"You know, I haven't seen you and Mister Schezo together, for a while now…" Amitie said, looking at Arle. The ginger-haired girl looked at her blonde friend. Her eyes started to slowly squint. "You know, you're right…" Arle mumbled quietly. Ringo, her other friend, looked at the mage. "I wonder what's happened to him…" Arle looked up the sky, unnoticeably frowning a little. The other two looked at their female friend. "Why don't we look for him, while we're out here in the forest?" The red-hair suggested. Arle and Amitie looked at her, and nodded. The three decided to look for the Dark Mage, while they're out having fun in the forest. And so, they all started to walk, and wander around.

While the three were walking in a narrow path on the forest, they heard strange noises, coming from their left. As their curiosity grew, they thought more, about investigating. And inevitably, curiosity grew too big to contain. They all agreed to investigate a little bit. The trio started to follow the noise they heard. And after a few minutes of walking, the three of them passed through a bush. "OH!" Amitie exclaimed, looking quite surprised. The other two were also surprised, though, they remained silent. It turns out that the cause of the noise was a group of many Dongurigaerus. 'Wow! There are so many!" Amitie happily said, looking at all the acorn-shaped frogs. "Ribbit~" the frogs happily croaked. "Haha! They're all so cute!" Arle laughed, looking at all the silliness the frogs were doing. Ringo smiled, and admired all the animals. She looked around, before something caught her attention. "Wait…" She mumbled. The other two curiously looked at their friend. "Isn't that… It's Mister Pervert!" She pointed at the lake. The other two quickly looked back at the Dongurigaerus. And after a few seconds of silent observation, they saw their target. "Oh, it is!" Arle quietly shouted. "And… He's not alone!" Amitie said, a little bit shocked. Arle turned, to look at her, before turning back to look at the man. After a second, she saw what her friend meant. "…Serrily..?" Arle mumbled.

The three looked at Schezo and Serrily. The dark mage seemed to be happily playing with the Dongurigaerus. He, surprisingly, was smiling. Something that the other three has rarely, or never even have seen. Arle looked at Schezo, who started to laugh. "I've never seen Mister Schezo look that happy…" Amitie mumbled out loud. Ringo nodded, and looked back. "I guess this is where Mr. Pervert has been, this entire time?" She looked at the two. Arle and Amitie rose an eyebrow. "I guess so…" Arle muttered. Ringo sighed, before walking away. "I guess we should just go somewhere else, and leave them?" She suggested, continuing to walk away. The others hesitantly got up, before following her. Arle took another glance at Schezo and the mermaid, before going away.

The Next Day…

Arle was walking along the flower fields, with her best friend, Carbuncle. They both played, laughing, and enjoying themselves. Arle was chasing Carbuncle, when she saw a familiar face. "Oh! a Dongurigaeru!" She thought to herself. The female mage approached the frog, with a smile. "Hello, Friend!" She smiled at the Dongurigaeru. "Ribbit~" It greeted back. Suddenly, Arle recalled the events yesterday. "Oh yeah… I've never really noticed that Schezo wasn't showing up that much anymore…" She looked at the clouds. Carbuncle hopped back to the girl, sitting next to her. "I guess it's been a little boring sometimes…" Arle murmured. She looked at her friend, and lifted it. "Why do you think does Schezo not battle us anymore?" She stretched the small creature's cheeks. Carbuncle looked at her, confused. "Gugu-gu~?" It replied, in a curious tone. "Maybe he just found the lake, and he really likes Dongurigaerus?" She stretched it's cheeks again. Carby just stayed quiet, still looking confused. "Maybe I should check…"

Arle quickly jogged her way to the lake. She got in her destination, still pretty early, as the temperature was still pretty cool. "Woah..!" she mumbled to herself, seeing how empty the lake was. It was very much filled with many cute frogs yesterday, but only a few Dongurigaerus were visible at this time. She got out of the bush, and walked closer to the lake. She looked at the few frogs floating around. It was quite a relaxing view. "Oh! Arle!" A voice suddenly spoke, spooking Arle a bit. "S-Serilly!"the mage stuttered, after turning around and seeing the mermaid. "Hello!" Serrily waved her hand, giving Arle a warm smile. "Don't scare me like that!" Arle held her chest, feeling her heartbeat increase a little. "S-Sorry…" The blue-haired girl sweatdropped, awkwardly laughing. Arle took a clearer look at her, before sighing. "Anyway, Hello, Serilly" She waved her own hand, giving her own warm smile. "What are you doing here, so suddenly?" Serrily curiously looked at the girl. Arle looked a little stumped. "Uh…" She mumbled. The mage stayed silent for a second. "Oh! I was just curious! I noticed that you and Schezo were hanging out here, together, when I was walking with my friends!" Arle explained. Serrily smiled, hearing her response. "Oh yeah! Schezo came here a couple of weeks ago… He asked me if I would mind if he would stay here for some time, since he really liked the Dongurigaerus! I never mind any company, because I'm so lonely at times…" Serilly replied. Arle rose an eyebrow. "So… he stayed here because he found all these Dongurigaerus?" Arle looked confused. Serilly nodded, before suddenly cheering. The ginger-haired girl turned, to see Schezo, walking closer into the lake. "…Oh… Arle..?"

"Arle, what are you doing here?" He asked, looking very curious. "Ah! She was cu-" Serrily started to explain, before getting cut off. "I-I just happened to be strolling around here, and saw Serilly…" She stuttered, looking a little nervous. The dark mage looked at her, before smiling. "Then you came at just the right time!" Schezo looked at the lake. "My frog friends should be going out in a bit..!" He added. The man looked back at Arle. "How are you feeling, Arle?" Schezo asked, in a somewhat worried voice. Arle stared at him, looking really confused. "Um… I'm fine..? Why are you suddenly asking?" She asked the dark mage. Schezo looked at Arle with an equally confused face. "Well… you said-" Schezo got cut off by multiple splashes. "Oh! The Dongurigaerus are awake!" Serilly happily yelled, looking at the two. Arle and Schezo turned, to look at the frogs, popping out of the lake. "Here they come, Arle!" He looked at the girl with a smile, looking very excited. Arle smiled back, and turned to look at the lake. "I guess Schezo really likes Dongurigaerus" She thought to herself, before giggling. After a few more minutes, All the acorn-frogs have floated out the water. Once again, the lake was filled.

"Ribbit! Ribbit~! Ribbit!" It was noisy. Though, to Arle, the noise was not really bothering her. And from the looks of the other two, neither does it bother them. The three played with the frogs. They kept squeezing, rubbing, patting, and messing around with the Dongurigaerus, and it seemed like the creatures didn't mind. "Hey Schezo, look!" Serilly called her male friend's name. The dark mage looked at her direction, and laughed. Serilly was squishing a Dongurigaeru's cheeks together. "Hehe..! They're so cute..!" Arle giggled, looking at the frog being squeezed. She looked at the laughing man, who seemed really happy. Do the frogs really bring that much joy to him? Arle's smile slowly turned back into straight lips. She looked at Serilly, and the frog she's squeezing. The girl sighed, before standing up, getting the other two's attention. "Oh, Arle, Are you leaving already?" Schezo frowned, looking slightly curious. Arle looked at him and nodded. "Yeah, I'm gonna look for Amitie and Ringo. You two go have fun" She smiled, before walking away. "W-Wait!" Schezo slight yelled, causing Arle to turn around. Schezo's face somehow seemed unsure. "Um… Let me assist you on finding them…" He looked at the girl with a slightly worried voice. Arle rose her eyebrow, before sighing. "No, it's fine... Just stay here" She responded, continuing to walk away. Within a few minutes, she disappeared into the forest. Schezo squinted his eyes, before looking at Serrily. "I have to go. Goodbye, Serilly…" He waved his left hand. Serrily sighed, before smiling, and waving her own hand. Schezo started to follow Arle's trail. He tried his best to not let the girl notice. After a few more minutes of searching, He was able to spot her.

Arle was walking back to Primp Town. Some way, she was feeling annoyed. Hearing another *rustle*, Arle sighed, and looked behind her. "I know you're following me…" She sounded disappointed. After a few moments of silence, Schezo revealed himself, who was sweatdropping. "Why didn't you stay with Serilly?" Arle asked, crossing her arms. Schezo averted his look, gazing at another direction. "Your guaranteed safety is far more important than playing with Serrily and Dongurigaerus, as much as I like my acorn-shaped friends…" He looked down on the ground. The two stayed silent for a few seconds. "In any case… Do you still… don't want to Puyo Battle… with me?" Schezo looked at her this time. Arle's eyes slightly widened. "What…?" She could only mumble, not expecting his question. Schezo sighed, looking a little calmer. "You told me leave you alone for a while, remember?" He asked, looking a tiny bit curious. Arle stayed quiet, thinking a bit. "I… I did..." She mumbled, turning her head to look at the dark mage.

Schezo nodded. "I thought to myself... I need to distract myself for a while…" He started to talk. "And while thinking, I came across the lake. Serrily was playing with a lot of Dongurigaerus…" He continued. "I asked if she'd mind if I stayed at the lake for a while. She seemed rather happy to agree… And so, I avoided battling you for a while. It was hard, but I knew you were getting tired…" Schezo frowned, saying the last words. He sighed, again, before looking back at Arle. "Well… do you feel any better..?" He smiled. Arle fell silent. Her face seemed to show a mix of shock, sadness, disbelief, and anger. It was a face that Schezo never saw that Arle made. He looked confused at her reaction. "I didn't really notice that much…" Arle mumbled to herself. Suddenly, a flash of memories filled her mind. "Hey Carby, Why do you think did Schezo stop battling us?" She remembered asking her best friend. "You know I haven't seen You and Mister Schezo for a while now …" She remembered her blonde friend mumbling. "I wonder what's happened to him…" She remembered herself getting worried… Arle stayed silent again. "Are you an idiot..?" He heard the girl mumble, who furrowed her eyebrows. Schezo looked at her in the eyes. And Arle… started to tear up. The dark mage's eyes grew wide.

"Why did you think that avoiding me was a good idea?!" Arle silently yelled, though not intentionally. "Why did you think that I wanted you to completely ignore me?! Why did you not tell me that you were going to leave me alone for a while?!" She sniffled more. "Why did you… Why…" She mumbled between sobs, before completely crying… She wasn't saying a word. Only sniffing and sobbing. "Arle…" Schezo mumbled, unsure of what to do. However, instinctively, his body moved. Unknowingly, he wrapped his arms around the girl. Schezo hugged Arle, not really having any reason why. However, doing this, for him, felt right. It felt like something that he needed to do. And so, he embraced the girl for a long time. Arle started to calm herself more. And after a couple of minutes, the girl seemed to have completely calmed herself down. Schezo, however, did not let go.

"S-sorry…" Arle mumbled, wiping the tears of her red cheeks. Schezo looked at her with concern. "Yeah… why did you cry..?" He asked, looking a little bit confused. Arle's heart started to beat faster. "I… I-I was worried about w-what might have happened to y-you…" She stuttered a little. "I-I didn't expect that you really wanted to avoid me, because I said something like that…" She added, getting even redder. "Who knows what might've happened to you…" She mumble this time. Schezo stayed quiet, processing her responses. He unexpectedly felt Arle's heartbeat, causing him to flinch. "R-right…" Schezo stuttered, letting go of the girl. "Y-You were worried… and so you cried..?" Schezo quietly asked, starting to slightly blush. Arle frowned, hearing the other mage. "Of course I was worried..! It's you we're talking about..!" She slightly yelled, still frowning, Schezo looked at the girl, slightly stunned. "M-Me…" He looked at the girl, again. "Y-yeah…" Arle replied with a mumble. A smile slowly formed on Schezo's mouth. An even warmer smile than the ones he made when playing with the Dongurigaerus. "Thank you…" He unsuspectingly said, out loud. Arle looked back at him, quite astonished. His smile at this moment was truly pure. She couldn't help, but smile herself. The two looked at eachother quietly, observing eachothers' bright red faces. However, Schezo snapped back to his senses. "U-Uh… l-let's take you to your friends…" He stuttered, looking away. His cheeks started to grow quite red. Arle looked at this, and blushed, herself. "Y-Yeah…" She stuttered too. The two started to walk away from the forest. While going to Primp Town, they both saw a Dongurigaeru near a tree. "Ribbit~"

Eventually, Arle got to Primp Town. The two looked at eachother, again. "Well, I should be going then…" Schezo mumbled, and started to walk away. Feeling a little unsure, Arle still called the dark mage's name. He stopped walking, and slowly looked back. "Um… bye, Schezo… See you again…" Arle smiled, blushing again. Schezo sighed, and smiled. "Bye…" he silently mumbled, before quickly walking away again. The tint of pink on his cheeks were still noticed by the girl, however. Arle giggled, looking for her close friends.