Disclaimer: I do not own Avalon Code or its characters in any way.

I can't believe I made it this far :D I really hope you love reading this story as much as I love writing it.

Aria's POV

"The tournament is over, so we should leave tomorrow." I turned to Ur, who made the suggestion. I sighed and nodded.

"You're right. We oughtta' leave as soon as possible." I picked up the Book of Prophecy from its usual spot on my table, and walked out the door. "Anwar should be at Rex's house… but there's still the chance that he kicked him out earlier than expected." Mieli laughed and Neaki gave an amused smirk at the thought.

I, too, was laughing when I heard a voice come from my left. "What's so funny?" I quickly turned, not at all surprised that he was there, and ran up to Anwar.

"Oh, hey! Nothing, just talking to the spirits."

"You weren't talking about me, were you?" I gave a fake, surprised gasp.

"Who, me? Never." He laughed and started walking in the direction of Rex's house. "Where are you going? We have to leave."

"Sorry, but I left the Sandy Anwar at your friend's house." I stared at him for a moment before giggling at the name.

"You named your sword after you?" He blushed and told me that Olly had named it, and he just hadn't bothered to change it.

"Fine, then I'll just change it to the Aria." I also blushed, and ran up to punch him lightly on the shoulder.

"No way! That would be so embarrassing!" It was amazing how we had become so close in such little time. I was happy that he had opened up to me. He wasn't like this around Rex, Vis, or anyone else.

I felt special. It was the first time since I had gotten the Book of Prophecy, and that was the first time I'd ever felt special. It was a new feeling, even to me.

And I loved it.

"Well, then help me come up with a name." I laughed and tapped my chin in thought.

"How about…" I pictured the sword in my mind.

It had a purple sheath… that much stood out. The hilt was elegant, curvy. It was also very large, and seemed like a heavy item to be carrying around. But it seemed well taken care of… powerful… an excellent sword. I smiled as the perfect name entered my mind.

"Rempo." He looked at me in confusion for a moment.

"Rempo? Isn't that the name of one of your spirit friends?" I smiled and nodded, looking over to the fire spirit.

He was looking away, pretending to be interested in a nearby tree, and fidgeting with his feet.

I couldn't help the smile that overtook my features. He could be so cute at times.

"I like it. Rempo, then…" He gave me one of his wide grins. "Well, I better go get it or else we can never leave, huh?" I waved goodbye as he ran to Rex's house.

I saw Rempo whisper something to Mieli, and she grabbed the other two spirits and dragged them into the book, going on about something about flower meanings.

I knew what he was doing. He wanted to talk.

"Hey, um… Aria? I wanna' apologize for what I said the other day. I shouldn't have opened my mouth. And… thanks. You know… the sword and all…" I had stopped in the middle of the road, and was absorbing every word he said.

"No, I'm glad you did. And... no problem." I had to lie again. I didn't wanna' know. His words had caused my stressed state. But there was one thing I had to tell him.

"Look, Rempo… I treasure our friendship. I really do. I don't want anything weird going on between us that might ruin it." He listened closely, nodding here and there.

"I understand. Don't worry about it. Pretend it never happened." He gave me his usual grin. It looked pain-filled… and I gave him a smile of my own, even if it hurt.

He won't just forget it. I hurt him, I know it. He said it himself that he will always love me. It hurt so badly… I hurt my best friend.

"I'm sorry, Rempo. I love you, too. You know that." He gave me a sad smile.

"But not in the way that I love you." I looked at the ground for a long moment and shook my head.

There was an awkward silence between us. I hated what I had to do to him. I just loved Anwar so much… and that love had crushed his. "I feel really guilty, you know." I admitted.

"Feeling guilty proves that you're human…" His smile had faded, and was replaced with a depressed frown. "…which we both know I'm not…" He lifted his eyes to mine, and I froze.

"I don't feel guilty. What's wrong with me?" He gave a distressed laugh, and he let his head fall. "Why did I have to be born like this? Do you think if I was born a human, things could be different between us?" His voice was choked, and I could tell he was hurting. His words stung my eyes and chest, and I had an urge to hold him… to tell him that everything would be fine. "If I was human, could you love me the way I love you?" He finally lifted his head again, and I saw steam coming off of his face. He was crying. His naturally hot skin was causing his tears to evaporate as soon as they hit his cheek.

"I love you the way you are, Rempo. I-"

"That's not enough!" he was human-sized now, and I noticed that he had been growing as our conversation went on. "Why do you think I'm always this size? Your size?" I felt the first tear fall, as it made a river from my eye to my chin. "It's because I wanna' be as human as possible!" I lifted my hand to wipe my eyes on my sleeve. He grew quiet, waiting for me to say something.

But I didn't know what to say. There was nothing to say.

There was only one thing I could do.

I dropped the book and ran.

Gasp! Could it be? A cliff-hanger! Heehee I'm so evil ~_^ and for some strange reason, this chapter reminds me of twilight O.o

Oh, well! Stay tuned for…chapter 12! R&R!