Author's Notes: Judith gets to chance to explain why she enjoys playing matchmaker in this chapter. I see the Kritya as being aromantic but not asexual, sort of like the Vulcans from Star Trek, but not exactly. Also, have some more Ristelle hints. More to follow, I promise.

Tales of Vesperia is the property of Namco Bandai.

Chapter 25 - Interference

As the days of training wore on, he became stronger. When being chased by Adecor and Boccos no longer proved a challenge for him, Repede was more than willing to take their place chasing Yuri through the streets of Zaphias. Each day he ran from the war dog snapping at his feet and barking at him to push himself harder. As the days passed, he realized that he was no longer being chased by the hound, but was racing him, and Repede was not holding back. His partner was a tough trainer.

One more lap around the Lower Quarter would be enough for today. His legs were aching from day after day of pushing the muscles to their limit, but at the same time, it felt good. His heart was choking up less thanks to the exercise, and he was really feeling his strength returning. He had been eating, happily consuming anything that the others had been bringing, although his nights were still fraught with nightmares. He was still having trouble sleeping through the night, but he was at least able to work out his frustration during the day.

As he rounded the corner that led up to the Public Quarter, he spotted a familiar bob of pink hair. Where was Rita when she was supposed to be distracting her?

"Shit shit shit shit!" If Estelle caught him, he wouldn't hear the end of it. Their plan would be null and void. He skidded to a stop, Repede right behind him. He spotted her too.

"Mind running interference?"

The dog wuffed, and padded in Estelle's direction.

As Yuri snuck around behind a building, he could hear her talking to the dog. She was amazed that he was letting her pet him, although not suspicious that he could be trying to distract her. Good.

He crept his way back to the stairs that led to his room, and didn't look back. He opened the door quietly (the damn thing creaked every time), and slipped back into bed, throwing his boots beside the dresser where they had been that morning. His heart was still pounding from the run, and resting right afterward was ill advised, but there was no choice at this point.

After a few moments, he heard her delicate feet on the wooden steps heading up. She knocked on the door.

"It's open." It was never locked. He may not have wanted the others in the room with him, but only the door proved a barrier to them.

"Hi, Yuri. How are you feeling?"

"Better today, thanks."

"I'm really glad to hear that." She pulled up the chair from his desk to sit down beside him. She seemed a little nervous.

"Something wrong?"

"Ah! No. Everything's fine." She forced a smile.

"You're a bad liar." Funny how most of the people he knew were.

She pursed her lips, a bit of frustration showing through her cheery exterior. "Yuri, can I ask you something personal?" The pink haired girl wasn't looking at him, but instead at her fidgeting hands.

"Sure, why not?"

"Do you have someone who's special to you?"

Immediately his thoughts drifted to Flynn, but he pushed those back. "Not really. Why?"

"Because, well..." A pink flush spread across her cheeks. "I was just wondering because I'm... I'm having these strange feelings when I think about a certain person and I really don't know what I should do."

Of course Yuri knew she meant Rita. The two of them were almost inseparable. Were Estelle's feelings for the mage finally blossoming into something more than friendship? It had been obvious to everyone else, except Karol, that the genius mage had been harboring a crush on the pink haired princess.

He ruffled her soft, neatly combed hair a bit. "Just be honest with them and yourself and everything will be fine." If only he could stomach to take his own advice. There were reasons it wouldn't work with Flynn, although over the past two weeks, he felt his belief in these reasons slipping away from him.

She smiled at him. "Thanks, Yuri. And I'm sure that there is someone out there who feels the same way about you."

Did she know about Flynn's feelings for him? They were apparently obvious to most people, but Estelle was a little denser than that. When they first met though, she did say that Flynn had told her all sorts of stories about him and about their childhood together.

"I'm really glad that you're finally starting to feel better." She stood, and then leaned down to hug him. "Thank you so much for your advice." She turned and left without another word, but a backward glance and a soft smile.

"If you were only so good at taking your own advice." Judith walked in only seconds later. At least he didn't have to pretend to be bedridden around her.

He shrugged. "I just can't take my own advice seriously."

"I really don't know why you're still denying yourself this."

"I don't know why you're so interested in playing matchmaker."

"It's because I find human romance so interesting. We Kritya don't have anything like it." She sat down in the wobbly wooden chair where Estelle had been only a moment ago.

He cocked an eyebrow at her.

"The concepts of long term bonds like 'love' are foreign to us, except when it comes to our children or parents. We don't form bonds with others in a romantic fashion."

"So how do little Krityans come about?" Half of it was interest, the other half was keeping her off the topic of talking about his own romantic interests.

She smiled and leaned back. "Our mating is much different. We don't get married. Many of us never see our chosen partners again after the mating."

"So... what?"

"When a Krityan deems it their time to breed, around the age of 25, we return to the homeland of Myorzo, and select a mate from among the others, usually based on strength or intellect. Once the ritual is complete, we continue about our lives until the child is born, and then we decide which of the parents should raise it. Most commonly, females raise their own children, but I was raised by my father, which is not unheard of."

"Um, wow."

"So maybe I'm a little envious that I'll never get to be 'in love'."

Yuri wasn't quite sure how to respond.

"It's fine though, because that means that we don't sit around, pining away for the person we care the most about, and convince ourselves that we're not good enough for them." That was a jab at him, and he knew it.

"I've never pined for anything in my life." That was a lie, and she knew it.

"You've never longed to see him or just be near him? You've never felt like a dying man in paradise when he was near? You've never needed him like sunlight? Like air? Or other such romantic notions as that?"

"I don't have a romantic bone in my body."

She giggled, soft and clear. "That may be true, but I have noticed that you always seem to be feeling better once he's been for a visit."

"I'm only relieved because he's gone and can't nag me."

"I wonder if you're better at lying to yourself than you are to me." She shifted a bit in the chair, folding her arms over her ample chest. "You said it yourself in Yumanju. It's not that you don't love him, it's just that you don't want to 'tarnish the Empire's golden boy'."

He didn't want to talk about this. He was out of excuses to give her and Flynn.

"One day, when you're ready to admit this, he could be gone, Yuri. Take your chance before it's too late." After a long moment of deafening silence, she stood. "I'm going to let you get some rest." She strode to the door and looked back at him for just a moment, those crimson eyes full of knowledge.

As much as he didn't want to talk to her about this anymore, or talk about anything to anyone, he didn't really want to be alone, either. That would only give him more time to think about the things that he really didn't want to be thinking about. Even so, he didn't stop her from leaving.

He lay down. He wasn't sure how long he just lay there, rolling around in the sheets, trying to get comfortable. The only thing keeping him in bed was the thought that Estelle could be back anytime now and if she knew about his training, it wouldn't be good. Then Flynn would know, and then it really wouldn't be good. They would be posted by his side all hours of the day to ensure that he did not leave the confines of his stuffy bed.

He couldn't understand Yuri's reasons. Well, maybe he could, but every time he said them to himself, they sounded hastily assembled and half thought through. They sounded more like excuses. Although he hadn't admitted it, Flynn felt that Yuri loved him. He had to love him. Why else would he make up excuses to not be with him? Why else would he have kissed him, and allow himself to be kissed? It would have been as simple as 'sorry, Flynn, but I don't feel that way'. If that were the case, maybe he could have moved on.

"Is this a bad time?"

He turned briskly, hoping that it was Yuri, but it was not.

"No. Please come in, Judith."

The Kritya seemed to be playing matchmaker lately, but he didn't really mind. Maybe she could convince Yuri that his reasoning was faulty. Yuri would not 'ruin' Flynn. Did he think that the Commandant didn't have any integrity? Although, the other excuse weighed heavily on his mind. 'In the world that you create, there will be no place for someone like me'. That wasn't true. Flynn had never thought about the future without Yuri in it.

"Something on your mind?" She could read him so easily.

"Just Yuri."

"If it makes you feel better, his training is going very well. He's out of bed and even running. He was able to use his sword for the first time today. He's progressing faster than we thought, and he's working hard for it." Judith had stopped by daily to inform him of the status of Yuri's training.

"I'm glad to hear that."

"But that's not your main concern, is it?"

"No. I'm very glad that he's doing so well. It's been weighing heavily on me."

"You're as bad at lying as he is. I think it really hurts him, you know."

"What does?"

"To feel the way he does about you and still feel like he has to push you away."

Had he told her about these things or had she discovered them for herself? It was hard to tell with the Krityan as she was very observant, but also seemed to be able to easily get the information that she needed out of people.

"Pardon...?"

"Yuri once told us 'Flynn can do anything, even change the world', because he knows that he can't. For him, you're like the sun, a light for this world, and he's a star, a distant spot in the night, illuminating just a tiny bit of darkness. But every star fades out eventually. Even Brave Vesperia will one day vanish."

Those feelings rushed him like the heat of battle, all encompassing, smoldering, smothering. An apprehensiveness crept over him, churning the contents of his stomach and causing his head to spin. Flynn steadied himself against the windowsill. Anything he could think to say was drowned out by his endless stream of thoughts. He wanted to ask her what she meant, but he already knew what those poetic words were supposed to say, and that was what worried him.

"Can you save this star from vanishing? He's too stubborn to admit it, but he really needs you."

"T-Thank you, Judith."

She smiled and left, shutting his door softly behind her.

He had to resist the urge to run straight down there to see Yuri. He was in no place to talk to him about these things. He also feared making Yuri upset again, and his heart seizing up as it had a little over a week before. He would think things through, and then go see him this evening, when he was able to think more clearly. He would talk to Yuri about his reasons, and try to make this work.