"I am never going into that dreadful forest again!"

Nier and Weiss came stumbling out of the brambles that had sprung up around the entramce to the the Forest of Myth. "We got what we came for." Nier grunted, kicking through a patch of thorn branches "There isn't any reason to. That place gives me the worst headaches."

The two broke back out on to the path, grumbling and muttering. The alluring forest had swept them up into its strange world once more and they had come out with the prize, but more irritated then anything else. Once they'd began to trudge back down the path, the two were quiet. Usually, they tittered or argued about something irrelevent such as the price raise on bulbs in the market or where they were going to move the new book shelf. However, things had been rather tense ever since...

Weiss was becoming flustered and fast. He and Nier weren't exactly best friends, but he supposed they were close enough not to let something so trivial get in the way of a perfectly normal discussion. "Well, I suppose this means only three to go, yes?" he droned in his best bored impression "Won't be long now."

Nier didn't respond. He was grinding his teeth in oafish thought. Weiss continued "I suspect, like that piece, they'll be in places we've already visited. I just hope theres not another brain swelling battle like the prev-!"

"Weiss, do you ever shut up?"

Nier had stopped in his tracks and spun round to face the Grimoire. He looked as brutishly stupid as ever, in the flustered old tome's most humble opinion, as he snarled "I'm tired of listening to your ugly damned voice! I have a lot on my mind and can't think when I have to hear you talking about everything!"

"Quite frankly, I'm surprised you can think at all, you stuid oaf!" Weiss snapped back, trying to keep his calm, but failing miserably.

"Weiss-"

"GRIMOIRE Weiss! I'm am tired of having to correct you!" Weiss shook is pages indignantly

Nier growled "I'm not in the damn mood for this! Can we just hurry up and get on with gathering these fragments already!"

He turned to continue on, but Weiss wouldn't have it. He cut him off and forced Nier to take a step back as he spat "We aren't going anywhere until you decide its a priority to stop brooding over this nonesense with that hussy!"

Nier was never all that grand at lieing in the first place, but when he was really trying to hide something... "I don't know what-"

"Are you really going to try that on me?" Weiss scoffed, almost hurt that Nier really thought him that gulible "I saw you two last night."

The old man didn't say anything. For a moment, neither of them said Anything. "Weiss, it wasn't what you-!"

"GRIMOIRE. GRIMOIRE WEISS!" the book practically screamed "And don't try that one either! You and that monster of a women were attempting fornication! Now I don't care what it was that transpired to have that kind of strange reaction from her, but I do care that you both have the gall to lie to poor Emil about it!"

Again, Nier was silent as Grimoire Weiss began his long winded lecture. "How could you let that uncooth prostitue leave Emil out there to fend for himself, hm? I realize he's a very capable boy, but what if one of the larger shades had attacked him? Sometimes I feel like that boy is more grown up then both of you!"

Nier turned his back on the ranting tome and found a rock to lean against. His hand rose quickly to his face. "Are you even listening to me, you usless-"

Weiss had been rather determined to make his opinions on the old mans behavior quite clear. However, watching the form of the nearest thing he had to a comrade as he slid down the rock face, breathing strangly, wasn't something he was mentally prepared for, and that was saying something. As Weiss floated in closer, he realized that the muscalr man was sobbing. "Are you...are you actually crying?" he questioned awkwardly, not sure if he wanted the answer.

"What does it look like?" Nier grunted, violently wiping the tears from his cheek "Last night wasn't exactly how I pictured our reunion, damn it."

The Grimoire wasn't exactly sure how to handle this situation. He could handle anger well enough from the oaf, but grief? "Erm, What exactly happened last night?" Weiss asked gingerly, again, still not quite sure he wanted to know.

"She'd always, ALWAYS, told me not to do that. Always!" Nier started, slamming his fist into the rock "I knew that before! But I...I got caught up and..."

So this had been going on before she'd been petrified? Weiss couldn't help but feel a bit betrayed. He supposed he'd had his own revenge with the mercilous jabs and neverending jeers, but the feeling remained. "So you neglected to tell me, in the long years while she was petrified, that you had been having secret meetings with the hussy?"

Nier nodded slowly. "No reason to be mad now. Its over anyway. I broke the only real rule."

Weiss would have been raising his eyebrow if he had any to raise. "Oh? And what rule could that woman possibly have?"

Nier stood again. "Never bellow the waist."

He began to walk again, composing himself. Weiss followed after, still confused "And why on earth would a woman like her set a rule like-"

"Weiss." Nier started looking the book in the cover "She's not fully a woman."

The Grimiore stopped dead. What did he mean "not fully a woman"? How was that even possible? It's not like girls just stop devloping! The only plausable explination...

"Kaine is...a hermaphrodite?"

Nier said nothing. He just continued to walk back to where his other companions waited. The gravity of this situation weighing heavy on his binding, Weiss followed, a mixutre of pitiy, rage, and compassion stirring through is ruffled pages.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~TO BE CONTINUED

Wow did that take a bit to squeeze out. I wasn't exactly sure where I wanted this scene to go. I'm glad its not all together out of character for Nier to cry. This won't be a common thing, but something had to be done! Next chapter should hopefully contain some actual fighting if not monsters then between characters. Still deciding if I'm gonna break it to Emil or not!

Stay tuned folks! Leave feedback! Anything helps me learn what to improve! Thanks for Reading!