Chapter 36: Please Don't Cry
As Flare exited the dimensional gate, her feet had arrived in the castle, with her smile, which she still wore since leaving Aramis's home,was still present on her face... But it quickly disappeared... The comfort of 'home sweet home' was not present for some reason... in fact, Flare felt as if her heart was being gripped, begging to be released; a sudden heavy feeling fell on her shoulders... The happiness she felt back in Aramis's house was no more... only the heavy feeling of a sad home...
The commercial area, the place where she and her friends buy stuff together, was unbearably quiet; not even the prinnies, who were always working themselves to the bone, were not present... could Etna have given the prinnies a day-off? But that's close to impossible since it's not in the standard prinny contract for prinnies to get days off...
Unable to bear the uneasiness, Flare quickly headed for her mentor; if she had to guess, Tomoe would still be in the dorm.
...Slowly, Flare opened the door. And surely, Tomoe was there, clearly almost the same, if not totally from before.
Feeling hopeful, Flare smiled slightly. "...Lady Tomoe..." Flare called out.
Reacting to her pupil's call, Tomoe faced the little mage, though as if only obliged. Seeing her pupil's face, Tomoe smiled, but obviously forced. "Oh, Flare. How was your day? I'm sorry I wasn't able to tend to you today..." Tomoe said weakly.
...The hope in Flare quickly dissipated; she almost let go of her smile. "I...it's alright... um..." ...The air of uneasiness was overbearing the little mage; she couldn't even speak normally in front of her mentor... as if Tomoe had become a total stranger to her... Although obviousness, Flare's heart began to race as her breathing pace escalated ever so slightly... "Lady Tomoe, I... Uh..." Flare called again, but stopped, thanks to the anxiety overbearing her.
The two of them had been looking at each other in silence; Flare felt completely awkward... Tomoe on he other hand was too preoccupied with... other things... to notice the time she and Flare had been looking at each other in the eye...
Tomoe sighed with her forced smile still intact. "...Why don't you have fun for a while? You have been practicing quite a lot recently." Tomoe offered...
"Eh...?" A slight hint of surprise invaded Flare.
"...What is it that you want to do?" Tomoe asked as gentle as she could, hoping to make her pupil happy...
...Flare's heart grew faster and faster... "(This... this isn't Lady Tomoe at all...)" Flare thought... She wanted her mentor to be happy... She wanted her to smile whenever Flare would do something good... She didn't want her to force herself to smile when she's clearly not happy... Flare couldn't bear it... she wanted to do something... but she doesn't know what to do... all she could think off... was running away... "...um... actually... I... was thinking of going back... to Aramis's place... If, that is alright with you..." Flare spoke, stuttering certain words.
...Tomoe's forced smile quickly disappeared... "...Oh... then... Alright..." Tomoe allowed, returning her forced smile... "...I hope you have fun, Flare..."
...Hearing her mentor's words, Flare's mouth escaped an inaudible groan... "...Thank you... then... I'm off..." Flare bid farewell and left without even looking back...
The tension was becoming unbearable as she gripped her chest... "(...Sir Davis... Miss Selena... ANYONE!)" Flare called out in her mind... anyone... ANYONE would do if it would help her feel secure... the sadness she was feeling was steadily growing...
...Everything... Everything was going wrong... Sir Davis and his his stolen part of himself... Tomoe and her feelings... The thief...
"...Hii...!" Flare yelped at the thought as she remembered the thief... Robin... whose sister got killed by her own hands, under Tomoe's order... What would the thief do when they see each other? Will she hate at her? Will she harass her? Will she... kill her...? Flare hastened her pace as she grew paranoid. "(...Sir Davis... Please! Help me!)" Flare prayed, tears began to flow down her eyes...
Sadness... Sadness... and more sadness... just about everything in the castle was causing her sadness... The days of her peaceful life was slowly, but surely diminishing... Flare couldn't take it... and decided to impose on Aramis again; She preferred looking for Davis, but staying in the castle was too much for her to bear any longer... the negative atmosphere was just too unbearable. Thus, Flare headed for the dimensional gate...
...Near the gate, Flare approached the gate keeper... "...Pl-please... Take me back to-"
-Flare was interrupted as someone suddenly arrived from the dimensional gate... looking at the person, Flare's face was gripped with fear... Robin, of all people, was looking around, as if the events of her siblings' death didn't happen...
Noticing the little figure looking at her, Robin faced the little mage... and frowned... "...What are you lookin at?"
"E...eh?" Flare stuttered... Fear had totally paralyzed her... her whole body was shaking... she could still remember how robin was able to swiftly take her voice AND her magic at the same time... Robin could do it again right now, and kill her while she was at it; it was a good revenge plan...
Robin looked at the little mage with suspicion. "Well? What's wrong? Kit Cat got yer tongue?"
"Haah... Haah...!" Flare could reply coherently and just hyperventilated on the spot...
Robin scoffed. "Whut the hel's wrong with ya?" Robin exclaimed, having enough of Flare's face.
"Hii!" Flare yelped as her legs sprinted rather clumsily away from the thief...
Robin raised a brow. "...whut's HUR problem?"
...Flare kept on running... not stopping for anything, nor knowing where to go... Exiting the castle, rain was already pouring down... but Flare was too scared to care... her legs kept on running as fast as they could... But slowly, her speed was declining, her legs were aching from all the running... but ignoring the pain, Flare kept on going to who-knows-where... Eventually, her legs had slowed enough from running to walking... still, her legs didn't stop.. she was still going... her legs were threatening to buckle on the spot, but she didn't want to stop...
...Back at Aramis's house...
"... Ugh, you have weird tastes, Will." Aramis said in disgust as he looked at the zombie his hands just created... by Will's order and design;.
"Oh, c'mon. It's not that bad, is it?" Will said.
"Yes it is... A zombie with four legs is not only unoriginal, but also weird in it's own way."
"But I don't see anybody creating zombies with four legs."
"That's coz it's not practical."
"It doesn't have to be practical; we'e only creating zombies for fun anyway."
Aramis sighed, as if giving up.
...Just as the two boys were having their fun, the doorbell of Aramis's house rang. "...Huh? Who could that be at this weather?" Aramis raised a brow. "...I'll go check it out. I'll be right back."
"M'kay." Aramis replied... "...Oh, and can I have some snacks?" Will innocently grinned.
"Yeah yeah..." Aramis complied as he left his friend alone to tend for his... visitor...
...And upon opening the door... He found a drenched and quivering Flare; her eyes bore almost no sign of the happiness she had when Aramis and Will last saw her...
Aramis's face widened, as if he saw a ghost. "Wh-what the... Fl-Flare, what the heck-?" Aramis stuttered as he practically gawked at Flare's deplorable condition...
...Flare didn't respond; she just looked down at the floor, ready to burst into tears...
Aramis took notice of Flare's expression. "Wh-whoa there. L-let's get you in my room first, alright? I-I'll go get us something." Aramis offered as he led Flare into his room.
Will, who was idly assembling zombies from extra parts, turned to face the two with a question mark above his head and a slightly confused look... but his expression changed as if he saw something awful... "Wh...What-"
"Stop gawking and mind your own business." Aramis sternly, yet coldly scolded.
"I-...Wh..." Will could do nothing but stutter a single bit of his voice at Aramis's sudden change of expression... Clearly, whatever was happening was serious for the childish Aramis to act so sternly... but what got Will's attention was Flare's facial expression; at the eyes of many, one could say he's looking at Flare with a sad face... but for Will, it was as if he was looking at a different person... He wondered how such an energetic person could turn so sullen in an instant...
"C'mon, Flare. Sit down for a bit..." Aramis offered, bringing the little mage to his bed to sit on. "...I'll go get a towel and some refreshments... Will, you want anything?" Aramis offered, caring for his other guest as well...
Will didn't look at Aramis and focused his eyes on Flare, as if he didn't hear anything... "...Water..." Will replied.
Aramis sighed "Fine...Just... don't do anything stupid..." Aramis said sternly and left the two...
At that point, the two probably would've talked about each other's proficiency in their magic, as well as their level... but given the circumstances, the only thing you could hear was the deafening silence...
Will felt awkward, but not because he was alone with Flare... but it was because he didn't know what to do, or how, to help... and it's not like he could do much in the first place... he knew nothing of Flare's reason for her sudden devastation... But looking at Flare being so sad... made Will sad himself c
Flare on the other hand, had a sullen face; her eyes looked down as if they had no life... It was as if Flare could care less about the end of the world... She just wanted to cry her heart out... but with Will's presence, doing that would be embarrassing for Aramis's guest... She IS in his household after all... crying in front of his guest would be impolite... "...Sorry..." Flare said softly without looking at Will...
"Wh-?" Will's face showed disbelief... Why did Flare apologize? Will wondered, saddening himself more... "...Why...?" Will couldn't help but let out his questioning words... How could the girl before, who was so full of energy and so cute whenever she smiles, turn into someone with a face of despair and depression? Whenever Will looked at Flare being all happy, his face would turn red and his heart would flutter... But... looking at Flare now, it was as if Will's heart was chained heavily. "...Please, don't cry..." Will softly said...
Flare didn't react, except she turned around, as if not wanting to face Will.
"Please... Don't cry..." Will repeated, his tone sounding weaker c
Flare didn't know what was running inside Will's mind... nor did she care... She had her own problems, and pity from someone who she had just met isn't something she needs, or want for that matter... But...gently... ever so gently... a pair of seemingly frail arms embraced the fragile figure of Flare's now trembling body from behind... A hint of surprise was evident on Flare's face as she let out a weak voiceless gasp...
"...Please... Don't cry..." Will repeated again, with his voice breaking up, as if sobbing, ignoring his clothes getting wet from Flare's still-wet robe, thanks to the untimely rain...
"...Why...?" Flare grimaced as she said, not caring she was thinking out loud...
...Why IS it so? WHY is Will doing this for her? How could he ask her to stop crying when he doesn't even know what caused Flare her sadness? Could Will actually care for her? Is Will actually worried for her? If that was the case, how could he have such thought when they've only met? Is Will simple-minded? Or was he just too nice?
"...I don't... *Hic* I don't want to see you cry... So please... Don't cry anymore..." Will leaded...
...Despite being drenched by the rain, Flare felt a bit warm behind her, where Will's head rested... Tears... Will was crying... crying for Flare... crying for someone he met only today... it was weird, even for Flare... but... Flare didn't mind... No. In fact... Flare welcomed it... Flare had no one to turn to; Tomoe wasn't her usual self, and the thief was too intimidating for her that she couldn't bare being in the same roof as her to look for the rest... Flare was alone... again... Just... just like the time when... her mother left her... Flare's heart began to ache as she clutched her chest.
"Ugh!" Will suddenly tightened his embrace around Flare as if in reaction.
...Will's reaction caught Flare in a slight bit of surprise... "...Why..." Flare muttered...
...Will didn't respond... he just wept while still holding on to Flare...
...Flare wanted to ask... why is he crying for her? What would make this boy cry like this...? Flare tried to think rationally... but... emotion eventually gave in... Flare faced the boy embracing her from behind and accepted the embrace, putting her hands on the boy's frail chest as she dug her face on his chest, sobbing... Flare was all alone... Flare knew using Will just to ease her emotional problem was wrong, but in her current state, she could care less about being right or wrong... she just needed someone to be by her side... and Will just happened to be there... and Will was more than willing to help...
"Hey guys, I got-" Aramis, who had just returned from getting the glasses of water as well as a dry towel on his shoulders, stopped from saying anything as he saw Will and Flare embracing each other... Aramis felt awkward... but ignoring the redness on his face, Aramis walked towards his friends and placed the glasses of water beside them. Gently, Aramis nudged at Flare... "Hey, Flare. You're gonna catch a cold like that... I got you a towel... Get a nice hot dip in the bathtub. I'll dry your clothes in the mean time." Aramis offered... in fact, it was the first time Aramis offered anything to anyone, other than Etna...
Flare reluctantly separated herself from Will's arms and headed for the bathroom, as Aramis suggested...
Will frowned as he watched Flare off...
"...Well, you two sure got close real quick." Aramis said out of the blue.
Will didn't react... "...I just... want to see her smile again..."
Araims raised a brow... "...Why?"
...A tear fell down Will's cheeks as he faced Aramis with his face filled with sadness... "...Don't you want to see he happy too?"
At that, Aramis looked at Will sternly as he understood what Will meant; To Will, Flare was a cheerful girl who shines when she's at her best; it was the first impression Will got from Flare. Seeing her sad was just too depressing for Will... After all, her cheerfulness was what got Will attracted to her... seeing someone he liked to be sad would also make him sad... to Aramis, the same applies, except he had his emotions in check so that he wouldn't cry like Will did... but... seeing how the two just acted, Aramis couldn't help but think if being emotional is a bad thing or not...
...Aramis sighed... "...Why don't you help me dry Flare's clothes? Use your wind magic to blow-dry her robe."
Will didn't respond; he simply took the robe that Aramis handed him... with a simple cast, wind was cycling around Flare's robe.
Aramis turned and walked off to leave the room, with one of Flare's clothing on his hand.
Noticing Aramis leaving, Will looked at him... then noticed the piece of clothing on his hand... then blushed, noticing that it was Flare's... uh... underwear... "Wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-"
"Huh?" Hearing Will stutter, Aramis looked at Will, who was blushing really hard. "...What's gotten onto you?"
"Wh-wh-what are you gonna do with THAT?" Will exclaimed, pointing at the piece of clothing Aramis was holding...
Looking at what he was holding, Aramis furrowed his eyes at Will as he blushed himself. "Well, I'm gonna put this near the fireplace, DUH! Like I'm gonna let us stare at this thing!"
"Oh, Uh.. R-r-right..." Will nodded.
Aramis sighed. "...Just dry that already." Aramis said in exasperation and left...
Flustered, Will inadvertently strengthened his wind magic, causing Flare's robe to wrinkle. Luckily, Will quickly noticed the robe's condition a few minutes later and weakened his magic before any damage was done...
"I'm back..." Aramis spoke as he entered the room, causing Will to flinch in a bit of surprise.
"Th-that was quick." Will said.
"I left her underwear in the dryer."
"Oh. Okay then..." Content with Aramis's reply, Will returned his attention to drying the robe... then realization struck. "...You have a dryer? Then why did you ask me to dry Flare's robe?"
Aramis grinned. "Payback for cheating me."
"Awwwwww!" Will cried out like a tricked child.
...Aramis's grin... quickly turned into a simple smile. "...Well, at least to do something for Flare, right?"
Will gave a slight look of surprise from Aramis's last sentence... then frowned... "...This is nothing... I wish I could do more than simple chores like this..."
"Ah, don't beat yourself up about it. It's the thought that counts."
"...Thanks..." Will smiled weakly... "...You know, Aramis, you're very nice to your friends."
Aramis shrugged... with an unnoticeable smile on his face "...Whatever..."
"...Would you also take care of me if I brake down like that?"
Aramis half-closed his eyes as he looked at Will. "Don't get mushy with me; I'm no good with that sort of thing."
Will scratched his head with a smile. "Sorry."
Aramis sighed. "Well, I think her underwear is about dry now; they weren't that wet anyways... Er... no innuendos intended."
"...What?"
"Nothing. Forget what I said." Aramis sweatdropped.
"...Well, her robe is about done too."
"Good." Aramis took the robe and exited the room and headed for the dryer. Opening the dryer, he took out the single piece of clothing inside and neatly folded it, despite its wrinkled state.
...In the bathroom, Flare's body soaked in the tub, showing nothing but her shoulders up to her head... Her face was still in melancholy. Flare embraced herself, as if in an attempt to comfort herself... The water was warm... but she still felt cold...
...The door to the bathroom opened, causing Flare to yelp slightly in surprise, reflexively covering her chest area... Flare forgot that the tub was concealed by a blurry translucent sliding door.
"...Flare, I dried your clothes for you..." Aramis spoke, making Flare quietly sigh in relief. "...I'll just put them here, okay?" Aramis said as he placed flare's clothes in a nearby basket and left and locked the door.
Alone once again, Flare weakly washed her shoulders... the water was getting cold... Getting out of the tub, Flare took dried herself with a towel and wore her clothes... yet after wearing her usually-warm robe,... Flare still felt... cold...
...As Flare exited the bathroom, she returned to Aramis's room.
As she entered, the two boys faced her with concern on their faces...
...Flare, who was holding herself, trembled weakly... but not weak enough for Will and Aramis to not notice...
"Flare...!" Will yelped, worried for the little mage.
"...It's alright... I'm just cold..." Flare said, rubbing her arms... And from out of nowhere, a blanket covered her shoulders. Looking back, Flare saw Aramis as he guided he to his bed.
"...You look pretty aweful right now... you should sleep in for the night." Aramis offered.
"...Eh?" Flare slightly widened her face.
"...You don't want to go home yet, do you?"
"...I..." ...Flare couldn't reply; Aramis was right on the money... "...Thank you..." Flare replied with a frown as she could do nothing but accept Aramis's suggestion. The little mage headed over to Aramis's bed ad quickly laid down, not even bothering to put the pillow under her head. Not even five minutes passed and Flare was already soundly asleep... Unnoticed by the two boys, a tear rolled down her cheeks as she slept...
...Will's eyes was still glued to Flare; from the moment she entered the room, to the second she fell asleep, Will still watched Flare with a sad expression.
...Aramis sighed "...I'm goin to lay on the couch; it's been a long day."
"O-oh... Th-then, I'm-"
"You're stayin here and watch over Flare." Aramis said.
"E-eh?"
"It's still raining, so I don't think you'll be able to go home soon."
"Uuu~..." Will weakly groaned. "..D-don't tell me I'm gonna have to watch over her the whole time while she's sleeping. That'll make me look like a creep! And I can't stay up the whole night!" Will defended.
"I didn't mean literally, you idiot. Just make sure she's not alone once she wakes up. You could sleep beside her if you want; I'm sure she'll understand."
"Wh... Wh-what?" Will exclaimed.
"Stop being such a baby. You'd rather watch her all night while the two of us sleep comfortably?"
"Uuu~" Will groaned again with a defeated expression with drooped shoulders. "...Fine..."
"Why don't you act like a demon for once? It's good for ya." Aramis commented as he exited the room and headed for the couch located in the living room.
...Alone with the sleeping Flare, Will stared at the sleeping little girl. Seeing her, Will walked towards the bed she slept on... Looking at her face, Will noticed her eyes were seemingly moist. Out of kindness, Will wiped her face with his finger.
...Reacting to Will's fingers, Flare subconsciously went to scratch her eyes... but as her hands were headed for her face, Will's hand and hers touched, causing Will to freeze. Feeling Will's hand, Flare held it, like a child would hold her blanky, as if seeking comfort from the owner of the hand...
Shocked for a second, Will realized that Flare was still asleep. "(...Is she dreaming?)" Will thought... With Flare holding his hand, Will imagined how happy Flare must've been with the people she cared about... Flare probably thinks that the hand she was holding was one of her loved ones as she held on, seeking comfort... Will did nothing but watch Flare's sad, sleeping face.
...Just then, Will remembered what Aramis said... "(...Why don't you act like a demon for once?)" Will replied in his head.
...Will was a kind-hearted demon in Flare and Aramis's eyes; expecting him to do something... demon-like... would be out-of-character, but unsurprising for them... "...Act like a demon... huh..." Will thought out loud... He wanted to comfort Flare, but he couldn't... He wanted to do something for Flare, but couldn't... Then maybe... he could act like an object? Yes... Will could use this excuse to help Flare... And in a way, this IS out-of-character for him; after all, he has no business with Flare's affairs, but, hearing Aramis's words (as well as his feelings), Will gently caressed Flare's cheek. Will laid down beside Flare... and embraced her, Flare's hold on his hand... "I... want... to help you... No... I want... to protect you..." Will thought aloud again... With his logic, people need good reasons to do what they do; sometimes it's for money... sometimes it's for one's own ego... But for Will, he doesn't need, nor WANT a good reason... he just wants to do what he wants... at least for now... His reason?
...To protect her smile...
...Five minutes past, and Will eventually fell asleep, holding onto Flare.
...Flare's sleeping face lightened as another tear rolled down her cheeks.
Aramis, who re-entered the room to check up on his friends, saw the two sleeping; it was to his slight surprise to see Will beside Flare... a smile crept onto Aramis's lips as he returned back to the living room. Laying back down on the couch, Aramis returned to his indulgence and read the book titled 'Frankenstein'; a small, yet bright lamp was lit, helping Aramis read his book... "...Stupid humans..." Aramis snickered as he read the book, nearing the ending.
But before Aramis could finish the last three pages, the doorbell rang. "...Now what moron would come here at this hour?" Aramis said as he stood up and went for the door. "...Big muscles? Or maybe a genius? Naaah, unlikely... probably a fleet-footed one... Heeheehee..." Aramis thought out loud, imagining his (probably) 'new parts', A.K.A. his 'visitor'... But upon opening the door... his expectations, as well as his smirk, faded and turned sour when he saw his visitor...
...It was Tomoe... an umbrella was shielding her from the rain as she held another seemingly cuter umbrella in her other hand. "...Is Flare here? She forgot her umbrella..." Tomoe asked with a concerned expression.
As he took the umbrella from Tomoe's hand, Aramis couldn't hide his snarl as he growled silently. "...They're sleeping."
"What? They? Sleeping?" Tomoe asked with one-word-per-sentence, confused; "Flare never said anything about spending the night. Where is she?"
"They're SLEEPING..." Aramis repeated, emphasizing on the last word.
"WHO are they? Let me in. I need to see Flare."
"THEY'RE... SLEEPING..." Aramis repeated again... this time, emphasizing on both words, while glaring at Tomoe.
Fed up, Tomoe wore a stern expression. "Child, I don't want to force you, but I need to see Flare." Tomoe commanded, holding the door to let herself in.
In response, Aramis snapped his fingers... and a rotting arm suddenly popped from the ground where Tomoe was standing on, grabbing hold of Tomoe's leg.
Although surprised, Tomoe's reflexes were quick as she quickly bent down to snap the arm in two...but before she could even grab the arm holding her leg, another arm suddenly popped out, grabbing her arm. Reflexively again, Tomoe jerked her arm away, hoping to break the arm off... but as she did so, a whole zombie was launched upwards, thanks to Tomoe jerking back... And at that point, zombies quickly popped out of the ground, surrounding Tomoe. With her leg taken by the rotting arm, Tomoe couldn't escape as the Zombies overwhelmed her. Before Tomoe could use her last free arm, a zombie was able to get a hold on her. The zombies, although already dead, weren't as weak as the other zombies; they were completely different...
Surprised by the current events, Tomoe, who would usually be able to escape-and-counter multiple opponents, was completely immobilized by the number of zombies surrounding her, as well as the zombies holding her down. Thanks to the zombies' extraordinary strength, Tomoe's struggles were in vain. With that, Tomoe was able to see why Laharl would get worried when Aramis would lose his zombies; Aramis was no ordinary boy...
With Tomoe pinned, Aramis looked at her eye-to-eye. "...For someone who's Flare's mentor, you sure are doing a horrible job."
"Wh-?"
"I don't know what happened to Flare... but after seeing the fact that she turned out like this in such a short amount of time shows how poor a mentor you are to her."
...Tomoe's eyes widened... "T... Turned what? What happened to Flare?" Tomoe said, turning frantic.
Aramis sighed in exasperation. "...Forget it. I'm done wasting my spit on you." Aramis said as he turned his back on Tomoe. "...It's up to Flare to decide whether she'll return to you or not... But right now... Let her rest from all of you and your stupidity. I don't know what happened to you to neglect Flare like you did..." Aramis, without turning his body, Glared at Tomoe. "...But that's no excuse." Saying his piece, Aramis walked deeper into his house as the zombies closed the door.
As the door shut, the zombies holding down Tomoe immediately let go of her as the returned to their respectful places. As Tomoe was now free, she ran for the door, banging it once. "ARAMIS!" Tomoe shouted, resting her head on the wooden door, sobbing...
Aramis, who was actually only a few steps away from the door with his back turned, listened to Tomoe's cries; clearly, Tomoe cares for Flare... Aramis knew this; he just hates the fact that Flare became sad and Tomoe didn't do a thing about it...
"...Tomorrow... I'll... I'll be back for her..." Tomoe said in between sobs...
...Thanks to the rain, Aramis couldn't hear the footsteps of Tomoe leaving... after standing still for a few minutes, Aramis tossed aside the umbrella he was holding and returned to his couch. Picking up the book, he tossed it aside, his mood to read quickly vanished. Aramis turned off the lamp, laid on his couch and covered his eyes with his forearm, sighing... "...What a day..." Aramis murmured, hoping to fall asleep.
.
...Morning eventually came as sunlight seeped through the window in Aramis's room.
With the light hitting Flare's eyes, Flare winced lightly at the sudden flash of light through her eyelids. As she subconsciously turned and buried her head on the bed, Flare slowly opened her eyes in awakening... And suddenly, Flare felt something move in front of her, as if it reacted to her moving... And to Flare's surprise... in front of her... was Will's sleeping face... Immediately, Flare turned red. Flare soon realized that Will was sleeping beside her... and not only that... Will's hand was wrapped around her... Question marks surrounded Flare as she recapped what happened last night...
...She sulked and wept the whole night until she fell asleep...
...Will also cried for some apparent reason...
...With knowing only two factors, it wasn't enough to answer why Will was sleeping BESIDE Flare; and HOLDING her for that matter. Hoping to free herself, Flare slowly carried the arm that held her, slowly freeing herself from his embrace.
...But as Flare was about to be free, Will's face lightly cringed as he moaned.
Startled, Flare accidentally dropped Will's hand, startling the little boy, and ultimately waking him up.
...Slowly, Will opened his eyes. Although still half-asleep, the first thing Will saw was... something so adorable, that he'd almost squeeze the life out of it... But deciding to be gentle, he held the hand of the girl in front of him...
...Flare blushed at Will's gentle hand holding her...
...Blinking twice, Will's sight began to clear up... and the first thing he saw (clearly) was... a blushing Flare...
Seeing Will eye-to-eye, Flare looked at Will blankly.
Will did the same, except Will was agape, as if he wanted to say something... "Uh... ummmm... Goo...Good morning...?" Will said with a sweatdrop, greeting the little girl.
...Flare didn't respond; she just stared at the young boy... Flare blinked twice... then suddenly got up from the bed in exclamation. "Lady Tomoe! I didn't tell her I'd be sleeping here!"
"E-eh?" Will stammered in confusion.
"...Looks like you guys are already awake." A vopce behind the two spoke, belonging to Aramis.
"Aramis! Thank you for letting me stay for the night, but I need to get back home. Lady Tomoe might be looking for me." Flare said in a frantic.
"Uh yeah. About that..." Aramis scratched his cheek. "...Your mentor came here last night right around the moment you fell asleep."
"What? Why didn't you wake me up?"
"Coz you just fell asleep. Not to mention you didn't seem to want to go home at that time... Besides, I was able to... uh... 'persuade' her to let you stay for the night."
Flare sighed. "..Thank you, Aramis. I really owe you a lot today." Flare smiled in gratitude.
"Ah, Don't mention it... Besides, if you're gonna thank someone, thank Will."
"Will?"
"M-ME?" Will, who also got off the bed, stammered as he turned red.
Flare faced the young green mage, giving him a stern gaze...
"...A-ah..." Will's mouth was hanging down as he witnessed another spectacle (At least in his eyes); yesterday, he saw Flare being energetic, then suddenly turn sullen... but now... there was a different air around Flare... it was as if Will was looking at something... majestic... Flare's hair gently danced as the wind blew her hair thanks to the open window of Aramis's room...
...But despite Flare giving Will a stern exporession, her eyes revealed her struggle to look for an answer to the questions in her head... "...Why...?" The words escaped Flare's lips.
"...Eh...?"
...But before they could get any further if their conversation, the doorbell rang, startling the three.
"Ugh. What a way to ruin the mood." Aramis murmured. "Flare, I think your mentor is at the door."
"What? Lady Tomoe?" Flare said, as if completely forgetting what happened a few seconds ago.
"She said she'd be back around this morning; I'm guessing that's her ringing the doorbell."
Quickly reacting, Flare ran towards the door. Opening it, Flare found Tomoe with a surprised look; after all, who wouldn't be surprised to find someone unexpected to be in one of your friends' home?
"Fl-Flare?" Tomoe stammered, surprised but Flare's appearance. On her eyes were barely-visible tears, ready to fall at any given moment.
"Lady Tomoe!" Flare called, embracing the martial artist. "Lady Tomoe, I'm sorry I stayed here at Aramis' home without your permission."
Tomoe let out a chuckle. "It's alright... As long as you're fine..."
"Lady Tomoe..." Flare looked at her mentor face-to-face. "...Are you alright now?"
"...Huh?" Tomoe's eyes slightly widened, caught by surprise by Flare's sudden question... Goes to show that there are some things you can't hide... especially if the person you're hiding it from knows a lot about you "... I will be..." Tomoe gently smiled at her pupil. "...Thank you Flare... and... I'm so sorry..." Tomoe apologized as she returned the little mage's embrace.
"...Lady Tomoe..."
Tomoe faced her pupil with a warm smile. "Come on. Let's go home..." Tomoe said as she stood up and gently held Flare's hand... but...
"...Ah..." Flare didn't follow... her feet were glued to the ground.
A bit surprised, Tomoe looked at Flare...
"...La...Lady Tomoe, I..." Flare tried to speak; the words in her head were itching to come out of her mouth... "...I... Th-the thief, she... I..." ...Steeling herself, Flare eventually spoke... "...I killed her sister...
...Knowing where the conversation was going, Tomoe looked at Flare with a stern expression.
"...I...I don't know what she thinks of me... I... I don't know what she'd do... " Flare said as she trembled...
...Tomoe embraced the little girl again... "...It's alright... I won't let anything bad happen... I promise..."
"...N-no..."
"...No?"
"...I want to talk to her..." Flare said with a determined face.
"...Are you sure? It's not your fault. It was me who-"
"No, Lady Tomoe." Flare interrupted. "...It was me who killed her sister... Even if it was you who told me... it doesn't change the fact that I was the one who shed her blood... That's why... I want to settle this..." Flare replied with a louder volume than her last sentence, showing her determination.
...A small smile crept on Tomoe's face as she sighed gently... "...Alright... I'll watching how it goes..."
"...Thank you..." Flare smiled as well.
"..Now let's go home." Tomoe held Flare's hand as they walked together.
...As they took a few steps, Flare looked back at her friends. "...I'll be back..." Flare said with a determined face... but with a smile... which seemed... different from what Will saw when he first met Flare; Will blushed as he watched Flare go...
"We know you will." Aramis replied as he also watched Flare walk off.
...And as Tomoe and Flare eventually disappeared from their sights, the two young boys re-entered the house... "Wait..." Will spoke out... "...Why didn't they just use your dimensional gate instead of just walking all the way back to their home?"
"Eh, leave them in their little drama." Aramis shrugged.
Will sweatdropped.
WOW! I'm on a ROLE today :D. Two chapters in a month. FINALLY, I'm getting somewhere... not to mention the next chapter is already over 1400 words, which is DEFINITELY fast in my book...
Anyways, this chapter got a bit different from what I was expecting, but it's different in a good way... and due to that, I had to divide this chapter again; as you can see, it's not as long as the usual... in the early stages of this story, I usually always post at around 2 to 3000 words each chapter... now, I'm posting at around 7 to 9000 words... This one in particular, has more than 6,600 words, which isn't bad if I say so myself...
...Now then... In this story, When Aramis said that he didn't intended to say any... "Innuendos" He wasn't; I only saw the innuendo when I read it in my head xD.
...Oh, and as you can see, in this story, Davis is the main man... In my next story, 'Classmates And', Flare is the main WOMAN! Itching to see it? I sure hope so... and as you may have noticed, this story seemed one-sided regarding 'relationships'... I'm confident that my next story will be VERY different... I'm imagining that you'll be thinking of who she'll end up with :D... who are the guys in the story? Well, Will is one of them.. who are the rest? That'll be revealed in due time...