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The following is a fan-based

FICTION

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Chapter 10: Headpats n' Chilling (Like really, Eli almost froze up!)

"Hehe! I didn't know you were a brat too as a kid~!"

Despite her loudness, Taiga was quite sober and, truth be told, behaving nicely considering the current setting we were in.

It was no fancy restaurant, with Copenhagen being a nice place to rendezvous for a lovely night. Not only that, but it was also a place where Taiga was familiar with people, specifically the daughter of the owner, Hotaruzuka Otoko (aka Neko), and the owner himself. So, in a sense, it appeared as the best place for her to hang out without feeling too out in the open and unsure how to handle the situation. And it showed right as we engaged in a few conversations, starting with simple things such as how things were going at school to a few embarrassing topics tied to the past.

"Yeah, but I think everyone had their own crazy childhood stories," I pointed out mirthfully. "Like you."

Taiga froze as she realized that she had been caught in her own narration. She told me a few stories back about her childhood, so I knew she was no saint in that regard either. Instead of rebuking this comment somehow, she just turned her head away, crossed her arms close to her chest and puffed.

"I-I'm not that bad."

"No one said you were," I brought up dryly, gaining a glance from her. "Sure, we were terrible kids, but we weren't 'that' terrible."

A nod, the young woman smiled at that elaboration. "Yeah, but I didn't bleach any plants to 'clean' them."

"And I didn't paint a motorbike neon pink to make it 'badass'," I shot back much to her immediate chagrin.

That was an interesting story alright, and one of those times where her grandpa kind of got Karma'd for painting his granddaughter as a saint while also leaving her around some easy-to-damage things. Then again, Taiga had the means to be able to damage most things around if she so desired, and I think that trait wasn't exactly born from adulthood but reached from the very moment she could walk and could think of sowing chaos, so... I guess there's also that to keep into mind.

"Pink can be some terrifying color if applied in the right places. But Orange is the most badass of them all," She proclaimed eagerly, and I sighed which prompted her to frown at me.

"What? You don't think so?"

"I do think that many colors are badass, but pink is more on the 'I am just out to humiliate you by beating you in pink' and orange can become a eyesore if it becomes too 'widespread' for too long," I remarked, and thus prompted a new topic in the process.

"Bah? Too 'widespread'? What kind of adjective is even that?" The brunette pointed out with a bit of confusion. "Yeah, it can be quite distracting at times but... that can't be that bad."

"Heh, if it's a wall, then yes. But imagine someone wearing a full-blown orange jumpsuit-"

"There's nothing wrong with Naruto," Taiga interrupted bluntly, stunning me momentarily with that rebuttal.

"The series? It's fine. The jumpsuit-"

"It's normal," She whined quietly and I sighed.

"That's the worst outfit someone that has the role of stealth should have-"

"Or perhaps the finest if they manage to sneak on someone with that much orange," Taiga remarked giddly. "See, you're just unwilling to accept that orange is a cool color."

I frowned. "I said it was nice, just with some moderation in its use."

"Moderation is awfully overrated, John-kun~!"

All in all, this was shaping to be a most excellent night. I saw no issues within the situation and things were going smoothly. After we paid the bill and started to make our way outside, Taiga asked me if I could leave her at her grandpa's house. She assured me nothing bad was going to happen and I could tell from her serious tone about handling discipline on her 'Raiga-jiji' that she meant it that things weren't going to go crazy weird.

"You know... it's been a while since I had this much fun," Taiga admitted, her voice lacking the same degree of confidence she showed up to that very point. No, there was something missing there, replaced by a strange unease that was palpable from her words. "I kind of missed this kind of stuff. Makes me wonder if drinking really is the problem."

"Heh, it's not 'the' problem, but part of it," I argued calmly, gaining her attention with that response. "You are a lovely individual with your cheerfulness, but sometimes you take it up to a notch that we both know is unnecessary. Is it to get more attention?"

Taiga offered an awkward blush at that. "S-Sorta. I just think... I just got so accustomed to behaving like that and I tend to not back down from habits with ease."

"Well, that's why these processes take time. I'm not asking you to change if you feel this is too much, but I would say your focus is self-improvement. Understand your flaws and work on how to fix them before acting," I reasoned calmly, offering a smile. "I can tell you are an honest individual, Taiga. Just don't expect problems to be solved overnight or without your own input on the matter."

Her lips twitched to form a pleasant smile. "I-I know. I will work and... can you help me with that?"

"Sure."

We were soon resuming our walk back to her house when I briefly stopped. My phone was vibrating as someone had sent me some messages and... of course it was Eli. I checked the first three messages and had to hold back a strong facepalm.

Eli: Apologies, Master! I may have burned the kitchen a bit while making myself a few more snacks.

Eli: And I know you said no issues in the kitchen, but things are fine. Sorta. I may have burned down part of the counter. Nothing of value was lost.

Eli: I think.

A response was necessary.

You: Do not touch anything else in there! I'll be back soon."

Eli: Yes! That's why I'm currently trailing you so I don't make more mistakes at home~.

She's what?

"So... cousin?" Taiga hummed as she peered over my shoulder to see the name I wrote on the phone number. I pulled the phone close to my chest, hiding the messages from the fascinated brunette.

"She came to stay yesterday night. And before you get any strange ideas, she is within the headpattable age of 16."

"Oh, I guess that's the 'issue' you mentioned you had to deal with today and..." The brunette huffed. "Headpats are nice."

"Giving or receiving?" I inquired with a hint of interest, surprised by that admission.

"Both," Taiga admitted with a quieter voice, clearly embarrassed by that confession but... looking forward to something and- truth be told, I wasn't sure if this was a good idea.

But I was in a good mood. She had behaved during this session, and I saw no issue in going through with what she was looking forward to. Just as I raised my hand, her head lowered and allowed me to settle my palm over it. She was... quite pleased by this. Not weirdly so, but overall she looked like she was enjoying herself.

Eventually that stopped too. Taiga looked a bit disappointed, but voiced no concern as we finally got to the entrance of her home, the compound having some guards that recognized her and glared at me. Nothing bad unfolded and I left her as soon as she wandered through the gates, sober and yet happy. Sighing to myself, I started to make my way back home and hummed.

"You can come out now, Eli."

It took a while, but soon a shivering girl jumped off a nearby rooftop and landed beside me.

"Mastah, it's so coooold!" She exclaimed before sneezing, shivering a bit as she had, 'wisely', ignored the fact she needed a jacket before going outside with how chilling the temperature was at this hour.

I frowned. "Eli, I thought I told you that you needed a jacket- Also, aren't you half-dragon?"

"I forgot and... I can't exactly warm up my body on command! I just wanted to not cause more troubles- a-and now you're angry."

"I'm mildly upset, yes. But that doesn't mean I am going to chide you for anything."

She paused at that response, her blue eyes going wide open. "R-Really?"

"Yep. That's because you are going to fix that mess yourself tomorrow morning."

She opened her mouth. "Mastah, but I don't know how to clean that... mess."

"Well, don't you find it lovely? Learning how to fix your own messes? I'll be there to tell you how to do it so next time you'll be able to do it yourself."

I could tell she wanted to protest my response, to say it was 'too much' for someone like her. But the way I phrased it coincided with half of her mindset. The fact she was independent in these matters meant she should be able to handle these kinds of problems on her own. The fact she expected to apologize and be regaled a slave to fix her mess was a bit of an overstep.

Still, Eli got a small victory in the form of me giving her my jacket. She had been staying in the cold for a while, and, while this didn't mean she was going to catch anything bad, the last thing I needed was having a whiny brat that was enduring a cold. The walk back home was uneventful and while the kitchen's mess was indeed going to take a while for Elizabeth to fix, I couldn't help but feel like things had been too smooth for such a monumental event. Especially with the awkward self-jinx I employed with Quartz.

So, why do I feel like I'm missing something right now?

Caren had seen enough, and, as she put her binoculars on her bag, she proceeded to make her way back to the church.

While the mere vision of the date/not-date had been a good enough reason for this tailing effort, this new development fell right within her waiting palms. John had a girl living in his house? A cousin? Something about that entire detail felt fallacious at best. A lie? Definitely, but to which extent? Despite her commitment on the matter, Caren knew better than jumping on an accusation without damning proof where she could press for favors through blackmail.

Still, she was convinced that there was indeed something 'more' rather than just a cousin. Especially when said cousin jumped off what had to have been roughly ten meters and landed without breaking her legs. That was indeed an interesting feat, especially since it leaned heavily on the chance of this girl being a Magus. Was John a Magus? She saw no hints which would suggest him being a man from London, or from Atlas- he was an oddball for sure.

A cute one that she planned to seduce- but still someone with secrets. Secrets that Caren needed- so she could promptly blackmail him for. She just needed to catch him in an awkward spot for her to exploit. Taiga wasn't meant to have this much of an advantage over her. Not when she had played her cards better and scored a bit more than her. The head pat? That felt outrageous to watch unfold. Why couldn't she be the one headpatted? She was at the perfect height for it and she wouldn't need to lower her head to get tempted by quite the affectionate and wholesome gesture.

"Soon," She muttered to herself, patting her chest in an effort to agree with her aching heart. "Soon I will seduce John."

Caren had no general plan, but her determination hardly faltered at this. She had things to do, pawns to get in place and then score more victories than what her rival in love. A patient woman, she found the entire notion of crushing her opposition making the whole chase somewhat more refreshing.

How lovely~.

AN

Next time, a bit more fluff of the school kind and then... the next Servant attacks! This one is male and will get the memes rolling~!

REVIEW Q&A!

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