Late again... Life's been busy, and I'm falling into my old procrastinating habits. I'm not abandoning this story though!

Here's another installment, which covers the remainder of the day, a long explanation of events thus far, and the beginning of another arc in itself. In reality, this chapter WAS just so I can get to Norma's CQ and try to set up some resemblance of a plot that isn't this repetitive mess, but I have a fantastic new plan that needs some working on... Which I'm also having a bit of trouble on. Enjoy!

Themes are: Sekai wa Sude no Azemuki no Ue ni (Instrumental)- Yusa Koji, A Beautiful Lie- 30 Seconds to Mars, You Are Loved- Josh Groban

Chapter 7 - A Beautiful Lie

Later that evening, Norma and Walter were in the inn, one studying her Relares notebook while the other read his borrowed novel on the window seat. A nearby lamp gave off enough light that both could read in peace. Norma shrugged off a throw from around her shoulders and closed her notebook. She turned towards the blond, his hair a glimmering gold in the lamp's light. "Hey Wally?"

His eyebrows, or at least the one she could see, twitched but he remained silent as he turned a page.

She leaned back and put her hands in her lap on top of her book. "So… I was wondering, you…" She's been curious about something, but hesitation kept her from continuing her sentence.

After a few moments of silence, the blond sighed and closed his book, "Well spit it out, what is it?" He said loudly.

Norma started suddenly, then shook her head and continued. Why was she so jumpy around him all of a sudden? "Wally, can you be honest with me…?"

Walter closed his eyes and was silent, expression guarded. Knowing what she was asking about, he kept his answers clipped, "I'm not a liar, but I'm not going to outright tell you either, Beatty."

This would have made her deflate normally, but she had an angered expression on her face instead. "Exactly what I'm talking about, you're-" She exclaimed, but a knock at the door silenced her and startled the two of them. The two exchanged glances and she called out, "Who is it?"

The response came later on. "It's Jay. Will wants to speak to all of us, now."

Walter started at his voice through the door. Damn it, not that brat again! Norma peered at him and felt a small part of her laugh at how he looked ready to bolt out the window like a boyfriend caught by a teenage girl's overly-protective father. She swallowed her nervousness and called again, "Just a sec, I'll be right out." She waved over at the Ferines silently, who quickly got the message and quietly slid off of the seat and crouched near the beds, hidden from sight.

Norma quickly gathered her things and shoved them into her bag, grabbed her Relares notebook and trotted over to the door, opening it with a flourish. "Sorry 'bout that, JJ! Let's go see what Teach wants."

Jay nodded, hesitating in front of her and peering at the inside of the room before turning and walking down the stairs. Norma closed the door, locked it and followed soon afterwards.

The blond waited a minute, then quietly walked out from behind the bed, staring at the door with a relieved expression. "Too close…" Nerifes, he was beginning to feel like a criminal hiding from Senel's group all of the time. He exhaled softly, then turned back to the window, looking out at the heavy darkness that the light posts easily penetrated with a sense of foreboding. No matter how much he hid, he would have to show himself sometime… he just had to complete whatever task brought him back before that time came.

Little did he know, that the allotted time would soon shorten that evening, all due to a forgotten black cloak that hung on the edge of the bed…

x x x

Walking up the path to the house the skies were beginning to turn pink and orange, the sun already touching the tips of the mountains behind the town. Dark clouds were just beginning to linger on the horizon, and a breeze was beginning to pick up. Norma kicked a rock with her foot up the path, wincing when it hit another man's foot. He looked down at the rock in confusion, and the brunette averted her eyes, face red with embarrassment. Jay ignored her and walked further ahead. She caught up and tucked her hands behind her back. "So JJ, any clue what Teach wants with us?" She asked cheerfully.

"Apparently, Curtis and Isabella had some information for us, and they shared it with Will, who in turn is sharing it with us." He replied simply.

Norma swallowed, "About the black mist, right?"

"I don't know." He trailed off.

The girl let a small, smug grin light her face, "I bet it bothers you… Not knowing something." Jay gave her an exasperated expression: that lovely irritated look she strived to see whenever she tried to annoy someone and succeeded.

"It does, but baiting me isn't going to help our problems." He responded, his tone taking on a frustrated tone.

Norma pouted, as the two passed by the fountain entrance. "JJ, you're no fun! Usually you would make a witty comeback, or insult my maturity somehow; I'm disappointed..." She whined in a teasing tone.

Jay stopped walking near the city map, causing Norma to stop in puzzlement. "…Norma?"

"Yeah, what is it, JJ? Why'd we stop?" She asked.

He turned to face her and stared into her face. "Did you go shopping within the last week or so?"

Norma seemed even more confused by this question, and scratched her head, "Huh? Well… Yeah, I guess."

"What for?" He crossed his arms this time, his expression even and unreadable.

"The usual stuff: Gels, a few potions, food from the bakery and dinner at the Inn's restaurant. Why?" His eyes seemed to become a bit more steely, but instead seemed to focus away from her for a moment while deep in thought. "JJ, what's with the twenty questions all of a sudden? I never knew you wanted to know this much about my personal life, but seriously; a person's privacy is a person's privacy-"

He snapped out of his thoughts and gave her a hard look, "Cut it out, Norma. What's going on? You've been acting strangely since the earthquake happened, and I'm rather curious why you're lying to me."

Norma felt a shiver go up her spine as she put on another act, "JJ, I'm shocked! Sure, we've all been acting weird since then, but you know I'd never-"

"You are lying to me, Norma. You just proved it when you said you haven't been shopping this week. If that's the case, why are there extra belongings in your room?" Jay interrupted, his voice low and gaze slowly turning into a glare as she tried to wiggle out of answering his questions.

Norma fully froze this time, knowing she'd been found out. Crud, how'd he…! She then thought back on Wally's coat on the bed near hers. Darn it, JJ's too observant for his own good.

Her stiff posture and shocked expression told the entire story to the short shinobi, who in turn placed enough of the pieces of the puzzle together to figure out what she had been doing. His demanding glare turned dark.

As he took her arm and pulled her off of the road towards the fountain, she struggled, but he had his grip tight on her arm. Norma panicked inside, a cold chill running laps up and down her spine and creating goosebumps on her skin. Ah crud, he's pissed now. It was pretty obvious to her that he'd found out, but what was he gonna…?

She struggled enough that he had to stop, but now the two were enough off the beaten path that the two would be uninterrupted during his interrogation. More specifically, they were in the empty fountain plaza. "JJ, let GO!" Norma finally ripped her arm from his hand, rubbing at it and looking back at him, his eyes burrowing.

"Norma, how long have you been hiding him?"

"I-I don't know what you're-" She stuttered out quickly.

"Yes you know damn well what I'm talking about! Walter; you know he's been waltzing around Werites Beacon as well as I do. How long have you been hiding him?" He demanded angrily. Norma stood stunned, staring at him. The moment she averted her eyes from his harsh glare they knew her lie had come undone.

"The evening after the earthquake happened…" She replied quietly, deflating as the angered shinobi glared daggers at her, but knowing it wasn't just because of the Ferines, but lying to him and the rest of the Fun Bunch. They won't be so fun once JJ tattles on me about this, she thought to herself, and opened her mouth before he asked another question.

"Well, what else happened?" Jay asked, no trace of humor on his face.

Norma slumped to the grass, wrapping her arms around her folded legs. "JJ, it's a long story and Teach is still-"

"I don't care; we'll get back to him on that. This is more important at the moment, now talk." He said firmly, not in any mood for argument.

Norma sighed to herself. She had gotten herself into this mess, she might as well explain herself… She could only hope (futilely) that JJ wouldn't tell Teach the story too. Or anyone else for that matter. "…Well, you might as well get comfortable, JJ." She mentioned with a defeated look on her face. Jay sat cross-legged in front of her as she spilled her story, knowing that he would know if she left out any details.

"It all started around when the earthquake happened. We had all run down the hill and down to the beach after that little mist monster, and I saw this little flash of color near a rock down the beach. We fought the monster, and since I didn't see anything I left the thought alone while we went back to town. Later that evening, it wouldn't leave my head and I had to find out what that flash was.

"So I walked up to Lumen Spring and saw some shoes and a cloak by the spring. I tried calling to see if anyone was there, but no one answered. I looked in the spring, and at the bottom was Wally; fast asleep at the bottom of the pool and dressed like he was when we first met Senny, Shirl and the others. I ended up slipping, falling in and waking him up."

"Klutz." Jay responded simply, and Norma fumed.

"Shut it! Anyway, he woke up and honestly I thought he was gonna kill me right then and there. Then…" She furrowed her brows, "He didn't do anything, he just became quiet and asked me for a place to stay for the night."

Jay gave her a strange look. "That doesn't seem like him… Are you-"

"I'm not lying, damn it!" Norma snapped before quieting down. "I know it's strange... I know it's out of character for him, and that's one of the reasons I let him stay with me. He just… He honestly looked confused, like he didn't know what he was doing there. Even if he had escaped from the Wings of Light, which he reminded me he didn't-"

"So he really did come back from the afterlife…?" Jay looked just as puzzled as she did. "That doesn't make any sense; there's nothing that can bring a person back from the dead short of necromancy, and even that only reanimates the body, not an entire person's heart and soul as well."

"I know. I keep asking him about it, but every time I've asked him, he keeps shooting me down and replying with crud like how 'he'll tell me later'… But he did tell me what… it was like, to die, I mean…" Norma shuddered, and let her head fall onto the tops of her knees.

Jay was silent, and she continued, "…He said it was like falling asleep… Just drifting away and not being around anymore. Sounds pleasant, compared to what people talk about about fiery pits in the underworld or tunnels of light."

"…Continue please."

"Anyway, he came back with me, and we almost got caught by Red, but he hid in a tree. Turns out he hates him too." She stopped long enough to see a slight smirk on the boy's face, and she rolled her eyes. "He came back with me to my room at the inn, and… Hey, nothing happened; quit giving me that look! He just went to sleep, out like a light." She snapped her fingers, "Like that.

"Next day he took off by himself, and I didn't really see him much until that evening when we had dinner." She waved her arms in exasperation, "And he had the nerve to say the bread bowl they made tasted wrong. The heck is wrong with him, that's my favorite dish, darn it!"

"Tasted wrong…? I thought Ferines liked seafood…" Jay replied, brows furrowed in confusion.

"I know! Apparently, it wasn't spicy enough for him."

He blinked. "…A chowder not being spicy enough? I've never heard of such a thing, who makes a chowder spicy?"

"I dunno, but apparently a few days ago he had spaghetti and doused it in cayenne pepper."

"…Maybe he just likes spicy foods." He replied, scratching his cheek. The two were silent in thought over this and Norma coughed.

"So… After that, he told me how old he was. He's actually a lot younger than what I thought he was."

"What did you guess?"

"Same age as Teach."

Jay choked and nearly laughed, "Twenty-nine? He looks nothing like that."

"Well, what would you have guessed?"

"Somewhere around twenty."

"…Lucky guess, he's eighteen. Anyway, we finished dinner, and when we went back to my room, he just got really tired and nearly collapsed."

"Wait, he collapsed?"

"I didn't get it either… He just… lost all of his energy all of a sudden, like he was about to pass out. I had to pull him by the wrist up to the room. When he got to the bed, he just fell on it and passed out… It's happened a couple times since he arrived, and… I'm kinda worried."

"Wait, you're worried for Walter? The Ferines who tried to kill us more than a few times?" Jay questioned, exasperated now.

"He isn't himself though… He hasn't tried to kill me, and isn't as mean as he could be. Wally hasn't even called me something like "stupid Orerines" since Lumen Spring… He's obviously bothered about something, and keeps leaving without any kind of message of where he was going. …Well, there was one day he went to fight some monsters, but I went out, and it turns out he ran into the dragon before Red and the other bandits ran into it. When I come back to the room, he's in the bathroom trying to wrap a poisoned scratch on his arm from the dragon. He can't heal himself to save his life…" Which I figured out after the fight at the Mirage Palace, Norma thought to herself.

"And we found out about him being alive then." Jay commented after a few moments of silence from her.

"Yeah… I had healed him, no problem. But…" Norma trailed off.

"But?"

"…Red kinda burst in and found out Wally was alive."

"The stupid bandit knew about this too?" Jay was mad again. To think Moses knew about this before he did; it was at the very least insulting!

"Yeah, but I didn't tell him everything; not the whole thing about him dying and his dizzy spells. Anyways, Red and Wally got into an argument about why he's hanging around and not returning to the Village of the Ferines-"

"I've been wondering that as well…" Jay commented aloud.

"-And Wally left, then Red soon afterwards. I didn't see him around until the next morning when the earthquake happened. I woke him up when I fell out of bed around… I think it was four in the morning. Anyway, I went back to sleep. Someone pinched my nose, and I when I woke up Red was there too… Will wanted us that day: it was when we saved the baby's parents at the Great Hollow. I sold that horn we had gotten and went to the restaurant to eat, and he was there. We just talked about nothing, really… Apparently, he had visited the Village of the Ferines that day while we had been gone."

"He waited until this long to go there…? Did he meet with Maurits?" Jay asked, though right after he has said this he thought it over and realized the village elder would have spoken to them if that had been the case.

"No, he stayed out of sight. Probably missed the place enough to go is my guess. So we went back to sleep that evening, and this morning he was gone again… He had come back to the inn, and we just read. Actually, I was trying to get him to open up about why he was hanging around when you came and dragged me off to Teach's house…" Norma inhaled a deep breathe and swallowed. She tossed up her arms for a moment and added, "And here we are, JJ. That's pretty much the whole story."

Jay was quiet over the last of this, and it made Norma nervous. She ignored the butterflies fluttering in her stomach, for all the wrong reasons and spoke. "Look, JJ… I know I lied to you and the others, and I'm sorry. Just… please... Don't tell them about any of this."

"You can't keep it a secret forever." Jay replied.

"I know, but I at least want to know what's keeping Wally around. When his problem is solved, I'll tell them myself. I promise…"

"How can I trust you when you lied to me about something as important like this?" Jay questioned, his gaze hard.

Norma winced and clutched her legs tighter. "I know, I know, and it's awful I did that. I'm risking my word, my reputation as a treasure hunter on this…" Norma's eyes flickered back to the ground. "…Wally's changed somehow, but I dunno what or how. From what I've seen, he isn't the same person, not entirely at least. He's trying to find something, some piece of information... but I can't figure out what it is and he won't talk about it."

Jay mulled over her words, and waited a moment before replying. "So, you want me not to tell the others and help you help him find whatever he's looking for? After everything's that happened, that's a tall order…"

Norma looked at him with a pleading expression on her face, "Please, JJ, I'm begging you. Don't tell them… Just let me figure this out."

Jay was quiet, trying to figure out what the best logical course of action was, while keeping morals in check. She lied to him… But was also honest in her reasons and wanting to help. She had also promised on her reputation and pride on explaining the entire story when the whole fiasco was over. "I'll accept if you agree to a few conditions."

Norma nodded, a sign of hope on her face. "Short of killing me and taking all of my money, anything…"

Jay stared at her after hearing her answer, but shook it off and held up a finger. "One, you won't lie or keep me in the dark about anything that happens from now on. I want to know everything that is going on." Norma nodded, and he held up another finger. "Two, You'll stop procrastinating and give me back the elixir you owe me from the battle at the Mirage Palace."

"But those things cost… Nevermind, done." Norma started, before shaking her head in defeat. So he still remembered that, shoot… Those things really did cost a ton, as they were prizes for arena matches. The matches were hard too.

Jay slowly held up a third finger, "And three, Walter and I are going to have a chat tomorrow night, whenever I find the time. You're going to tell him about confessing the entire story to me, and you'll convince him to talk about the situation to me tomorrow night. No fights, no arguments, no running away."

"JJ, I'm all for having him talk with you, but I'm afraid that's going to be near-impossible to do. Having him open up to me is hard enough, and I know he hates you, so a friendly chat between you two is going to be hard to pull off, let alone having him reveal whatever's bothering him."

"If you can't fulfill it, then-" He started, about to get up to go talk to Will.

"Hey, I'm just saying that it's gonna be hard to do. I'll honestly try my best, but I'm not going to fire a Gravity Well at Wally to keep him still enough for you to talk to the guy. I'll try to talk to him, but no guarantees." Norma interrupted him, tugging on his arm and keeping him on the ground. She rubbed her face and let out an exasperated and frustrated sigh. "I didn't think it would be this difficult…"

"You thought solving Walter's problem would be easy?"

"I knew it wasn't going to be easy! I just didn't think that this would get so screwed up." She groaned to herself, clenching her eyes shut to try and relieve herself of the stress. No luck.

Jay gazed down at her and stood up, pulling her up as he went. "C'mon, it's getting late." He said quietly, not appreciating her stress. Then again, she had gotten herself into this mess; she can get herself out. She just needed an extra set of hands helping her.

Norma nodded wearily, rubbing at one of her eyes. "Yeah, I know…" The two saw how late the time was and Jay decided he would contact Will in the morning about their absence. He'd give a little white lie about how she wasn't feeling well, "With stress, mind you. It isn't a lie, just a stretched truth…" She'd stay away until after tomorrow, and then meet up with them again.

"This seems kinda elaborate for a simple meeting, JJ…" Norma said, not fully accepting of his plan.

"It would also explain your strange behavior, if anyone other than myself noticed. You'll also have a day to yourself, be happy about it…" The shinobi seemed pleased with his scheme however, as he wasn't dragging his feet like Norma was.

"Yeah, and I'll spend the entire time trying to get Wally to come down from the roof to talk to you tomorrow night." She reminded him, exasperated.

This seemed to make Jay smile a bit, "That's just part of the fun though." His tone was almost gleeful.

Norma narrowed her eyes at him. "You're enjoying this a little too much, you know that?"

"You brought it onto yourself."

"I know, you keep reminding me!"

x x x

The two eventually reached the inn, their playful bickering echoing in the empty street. Norma yawned loudly, and walked quietly up to the door, turning to wave back at Jay before entering the inn. Quietly stepping up the stairs, she opened her room's door and snuck inside. Closing it, she looked around for any sign of her blond roommate before discovering him in his bed fast asleep. She carefully pulled off her boots and went into the bathroom to slip into an over-sized shirt and a pair of shorts.

Sneaking back out, she approached her bed before hearing a strange sound. She looked over at Walter, who had twisted in his sleep onto his side facing her bed. She began to turn to pull back the covers and climb into her bed before noticing the pained look on his face. …Was he having a nightmare? Norma wondered to herself, though she didn't want to shake him awake in fear he would activate his eres again (it would probably happen anyway, but still)… But still, she didn't want him to suffer from bad dreams; most of the ones she's had weren't very pleasant.

Carefully reaching over to shake his shoulder, he made a murmuring sound in the back of his throat and shifted onto his back, causing Norma to hesitate. Swallowing, she reached out, and for reasons she didn't quite fathom stroked the top of his head instead, smoothing the fine platinum-blond hair. Almost immediately, she snatched her hand back, wanting to smack herself. "What the hell am I doing?" She whispered to herself, shaking her head in embarrassment. Though... she didn't find herself hating the act.

Slowly reaching out, she brushed her hand against his hair, petting the soft bangs between her fingertips. She noticed Wally didn't retaliate violently nor wake. In fact, his form relaxed at her touch, so she continued. Her fingers brushed against the bangs covering his left eye, and she gently pulled it away from his face. The bangs must have just been a hairstyle for him, as the brunette girl found no scars, markings or blemishes of any kind on the other side of his face. If anything, having his hair out of his face for once made him even more attractive. The thought made her cheeks red, and much as she tried to shake it off, the blush wouldn't go away.

The back of Norma's hand brushed against Wally's cheek, and he seemed to lean into her touch, all discomfort from his form having completely disappeared. She knelt by the edge of his bed, not saying a thing but just softly snoozing at the bottom of Lumen Spring.

Norma's face eventually grew a tiny smile she had yet to notice, and she felt a sudden urge to do something… She shook her head when she realized what it was, her flushed face growing redder, but the thought wouldn't go away. She gave in and thought that since he was asleep, and no one else was around, this would be her one moment. Her secret, and hers alone. God help her if he woke up… Although... a small, tiny, miniscule part in the back of her mind wanted him to.

Quiet as a mouse, the brunette cupped a cheek in her hand and bent over his face to lightly brush her lips against the blond's forehead in a ghostly soft kiss. His skin was smooth, and the action made her tingle all over. His face felt warm, and she could swear she saw the slightest lifting of his lips to form a tiny smile. Smiling herself, she forced herself to stand up. After caressing his cheek one last time, she climbed into her own bed, the cold sheets not cooling off her burning and tingling one in the slightest.

Her gaze lingering on the blond's now quietly slumbering form, she closed her eyes as she fell into dreamland. In her chest, unbeknownst to herself just yet, a part of her heart had melted.

x x x

Aaaaah! A first Wally/Bubbles moment~! Oh, that was my first real dive into romance, and I've been working to try and get that moment between the two for a while. While the moment only lasted for a bit, this ties with the dragon chapter as my favorite chapter… And also, even though this will probably be my last lengthy Legendia fic to the archives (what a tongue-twister), it's by far my favorite~!

Anyway, don't think the cute fluff will last long, as there's a shitstorm a-brewing in the next chapter. If anything's off, feel free to comment on it!

Reviewer Corner

Shiroi Iyasu - Finally? The plot's been going; it's just been going at a slow rate and are moreso mandatory-boring-filler moments than action-y scenes.

WallyxBubbles - Hey, a new reviewer! I... honestly don't know why Wally and Norma seem like an interesting couple, there's just something about them. In my defense, I go for odd crack pairings sometimes, so maybe that's it. I have a bit of an idea about the Fun Bunch but as you've seen, the truth is starting to unravel, and as time goes by more are going to find out. ...Though I haven't really thought about how Grune would react. Heck, she'd probably just be her breezy amnesiatic self like she usually is.
As for Walter's role... I'm imagining he would have been a sort of courier between Maurits and Shirley, and therefore would also have to deal with the Fun Bunch a lot. And do not worry about my updates: however busy I am, I'll try and update promptly, which is usually 2-3 weeks to make up for my slow writing.