A/N: Welcome, readers, to Affliction! I've finally made it into the third chapter of this story… And the story will follow the glue incident mission arc (the one with Yovel, Numnu, and Autar), until the next chapter, since I've realized I'm slowly running out of ideas. This one happens in that underwater world people will be sent to find the Squidcreeper! XD

I swear; I have gone through a hell hole getting this chapter done with. I have gone to various people, asking for advice about the fic and asking if it was good enough already. Not that it was all that rough; I met a friend along the way and, other than the fact that he's an avid Neira fanatic, he's certainly taught me something important when it comes to characters being a little OOC at times. It's kind of the same as saying that not everyone is what they seem to be most of the time. Of course, I can't always take it TOO far or else I'll turn up creating a new character out of the ones I'm trying to portray…

Let's get on with the fic (since I'm out of stuff to say for now)!

Disclaimer: I don't own Suikoden Tierkreis.

This underwater world was just like any other ocean or sea anyone dived into. It had fish, it was wet, and there was the usual predatory wild animal that scoured the ocean for food. Finding treasure was also possible, but it was quite unlikely anyone would ever come back to shore with it alive; monsters were just as abundant as there were on land. Speaking of land, the only land anyone was ever going to find in that world was nothing but a small island with a Gateway that led into the Corridors or back to Castle 108 Stars.

Nemne, along with her fellow Porpos-kin, Nimni and Nomno, was sent on a mission by their leader to this underwater world. According to their leader, Yovel's mask had been mysteriously glued stuck to his face. Apparently, the adhesive used was one Balsam used in his experiments, and the old scientist said that the only way to remove the mask was using the sap from a monster called Squidcreeper, which lived in that same underwater world they were in. Now they were sent there by their leader to find it, and bring back its sap so Yovel can use it to remove the mask from his face.

Speaking of Yovel, the boy did come along with the three Porpos-kin in their mission, but after finding out that they would have to swim for days on end just to find the Squidcreeper, he decided to head back to the castle instead and wait for them to return. He was a bit frustrated, though, because while the three of them were out on the quest, he was just sitting back at the castle waiting. But what was more important to them was that they find the Squidcreeper, obtain its sap, and remove the mask as soon as they can.

Two days had passed since the three Porposes set out to find their mark. They found a dry cavern after following an underwater passage, and as soon as they arrived there, Nomno came out of the water first, going to a dry part of the small cave to fall asleep. Nimni and Nemne came out soon after, and after the two of them sat next to a large boulder, Nemne treated a wound her commander sustained on his shoulder when the trio was fighting a group of monsters earlier.

Nimni winced at the pain and gritted his teeth. Nemne paused but kept the medicine above his wound. "Does it hurt, Commander?" She asked. He gulped at the medicine's stinging effects. "I'll be alright," He told her, and after a shrug from the Porpos girl, he gritted his teeth in pain again as she carefully applied the medicine.

When she finished, she carefully wrapped his shoulder down to his upper arm. "There we go~ Good as new~" She sang and gave his shoulder a light tap.

"Thank you," Nimni said, and Nemne beamed her commander a smile. "Always happy to help~" She sang, and began putting back the bandages and medicine inside her pack. She found a few sticks nearby, and, after piling them up and applying friction on them, she started a small campfire before walking back to Nimni and sitting next to the blue Porpos.

"So," She said, trying to start a conversation with him, "Nomno's pretty tired after what happened." She glanced towards the said Porpos, who was on his back and sleeping soundly in the distance. The three of them fought against a wily group of monsters they encountered earlier; the same ones that gave Nimni his wound. After fighting them off for a while, they eventually went away and the three Porpos warriors had to find a safe haven so they would be able to treat Nimni's wound and lay low until the monsters' excitement died down. It was during that point in time that they discovered the passage that led to the cavern, and it was decided that they rest there for the night, as the ocean was also becoming darker.

"He is, isn't he?" Nimni replied as he cast his eyes towards Nomno as well. "Those monsters we fought were certainly tough…" Nemne nodded in agreement. They noticed that the further they swam, the stronger the monsters they encountered became. Nimni also hoped that they find their mark as soon as possible, so they can hurry back to the castle, remove Yovel's mask from his face, and never have to come back to this forsaken world ever again.

Nemne yawned. "I'm tired too…" She said and leaned against the boulder behind them. "We've been swimming and fighting monsters all day, you know?"

"Yes," Nimni agreed. "We should take this opportunity to conserve our strength for tomorrow…" He leaned against the boulder but winced again as his wound stung. He placed his free hand over his bandaged shoulder and added, "And hopefully my wound will have healed by then…"

Nemne gave him a worried look. "Your wound's not going to heal if you keep moving a lot…"

Nimni sighed as the pain slowly faded. "I know," He said and put his hand down. "Thank you, though, for your concern."

"You're welcome," She told him.

The cavern became quiet after the two ended their conversation, although the campfire made crackling noises and Nomno's snoring echoed inside the cave. Nimni's eyes were on the water, obviously on guard for anything that may come out and attack them. Nemne, who was humming a tune of another song she made up, had taken out some vegetables she kept in her pack and began roasting them over the fire. They were soggy after being exposed to water for a long time, but still edible nonetheless.

"What are you thinking about~?" Nemne asked the blue Porpos staring into the water and approached him. He turned his head towards her and replied, "I'm keeping watch should anything attack us."

"Those monsters are too big to fit through the passage~" She sang as she sat down next to him again. The passage was narrow, she remembered, but big enough for the three of them to swim through. Maybe the monsters would fit, but just one would be enough to clog the entryway; if that happened then how would they get out?

"It's best to be safe than sorry," He said. She couldn't argue with that. "What are you cooking?" He asked, his eyes now on the food being roasted over the fire.

"Some vegetables I brought along~" She replied, looking up at the ceiling. "The water probably made it really salty~ But we can still eat them~ … I think." She spoke the last part with a sweatdrop.

"It's better than eating nothing, I suppose." He turned his eyes back to the water. Nemne agreed.

"We haven't eaten a decent meal since we left," She told him as she placed a hand to her stomach. "I'm sure Nomno's gonna head straight to the dining hall once we get back to the castle." She giggled softly as she glanced towards the sleeping Porpos. She imagined Nomno coming out of the Gateway first, then walking all the way to the dining hall and not caring at all if there was anyone in the way. After that he would sit down, ask (technically snore) for some food, and eat a heaping load of Wustum's cooking.

Nimni let out a chuckle. "I'm quite certain as you are."

"What we have will have to do~" She stood up and walked towards the fire to check on the roasting vegetables. A thought suddenly came to mind and she faced her commander. "If I had known that we'd end up at a place like this, then I would've tried catching some fish on the way." She swallowed her saliva at the thought of having to eat fish.

"Nemne," He began, "We're not here to catch fish; we're here to find the Squidcreeper and return with its sap."

"I know that." She put her hands behind her back before twirling around to face the campfire. She picked up a stick and prodded the vegetables with it. As she did, her stomach made a low rumble. "I'm just hungry, that's all." She put the stick down and warmed herself by the fire.

"I'm hungry as well…" Nimni uttered before swallowing saliva in an attempt to quench his hunger. As if on cue, Nemne stood up and went over to her pack, which lay just beside Nimni. She picked it up, opened it, and slipped a hand inside to rummage through the things she brought along with her. It wasn't long before she pulled out some cherries, and Nimni blinked as the pink Porpos showed him the small red fruits in her hand.

"I almost forgot I had these," Nemne stated with a grin. "Have some, Commander."

Nimni's eyes were now on the cherries she showed him and he examined them. He then took one in his hands, inserted it in his mouth, and ate it. The cherry's juices left a sweet, fruity aftertaste on the blue Porpos' tongue, and he smiled in content. When he finished eating, he looked up at Nemne, who was watching him, and said, "May Ninulneda bless you for your generosity."

"Thank you, sir," Nemne replied, and was about to say something more when Nomno approached her from behind and placed a hand to her shoulder. She yelped in surprise, but after seeing that it was just him, she breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Nomno, don't scare me like that…" She said before turning to face him completely. Nemne studied his face and could see that he was somehow trying to ask her something. "What is it?" She asked him. What came as a reply was not a snore from the gray Porpos, but instead, the sound of his stomach rumbling. Nimni sweatdropped as he saw how similar the two of them were while Nemne realized that the gray Porpos was asking for some food.

"Here, have some~" She showed him the cherries she held. With a sheepish grin, Nomno took a few from her hand, opened his mouth, and tossed them in before eating them. He licked his lips in satisfaction, and snored, "Zzzz." Nemne knew that he was thanking her, and she gave him a nod. "You're welcome~" She sang, and saw him point at the fire behind her with a snore. Nemne turned back to what would be their dinner, and she guessed that perhaps he was asking if the food was ready yet.

"It'll be ready soon~" She sang in reassurance as she turned back to him. He placed his hands inside his teal sash as he felt the low rumble his hungry stomach made. "Zzzz…" He walked away from the fire and sat a short distance away from Nimni with the intention of sleeping until the food was cooked.

After the three of them ate their share of vegetables, Nomno went back to sleep; this time he sat with his fellow Porpos-kin. Nimni continued to stay up and kept on watch for any monsters that could possibly come out of the water and ambush them while they were sleeping. Nemne sat in between the two of them, and she would also turn in early as well since they still had to find the Squidcreeper tomorrow, though she would take over for Nimni should he become tired from keeping watch.

She glanced towards Nimni, whose head turned away from her, and Nomno, who slept soundly. The presence of her companions gave her a feeling of security, especially in a place such as this. An underwater world without any sign of civilization was kind of depressing to her. She wondered, though, if there were any Porpos-kin in this world, but after going on for two days meeting nothing but monsters was enough to tell her that she shouldn't get too hopeful about finding any of her kind in this world, except for Nimni and Nomno, of course.

Speaking of her fellow Porpos-kin, she found the three of them to be a kind of family. It wasn't one where they felt like siblings to one another, but it was more focused on the three of them usually being together and fighting side by side. They did a lot of things together, even before they joined the Company. However, with Nemne's growing feelings for Nomno, she began to distance herself from Nimni, who strangely was doing the same thing. Now that she thought about it, their conversations earlier were the first ones she had with him in weeks.

She opened her eyes, the first thing she saw being the campfire. It didn't feel that much time had passed since she tried going to sleep. She turned to her right, where Nomno sat and slept. He yawned loudly before leaning on her shoulder, much to her surprise. He nuzzled his cheek against her shoulder, causing her to blush red at his movement and the fact that he was finding comfort with her presence. She noticed that he also felt cold, so perhaps he sought warmth from her, who was at the same time heating up because of the blush on her face.

She could tell that he slept comfortably, as his snores were calm and peaceful. At that point, she felt jealous of him, mostly because he was able to sleep well despite the fact they were in a place such as this dark cavern they stayed in. She sighed.

"Can't you sleep?" Asked Nimni, who turned at the sound of her sigh. She looked at the blue Porpos and replied, "No… I've been thinking about a lot of stuff… You know?" As she said those words, her blush deepened; thoughts regarding Nomno entered her mind again and, at the same time, the said Porpos shifted again in his sleep. The friction he was making as he rubbed his cheek comfortably against her shoulder was enough to say why.

"I see," He said and turned his eyes to the fire. "I have a lot of things I have been thinking about as well…" He told her, his voice sounding a little depressed. He turned towards the pink Porpos, and his eyes blinked as he saw her face. "Are you alright?"

"Yes…" But just as she was about to continue, she stopped when she saw that he was gazing fixedly upon her face. "Wh… Why are you asking?" She asked, her cheeks heating up and her blush becoming redder. She hoped that he didn't see the blush she had, but the hand he raised to her cheek made it all clear enough; he saw it.

"Your face is red and you're heating up… Are you becoming sick?" His voice was full of genuine concern, reminding her a bit of Sisuca the other day; the only difference was Nimni was the one who was concerned for her.

Nemne gulped. "I…" She absently put a hand over his as her black eyes met his teal ones. Her heart beat nervously as she tried to say something, but for some reason, her mouth remained agape and she found herself at a loss for words. He remained still, though his hand was feeling the warmth on her face and was stroking her cheek with his thumb, which caused her to blush deeper and sent chills down the Porpos girl's spine. The light from the nearby campfire made his eyes sparkle, and it gave him a dreamy look which made it near impossible for Nemne to turn away.

Nemne continued to return Nimni's gaze with half-lidded eyes. Her vision became hazy, and she began to feel unusually light-headed. Somehow, she could hear faint voices in her head; though they were weak at first, it wasn't long before something in her mind clicked, and she took notice of the red flags she ignored, the warning signs she passed by, and the voices in her head telling her that she just walked straight into something she will regret ever going into.

The pink Porpos' eyes widened at once, and Nemne snapped back from her trance before she pulled away from his touch. She placed a hand to her chest, and she could feel her heart beating at an alarming rate.

Oh, no… What am I doing?

For a few seconds, she continued to look upon her commander's face, and then she turned away with her eyes cast down on the ground. Her face became completely red as she let out her breath after what felt like a long time of holding it in. Nimni was startled at her sudden gesture, but he also seemed as though he hadn't realized what he did just now.

It took a few moments for the blue Porpos to take in what just transpired between him and his comrade, and a blush reddened his cheeks. "A-Ah… Nemne, I'm…" He pulled the hand he used to touch her face away from view and looked down on the ground. "I… I didn't mean to… I-I'm… I'm sorry…" He gulped, mentally smacking himself on the forehead for doing such a thing, especially to someone who was his comrade. Why else wouldn't her face be heating up like that with every second? He just put a hand to her face, damn it!

"Um… It's alright, Commander…" She stuttered out. "I know that you didn't mean to… Err… You know…" She gulped, and was about to say something to him again. However, the thought of their moment just now seemed to render the pink Porpos speechless, and she decided to close her mouth and keep quiet just like her commander, who now turned away from her in embarrassment.

Nemne and Nimni became silent after their unexpected moment, and the two of them were obviously feeling embarrassed. Nimni had scooted a small distance away from both Nemne and Nomno, and returned to keeping watch for monsters. Nemne was wide awake now, unable to sleep because of what happened. Her eyes were fixed upon the fire as she was drowned in her thoughts, and Nomno had leaned back against the boulder behind the two of them after leaning on her shoulder.

Nemne thought about earlier, and she placed a hand to her cheek, where she could still feel the warm touch of Nimni's hand. It was something that took her completely by surprise. She didn't expect her commander to suddenly put a hand to her cheek like that, especially after saying how concerned he was for her health. What was more surprising, though, was that his hand was on her face for what was probably a long time, and he didn't pull it away; he just kept it there and even stroked her cheek with his thumb. And that look he had on his face… She blushed again. She couldn't explain why, but somehow, his face looked as though he was longing for something he wanted… Or perhaps needed.

She felt her cheeks heat up as she recalled how she felt. Those feelings that came from Nimni touching her cheek were just about the same as the feelings she had whenever she was with Nomno. They both made her heart race, made her blush, and both were enough to send her reeling like crazy. And she reacted just the same way (maybe even more) she did when Nomno snuggled against her earlier.

Then, in the span of a few seconds, a question popped inside the girl's mind…

Why was she having emotions for Nimni that were similar to the ones she felt for Nomno?

It felt strange to her. Now that she thought about it, how come she didn't stop him from stroking her face earlier? In fact, why did he even stroke her face just now? She could've just raised a hand to stop him before his hand came into contact with her face, but she did no such thing; she let him do it, as though she did not mind at all (though she did soon after).

She had to wonder, though; did she actually like Nimni? And what did he think about her? Did he… Did he actually like her as well?

Nemne froze and her eyes widened as she stared at the fire; the word "like" echoed in her head for what lasted a full minute before dispersing. Once it did, she lowered her head immediately and shook it wildly in an attempt to force the idea of being paired up with Nimni out of her mind. She liked Nomno! How could she possibly like Nimni when she liked Nomno? Unless she was more attracted to Nimni than she was with Nomno this entire time… But how was that even possible? She liked Nomno for a long time since they spent more time together and Nimni… He, well… He made her feel like that just earlier. Besides, he said that he didn't mean anything by what he did, so she had no reason to feel this way… And yet…

Those eyes made her feel like he was trying to tell her something.

She slumped against the boulder behind her and began to compare her emotions for Nimni and Nomno. Somehow, she couldn't help but feel guilty, since she had these emotions for Nimni as well. It was like she had betrayed Nomno in a way; she felt like she was cheating on the gray Porpos. She wondered if that was even called cheating, because she and Nomno never went out on any—she gulped and put a hand to her head at the thought—dates, or did anything like call each other sweethearts and other sappy names (even though Nemne's the only one who can practically say anything if they ever did).

She peered to her left, where Nimni was sitting by himself and staring at the water. It seemed as though he was lost in thought, and he put his hand to the ground and began tracing his finger on the sand. She couldn't see what it was he wrote. He looked down at it, made a grunt, then smudged it with the palm of his hand before turning back to the water and letting out a crestfallen sigh.

What was he thinking about?

Before she began guessing the possible things that would probably cross the blue Porpos' mind at that moment, she noticed that he seemed to be shivering, and she could hear the faint chatter of teeth from where he sat. At this, she blinked, and she wondered if he was feeling alright. It was already bad enough that he had a wound to recover from.

Ignoring her thoughts about what happened between them and her feelings for Nimni and Nomno, she opened her mouth and asked, "Commander, are you okay?"

Her voice reverberated throughout the cavern's silence, stunning Nimni from his thoughts. Nimni straightened himself, and spun his head around to look at her; he seemed to be surprised to see that she was still awake.

He regained his composure quickly, as he realized that she had just asked him a question. "O-Oh…" He started, "I'm alright, thank you." He then turned his head away and looked down at his feet. At the same time, Nemne couldn't help but feel concerned despite his answer. Somehow, she felt that his reply sounded more like he was hiding something from her instead of reassuring her that he was feeling well. It kind of reminded her of the first time Priestess Neira noticed her daydreaming about Nomno, and the time Sisuca saw her blushing and asked if she was well. It almost reminded her of… Herself.

"Are you sure?" She asked, her voice a bit worried this time. "Does your wound still hurt?"

"I'm certain, and…" Nimni looked down at his right shoulder, where Nemne wrapped the bandages over his wound when they arrived in the cavern. He lightly placed his left hand over it. It hurt a little, and he spoke, "I will be fine. My wound wasn't as bad as it was before, so… Please don't worry."

Even though he told her not to, Nemne just couldn't shake that feeling of concern for her commander. "If you say so…" Was all she could say, since she just can't simply force him to say whatever it was she really wanted him to tell her. His business was his and not hers; it was up to him whether he should tell her if he had a problem or not. And how was she even sure that he was keeping something from her? It wasn't like she was him or anything… And if he didn't want her to know, then she shouldn't press the issue any longer. She had a secret herself that she wished to keep, and she knew she would feel miserable if someone else did the same thing to her and prodded her for answers in an attempt to discover what her secrets were.

She sighed and put a hand to her head. Maybe it would just be better if she just went to sleep; all these thoughts were very tiresome, and she was going to need all the rest she was going to get since they still had to continue with their mission tomorrow.

She leaned her head against the boulder behind her and Nomno, and closed her eyes. It was quite hard to sleep when she had a lot of troubling thoughts in her mind, and again, she became jealous of the gray Porpos beside her. It was just one of those times when she wished that she would be able to sleep as comfortably as he does despite the fact something bothered her—

"Nemne?" Nimni called, breaking the silence and breaking Nemne away from her thoughts. She opened her eyes, and looked at the blue Porpos sitting in the distance. Nemne blinked when she saw that he didn't say anything more, and asked, "What is it?"

He didn't respond to her immediately. He lifted the hand he used to smear what he traced in the sand earlier—which happened to be the same hand he put to her face—and stared at his palm in silence. A few moments later, he put it down and his teal eyes looked back at the clear water. "Is it alright if I… Told you something?"

Nemne blinked at him. He was probably going to bring up something related to what happened between them earlier. But she never knew, so she answered, "Um… Sure, Commander… What is it?"

Just like before, he didn't answer at once. He was quiet as he stared into the water. It wasn't long until Nemne thought that perhaps he still felt unsure if he could trust her with keeping his secret or not, as another full minute had passed without either of them saying a word. She could also feel the slow tension growing in the atmosphere around them.

"Commander…?"

"N-No," He spoke, apparently having second thoughts. "Maybe I shouldn't… B-But then, I still feel that I should… But…"

The pink Porpos now had a worried look on her face as she watched the indecisive Nimni, who was noticeably torn between telling her his problem and keeping it a secret. It was obvious that either choice he would make would be something he would later regret doing. "Commander," She began, interrupting him and hoping that she would be able to calm him, "Whatever it is, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to…"

"No, I should," He blurted quickly, deciding that he tell her instead. "I should just tell you since… I might not get this chance again."

Nemne nodded slowly at her superior. She guessed that maybe he saw her as someone he knew that he could trust regarding his problem. She wouldn't be surprised if that was the case, since she was his comrade-in-arms for a long time now, and always assisted him as though she was his partner in all the years the two worked, trained, and battled side by side (with or without Nomno).

That or she would have gone to him if she felt the same; only problem was that Nimni was always busy, so she doubted she would ever get a chance to talk to him.

"Alright, Commander…" She said. "What is it, then?"

Nimni silently looked up the ceiling of the cavern, thinking of how he was going to explain it to her. "Nemne, I'm…" He started, then let out another sigh to fight away the nervousness he was feeling. He had every right to be; he was about to tell her something that even he would be shocked knowing if someone else told him a similar thing. "There's something I've been thinking a lot about lately… And…" He paused, trying to gather his words. "And… I've been meaning to tell you this… For a long time now…"

And for some odd reason, the Porpos girl's heart began to race again as a bead of sweat trickled down the side of her head. She held a hand to her pounding chest in an attempt to calm it down. A voice in her head began asking questions, one after the other making her heart beat even faster: Was he really going to do what she thought he was about to do? Was he going to tell her something she never thought he'd ever say? Was she going to hear a certain three-word sentence from the one person she never thought she would ever hear those words from?

…No, wait… She could never tell, really. And besides, he hasn't said anything yet, has he?

"Nemne…" He spoke her name again, anxiety evident in the tone of his voice despite his attempts to keep himself composed. At the same time, Nemne's temperature rose, and her white cheeks became red as the heat she emitted from her body made her sweat. She watched him intently, half-anticipating and half-fearing what her commander was about to tell her.

It became quiet between them. Despite the crackling fire and Nomno's snoring, the only things Nemne was able to hear now were the sound of her heart thumping in a steady but uneasy rhythm, and her commander's heavy breathing. She saw him pick up a nearby stone, throw it into the water, where it skipped across the surface before sinking. After a few seconds, he sighed loudly. There were various times before that he was easily shaken by small problems, but Nemne had never seen him so nervous before about anything until now.

"…There's someone I'm in love with," Nimni finally admitted after gathering enough courage to speak to his fellow Porpos. Nemne could almost swear her heart stopped as her breath got caught in her throat. She clutched the edge of her collar and used it to fan herself, for the heat she felt was becoming unbearable just as the suspense was. She was becoming even more nervous now; why wouldn't she? Her commander just said that he was in love with someone. What's more, she suspected that he was most likely in love with her, and she loved—err, liked Nomno more than him.

"But…"

The conjunction she heard him say was enough to snap her out of her thoughts as she tightly gripped the white collar of her pink clothes. "But…?" She asked, quietly pleading with a bit of hesitation that he continue with what he was about to say when she noticed that he became silent again.

"But she is…" He gulped and he wiped his sweating palm on his other arm. "I don't deserve to love her, but… Nemne, I…" Nimni's voice was shaking now, as though he feared what would happen if he told her. He was beginning to have second thoughts about continuing the conversation as an uneasy feeling welled up in his stomach.

The pink Porpos looked down at her legs, which were cold and stiff due to the anxiety she felt, and began to organize her thoughts. If Nimni truly was in love with Nemne, and if he were to admit his feelings for her (if he ever had any), then Nemne would be immediately thrown into a dilemma that involved having to choose between Nimni and Nomno. She knew that having two love interests was something she will have a hard time dealing with, especially if the way she felt for the two of them were similar.

Nemne liked Nomno, and she knew it. Although she was unable to say why she liked him, she liked him nonetheless. But if she were to name one thing about Nomno that she liked, then it was this: He, whether he ate, slept, snored, or whatever, was able to make her smile, no matter how depressed she felt about something. It could already be a possible reason why she liked the gray Porpos, but even that didn't seem to be the answer to why she liked him.

Nimni, on the other hand, was her commander. She couldn't imagine herself with him. She might, though, but only as his subordinate and his ally; nothing else. But seeing herself going out with him as though they had a relationship was something awkward to her. Before they joined the Company, yes, they both spent a lot of time together (even though Nomno wasn't around), but the two of them never did things lovers did to one another. She never saw him as something else… She always saw him as her commander, whom she not only supported, but fought with, as his right-hand Porpos whenever they went into battle. She couldn't find any reason why she would like him other than the fact that he was a great leader and a respected warrior among the Porpos-kin.

But the way he made her feel earlier was enough to make her reconsider her feelings for the blue Porpos. And it wasn't like she had any valid reasons why she liked Nomno too, did she?

Though it was true that Nemne never held any feelings for Nimni until recently, it did make more sense that she was to find more interest with him instead of Nomno. And there were a number of reasons why: Nomno spoke only with snores, making it hard for anyone at all to truly understand him; Nimni, though, spoke clear words just like her and anyone else in the Company, and she would be able to hear from him things about himself. Nomno ate like crazy; Nimni ate properly and neatly. Nomno was mostly blank and clueless; Nimni was swift and alert. Nomno always ate and slept; Nimni worked and trained hard. Finally, Nomno was lazy and easy-going; Nimni, even if there were times that he felt timid and nervous (like he was now), was brave and responsible. In fact, to just like Nimni more than Nomno was completely rational in just about every possible way.

Yes, one would say that Nemne was better off with Nimni than she was with Nomno. Be with someone smart instead of a naive fool; a girl like her deserved someone better than some lazy bum who slept for weeks on end, woke up only when he was hungry, and ate like a pig. Everyone around her would be able to accept it since it was more reasonable than having a relationship with someone like Nomno.

At the same time, it was also stupid if she were to pursue a relationship with her commander just because people thought it was better and more sensible, and if she was only doing it because he managed to make her heart leap just because he put a hand to her face.

And if that was how it was going to be, then did it also mean that she had to reject the blue Porpos' love for her (if he ever says it was her) and leave him heartbroken? If she did accept Nimni's love, then what about her love for Nomno? Would it become meaningless after all this time?

After some time of silence and after Nimni stopped himself from continuing his statement any further out of anxiety, Nemne became frustrated. Not only did the thought of having to choose between Nimni and Nomno made her head hurt and made her feel so confused, but she couldn't take any more of the suspense of not knowing whether Nimni was going to say it was her or some other girl she could care less about. If it was her, then would he just say it already so she wouldn't have to—

"It's Priestess Neira," He said quickly, interrupting the pink Porpos from her inner tantrum and cooling her temper before she could make an outburst. As soon as she heard the Naineneis priestess' name, her black eyes widened in disbelief; the commander was kidding, wasn't he? But he sounded too serious to seem like he was messing around…

"Wh… What?" She stuttered, hoping that Nimni didn't really say that he was in love with the Priestess, and that she was just imagining what she just heard. Nimni, in love with Priestess Neira? You must be joking…

"I said it's…" He cringed. "Priestess… Neira…" He spoke the last two words in a whisper, but it was loud enough for Nemne to hear. The look on Nemne's face was full of astonishment, and she couldn't believe what he just said; her commander, whom she thought liked her, was actually in love with none other than the Priestess of the sea god Ninulneda, Lady Neira. And that stroke he made with his thumb on her cheek earlier was actually meant for the white Porpos and perhaps, for a fleeting moment, Nimni thought that she was Neira. It was like someone came in and smacked her across the face for thinking that the blue Porpos ever had any feelings for her and for having emotions for him which were similar to the ones she had for Nomno, though they were brief and short.

After recovering from her shock, she shook her head in an attempt to regain her senses. Part of her was completely relieved to know that Nimni wasn't in love with her this entire time; another was now concerned for the blue Porpos, because she knew that his feelings were for a pious woman whose life was dedicated to serving their sea god.

"How… How long have you felt this way about her?" She asked, doing her best to keep calm despite her commander's unbelievable revelation.

"…Since… The day I first met her," He answered. "And that… Was several years ago, when I was… Just a child…"

A/N: Aaand, here's Chapter 3! Here's what I think of the Nemne/Nimni pairing!

…Okay. I did some small editing, since can't believe I repeated a paragraph in the chapter! X( It was just a minor thing, but it's still irritating, because I can't believe I didn't see that earlier! -smacks head on desk until desk breaks- …Alright, so anyway…Thanks to Wyl for pointing out that minor (but to me it's EXTREMELY MAJOR) correction before a considerably large amount of time has passed (because by then I can't stand to think of the number of people who have seen that tiny little mistake which I can't forgive myself for not correcting before I posted the chapter).

After I finished the first draft of this chapter, I immediately went to revising it. And after a bit of help, I've finally done it… And according to the game, it said that the Squidcreeper was in an underwater world, so I pictured this underwater world as a place full of nothing but ocean, monsters, and having only one island (the one that has the Gateway).

So, this chapter was originally much longer than it is now. I separated the chapter instead (this was more than 10, 000 words long then), and though I normally wouldn't feel like doing that because I think it's unnecessary, I still changed it anyway (although the chapter feels shorter), for a dramatic effect, lol. =P

The way I see it, yes, it's another one of those stereotypical having-to-choose-between-two-people-you-like, and the finding-out-this-guy-you-thought-liked-you-actually-likes-someone-else. The only difference is it's between the Porpos-kin, and, holy crap, Nimni's in love with Neira! (The truth behind why she's part of the Neira-Eusmil-Resno trio combo SECRET CRUSH! LOL XDDDDDDDD It's probably the other way around and that Nimni should be in it, BUT WHO CARES!)

Speaking of the Nimni/Neira thing, I also thought about it while I was playing the game. It kind of reminded me of the so-called Teresa/Shin pairing back in Suikoden II (Hey, it's possible, lol), but that's not the reason why I made this pairing up either. At the same time, I was also thinking of the possibility of Namna/Neira, but I saw that Namna's relationship with Neira was more on his over-protectiveness for her. So that's not really affection; it was more like, oh, I dunno… EXTREME STALKING! (LOL, imagine if Neira has to use the bathroom and Namna's always following her XD ROFL)

I'm also pretty sure there are some people who actually thought of a possible Nemne/Nimni pairing while they were playing the game. Well, guess what? I did too, but then I saw that Nemne was better off with Nomno (their peculiarities seem to make them look cuter as a pairing), and Nimni was better off with someone… That has an elegant aura about; you know what I mean? (Not that I'm implying anything mean…) And in my opinion, hell, he looks better paired off with Neira. (What do you mean he's better off with Namna! THAT'S FREAKING SICK!)

I'm pretty sure some people are wondering how in the hell is Nemne able to fight underwater with a boomerang. Well… She's using knives in this mission, lol. (If they're having battles on land, well, I'll just make her use the boomerang. Easy explanation, right? Of course, she stabs her enemies instead of throwing the knives, so that's probably enough to explain how she's able to fight with throwing knives underwater…)

As for the castle's name, calling it 108 Stars Castle felt kind of cool (in fact the Company's name is Tierkreis Company, lol), but I might not mention the name of the castle and company a lot. And for the name of the hero, well… I might not reveal that either. I might, but probably much later.

So, if anyone's wondering why Nemne's really shocked about knowing Nimni loves Neira, well, all I can say is, you won't know that until I post the next chapter (But if you already have a guess, then… Please don't say it out loud. XD).

Thanks to Spirit Seer, Wyl, and everyone who gave me good ideas to help me with getting over my writer's block in the middle of the chapter, along with other things (such as ideas on how to write certain parts of the chapter).

What do you guys think?

Thanks for reading! -Zip