Their condition acted as a glamour of sorts. You saw the child from your dimension until their true identity was revealed and the differences became painfully obvious. He had quickly gotten a handle on Serena's glamour and could identify her most of the time, but more precautions couldn't hurt.
She chewed on her lip when thinking, unlike Hiragi who tapped the side of her cheek. Serena also never seemed able to sit still, always shuffling and shifting around. These were meaningless details to most, but Reiji couldn't bear to part with them. Any information that could become valuable (which was almost all information) should be kept, so he tucked away these small patterns that would never be spoken of in the back of his mind.
"You're looking at me with that strange look again," Serena growled.
"It's nothing intentional, I was thinking and you were in my line of sight."
"Yeah right."
"Someone has to be thinking for the Lancers, and I doubt a certain few think at all."
She smiled at his rare attempt at snark, however the smile quickly faded as she started to furrow her eyebrows. "I guess I should spill it. I'm going back to Fusion."
He had seen this coming. It surprised him she had not returned to Fusion in the first place, but he had in the end attributed that to the hectic nature of the situation. Now that's things have settled down, she could integrate with the new regime peacefully.
"Reira will be disappointed," After their time spent in Synchro, he had became a bit attached to her, even asking for tips on Fusion Summoning.
"I'll try to make things up to the little squirt," She shrugged. "I have too much unfinished business there to just sit around here."
"I see," Reiji adjusted his glasses. "Is there any reason you decided to tell me personally?"
"I mean you're the guy with inter-dimension technology," She laughed, a fragile sound he still wasn't used to hearing from her.
"True." A comfortable silence hung between the two for a few minutes before Serena spoke up again,
"I'm coming back though."
"You are?"
"Mhm," Serena nodded vigorously. "I don't know how to say it, but there are two Serena's. The one I was, and the one I want to become. Right now I'm stuck in the middle, and for me to become the me I want to be, I'm gonna need to return to Fusion. I'm gonna need to be a part of the rebuilding process and uncover the truth about certain past events," She glanced at her bracelet for half a second before moving on. "Still there are too many bad memories to make a life there. I might slip back into the Serena I used to be. Standard is the place where I can get the fresh start I want."
"Do you have a time-frame for this plan of yours?"
"No," She sighed. "No idea of how long this will take, All I know is I'll come back someday."
"Then I wish you good luck."
"Thanks," Serena grew quiet, but she chewed her lip like mad just as she had been doing before. "Also I brought you here because I want to thank you for everything you've done. For keeping me from staining my hands any further with blood. For taking me seriously as a duelist when no one else would. For seeing me and not a Yuzu or Rin, for..." She stopped mid-sentence, "for accepting my weakness when I couldn't. It's nice having you by my side." It was strange she was being so transparent. Serena was not one for unnecessary things, but she was not one for lying either. Maybe she was just concentrated on being honest, a likely motivation for someone so honor-driven as her.
"I agree." It was strange of him to be open too, but it just came naturally around her.
"I don't know what I want in life, but can you promise that when I return you'll still be here?"
"I don't have any plans to leave Miami."
"Not that," She growled as she shook her head. "I've confused myself with this talk of 'me's' and all, but I think I'm trying to ask if you'll still be the Reiji I understand, the one I can depend on."
Reiji took a deep breath. "I can't make any promises. People change whether we want to or not, it's in our nature. Still know LDS will always open its doors to you."
Serena sighed. "I guess that's all I can expect from our fearless leader," She reached across the table to hold his hand in her's, and he made no attempt to avoid it. "I'm satisfied with this arrangement except for one thing."
"What is it?"
"I request the great and mighty Reiji Akaba get down and dirty and have a snow ball fight with me," She shot him a cat-like grin he couldn't help but return even if the idea of getting soaked was not entertaining.
"I suppose that I could arrange that," He squeezed her hand as he tried to tuck another little moment into the back of his mind before it ended.
A.N. Wrote this earlier, but I thought I should post it after my secret santa stuff and all. This was really fun to write, It's really hard to get into Reiji's head, but also very intriguing