As the duel dragged on between Reiji and the boy whom had called her Yuzu, Serena found herself standing a little too close to the ninja that had stayed with her and her Standard counterpart while changing.
He was watching her with wary eyes, his toned arms folded across his chest. It was a bit unnerving to her. It made her feel uncomfortable and…twitchy.
"Do I have something on my face, ninja?" it came out a little harsher than she had meant but he didn't seem fazed by it at all. Instead he turned his attention back to the duel. It really irritated her.
"Tsukikage." his voice was quiet, barely above a murmur.
"Eh?"
He glanced at her and repeated himself. "My name is Tsukikage."
"Oh." That's right. Hadn't he called himself that during their duel against the Obelisk Force? Where he had foolishly almost given up his life points to protect them?
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Kurosaki still clutching his injured left shoulder. His eyes were trained on Reiji, angry piercing amber eyes. If looks could kill, she'd wager the young CEO would have been nothing but a smear on the sidewalk by now.
Biting her lip, she went over what had happened this day. This was all her fault, wasn't it? If she hadn't been so stubborn and run away from Academia to Standard, Yuzu would still be here. Her ninja would still have his brother and…wait. Her ninja? Blood rushed to her cheeks, making her face almost as red as Reiji's scarf. She began fidgeting with her (borrowed) tie, willing herself to calm down. He wasn't…why was she entertaining such thoughts? Sure, he's cute but AAAAH! She buried her face in her hands, desperately trying to hide her blush before anyone could see.
"Are you all right?" And suddenly he was there again. Standing too close yet too far. She could almost feel the cold steel of his armor and she flinched when he reached for her.
Taking his hand back, he simply shrugged and went back to watching the duel. Both Reiji and the boy had a sliver of life points left. It would be over at any moment now. The strike from the last turn had given birth to a small gale of wind that swept around the others, lifting up one of the ninja's, Tsukikage's, scarf tails.
Without thinking, she grabbed one and gave it a yank. His head was jerked back and almost comically, he fell backwards. His expression didn't change, but she could detect a hint of annoyance in his blue eyes.
"Yes?" he stood up and brushed off the seat of his pants.
"I…I'm sorry. I just…Back in the Iceberg field…I apologize for that too."
Tilting his head, he regarded her closely and shook his head. "No need to worry about it. What's done is done, we can only look forward to the future now. No matter what it brings or who you lose along the way."