Guys, it's time to hear those words that every reader hates seeing: Daybreak Academy will be going on hiatus after chapter 101. A long version on why can be found on DBA's Tumblr blog (daybreak-academy-fanfic), but the short version is simply because I'm caught between two endings and need to decide which one I'm going to do. You can help the decision by taking a poll on my profile page here on Fanfiction.
Thank you for reading!
"So you wanna go home for Christmas, huh?"
Anora gave a small nod of agreement. She and Brain were out in town, looking for Christmas gifts to give their friends. At least, that was what Anora was doing; Brain was acting as her escort. 'Rebound duties', he called it. Anora couldn't really protest- she didn't quite want to be alone in this endeavor.
"I'll go with you, if you want." Brain offered. "It'll be fun getting to meet the people you came from. Maybe I could get some answers too."
Anora blinked before looking over at him in confusion. Brain saw it and let out an amused snort.
"I'm sure you're aware of how not very talkative you are." he mused. "So, if I'm not going to get answers from you, I'll just ask your relatives. I have yet to meet one that doesn't hold back embarrassing information."
He looked over at her, cocking a flirty grin before leaning a bit closer to her.
"That is, unless you just wanna spill all your secrets now..."
Anora shook her head, a small smile crossing her lips in amusement. She put a hand on his shoulder to make him bend down slightly so she could kiss him. Brain let out a short scoff of amusement, returning her kiss without a second thought. Knowing that she had him distracted, Anora raised her hand in an attempt to snatch his fedora, but he stopped her almost a second too late. He pulled away from their kiss just to smirk at her.
"Nice try, girlie." he teased. "As the resident lady killer, distractions of the kissing variety do not work on me."
Anora let out a little pout before a new thought occurred to her. The grin on her face nearly made Brain recoil.
"What are you thinking?" he inquired with a raise of his eyebrow.
But Anora did not answer him at first. Instead, she moved close to him again, taking one of his hands with both of hers. She lingered incredibly close to his face with her teasing grin still present. Brain tried to figure out where exactly she was going with this. Almost being able to feel her heart beat was a tad distracting though.
And then, just like that, she jumped away from him. Her smile unwavering as she held up a watch. Brain's heart jolted when he realized that it was the very watch he had been wearing until that moment.
"You're a weird little klepto, you know that?" Brain teased before making a reach for his watch. But Anora moved out of his grasp. He cast her an almost annoyed glance, reaching for the watch again. Anora stepped out of his way just slightly each time. This back and forth went on for awhile before Anora finally spun on her heel and started to run away.
"Hey!" Brain shouted at her. "Get back here!"
The only answer he received was a mischievous cackle.
"This girl..." the young man mumbled under his breath before starting to follow her. Too bad Anora was a lot faster than she looked. Was she laughing too? It sure sounded like she was.
When Anora reached the bookstore, she stopped and turned to him. She openly laughed at him before heading on into the store. Brain did not stop is momentum in the slightest as he followed her- barreling inside the bookstore like an elephant in stampede. The bookstore seller operating the cashiers near the front gave him a rather dark glare.
"Sorry." Brain apologized, almost halfheartedly, as he tipped his fedora at them. He then started to look around for that pink haired kleptomaniac. She had a watch to return.
"Anora." Brain hissed as he went down the aisles. "Where did you go?"
The young man went up and down every aisle with little luck. As he made the turn to the children's books, Anora suddenly appearing in front of him. There was little Brain could do to hide the strangled noise of surprise he made.
"I'm going to buy you a bell collar." he informed her with a huff. "Who taught you how to walk so lightly?"
Anora only laughed at him. The young man gave another annoyed grimace before noticing that Anora was holding a picture book.
"What's that?"
Anora smiled as she held the book out to him. It was a children's storybook titled 'The Raspberry Princess and the Snow Prince' with a cover that featured the titular prince and princess. The two stood on two different hills, but they were facing each other with faces that depicted melancholy smiles.
"Who's that for?" Brain then asked, giving Anora a rather bemused raise of his eyebrow.
"Ephemer." came the happy answer as she held the book close to her chest.
"But it's a kid's book."
Anora's smile faded a little before she telling him, "It's about friends, and leaving them behind."
Suddenly, something in Brain seemed to click. His mini revelation came out in a small, "Oh. I didn't know that."
"This series is one of my favorites." Anora admitted as the two started to head toward the check out. "My cousin used to read it to me all the time when I was younger."
"Sounds like a great gift." Brain smiled. "I'm sure he'll love it. With some context, of course. Do you want me to pay for that?"
Anora shook her head. She patted her little side pouch to indicate that she planned on buying what she wanted today. With the book secured, Anora and Brain went to their next store. It was a rather charming boutique that held a few winter ready dress gowns and jewelry on display. Anora tried to drag Brain in, but he wasn't budging.
"I'm not going in there with a ten foot pole." Brain stubbornly told her. "Good luck finding Skuld something nice in there- you're going to need it."
Anora let out a small laugh before reaching to give him a kiss on the cheek- a quiet little promise that she'd be back as soon as she could. He smiled at the gesture. The cool air around them making the humble gesture even more memorable as Anora entered the boutique alone. Now alone, Brain placed his hands into the pockets of his jacket as he gently shifted from side to side to keep his body warm.
Across the street was a higher end jewelry store. Even from where he was, Brain could see how brightly glittering the necklaces near the display window were. Brain had been quietly contemplating what he was going to get Anora for Christmas before someone came out of the jewelry store. A part of his spiked with surprise and unexpected anger when he realized it was Ephemer. He must have been staring for too long because the younger student looked up as well, looking around as if he were looking for something. When the two boys locked gazes, an almost electric charge passed through them.
Ephemer visibly shrunk. He hesitated for a moment, but he eventually made the choice to come over to Brain.
"Hey." the white haired young man warily greeted.
"Hello." Brain replied, a finger at the front brim of his fedora. "Fancy meeting you out and about like this."
"Y-yeah..." Ephemer mumbled.
"You pick out something nice?" Brain asked, motioning to the small bag from the jewelry store. Ephemer looked down at it numbly for a moment before looking back up at Brain.
"I put it on layaway awhile back as a present for…" (Ephemer hesitated for a moment here, something that caused Brain to raise an interested eyebrow) "For someone special. And it just came in today."
Brain placed a hand at the back brim of his fedora and offered a confident grin. "I'm sure Miss Ava will like it."
For a moment, Ephemer looked like Brain had shocked him with a taser. It was then quickly replaced with something a bit more sullen.
"Yeah," the 16 year old mumbled while averting his eyes to the ground, "She would."
An uncomfortable silence made its way between the two young men. It was Brain who tried to ease a part of it.
"Anora's in the boutique right now." he offered, gesturing back toward said boutique. "If you wait long enough, you could talk to her."
Ephemer shook his head. "I have to get back to campus." he claimed. "I have some assignments I need to finish before break starts."
"Understandable." Brain nodded. "It's great to be on speaking terms with you again. See you around."
The younger of the two only nodded his head before heading on out. Brain watched him for a moment. While their last talk together had ended in a fist fight, that conversation had gone rather well- all things considered. When Anora came out of the boutique some minutes after, he didn't even fathom telling her that he had talked to Ephemer.
"Did you get what you wanted?" he instead asked her. Anora happily nodded her head. Brain couldn't help but smile back before asking her, "So where to next? Strelitzia's the next on your list, right?"
Anora gave another delightful bob her head. "Tea store." she told him with certainly.
"Just around the corner." he informed her. "Let's go."
Another bright smile crossed Anora's lips as the duo continued Christmas shopping. It was a very nice smile. Not for the first time, Brain wondered how much of an idiot Ephemer was to leave Anora behind. She was a pretty cute kid once you got to know her.