Luke was surrounded by his group of friends. Anise, Natalia, Tear, Guy, and Jade were all standing around Luke as he stood back up holding the diary. Luke took a closer look at it, trying to see if it had any names or markings on the outer cover that could lead them to it's owner.
"..Yeah… But do you think they're still in this town?…", Luke wondered outloud.
"You got a point there… They could have just been passing through.", answered Guy.
"We should look for them here anyway, just to be sure…", said Tear calmly.
"Oooooo~ Maybe when we find them, there'll be a big fat reward for it!", said Anise as she wiggled around at the thought of money.
"Might I suggest we spilt up then? We'll be able to cover more ground more quickly if we spread ourselves out.", suggested Jade.
"Ah what a splendid idea Jade.", Natalia agreed.
"Alright… Lets split up and search then.", said Luke as he nodded in agreement.
"Let us rendezvous at the inn later this evening.", Jade told them all before walking off on his own.
Sync smirked at this series of events he had helped unfold. He had his arms crossed and was leaning against the wall of the alley.
"Oops. Looks like he found it anyway, despite all your efforts to get it back.", Sync said nonchalantly, but clearly taunting Asch at the same time.
Asch knew Sync had done this on purpose. Asch would have turned around and attacked him furiously, but he saw Luke running off and had to follow him. All the members of Luke's group had gone off in different directions, leaving Luke alone. Asch hurried out into the street and went after him. Asch had to wait till Luke wasn't asking anyone about it, maybe then he could just steal his diary back.
Asch watched Luke carefully for hours, never getting close enough to be seen. Luke kept smiling and thanking people even though they knew nothing about it. The wind blew through Luke's short hair as Asch looked at him. When Asch realized how intensely he was staring at Luke, he immediately looked away. He tried to think up a plan to get the diary back without being suspected of having done it later.
When Asch looked back at Luke, he was walking off to a quiet part of the city. Noone was around so this was Asch's chance. He couldn't risk letting his Replica keep that diary and possibly finding a way to open it. Asch started running fast after him. He was planning on bumping into him hard, stealing the diary while Luke was distracted, and then yelling at him for running into him. With noone around to see him do this, Luke wouldn't have any proof that Asch had stolen it.
"… This should work… He's so completely stupid… He'll probably just think he dropped it somewhere…."
Asch went to put his "running thief yelling" plan into its first phase, the "bump into Dreck" stage.
"Hello Luke.", said a familiar voice.
"Oh hello Ion!", said Luke, smiling at the green haired boy as he stopped to chat with him.
Asch hadn't seen Ion since he was too busy focusing on Luke. He knew he couldn't have any witnesses to his plan. However, Asch had been running too fast in order to catch up to Luke. He wasn't able to stop in time and ended up crashing into his Replica, making them both fall to the ground. Ion stood there blinking wide eyed at the scene.
"OUCH! H-Hey are you okay?", Luke said as he rubbed on his own head.
"DAMMIT DRECK!", Asch yelled, glaring up at him.
Asch was laying fully on Luke due to their fall. Luke saw who it was and his eyes lit up.
"ASCH?", Luke said with a large smile.
Asch glared alittle more at him and went to move off him. Luke grabbed him, pulled him closer, and hugged him tightly.
"GAH! Let me go Replica!", Asch shouted, trying his hardest to wiggle free of Luke's tight embrace.
Ion shut his eyes and smiled alittle. He was confused and so his head was titled to the side abit.
"Ummm….I hope you two are not injured from your…Ah... Fall…", he said unsurely, as he did not exactly know what had just happened.
"OH! That's right! Asch! Are you okay?", exclaimed Luke as he finally let Asch go.
"I'm fine Dreck! No thanks to you!", roared Asch.
Asch stood up and brushed himself off. Luke sat up. He sat on the ground for a moment and smiled up at Asch.
"Good then! I'm glad you don't break so easily!", laughed Luke lightly.
Luke stood up and dusted off his backside the best he could. He adjusted his coat and looked at Asch again. Asch stood there death glaring his Replica.
"… I wonder what I did THIS time… Wasn't HE the one who ran into ME?…", Luke thought, smiling nervously.
"Oh yeah! Ion, have you seen anyone around here looking for their missing diary?", Luke asked.
"A diary? No… I don't think so…. But there is one on the ground there.", spoke the young Fon Master.
Ion pointed down to the ground where the diary was. Luke checked his pockets as he turned his head. Asch saw it right away and wanted to grab it before Luke did.
"It must have fallen out when Asch fell into me…", he mumbled, feeling that his pockets were empty.
Asch heard what Luke mumbled and opened his mouth to yell at his Replica as they both made to go pick up the diary. However, a large dog appeared suddenly and sat directly next to the diary, putting one of his paws on it. The two red heads stopped moving and stared at the dog. The dog barked and wagged his tail at them.
"Oh…A dog!", Ion gasped, staring at the dog as well.
"Hello boy… Um…. Can I just… Have that back?", Luke said nervously as he reached for the diary slowly.
The dog barked loudly, making Luke flinch and fall backwards.
"Frightened of a stupid dog now Replica?", Asch yelled, glaring down at Luke.
"Hmph! Lets see YOU take it then!", said Luke as he pouted alittle.
Asch looked back to the beast in front of him. He glared at it and it barked again. Asch didn't seem to care about the dog's barks and extended his hand down to grab the diary. Asch was about to take hold of it, when the dog moved suddenly, and barked once more. The dog picked up the diary in his mouth and ran off with it. With a his usual line of cuss words, Asch ran off after the sprinting dog.
"H-Hey! Asch!", cried Luke as he stood up.
Luke ran off quickly after his original. Ion was left standing there looking even more confused. Asch chased the dog and Luke chased after Asch. They all ran about the town till night fell around them. Asch eventually stopped running. He had lost sight of the dog. Luke ran up next to Asch and stood with his hands on his knees, panting hard.
"Where is…The… Dog?", Luke panted.
Asch glared at him, Luke knowing that it meant he had lost it. Luke caught his breath and stood up straight.
"Um…. So… Why were you chasing it like that?", asked Luke, who had been wondering that for awhile now.
"That's none of your business.", Asch muttered loudly.
"…. Is it….Yours?", Luke asked after a long pause, staring at him and blinking rapidly a few times.
"NO IT'S NOT MINE DRECK!", Asch screamed at him.
"Alright It's not yours…Geez…", Luke said as he leaned back abit from the harsh yelling.
Luke looked way from him and down at the ground. Asch turned away and started to walk off. Luke looked up and saw this.
"Hey! Where are you going?", Luke questioned.
Asch didn't answer him this time, but kept walking off into the darkness of the night alone. Luke ran over to him and grabbed his arm.
"…. Your going to go…find that dog right? Do it in the morning when it's light out.", Luke suggested at a near whisper.
"TCH. I already told you it's not mine!", replied the angry Asch as he tried to take his arm back.
"…. Alright… So your just a concerned God General? Trying his best to make sure random lost diaries are returned to the citizens of this world?", Luke said in a playful sort of tone.
"Shut up Dreck!", yelled Asch, hitting Luke on the head.
"OW! I'm not going to tell anyone! I keep one too. What's the big deal?", said Luke.
Asch tried to pull his arm away from Luke so that he could leave, but Luke pulled on him more and refused to let go.
"It's too dark to find that dog now. Lets go meet up with everyone at the inn and we can search for it tomorrow.", Luke said as he hugged that arm for more grip.
"I'm not searching for it…And I'm not going anywhere with your friends, either, Dreck.", Asch growled, getting more angry by the second.
"No! I meant just you and me! WE can search for it together…", Luke said as he got alittle more quiet.
"…I don't need your help Replica.", said Asch.
"…I know that… But you might be able to catch it easier if you had someone else helping…. Besides…. You have to get some sleep anyways right?", said Luke quietly, almost whispering it to him.
Luke tugged on Asch's arm more, trying to convince him to go to the inn for the night. Luke didn't want him to leave just yet. Asch sighed irritated and thought about it. He knew he couldn't do anymore in the dark. Rather than listen to Luke complain and whine about it, Asch reluctantly agreed to go to the inn. Luke smiled happily and clinged to his arm more. Luke dragged him all the way there.
Guy was standing just outside the inn. He was standing up against the wall and looked up when he heard footsteps.
"… There you are Luke… Everyone was getting worried… Where were you?", Guy asked as he moved off of the wall.
Guy looked and saw Asch. A combination of a stare and a glare was seen on Guy's face as he saw the cause of Luke's lateness.
"I see…. So you were with Asch… What about the diary?", Guy asked in a lower tone than before.
Luke explained how the dog stole the diary. He told Guy that Asch had seen it happen and was helping him search for it. Luke said nothing about the diary belonging to Asch. Guy thought it was strange for Asch to help Luke, but said nothing of it. Luke told Guy that he was going with Asch in the morning to search for the dog so that they could return the diary to its missing owner.
"Alright then… I guess me and the others will just see you later. They all went to bed already… So I'll tell them what you told me in the morning.", Guy said with a smile, "You should get to bed too, Luke."
Guy glanced at Asch one last time before heading into the inn. Luke looked at Asch and smiled at him before pulling on his arm more to get him inside.
"I'll get some rooms for us!", said Luke.
Luke went to the inn keeper's counter and spoke with her for a moment. She shook her head and Luke looked worried. He turned to Asch.
"….There's only one room left…", Luke said quietly to Asch.
"Tch….Figures… Take it Dreck.", muttered Asch angrily as he went to storm out of the inn.
"No don't go!", cried Luke as he grabbed his Original's hand, " We can share it!"
"No way am I sharing a room with YOU!", yelled Asch.
Asch tried to take his hand back from Luke, but Luke pulled harder on it.
"Come on! It's a lot better than camping out and sleeping on the ground!", said the nearly whining Luke as he tugged even harder on him.
Asch thought about it and sighed loudly, showing his displeasure. He knew his Replica would just follow him out of the inn if he left now. This way he could leave Luke in the room and sneak out while he was sleeping. This would be far easier to do here in the quiet inn, than out in the wild where any number of things could wake him.
"Humph….Fine Dreck.", Asch muttered.
Luke grinned and hugged Asch from behind.
"We can even take a bath together!", said Luke happily.
"NO! Forget it Dreck! I'm leaving!", yelled Asch as he tried to shake his Replica off him and make for the door.
"Alright alright! No bath! We can just go to sleep!", said Luke panicking slightly.
Luke held tighter to Asch.
"Damn Replica! Thinking I would actually bathe with him! …You better fall asleep fast Dreck… So I can leave without you!"
Asch stopped struggling. Luke felt that and grinned. He hugged him tightly once more and let go.
"The room is right over here Asch!", said the still grinning Luke as he grabbed Asch's hand and dragged him over to the room.
Luke turned on the light and looked around the room. The room was simple and had a only one window. Asch saw that the window was just big enough for him to fit through and looked slightly less dismal because of it. The room had a small bed in it that looked to be just big enough for the two of them. Luke shut the door behind Asch and forced him over towards the bed. Luke held onto Asch's hand as he kicked off his shoes and placed his sword to the side. He looked at Asch's sword and grabbed it.
"You don't need to sleep with it… So it can just stay here next to mine.", Luke said quietly, placing the blade next to his own.
Luke looked down at Asch's boots and smiled at him.
"Want me to take them off for you?", Luke offered with a huge grin.
"TCH. NO.", Asch replied with his mad face fully on.
Luke chuckled as Asch sat down on the bed and took his boots off himself. Asch put them right next to the bed so that he could easily find them in the dark once Luke was asleep. Asch looked at Luke and then shut his eyes as he laid down flat on his back. Luke saw that and smiled. He moved over to the door and turned off the light.
Luke waited a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness before prancing over to the bed. He didn't make it as planned however. Luke tripped on one of his own shoes that he so carelessly kicked about the room. He fell onto the bed and landed on Asch.
"O-Oops… Sorry Asch… I didn't mean… to…."
Luke looked up just as some moon light made its way through the clouds. It lit up the room just enough so that Luke saw that he was not but an inch away from Asch's face. Asch didn't move. They stared at each other until slowly, Luke shut his eyes and moved to close the gap between their lips. Asch's heart skipped a beat as an un-seeable blush drew across his face. The moon hide once again and the light disappeared.
"GET OFF ME DRECK!", screamed Asch.
Asch pushed Luke off him before Luke could kiss him. Luke was forced to the other side of the bed. He opened his eyes and looked at Asch.
"A-Asch! I'm sorry! It… It was an accident!", cried Luke, who was worried Asch was going to leave now.
"SHUT UP AND GO TO SLEEP!", Asch bellowed at him.
Asch turned and laid on his side with his back to Luke. He didn't want to talk about what had just, or rather what could have just, happened. He knew if he tried to leave, Luke would just bring it up. Luke saw Asch laying there and figured Asch was going to stay if he was quiet. Luke smiled some at that and laid down himself.
"… Okay….. Goodnight…", Luke whispered to him.
Luke shut his eyes and went to sleep right away.
"….. Goodnight…... Replica….."
Asch took a deep quiet breath and shut his eyes. He had to wait until he was sure Luke was fast asleep. Asch waited for what felt like an hour. He turned his head and looked at Luke. Luke was sleeping quietly and his breathing was slow. Asch looked away and put one of his hands behind his back to sit up carefully without moving the bed too much as he moved to the side. He put his feet on the ground and went to take his hand from the bed to grab his boots. That's when Luke's hand suddenly reached out and grabbed his. Asch instantly stopped moving and sat still.
"…No…Don't…..Don't go…..Asch…", fussed Luke slowly.
Asch turned his head back to look at him. He then realized Luke was just talking in his sleep. Asch shut his eyes and went again to grab his boots to leave. Luke started whining and squirming in his sleep. Luke was begging Asch not to go away again. Asch heard this and sat there unmoving once again.
"Don't….Leave me….Here…. All….Alone…", Luke cried.
Asch heard that and cursed under his breath. He moved more onto the bed and laid back down. Luke must have sensed this, because he stopped fussing. Asch sighed as he decided to stay and shut his eyes to fall asleep. Luke started to wiggle and eventually made his way closer to Asch. Asch looked at him just as Luke went and slide his head onto his arm. Luke rested his head on the side of Asch's chest as he ended up clinging to that arm. Luke smiled in his sleep and stopped moving. Asch was annoyed and his face showed it. He ended up staring at his Replica for a long while. Eventually his angry look softened and he fell asleep.