It bothered her to no end.

A couple of days had passed since the party and that 'unplanned' encounter with Nessa. She swore that the girl was some sort of stalker or something, always knowing where she was. Following her like some sort of hound searching for a fox.

Fortunately, the days that had passed, she was extremely occupied. A lot of people had been asking for her help, particularly, Ciel and Licca. Ciel found out why her bullets had been acting strangely previously, and asked her if she could go out on missions with her. Obviously, she couldn't refuse the silvette.

Licca, on the other hand, was developing a device that apparently would assist them during missions. She was requested to go out and hunt for certain materials. Often carrying those missions on her own.

Paperwork had been stacking up, increase in missions and the new Psions had caused this. She also had to participate in the meetings that the unit had.

Of course, she would not forget to add to that, the special missions that the director had endlessly been assigning to her. She immediately regretted agreeing to even help with those missions.

She also heard from the Captain that in a couple of days, Rachel would visit and that she wanted to see her.

Fantastic.

She was tired, but of course, she couldn't say that out loud. She couldn't openly complain, not even to Julius. Especially not to Julius. No matter how busy she considered she was, how drained she knew she was, she was certain that the young Captain had more on his plate.

When was the last time that they even talked?

Ever since she acted awkwardly during the party, Julius hadn't been talking to her as much. Well, it was given that they were busy, but for some reason, she found herself hesitant to approach him.

It sucked for her, since the two of them did stay in one room.

A sigh escaped her lips as she stared at the steaming mug of coffee in front of her. It's been sitting in front of her for a couple of minutes now, and yet, thin strings of smoke escaped it.

"You know, that frown of yours is really going to ruin your pretty face."

Damnit.

So much for trying to hide, she didn't bother sparing him a glance as she continued to stare at her coffee. As if it were the most exciting and interesting thing in the world.

She still ignored him when he settled himself beside her. The blonde didn't need to look whether or not the man had a wide grin on his face, and she knew that he would start his flirting maneuvers once again.

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna try to get flirty with you today."

"And what were you doing just a few seconds ago?" She retorted, finally looking at him. She saw him with a gentle smile instead. That was new.

"Merely stating a fact." She hummed, turning back to her coffee and picking it up to bring it to her lips. The bitter liquid spilled into her tastebuds, nearly making her shudder at how strong it actually was.

The two remained in silence, completely aware of each other's presence but choosing to ignore one another. That was until, they sighed at the same time. For once, Brynn looked at him and chuckled, he chuckled back.

"Looks like we're both going through some crazy shit." She admitted, weirded out at the fact that she was actually willing to converse with him.

"I can tell…" Brynn knew that she would never get used to the gentle smile that Haru had on his face. It replaced the smug smirk that he always had, and she had to admit that she preferred his expression right now.

And for once, he kept his eyes off her body.

"So, do you wanna tell me your problems?" Brynn cocked at eyebrow at his suggestion. Pausing for a while, with eyes staring at the carpeted floor.

"Only if you tell me yours."

This derived a chuckle from the green-haired male. After he was done laughing, he stared out the window, deep in thought.

"Where do I start…" He said to himself, or to no one in particular.

"From the top?" Brynn sarcastically suggested. Haru looked at her, the smug smirk returning to his face. She was expecting a reply that would irk her.

"Right," he cleared his throat, only then did Brynn notice the can of beer that he had in his hands. So early in the morning. He took a swing of it before beginning his tale, "so, I'm sure that you're dying to know about what happened in Scotland."

'Scotland?' She racked her brain for anything that would relate to it, upon realizing, she tried to hide her surprise when she remembered that both Haru and Gil came from the Glasgow branch. She felt ashamed, that she didn't know anything more than that about her comrade and good friend.

"I suppose." Haru used this as a prompt to actually begin. His eyes drifted away the moment that they began speaking, as if he were reminiscing.

"Well, as you know, both Gil and I came from the Glasgow branch. It was pretty small actually, tiny even. Like, there were just three of us there. Me, Gil, and our Captain." Brynn noticed the pain that was evident in his voice when he said Captain, his voice cracked, although, he tried his best to conceal it.

"Kate Lawry… She was… She was my fianceé."

Although she wanted to react by saying that she found it impossible for him to be an engaged man, she kept her mouth shut and decided that it wasn't the best time. The man did seem pretty serious and she didn't want to upset him.

Not this time.

"We did pretty fine back then, Scotland wasn't usually attacked by big aragami. You know, the usual zubats in today's world." Brynn cocked an eyebrow at the unfamiliar word, was that some sort of Aragami only found in that place? The male only chuckled and waved his hand in the air, dismissing it.

"Then one day…" He trembled, and despite being an adult, his tears began to prickle with tears. Brynn bit her lower lip, guilty that she was making him resurface old memories that he would rather not remember.

"Haru, we can save it for some other time if you…" She was reaching out to him as she said this, about to pat his shoulder gently, when a massive headache hit her. And everything went blurry.

She was in a room, with three different people, she recognized two of them. The male clad in violet was Gil, while another, laying down on an unfamiliar girl's lap was Haru. Brynn put the pieces together, the girl was Kate.

"Gil! Don't just go on flirting with my girl while I'm here." Haru said, she knew it was a joke, his one eye remained closed, opening the other to look at his comrade. The girl, who she presumed was Kate, giggled.

"It's not what you think, Haru." Gil defensively answered, eyes widening as his deep and husky voice reverberated throughout the room. Because of what he said, the room had been filled with laughter.

The scene changed again once more, she could only see Haru. He was fighting off an Ogretail, but she could clearly see his expression. Eyebrows were furrowed, and it was evident that he was speaking to someone.

"Kate! Kate, answer! Haru!" She realized that he was speaking to his earpiece. The moment that he had slain the bipedalled Aragami, he rushed out the ruined building. Brynn followed, she stared down as her nearly transparent body transversed along the rocks and grass pathway.

After a couple of minutes of running, she managed to catch up with Haru. And when they stopped, the green-haired male fell to the ground, cradling the once lively woman.

A cry of pain echoed throughout the entire place.

A gasped escaped her lips as the vision faded away. She had not expected that, and so did her companion who looked equally as confused. However, in his eyes, they held pity. He looked as if he wanted to say something.

She beat him to it.

"Haru," There was a tinge of sadness in her voice as she spoke, recalling everything that she had just saw, "I saw… What happened."

The two of them were in utter silence the moment that she finished speaking. Brynn was lost to her thoughts, not sure if she should push Haru to speak. She didn't need to hear the entire story from him since she had literally just seen everything. Or what appeared to be everything that happened at least.

"I'm sure that with that, you understand." His voice was soft, nearly inaudible. The sad look on his face had been wiped away as he turned back to face her, with a smile that barely reached his eyes. "Now, enough about me." He cleared his throat, trying to get rid of how shaky his voice was. "I've told you my story, now, what's eating at you?"

She then remembered that she told him that she would tell him why she was scowling the entire time if he told her his. As she was about to speak, the Fourth Unit captain beat her to it.

"Let me guess, it's that pretty boy Captain of yours, isn't it?" She nearly scoffed at the nickname, but nodded nonetheless. How the other managed to catch on so fast puzzled her.

"It wounds me!" The green haired male suddenly became more animated and hunched over the counter, hitting it with his fist once. Brynn cocked an eyebrow at the action.

"You're being dramatic again." For someone who was moping earlier, he seemed energetic. Maybe if she tried to leave quietly, he wouldn't notice. The blonde tried to stand, but instead, her hand was grabbed and pulled down, causing her to yelp.

"Don't leave!" Yelled Haru, as his olive eyes finally met with hers. "Although he beat me to it, and the damn kid threatened me the other day, I'm not gonna get that in between our friendship!" He declared, causing Brynn to wonder if she was speaking to Emil.

"I don't know how that would affect you, Haru." Instead, she was ignored. The other stood up and gestured for her to wait for him. Although she was tempted to leave, she found the company of the older one quite entertaining.

She wouldn't admit it, but she didn't want to be alone.

A couple of seconds later, the casanova returned with two cans of beer in his hand. The one that he had earlier had been discarded. The moment that he arrived near her, he took his seat and handed Brynn one of the drinks.

"I have my coffee." Brynn gestured to the nearly forgotten cup of coffee. She clicked her tongue the moment that she realized that it had gone cold.

Haru smirked, understanding what had caused the other's annoyance, "You know, I'd choose ice cold beer over lukewarm coffee 10 out of 10 times." He paused for a while, his grin deepening. Aware that she had been defeated, Brynn took the yellow can from his hands. It's chillness cooled her hands.

It provided a sense of relief.

"Thanks, I guess."

"It will loosen the nerves." Haru began, taking a huge gulp from his own can, "Now then, start talking."

She was hesitant. Her problem appeared to be a pebble sitting next to the boulder that his problem could be compared to. Haru noticed this, the way that her eyebrows trembled and how her fingers remained a bit too long on the can's opener.

"I know what you're thinking." Brynn gave him a questioning look. "You're comparing your problem with mine." She blinked, he just read through her.

"Listen, kid. Never, ever, compare your problems with others. No problem is ever greater or smaller, it's still a problem that needs to be given a solution." He ended his wise words by taking another swing. Brynn only stared at him with a look that screamed unbelievable.

"Wow…" She finally spoke, earning the other's attention, "Never thought that you could be wise, Haru." It was his turn to click his tongue as he put a hand over his heart.

"Why do you think that I'm the only one pursuing the search for the royal grail?" She quirked an eyebrow at this, but before she could question him. He changed the topic once again.

"Now then, about your Captain." Brynn couldn't help but wonder why he was so intent on talking to her about the dark blonde male.

"Honestly," Brynn began with hesitance, "I don't really think that this is much of a problem?" She tried to wiggle her way out of the situation, but Haru kept his gaze focused on her.

"I'm waiting."

"Well, aren't you stubborn?" The blonde rolled her eyes, "I guess that I'm just bothered,"

"Obviously." He interjected.

"that the two of us don't get to talk too much anymore. And that, things are awkward." There was utter silence between the two. Before Haru let out a sigh of relief, earning him a puzzled look from his companion.

"I must be getting old," he began to swirl the can of beer in his hands while he gazed out the window. "youngsters nowadays and their problems." The greenhaired male then faced her.

"You know, it's only awkward if you make it to be awkward." He tilted his head to the side, "Is there anything that should make things awkward between the two of you?"

Brynn blinked. Realizing that his words were true.

"Now tell me," Her attention snapped to him waiting for him to continue. "are things really awkward between the two of you or are you pushing yourself away from him?"

He was right. It was her acting awkward, it was her not attempting to talk to him. Perhaps the other would have wanted to give her space thinking that she needed it.

Immediately, she stood up. Nearly knocking over the can of beer where her fingers had landed.

"I guess that I knocked some sense into you." He smirked, eyes closing as he smiled. He nearly toppled over when he was tightly hugged by the other which caught him off guard.

The moment she let go, she flashed him a genuine smile. Despite how much she hated his guts, his words made sense and she was sort of relief that she talked to him.

"That's all that you're getting." She accusingly pointed a finger at him before getting ready to walk away. "Thanks, Haru." A smile formed as he watched her retreating figure. Haste and excitement was evident in her movement.

"Anytime." Then she left, leaving the man. A new determination on her face that flared up.

With a sigh, he looked up at the clouds as if searching for something… or someone. There was sadness in his eyes as they searched for the nonexistent object. Or one that previously existed.

"Is this something that you would have done, Kate?"

What did he do wrong?

Julius couldn't help but think as he busied himself with papers that needed signing, reports that needed to be done. In addition to burning certain letters that troubled him to no end. His teammates didn't need to see that. He didn't need to give them a reason to doubt him.

And yet, the one who was closest to him had been denying him any attention. Any recognition.

He sighed at that, running a hand through his unruly locks as he tugged it. Trying to get rid of the

Headache that was beginning to poke his head.

It was after the party. She began avoiding him. The vice captain had suddenly changed in demeanor eversince that day. She was quiet, detached. He knew that it wasn't simply because they were busy.

He had done something wrong. But he didn't know what he did wrong.

The two were only joking around, casually talking and sharing stories. Then after that, it was so difficult to get a reaction from her.

It was awkward even.

He tapped his pen against his desk, not really sure what he was going to do next. Well, he did, he just wasn't capable of doing anything more. He was drained. Not sure if it was because of the missions or if it was because of that certain blonde.

He was sure that it was the latter.

His tablet's screen lit up to reveal a message from Hibari. He knew that it was a notification regarding a mission. He placed his pen down, making sure that it wouldn't roll off the desk, then grabbed the black rectangular device.

As if fate had been playing a game with him, the moment that he began reading his mission details, he discovered that it would be one with the Vice Captain.

Not the entire team of Blood, just her. Just him and her.

He didn't know whether he should be thrilled, since the two had been awkward for whatever reason it was. He didn't know if she would choose to ignore him or to finally let him know what was wrong.

But he couldn't let his personal problems trouble him. After all, this was work.

With a sigh, he got up and stretched a bit, hearing some of the joints and bones click. The grey-eyed man had been sitting for quite some time.

"It certainly is troublesome to get attached." He walked out of his room, he needed to release some steam anyways.

Sariel. The deceiving goddess like aragami. With the grace of a butterfly but was as deadly as a bee.

It was their target, fortunately, a lone one. At the abandoned carrier. He knew that this was her favorite place. The best among the worst, at least.

Like all the other places that they travelled too, there was always one thing that was common in all of them.

They had to kill aragami there, and likewise, there were people that were slain by those beast.

Julius scanned the area, waiting for his companion to land from the chopper. The flight was quiet, atmosphere was tense. As if they wanted to talk but couldn't bring themselves to do so.

He turned to look at her, the moment that he heard someone landing and dust collecting at his feet. She landed a few feet away from him.

Brynn was wearing what he presumed to be her favorite set of clothes. A black coat that could almost function as a dress, it's edges hanging just above her hips, and blood red pants that stuck to her skin, along with black boots that nearly matched his. Realizing that his eyes lingered a bit too long, he turned back to the bay attempting to hide his reddening cheeks.

"Are you ready to proceed, Vice Captain?" He heard the shifting of a god arc, knowing that she had switched to her arc's gun mode.

"Certainly." He thought that she was being cold, using such serious words instead of her useful playful ones. Before he could react, a blur passed him.

"Can you keep up, Captain?"

A smirk reached his lips. That was more like it.

The mission went by smoothly, only a couple of scratches and burnt clothes caused by the Sariel's lasers.

"I can't believe it tore through my sleeves." She whined while glaring at the mass of oracle cells. "I just got these repaired, these are my favorite."

Julius smiled to himself as he summoned the black creature out of his God Arc in order to devour. He was glad that he knew the Vice Captain more than he thought, even knowing her favorite set of clothes.

Although, it still puzzled him to no end why the other had been ignoring him for a couple of days and was now talking to him as if nothing had happened.

"It won't take long to repair that, Brynn." He raised the God Arc in the air the moment that it was done having it's share. The core glowed, a small text appeared as hologram beside it showing the items that he got from the aragami.

Not that he ever needed to upgrade his weapon. So far, there was no branch for his weapon to upgrade into. He was always waiting for Licca to inform him, in order to be ready, he saved his materials.

It was Brynn's turn. He took note that this time, she was using a long blade. She had informed him regarding the fact that she was able to change weapons because of her Blood Art. Although, he knew that she left some information out, but decided not to press her about it.

Maybe he could share his materials with her.

The same black creature appeared and began to consume what was left of the aerial beast. Like what he had done, she raised the blade in the air waiting for the hologram to appear. Her tongue clicked as if indicating her annoyance.

She was about to walk away, ready to head back to extraction. But he knew that he wouldn't have the chance to ask other than now. Hastily, he grabbed her arm, causing her to flinch.

"Vi- Brynn…" He corrected himself, although he wanted to be serious about it, he knew that acting more as a friend would allow her to open up. With his guidance, he made her face him.

Their eyes met, grey clashing with gold ones. He knew that she was tempted to draw her eyes away from him. But she remained still though hesitant.

"Yes, Julius?" He still couldn't understand her, why she was acting so strange. Still, he didn't know why he cared.

"Why have you been ignoring me the past few days?" Her mouth twitched ever so slightly, perhaps she was taken aback by how blunt he was. But he didn't care. He didn't want to waste time.

Despite them performing quite well in their mission, it could affect them in future battles.

Yes, that was why.

He waited for her response, eyes unwavering and grip remained constant, "I…" she hesitated in speaking, but he didn't pressure. Well tried not to. "I just didn't want to bother you, I know that you've been busy the past few days."

She was lying, he knew it. But she wouldn't be lying without a reason, right? However, why would she be lying in the first place? To him of all people? He searched her eyes, but his grip began to waver, with a sigh he let her go.

He would buy her lie, just this time.

"I am never too busy for you, Vice Captain. You should know that." He went with it, giving her a small smile and he swore that she could see the guilt glint in her eyes.

"I apologize if I caused you trouble during the past few days, Captain." Her eyes darted to the floor, he knew why she couldn't meet his gaze.

Perhaps, it would be better if the two would dismiss this and go back to normal. But he couldn't shake off the feeling that something was wrong. That there's something that he should know.

"Nonsense," his hand found its way to her face as unconsciously, he stroked her cheek with his thumb. Causing her to look back up at him with wide eyes and parted lips. He too was caught off guard and quickly let go. Turning around to hide the blush that shamelessly began to form. "Let's head back."

He also missed the blush that formed on hers.