[A]ddiction
By MargaritaDaemonelix
Chapter 2: Infatuation
A/N: Two new characters! Again, please consult my profile if you're unsure of the classes. This one's in Inferno... But I put their classes in their somewhere, so I think it'll all be fine!
Enjoy!
Infatuation(noun; plural: infatuations) (in-faa-chu-AY-shun)
An intense but short-lived passion or admiration for someone or something.
It started with a dream.
Ara had strange dreams sometimes, with all sorts of strange creatures that only existed in the furthest horizons of her mind. But this…
This was a new one.
In her dream, she was out shopping for supplies. It wasn't out of the blue for her to be getting supplies from a shop-it was very hard to get antibacterial from her loot raids, after all.
It was what happened afterwards that made her cringe at the memory.
Continuing along the path, she arrived at an inn. She walked up two flights of stairs before opening a random door. The room was cosy, the pale yellow light from the candles reminding her of home. It was just like those candles Mother used to make herself, from beeswax. Even the scent was the exact same...
"I'm back," she announced suddenly.
"Did you get any snacks?" Asked a half-asleep voice. "I'm starving."
Ara chuckled, setting the bag of supplies down before walking in and sitting on the edge of the bed. "You know they're not healthy. I'm not letting you subside off junk food."
The swivel chair by the illuminated desk turned around to reveal a clearly foggy Add, trying to put some screws into a… Gadget of some sort. "But chips are good because… They taste good!" He whined. "C'mon, tell me you at least grabbed some fried crackers on the way out."
Ara shook her head. "Nope."
The scientist groaned and flopped on his desk ,scattering random CPU parts and screws everywhere. "Damn you and your health quota," he mumbled.
Laughing a little to herself, Ara walked over to her pale-haired companion, sitting on the armrest of his swivel chair. "I know something that'll taste much better than fried crackers and chips combined," she teased.
Add sat up and raised an eyebrow. "Really."
She laughed again. Wrapping her hands behind his neck. "Really."
Ara was no stranger to kissing. Her lips had given away their soft kisses to one too many people, loveless kisses that gave away less than they took. But this was different. This was passion, this was fire, this was…
Was this… Love?
And with a gasp, Ara woke up, sitting straight up in her bed and clutching her chest in shock.
It's not a nightmare, she repeated to herself. Ara stopped having nightmares when she started killing, because by then, not only was everyone she cared for either dead or a demon, she pretty much had nothing left to lose. It wasn't a normal dream either; there weren't any crazy plant monsters, and Eun sure as hell didn't show up.
… Wait.
"EUN!" Groaned Ara loudly, flicking the hairpin on her nightstand playfully.
Yes, Ara dear?
That tone of voice immediately said something was off. "You wouldn't happen to be hijacking my dreams to ship me and Add, would you?" She asked sweetly.
The kumiho didn't respond. Ara took her silence as a yes.
It was already late in the morning when Ara woke up. She'd taken a large job the previous night, and while she'd wanted to drag Add along, he had been nowhere to be found. It was days like this that made Ara think that she needed a life outside her somewhat shady activities.
It was also days like this that made Ara realize she was hungry from skipping breakfast.
"Oh… Ehe…" She glanced at the clock on the wall, which showed her the stunning time of eleven thirty in the morning. "I might as well just go grab brunch at a cafe or something."
She knew it was odd to be wearing such revealing clothes, but when she tugged her black dress over her chest, there was a sense of pride that accompanied her confident stride. It was like her own way of saying fuck you to her brother.
Why did I get such a nice set of clothes, anyways? She wondered to herself. I mean, Mother always said I had nice legs that I should show off, but I don't have anyone to show them off to.
Eun scoffed. What about that white haired boy.
Ara tripped over her own feet as she tried to pack her bag. "Eun, for the last time, I am not interested in pursuing a relationship with Add!" She chided. "We're business partners, which means if he dies I'm not responsible."
Yeah, but internally you would feel responsible.
The voice of the fox faded out. Ara sensed that her animal companion had retreated to the hairpin that she'd affixed in her hair bun, and sighed. It wasn't everyday she got relationship advice from a mythological creature.
More like… Once every week or so.
As she checked her purse for the money to actually purchase brunch, Eun's words began to echo in her mind. What if Add did die on her? Would she be guilty? Would she feel responsible?
Out of the back of her mind, Ara recalled one of the last conversations she'd had with him.
"I have to admit, Ara, you've grown on me. You're no longer just a nuisance of a vixen that drags me off to Bloodbathland every weekend. I guess you've actually become a friend."
"Um, thank you?"
It was hard to pinpoint, but she'd felt… Empty, almost, afterwards. Like being friends simply wasn't satisfying. At the time, she'd thought it was because she hadn't expected him to be so friendly with her, but after considering Eun's protip, maybe it wasn't.
… Maybe she was in love with Add, after all.
"Okay, enough sappy thoughts for one day," she exclaimed out loud. "Time to eat."
Her stomach gurgled in agreement.
It only took her a few minutes to sign out of the inn. Within ten minutes, she was seated at one of the tables at the nearby cafe, the Sapphire Ivy.
"I'll have some chrysanthemum tea, please, with rock sugar," she told the waitress that was recording her order. "Do you have butternut squash soup?"
"Yes, ma'am."
Ara beamed. "I'll take an order of the soup, please, with a side of garlic bread. Thank you!"
The waitress bowed her head and walked away, returning with a steaming teapot and a beautiful little sugar bowl, filled with rock sugar. "Actually, ma'am, there's another young woman here for brunch. Do you mind if we add her to your table?" Asked the waitress anxiously.
"Of course!" Gasped Ara. Despite her work not being one to share, Ara loved meeting new people. Friends were friends, and Ara loved being with her friends.
Like Add~
Ara nearly slapped herself in an attempt to get Eun to shut up, but the other girl was already arriving. Black dress, silver hair, golden eyes that never blinked. Instantly, she knew this was a nasod.
"Good morning," she said politely, taking a sip of her tea. "Although, I should be saying 'good noon' at this hour."
The nasod girl dipped her head. "The time has not surpassed twelve o'clock noon, so 'good morning' will suffice," she dictated. Turning to the waitress, she placed her order: "An Earl Grey with no sugar or milk, along with a raisin tea biscuit, please."
As soon as the waitress disappeared with the order, the nasod turned back to Ara, who began to notice little details on her outfit. A knick of the metal here, what seemed to be the imprint of a blade there, and was that a bloodstain? She didn't really want to know.
Suddenly, the other girl tensed. "You must not dwell on my appearance," she said.
"Yeah, but you're hurt," pointed Ara. "Look, you've got a cut on your forehead…"
As soon as she brushed the silver hair away from the nasod's forehead, she knew instantly who she was. The golden plating around the smooth El crystal said it all.
The last time she'd brought up the queen of the nasod, she'd thought of her as a tiny fluffy marshmallow. She wasn't off-this girl was just a murderous marshmallow.
"Your majesty," whispered Ara, "you really should get some rest. Here, I'll help you-"
"Call me Eve," said the young queen. Ara knew the story-she'd ascended to the throne at the tender age of fourteen, after overthrowing the previous, corrupt government of Altera.
"Ara Haan."
Eve arched an eyebrow. "What a chance meeting," she said, seemingly delighted. "The two queens of the underworld, sipping tea in a cafe."
Despite Ara being known as the queen of the Elrios underworld, Altera was a special exception. There was another famed assassin who worked in that island, one that Ara had never faced in person. Another young woman, one they called…
"Nemesis," she whispered in awe. "It's an honour."
Eve shook her head. "No, the honour is all mine, Yama Raja."
Ara flushed a little as Eve referred to the nickname many people called her by. "How about we get our food to go, and eat outside?" She suggested. "It seems you have quite the story to tell."
Another ten minutes later, the two of them were sitting behind the cafe, on an old dumpster that didn't seem to work anymore. "Now that you know my real identity, I can tell you everything," said Eve, picking the raisins out of her tea biscuit gingerly. Ara wondered whether "real identity" meant "queen of the nasod" or "Nemesis"."Recently, I have partnered up with the assassin from Hamel, the Deadly Chaser."
"Who is he?" Asked Ara.
Eve turned to her with her giant golden eyes. "Do you recall how the prince of Hamel was reported missing and assumed dead after the invasion of the demons?"
As Ara's eyes widened in shock, Eve smiled a little. "He is alive and well. His name is Chung Seiker, and he is my "partner in crime", as they say."
Her serene smile turned into a frown. "Last night, we were given an assignment to take down a pair of powerful adversaries. Their names are In and Jin. Twin demons. Unfortunately, we were doublecrossed, and Chung was taken prisoner by the demons." Her eyes dimmed a little as she gazed into the distance. "I can only hope they haven't killed him."
Ara put a hand on Eve's shoulder. "Hey, I know what it's like to have a partner disappear on you," she said. "You familiar with this guy called Add Kim?"
Eve's eyes lit up. "You're working with that idiot?!" She blurted incredulously. So much for those rumours about nasods being emotionless.
"Yeah. I beat his sorry ass and knocked him out cold, and then I dragged him off to raid my brother's place," she said. "It was fun, and we do work together more often, but… Even this morning, I was wondering what would happen if he died on the job." She chuckled to herself. "I'm not helping much, am I."
The nasod shook her head. "No, I understand." She scoffed as she tossed the rest of the tea biscuit in her mouth. "Men."
They shared a laugh-or, while Ara laughed, Eve smiled and patted the human girl on the back. "Hold on; there's someone approaching," she said," suddenly frowning and taking some sort of a console unit out of her bag. Two drones, a black one and a white one, flew out of the bag, ready for combat at their mistress' command. "This may be dangerous; you may need to ready your spear."
Ara held out her hand. Eun had taught her a new trick recently: she could vaporize her spear, send it to the spirit realm, and summon it again from the shadows. By grabbing at the shadows cast by the midday sun and the ledge on the cafe's roof, she was able to retrieve her two-pronged spear easily, leaping off the dumpster to face this new arrival.
"Any moment now…" Whispered Eve, holding her hand to command her drones. "NOW!"
Just as Add stepped around the corner, a series of wild attacks, including but not limited to batterings by two drones, spear slashes and jabs, a handful of handcrafted nasod weapons and magical vortices, launched themselves at him. At the last moment possible, his Dynamos pulled up an emergency electric shield that managed to deflect all the attacks, save for one tap of Ara's spear against his armor.
"Ow," he complained, pressing the back of his hand to his forehead and swooning.
Ara giggled. "Add!" She exclaimed, dropping her spear and launching herself at him. For a moment, he looked like he was about to raise the shield again, but he only clenched his jaw as she tackled him in a huge hug, practically hanging off his neck. "Where have you been?"
"Looking for a certain someone who said they would be at a certain inn," he quipped. Ara stopped for a moment, remembering that she'd told him that she'd be at the inn. She shrugged, which only caused him to groan loudly and smack his face with his palm.
All the while, Eve had been studying them curiously. "It is strange that you actually communicate with humans now, is it not, Add?" She teased. "Last I saw you was when I kicked your sorry ass out of the Alteran palace."
Add literally had to pry Ara off him. "If you'd just given me one of your stupid little codes, all would be well, and my sorry ass wouldn't have suffered any damage," he grumbled. "It's nice to see you again, Eve. Where's your boy toy?"
The message got across as soon as Eve's face fell. "Captured by demons, I presume?" He said. "Well, we can't let the shota just die, can we?"
He turned to Ara. "What were your plans for tonight?" He asked her.
Ara shrugged again. "I was planning to just find some demons to beat the shit out of," she mused, "but I suppose a rescue-and-raid sounds just as fun. Count me in!"
The relief that spread across Eve's face was almost a novelty, in this world without much to cherish. "Thank you. Both of you."
Ara could have sworn that the nasod was crying.
A few trips to COBO Banking and the grocery store later, the three of them were on the road, traveling towards Lanox, where Eve had last been. According to her, there was a third "Queen of the underworld" there, who was literally an underworld queen-she'd been a demon overlord before being expelled to Elrios, and was now rebelling against her people. "Sourcream is very short," explained Eve, "but her butler is very tall, and she herself packs a lot of power for a ten-year old."
For days afterwards, Ara would wonder what kind of parent in their right mind would name their kid "Sourcream".
It was only natural that while the three of them travelled, Add and Eve were at each other's necks like wolves, always arguing or threatening to tear each other to shreds. Frankly, Ara didn't know which one was more terrifying-seeing them argue about technology, the image of Add in shreds or the image of Eve standing over the remains of Add.
"For the last time, I am not courting Chung Seiker!" Shrieked Eve, slapping Add across the face. Her drones, which Ara had learned were named Moby and Remy, floated nearby curiously, watching their mistress beat Add up over his teasing. "How would you like it if I implicated that you were dating miss Haan here, hmm?"
"Ara is a co worker, and a friend," sniped Add, "though that goes to show I still have more of a love life than you do. You can't even keep your hands on the shota, because he's too busy playing with the demons."
Eve let out an enraged roar and stomped ahead, leaving Ara and Add walking behind her.
Ara turned to glare pointedly at Add, who just gave her the stinkeye. "What?"
"Men," muttered the girl under her breath as she jogged a few metres ahead to catch up with Eve. "Hey, if you've got issues with him, lay it out on me. I can punish him later."
The nasod queen didn't even face her as she continued walking, staring at the ground aggressively. "A long time ago, I believed that Add would be an excellent adversary. A sparring partner, even. That was before I found that he was an asshole in his own right," she spat. "He tried to kill me more than once, just to get my codes. Add Kim is a brash, brash human being, and he cannot stand in the way of the Alteran Empire."
She lifted her head up to look at Ara, and smiled. "That's where you come in. Ara, you already know him better than I ever will. Please make sure he does not come barging in through my front door, demanding my codes. You're making him more human already, and less… Statue."
"Statue, not robot?" Teased Ara, poking Eve in the shoulder.
"Affirmative."
"Hey, you two, Lanox is just up ahead!"
The girls both stopped. "How did you know?" Asked Ara incredulously, looking around. The town was nowhere to be seen, if only because they were walking through the plains by an active volcano.
Add scoffed. "Because I actually read the sign."
Ara walked over to the post that Add gestured to as Eve glided over on the tips of her black-clad feet. Sure enough, the wooden board that was lazily affixed to the stake read "LANOX, 1 MILE" in bold red lettering.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Don't we have someone to rescue?" Said Ara.
Eve didn't need to be told twice. With the two humans running to catch up to her, she zipped ahead, into the distance, where the promise of her friend's safety lay.
It was nine o'clock when the three of them finally got out of the two little rooms they'd booked in a dingy inn. They'd eaten their dinner in relative silence, and even though Ara had tried to liven up the simple meal of cold ham sandwiches, none of her three companions(check: two humanoids and a fox) had responded. Ara was carrying her spear, Add had his Dynamos and fancy gear, and Eve… Eve had even more fancy gear.
Moby and Remy buzzed around her head as she fixed a fan of blades to her back. They were like spears, but not like Ara's-whereas her spear had a blade on the very tip, Eve's blades were on the sides of the spears. She had a thigh holster, where she tucked a somewhat large blaster that was doubtlessly loaded with explosives. Ara was fairly certain that the queen had even tucked bombs in her skirt, ready to be released at any moment.
"We were attacking this compound when Chung was captured," she murmured as the three of them neared what seemed to be an open pit. Upon closer examination, however, Ara could see the demons marching in and out of the entrances. A train of flickering creatures was marching with them, but Ara couldn't tell what they were.
Add gulped. "Are those fire spirits?"
Eve nodded. "Indeed. Melted down half my arsenal, the little suckers."
For a moment, Ara pondered. "If I took the souls of those things, would blasting spirit energy at them be like blasting fire?" She thought out loud. Add and Eve both stared at her like she was insane, but both turned back to the pit of demons.
"I'm calling it Tartarus," whispered Add.
"Tartar sauce?" Replied Ara hopefully. "I haven't had tartar sauce since before the war began."
"Shh!" Eve glared at both of them. "Now's our chance. Go!"
Swiftly, the trio ran across the barren, rocky land, avoiding the occasional patches of flowing lava that popped up in their path. At the opening of the chasm, Eve pulled one of the many spears out of her back and drove it into the rock.
Clink.
The sound of metal hitting solid rock echoed into the pit as Eve tied a rope to the top of the spear, where the handle seemed perfect as a tether. "Alright, who's up?" She said. "Whoever goes down there, we'll come down if we hear any noise."
Add put his hand up. "I guess this is the one time when 'ladies first' doesn't really apply," he joked, hopping onto his Dynamos. "I'll take the expressway down."
He disappeared down the side of the pit, leaving an electric purple streak behind him. "Ara," said Eve softly, prompting the girl to face her. "If this is it… I just wanted to say, thank you. You've changed Add a lot. Thank you for that."
As soon as she felt the tears begin to well up at the corners of her eyes, Ara leapt forwards and tackled Eve into a hug. "I'm glad we got to chat," she said, sniffling a little.
It was very light at first, but Ara was positive that she felt Eve's arms wrap around her back as well.
BOOM
"COME AT ME, YOU LITTLE SHITS-"
The girls pulled away from the somewhat awkward embrace as Add's voice echoed through the canyon, carrying the colourful word choice with it. "Well, there's our cue to go," said Ara. "I'll take the expressway, too."
When Eve tilted her head in confusion, Ara smiled. The nasod not understanding magic was just her lack of understanding of technology… Maybe she could ask Eve to explain some of Add's gear to her someday. Ara backed up a few metres before running off the edge of the cliff, using Eun's power and the wind to slow her descent significantly.
She could see Add in one of the rings(of hell, she thought), fighting what had to be a small army of demons and getting swamped. "Clear the way!" She yelled at him, hoping her voice would carry over as she grabbed her spear out of the shadows. Hopefully the incantation would work if she did it in midair…
Just as she ran over the demon swarm, Add jumped aside. "Falling Dragon!" she yelled, doing a midair somersault before slamming her spear on the ground. The impact alone smashed several creatures to mere splotches, and the resulting ripple waves sent many more flying through the air.
Eve came floating down, stepping lightly on Moby and Remy. Her shadow cast a wave of fear over the demons, as she removed yet another spear from her back and attached some sort of explosive tip to the very front.
"Face your judgement!"
The explosion that came from her spear nearly knocked Ara off her feet. Add may be good at the whole "stun you with tech" thing, but Eve definitely wins in the explosives department.
An entire line of demons fell as Eve shot a single piercing bullet through the row, the fire alive in her eyes. "Where is the Deadly Chaser?" She hissed, picking one demon up by the front of its shirt and shaking it wildly. "Where is he?"
"I… I don't know!" Wailed the demon, scrambling from her grasp and disappearing into the darkness. The few surviving flame spirits and demons scampered after it. Add stood up from where he'd been sitting peacefully on the now bloodstained floor, looking at the cavern where the monsters had disappeared into.
"I don't know about you, but I'd bet ten dollars that our missing shota-in-distress is down that passage somewhere," he said. "Unless neither of you ladies have ten dollars. I'll bet that bottle of ten year old whiskey I've been keeping in that case."
"Don't bother with it," said Ara quickly, closing her eyes. Out in the blue, she could sense a soul that was fighting harder to stay ablaze than any other. It burned a bright blue, like the sky.
"The whiskey or the bet?" Quipped Add.
"Both, dummy, as much as I'd like the whiskey. I can see his soul in the distance. He's down that path, but we've got to hurry if we want to get to him while he's still alive."
"RUN, YOU PLEBEIANS!" Yelled Eve, soaring down the path as Add hopped on his Dynamos and Ara called the wind to help her. I've never seen anyone so worked up about a rescue mission, thought Ara, but she didn't say anything about it. It was clear that even though maybe Eve wasn't going to start dating the former prince of Hamel anytime soon, they had a strong platonic bond.
If nasods were even capable of emotion, that is.
"Tired yet, little prince!"
"Shut the hell up and explain to me how you're not dying!?"
"CHUNG!" Hollered Eve, boosting herself just a little further. Suddenly, she dropped out of view.
Ara and Add skidded to a stop at the edge of another cliff. This one had to go down at least twenty metres, which couldn't have been a very nice impact. Fortunately, the two of them could see Eve at the bottom, fighting the twin demons alongside a figure in white and blue armor.
"Welp, looks like they've got it covered. Should we drop out of the sky like bombs, or should we drop out of the sky like falcons?" Contemplated Add. He turned to face Ara, presumably to ask for her opinion, but she was already over the edge, and was closer to Eve and Chung than she was to the ledge. Add groaned as he hopped back on his Dynamos. "Bombs away it is."
As Ara landed on the hot stone floor in the cavern, it only took her a second to assess the situation. The demons were indeed twins-a male and a female. Chung was, in fact, a shota, but a) he had a barrier cannon, the type that only guardians of Hamel used, and b) he was covered in silvery white armor. He was cussing angrily at the two demons, which was hilarious considering he was about a head shorter than either of them.
"I'd stay here watching pika-Chung swear all day too, but we really need to get a move on."
Ara blinked as she realized that Add was next to her, having landed. "Great. I'll join Eve against the girl, and you help Chung with the guy!" She ordered as she ran in to stab her spear at Jin, the female demon.
"You… You're Ran's sister!" Gasped Jin, her words laced with false admiration. "To what do I owe the honour?"
"First off, that monster is not my brother," growled Ara, stepping to the side as Jin slashed one blade at her and one at Eve. "Second, if you're paying anyone any honour, you should pay it to the fuckin' queen of Altera!"
Eve leapt aside at another attack, removing two of the blades from her back. "That's right, demon scum," she spat. "Prepare to meet your maker."
The demon simply snarled at both of them and began to swing both her blades at ridiculously high speeds. "Step away from her!" Yelled Eve. Ara propelled herself away from the spinning demon top as Eve jumped into the air, launching a ring of her blades much like Ara's Spear Prison, and bringing it down with her as she pounded Jin into the floor.
Ara pressed her hand to the now still demon's back, and made a vortex, breathing in deeply as she felt her spirit energy reserves fill up.
Jin collapsed to the floor in a heap, as Chung put a train of bullets through In's chest and Add sent a storm of his missiles through the demon's back.
The cavern was silent for a moment, save for the sounds of the few surviving demons screaming as they escaped the cavern. "That was… more hectic than I'd expected," commented Add, poking at a burn on his arm that was already beginning to heal.
"Indeed," hummed Eve, who was standing next to Chung, one hand on his shoulder. "Although I think this one was rather fun, don't you think?"
Ara smiled. "It's always fun when we fight with friends."
Chung cleared his throat. "I hate to break the gal-pal-ing, but has anyone considered how we're going to get back up?"
Three pairs of eyes followed his outstretched finger to the ledge to the outside world, twenty metres above them.
The silence of the cavern was broken by a single, extremely loud shout:
"CONSARN IT!"
"So what do you think of Eve and Chung?"
Even though the original idea was that the boys would share a room and the girls would share a room, the Alteran monarch and the former Hamel prince clearly needed some alone time. Which led to Ara sharing a room with Add, the latter clearly a little miffed.
"I'm not sure. Their partnership is clearly great, I can tell that much, but little queenie there has literally got the shota wrapped around her finger," he griped. "I'm not sure whether that's safe or not, but it's hilarious watching them."
Ara blinked. "Yeah. I think they work together well, don't they?"
"They've been working together for less than a year, and yet they can read each others' next move like an open book," mused the scientist, settling down on his bed with his arms over his head.
Now's your chance, Ara. Go get him!
Gulping, Ara put on the snarkiest smirk she could. "Want to match that?" She teased, though it was more of an offer. "Full time partners, travelling the world together as we fight demons in the name of the divine El Lady?"
Add stared at her like she was insane. "You're bony and thin," she pointed. "I can see the bones in your hands. You clearly need more nutrition. You've been eating nothing but junk food, haven't you?" She stood up and glared at him. "I'm not going to let you subside off junk food!"
"I am not thin and bony," he argued. "I actually have physical strength-"
Ara reached over, grabbed his index finger, and drew out a little power from Eun. Add yelped as the bone snapped, leaving his finger hanging limply. She sighed and wrapped it in spirit energy, healing it almost instantly. "You'll have to be careful with that one. You break it anymore, I'm not responsible," she said. "Point is, Add, you're a precious, precious friend to me. I haven't been so close to anyone since before Ran. And I want to-no, I need to make sure you don't get hurt."
They sat in awkward silence for a few moments, hands clasped around each others', when Add suddenly looked up and smirked. "Yeah, sure we can do the whole partners thing, but did you have to break my finger to make a point like that? You're kinda being a hypocrite, you know."
Ara gasped. "You take that back, Add Kim!"
As the two of them began to bicker playfully, Eve stood in the half-open doorway, not having moved since they began talking. Her cloaking faded around her as she closed the door. Mission accomplished. Finally, an old frenemy of hers found peace.
"Miss Eve?"
She turned around to find Chung, standing in his pajamas, a large pillow in his arms. "Come back to bed before you catch a cold or something," he scolded. "Oh wait-Nasods can't catch colds, can they?"
Eve found herself almost laughing. "Not that I know of," she said as she followed him back into their shared room, "but I'm fairly certain that they can experience a variety of other conditions…"
A/N: I'll leave the future of our resident marshmallow and shota to you to decide. And the very loud scream.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I may not update next week, because (!) exams. Well, I don't have any on Monday, so I might, but... We'll see.
Fun fact: It took me a month to write the first chapter, but only two days to write this one. Yes, I know I have no control over my life.
Sorry if Eve's a little OOC. I really wanted her to be sassy for this one.