"I've already said I don't want to talk to you. Got bugs in your ears or something?"

Kenmei sighed, tapping her fingers on the sides of the small box she was holding with annoyance. "Judar, really. It's been almost two months, now. Don't you think it's time to get back to normal?" She stepped closer to the tree in front of her, eyes still on the boy high up in the branches.

Judar was slumped back against the trunk of the tree, arms crossed tightly over his chest as he glared off at nothing in particular. "Normal? I'm not acting any different."

"Yes you are. I've barely seen you out of that tree since you got back from Balbadd." Kenmei shifted her weight to her other leg as she continued to watch him. She could see him tense up at the mention of the port city, and that just confirmed her suspicions. He was still upset about his double loss to that other young Magi.

During the first week after battles in Balbadd, Kenmei didn't see him at all. She had no idea where he had gone or what was wrong with him, and she still had no idea. In fact, today was the first time in two months that he talked to her more than one or two words. All other communication he had done with his eyes or hands, often glaring or just waving at her to go away.

This behavior worried Kenmei from the moment she saw him in the tree for the first time. Even when they first met, he was never this cold or angry. So, she did her best to try and calm or comfort him, but her efforts were always met with angry looks.

Today, though, he had not looked at her ugly at all. The rukh that had before been fluttering around him in anger were much more calm and relaxed, though Kenmei could still sense the agitation. So, she decided to try and bring him something that may catch his attention rather than just try and talk him out of the tree.

"I'm sorry, we won't talk about it. I brought you something, though." She looked down at the box in her hands. Judar blinked and turned his head to look down to see what she had. "And what would that be?"

"Well you haven't eaten all day. So I brought you some food." She removed the lid to the box and the smell from the food inside rose into the air instantly. Judar blinked once again as he looked down at it, expression relaxing slightly as the scent hit him. "Oh."

Kenmei looked back up and gave a smile. "Come on." Judar shook his head and turned to look away. "I'm not coming down, you bring it up."

"I will not." Kenmei put the lid back onto the food. "I'll just take it back and eat it myself if you're going to be tha-" She gave a small jump as Judar landed in front of her, instantly holding his hands out for the box once he stood up straight. "Then give it to me."

Kenmei raised an eyebrow at him, holding the box to her. "But you'll just go back up there and eat it."

"Yeah, that's the plan." He reached for it, but Kenmei turned her body and held it close to her and out of his reach.

"No. Sit down here and eat it with me." She spoke as she stared up at him, being confident and serious about getting him out of that tree. Being much closer to him now, she could see the tired look to his eyes, even as he glared at her. He grumbled and tried to reach for the box again, but Kenmei turned her body all the way around to block him with her back. "I said no."

Judar gave an almost childish, whiny groan and lied his head on top of hers, hiding his face in her hair. "You're so stupid." Kenmei smiled. "Just do it."

Judar turned and walked back to the tree, sitting around the back of it to where he was facing the wall and no one could see him. "There, I'm sitting. Now give me the damn box before I seriously take it from you."

Kenmei followed him around the side of the tree and sat in front of him. "Here." She sat the box down in front of him and opened it, the smell once again filling the air around them. Judar blinked as he looked down at the food in the box, now able to see it better.

"Smells good, but it looks like crap." He reached down and grabbed the eating utensil that was in the box as well, not seeing Kenmei shift nervously in her spot. The box had three sections inside of it, each with a different form of food. In the largest section was a mixture of noodles and meat, while one of the smaller sections had some rice that looked over cooked. The last section had a small bowl sitting inside of it, filled with slices of different fruits.

Kenmei gave a small shrug. "I'm sure it's still good, even if it's not the most... presentable thing in the world." She began to twist a lock of her hair, trying not to look anxious. Judar raised an eyebrow at her before he stuck the utensil into the noodles and twisted. "Right. We'll see about that."

He brought it up and put the rolled up chunk of noodles into his mouth. Kenmei watched closely as he chewed, but gave a jump when he began to cough. "What's wrong?"

Judar shook his head as he stood and walked around to the side of the tree, spitting the food out of his mouth. "What is that crap?!" Kenmei made a face at his reaction to the food. "It's just normal noodles."

"Normal?! More like fire." He turned back to her, face scrunched up with disgust. "Please tell me you brought water."

Kenmei nodded and removed the flask from her hip, holding it up to him. "Yes, but what was wrong with it?" Judar snatched the flask from her and ripped the cork from the opening, not bothering to answer before he began to drink the water, downing it like he hadn't had water in days. It seemed like minutes before he finally stopped, removing the flask from his mouth before wiping the stray water away with the back of his hand.

He took in a few deep breaths before looking at her. "What?"

Kenmei shook her head. "I ask what was wrong with it."

"It's the spiciest thing I have ever attempted to eat. Ever. I mean, damn, it's still burning my mouth." He gave a sniff and rubbed his nose, the spices getting to his senses as well.

"Maybe try the rice, then."

"I'm not touching any thing else in that box, whoever made that is insane. Who made it?" He sat back down in front of the box and began to poke at the rice with the utensil.

Kenmei opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by more of his ranting. "I mean, look at this rice. It doesn't even stick correctly, it's like it was never even cooked."

"Well-"

"It's all brown and burnt looking, too."

"I know, I-"

"And the meat I got with those noodles was like trying to eat leather."

"Well it looked-"

"I bet even the fruit is messed up in some way, though it would take a real dumb ass to screw up something you don't even have to cook."

"There was nothing done to them, they should be-"

"Whoever cooked this is fired. That's it, they're-"

"Judar!"

Judar finally stopped his ranting and picking at the food and looked at the girl in front of him. Her face was dark red, eyes now avoiding his gaze in her embarrassment. "I cooked it.." She mumbled, barely audible even to herself. Judar leaned forward to hear her better. "I can't hear you when you mumble."

Kenmei sighed and talked louder. "I said I cooked it."

Judar fell silent as he stared at her, a noodle on the utensil the only sound as it fell and slopped back into the sticky mess in the box. "You made it?"

Kenmei nodded, staring at the ground as she nervously ran her fingers through her hair. "Yes..."

"Why?"

"I don't know. Just wanted to do something for you, I guess."

Judar nodded and picked up the small bowl of fruit while setting the utensil back down into the box. "Uh huh. Have you ever cooked before?"

Kenmei shook her head. "Not really. I never learned how to cook."

Judar scoffed and stood, taking the bowl with him. "Well no wonder it sucks. You're only good at magic, you shouldn't try to do other things." He began to walk away, causing Kenmei to look up at him. "Wait, what?"

The boy continued to walk, not answering her as he did so. Kenmei quickly got the box back together and ran after him. "What did you say?"

Judar gave her a look as he ate the fruit in the bowl. "I'm pretty sure you heard me, I don't like repeating myself."

Kenmei held the box close to her. "You mean it? You actually think I'm good at magic?" She could feel her stomach bubbling excitement. He had never told her anything of the sort or complimented her in any way, even with how much she had improved with all of her training and studies. It was always more of a 'not bad, but you still suck' situation with everything, so actually hearing him say that she's 'good' at her favorite thing was blowing her mind.

The boy glanced at her before he gave a shrug. "You're not bad, I guess. I mean, if you think making bubbles is impressive, then sure, you're good at magic." He tossed a seed from the bowl at her, hitting her on the cheek. "But you suck at cooking. Do not ever do it again."

Kenmei smiled, not at all hurt by his insult to her cooking. He had complimented her, finally, after all her attempts to impress him with her magic and skill. "It's strange. I've tried forever to try and get you to say something nice about my magic, or skill, or anything. But you finally do it after you insult my cooking. It's almost like you feel bad, and you're trying to make it up to me."

Judar scoffed, though it boarded on the edge of being a laugh. "Yeah, right. You almost killed me, why would I feel bad for you." He ate the last fruit in the bowl, a sly smirk coming across his face as he stared down into the juice left inside.

Kenmei shrugged, not noticing the sly look. "I don't know. I can't ever understand half of the things you do or say."

"Your brain is too small." He lifted the bowl up over her head and turned it, quickly placing it down onto the top of her head. Kenmei didn't mind at first until she felt the cold liquid touch her scalp and drip down the front of her hair and onto her forehead.

She froze, dropping the box she had in her hands as she gave a gasp. Judar laughed, backing away and lifting himself into the air to avoid any lashing out she may do. "That's what you get for trying to kill me!"

Kenmei reached up and grabbed the bowl, obviously trying to stay calm and be the more mature one. "You're right, I deserved that."

She began to wipe the juice away from her face and forehead with the back of her sleeve, not noticing Judar pull out his wand. "Damn right." Judar smirked as he stared up at the large ball of water slowly and silently starting to form above the young girls head.

Kenmei sighed, still not noticing the activity of the rukh or the sneaky magic being done by the boy above her. "I need to go bathe, now."

Judar snickered. "Nah, let me get that for you." Kenmei turned her head to look at him, but didn't have time to respond as the ball seemed to burst and the water fell onto her head, soaking her entire upper body.

Laughter erupted from the boy again, both hands resting on his stomach as he mocked the girls misfortune. Kenmei crossed her arms as she turned to face the boy, stern look on her face. "Don't you think that's over kill?"

Judar shook his head as he laughter toned down, crossing his legs in the air as he continue to float out of her reach. "No way, it's just too easy."

"Well do you feel better?"

Just shrugged as he put his wand away. "Not really, I mean that food was really bad, I think the fruit wasn't fr-"

"That's not what I mean." Kenmei uncrossed her arms, still holding the tiny bowl. Judar blinked and raised an eyebrow at her. "What?"

"Do you feel better?" She repeated herself, moving her wet hair out of her face so she could see him better. Judar crossed his arms, trying to figure out what she meant. "Feel better? What is there to feel better about?"

Kenmei was about to speak again, but stopped when Judar gave a frown. He scratched the end of his nose, avoiding her gaze now as he spoke. "Oh. Right. That's none of your business." He turned himself around in the air to where his back was facing her, arms and legs crossed. Kenmei frowned and walked closer, hating that he shut her out like that all the time. She reached up and gently took the end of his braid into her hand and gave it a very soft, gentle tug. "Come on. I just want to know if you feel better."

He gave a grunt and rubbed his face with both hands. "Whatever, sure, yeah."

Kenmei raise an eyebrow at the boy, tugging again. "You're not that good of an actor. And you're not going to fool me with any boo-hoo stuff."

Judar glanced over his shoulder at her before he lowered himself from the air, landing with his back still to her. "I've pull every trick in my book on you, huh?" Kenmei nodded, releasing his hair and letting it fall to rest normally. "Pretty much."

The boy turned to face her, letting one hand rest on his hip while the other stayed at his side. He had a very blank, serious look on his face as he stared down at her. "You don't need to worry about any of it. Just stop thinking about it."

Kenmei frowned. "I just don't understand what could be so serious that's eating at you like this."

Judar shrugged. "It's not that big of a deal. I just got my ass kicked twice by a stupid kid."

"I know it's more than that. I saw both of the fights. Something else happened during that second one. What was up with that? Is that what you keep thin-"

"I said drop it!" Judar raised his voice at her, boths arms resting at his sides with hands clinched. Kenmei gave a light jump, but didn't back away or break eye contact with him. She could see black rukh flutter around him in agitation and she could feel the anger radiating off of them. And still, she was not scared of him.

In fact, she was sad for him. She couldn't understand how his body and mind could handle dealing with so much hate and anger. And more, she couldn't understand what had caused him to willingly become this way. She was so curious and so confused. She knew nothing about this boy and had always just accepted him as he was. But now he was so different, showing much more emotion than Kenmei had ever seen him show. She wanted, needed to know so that she could understand.

"What happened to you?" Her voice was quiet as she spoke and the question seemed to break Judars focus and he blinked, posture relaxing slightly. "What?"

Kenmei bent down, placing the small bowl she had still been holding on the ground before standing up straight again, not wanting it to be annoying and in the way. "There's no reason to be so angry." She stepped a bit closer, keeping calm. "I just.. can't understand."

Judar rolled his eyes and ran his fingers through his hair, only causing it to become more of a sloppy mess. "There's nothing you need to understand." His hand dropped from his head and fell back to his side, making a light pat noise as it flopped back against his body. His other hand rose to rest on his hip again, refusing to make eye contact with the girl in front of him, now.

Kenmei frowned. "There's a lot I don't understand that I want to know about. I barely know anything about you, and yet you know everything about me. I just want to know what that boy did to hurt you so badly."

"He didn't hurt me." Judar spoke coldly, looking down at her with an icy stare Kenmei hadn't seen in years. "He didn't do anything to me. Except humiliate me, of course."

Kenmei shook her head. "I was there. What did he show you."

Judar rubbed his face again, the black rukh becoming more agitated the more she pressed it. "Why are you not giving up. I told you to just drop it."

"I just want to know something about you. Something that can help me understand." She reached over and took his free hand gently. The instant she touched him, the dark feelings became almost overwhelming. Judar did not pull away from her touch, or really react to it at all. He stood there in silence, his icy glare not faltering, as if he expected her to get scared and back away.

She didn't. Kenmei stood there and stared right back up at him for what seemed like hours. Until, finally, the rukh seemed to calm, as did his expression. And then, he started to chuckle. First quiet, then slowly raising up into a full on laugh.

Kenmei stared in confusion, raising an eyebrow at him. "What.. what are you laughing at?"

Judar shook his head as his laughter continued, though he lightly turned his hand and pressed forward so that her fingers fell nicely between the grooves of his. Kenmei's face turned a light pink at the action, becoming confused and embarrassed. "Why are you laughing?"

The boy looked down at her, expression once again relaxed. "You're so serious. It's funny."

Kenmei frowned. "It's not funny! Of course I'm serious, I want to know what happened to you so I can help you or something."

Judar sighed, scratching his cheek. "I hate to break it to you, but no one can help me. No matter what I tell you."

Kenmei's frown grew. "No need to get all deep with things."

"Why, you're the one that wants to know so badly. You wouldn't like the answers to your questions. You don't need to know the answers to your questions. If you knew everything, you'd regret asking." He reached up with his free hand and moved a loose strange of wet hair out from in the middle of Kenmei's face. "So just.. stop asking."

Kenmei's face stayed a dark red as she watched his hand. "I just want to know what he showed you."

He sighed. "The kid showed me my past and parents with his weird power. Gave me a headache, that's all." He gave a shrug, seeming like he really didn't care.

Kenmei gave a small nod. "You've never told me about any of that."

Judar shrugged. "That's because it's not interesting and has nothing to do with anything that you need to worry about."

The girl gave him a stern look. "That isn't fair. I've told you everything about me." Judar returned the stare, not amused at her attempt to guilt trip him into telling her. "I never asked you to, did I?"

Kenmei frowned and lowered her head a bit. "No, I guess not... Fine." She looked back up at him, poking him in the middle of the chest with her free hand. "I'll stop asking, but YOU have to stop being a mopy baby."

Judar stared down at her hand before looked back at her face, an eyebrow raised. "Uh huh. I'll think about it." He released her hand and turned, starting to walk off. Kenmei quickly followed after him. "Hey! I mean it, I'll keep bugging you if you don't lighten up."

Judar nodded. "Yeah, then everyone will wonder where you've gone when you suddenly vanish."

"That doesn't scare me anymore, you know."

"It should." Judar spoke as a small patch of ice suddenly formed under Kenmei's feet, causing her to loose her balance and slip forward, giving a scream as she fell onto her stomach.

Judar laughed and continued to walk. "Did you really think I'm all out of tricks?"