So, a few people have mentioned the constant perspective-change of this story, and I just want to once again reiterate that this is a roleplay. That is going to plague the story throughout. So sorry, those of you who are bothered by it (which is not all of you). Can't help it.

Other than that, we just want to thank you guys for the awesome reviews. Y'all rock. 8D


New Morn

Tear felt a little bad letting her guest wash the dishes up, especially after he was the one who had cooked, but something in Judas' expression kept her from arguing. While he was cleaning up she went in search of some extra blankets to make the couch more comfortable for him. She couldn't even remember the last time she had had someone stay over, but she found a few spare blankets and even a spare pillow in the top of her closet. Returning to the couch, she arranged them into a rough semblance of a bed. Judas came back into the room as she was finishing, and she was rather surprised he had cleaned up so fast.

"Sleep well" she said as he settled down on the couch. He looked surprisingly comfortable, considering he was practically longer than the couch. Smiling to herself, Tear went upstairs to her own room, locking the door behind her and settling down for the night. She fell asleep thinking of the young man on her couch and her plans for the morning, resulting in some rather odd dreams. However, the night passed uneventfully and when she woke up she didn't remember any of her dreams. She came downstairs to find Judas already awake, although he was still lounging on the couch. Giving him a teasing smile, she asked "I suppose you're going to want to cook breakfast for yourself as well?"


Judas slept well, his exhausted body having no trouble falling into a deep sleep, which was surprising since he usually slept so light, regardless of where he was. There was just some part of him that was used to having to be on the watch for enemies.

Maybe he trusted Tear more than he thought.

When he awoke, Judas had intended to get up and make breakfast, however Tear had materialised faster than expected. Lounging back, suddenly feeling very comfortable around the brunette after the uneventful night, he shrugged and plastered a cocky grin on his face.

"Well, I could, but I wouldn't mind finding out how you cook," he told her, leaning forward to prop his arm up on his knee so he could rest his chin in his palm. In short: the complete image of a man at his ease.


Tear laughed lightly at his teasing comment before heading into the kitchen to find something to eat. She remembered that she had also bought eggs when she had gone shopping yesterday, so she got them out and cracked one open to make an omelette. "Is there anything you don't like to eat?" she called to Judas as she fried up the eggs. She didn't want to add anything to the omelette that he wouldn't eat. As she asked, she wondered if loosing his memories also made him forget what types of food he didn't like. Imagining that, she shuddered at the idea of not knowing to tell people what to leave out of her meals.

"I'm making omelettes, but if there is anything you don't want in yours, let me know" she called. After a momentary pause she added "Of course, if there is anything you are partial to, let me know that as well and I'll add it if I have any." She reached for the spice rack, spinning it until she found what she was looking for to flavour the eggs. Hopefully he wouldn't mention anything she had already put in, although she supposed if he did she could just set this one aside for herself and make his second. It was more polite to cook for the guest first though.


Judas thought for a moment before calling in to Tear, "No, I don't think so." At least, in all of his travels he had yet to find anything he did not like. He liked sweet foods and curry, especially, but he would eat just about anything.

"Just so long as it's edible, I'll eat it," he told her walking into the kitchen and leaning in the door frame. He knew his ruffled appearance was probably even worse since he had just woken up, but there was little he could do about that. He only had the one change of clothes. In the wild it had been easier to keep them in some semblance of clean, but being in Baticul made stripping down and scrubbing in a stream more difficult.

Glancing over at the omelettes frying, he sniffed the air appreciatively. "Hm, that smells pretty good," he told her. "Want me to get plates?" Without bothering to wait for a reply, he made his way to the cupboards and pulled out two plates, cups, and forks. "Should I get us something to drink?"


Glancing over as Judas started pulling dishes down, Tear couldn't help but smile at how helpful he was. It was nice to have someone so polite around. She also found herself smiling at his less than perfect hair. Finger-combing only went so far. "Thank you for your help" she said, flipping one of the omelettes out onto the plate he had brought her. "After we eat, do you want to borrow a hairbrush before we leave? I would offer you a change of clothes but there wouldn't be anything around here that you could wear..." She suppressed a chuckle at the mental image of him in one of her uniforms.

As he pulled down glasses, Tear couldn't help remembering the incident with the water last night. If something like that were to happen again, she would prefer it be just water and not juice, even though she tended to drink juice in the morning. "I'll just have water this morning" she said, adding spice to the second egg. "You can fill it from the tap there if you want though" she added, indicating the sink with her elbow as she added ingredients to their breakfast. The eggs were ready within a few more moments, and she picked up the two plates, presenting one to Judas. "Here you go! It may not be as fancy as your croquettes, but I think it will be good anyway." She smiled at him, turning to grab the glass of water. One of the forks fell to the floor, causing her to freeze momentarily at the memory of the strange behaviour of the knife last night, but then she realized her sleeve had caught on the edge of it and knocked it from the counter. "I'll need a new fork though" she commented, setting down her plate so she could pick the fork up to wash it. "You can go ahead and eat; I'll be in there in a moment."


At Tear's offer of a hairbrush, he smiled gratefully, nodding. "That would be awesome." He prided himself in his hair, so anything to clean it up was appreciated.

Accepting the food, Judas did not miss the look subtle look of fear that crossed Tear's face when the fork clattered to the floor. Clearly, events of the night before were still bothering her. Making his way back to the couch, he purposely walked past Tear, muttering as he did so, "It'll be fine," he told her, laying one hand on her shoulder. "If it decides to attack, I'll protect you." Squeezing her shoulder gently, he grinned reassuringly. "Promise."

After that brief statement, the man made his way back to couch, sitting so that his sword was at his feet. Just in case.

"So, when did you want to head for the coliseum?" he asked when Tear reappeared. As he waited for a response, he took a bite of the omelette, and was pleasantly surprised at how good it was.

"Hey, this isn't bad. I always liked woman who can cook." He made sure to keep a light tone and gentle chuckle in his voice to show he was only joking. Not that he did not appreciate women who could cook, of course.

...why was he thinking of this again?


Tear felt a flush creep over her cheeks at his compliment, wondering if she might be reading too much into the word 'like' in his sentence. She had just met him, why should she care what he thought of her? Chances were he would forget about her over the course of the day at the Coliseum, especially since she figured he probably planned to go to an inn tonight. She realized that she wouldn't mind if he stayed on her couch again that night, and considered offering him the spot. 'After all', she rationalized, 'he needs to save money, right?' The fact that she enjoyed his company was just an additional bonus. This had nothing to do with not wanting to come home to an empty house after spending the day planning the wedding of the person she had thought she might one day have a chance with herself.

Tear took another bite of her omelette and glanced over at Judas again, wondering what he would say if she did offer to let him stay longer. Would he think she was strange, inviting a person she had only met last night to continue staying in her home instead of getting rid of him the first chance she got? She gave him a sheepish grin as he caught her watching him and turned her gaze back to her breakfast.

"I was thinking once you get yourself ready we can go" she said. She had already washed up that morning, so it wouldn't be a problem for him to use the bathroom while she cleaned the breakfast dishes. "If you like, I can go get you the hairbrush now" she added, noticing that his breakfast was much more finished than hers. She had been too busy thinking to eat, a bad habit she had picked up somewhere. She wasn't really sure when that habit had started. Standing up, she set her plate on the couch beside Judas. "I'll be right back" she said, going upstairs and grabbing the brush from her dresser. She quickly cleaned the stray hair from it and went back downstairs. "Don't worry about your dishes, I can take care of them" she said, handing Judas her brush. She sat back down next to him to finish her eggs.


Judas quickly inhaled his food. He was a healthy young man, after all. He enjoyed eating, although his lithe frame would never show it. At Tear's offer, he nodded and stood back up to exchange the plate for the brush. Nodding his thanks, he set off for the bathroom. Shutting the door behind himself, he set to work tidying up as best he could. He really had little in the way of resources to do so, but he did what he could. Naturally, he spent the most time brushing out his jet-black locks until they shone. It had been awhile since he had been able to do so, and seeing his hair returned to its former sheen was a good feeling.

No matter that he could not remember the time when his hair had always looked thus. He just knew it had.

Finishing up, he took the brush and made his way back out to meet with Tear, marvelling at how good it felt to have his hair silky smooth again.

Depositing the brush on the couch, he exchanged it for his sword. "I guess that's it," he told her, wrapping the leather holding strap around his left hand. "You ready?"


The change in Judas' hair was stunning. Tear found it hard to resist the urge to run her fingers through the silky locks, and she couldn't take her eyes off of it. "Yeah...let's go" she said, slightly distractedly. She opened the door for him, stopping to grab her staff as she followed him out the door. She locked it up and began walking, although she soon found her eyes wandering back to Judas. He had been good-looking before, but now that his hair was so smooth and silky he was even more stunning than before. She found herself wishing she could style it, just for the excuse to run her fingers through it.

They reached the Coliseum much too soon for her taste, although she had taken a slightly roundabout way to get there as an excuse to delay her appointment with Luke and Natalia. "Well, here it is, home of Baticul's finest...gladiators I suppose." Tear said, looking up at the marble facade of the entryway. "I suppose I'll be leaving you now...but, if you'd like, you could come over again for dinner this evening" she said, a slight flush creeping over her face at how forward she was being. For some reason she didn't want to just leave it here and not see him again after she left the Coliseum. "I mean, if you don't feel like buying dinner at the inn or whatever" she added. "I'm sure you'll be able to make a decent amount of money today, but if you feel like saving a bit I can stop by again later. Or you can just come to my house if you remember the way there." She stopped, realizing she was babbling. Her flush deepened and she didn't meet Judas' dark gaze.

"It was nice to meet you" she said after a moment, wondering if he thought she was crazy. She knew she would probably laugh at someone who acted the way she just had.


Judas would have had to have been a fool not to notice the way Tear was staring at him. As he walked, he kept his eyes glued in front of him in an effort to hide the slight smirk teasing his lips and eyes. Now, he knew he was good looking, he caught women staring at him all of the time, yet to have someone like Tear, whom he presumed was far more restrained-which he preferred-staring was quite flattering. Really. Because his ego just needed a bigger boost.

As they made their way to the coliseum, Judas had no idea that Tear was taking a roundabout route, yet had he known he certainly would not have minded. He enjoyed being in her company. Possibly even more than he did fighting, odd as that seemed.

Still, they did eventually arrive at the coliseum. The large building towered over the square, its very presence seeming to loom over the folks out on the streets at such an early hour. Much to Judas' chagrin, however, he could hardly miss that its colonnaded walk was directly in line with the neatly paved walk that was the city's main entrance. Tear probably thought him a fool for not being able to find it on his own.

Well, that was all in the past; there was nothing he could do about it now. Passively, he realised that Tear was babbling as he studied the massive building, yet he left her to it. He could understand her feelings of reluctance to part; the same feeling had been clawing at his own gut since he had awoken that morning.

Eventually, however, the brunette silenced herself with 'it was nice to meet you,' prompting the dark-haired male to act. He wanted to thank Tear for all of her help, yet words had never really been his strong suit, well, at least not as far as apologies and thanks went, anyway.

On impulse, he turned to face her, grabbing her wrists gently with his hands. "Tear..." he murmured quietly, black eyes meeting blue. Knowing full well he was going to be useless at saying more, Judas used his grip on Tear's wrists to pull her into a kiss. It lasted only moments, after which he released her and pulled back, already turning to head into the coliseum, where numerous shopkeepers were shouting their wares. He ignored them all however, his mind divided between the girl outside and his upcoming battles.


Tear stood frozen in shock for a moment, unable to comprehend what had just happened. Had Judas really...kissed her? She touched her lip with one fingertip, a blush spreading across her face again. She was surprisingly happy for someone who had just been kissed by a person who was practically a stranger, especially considering that she was supposedly 'in love' with Luke. Realizing that she should probably get moving, Tear turned away from the Coliseum. Judas had long since disappeared inside, so it was pointless for her to wait around any more anyway. He hadn't really given her an answer about dinner, but she hoped the kiss was a 'yes, he would like to see her more'.