I just realized that their time periods are different. hahaha! Oh well. :))
Natsume doesn't respond for a while, and Ayame realizes she hit another of the child's sore spots. She decides that there's no better time to teach him about taboos than now.
"If there's something you can't talk about, either tell someone before you become a ninja assassin, or you carry it with you to your grave." Ayame unconsciously starts tapping her feet. "If you do neither, and the secrets stop you like they're stopping you now, you'll die early."
Natsume still doesn't talk. About a minute passes before he mutters a single word: Alice.
"What? Are you mistaking me for your girlfriend now?" Ayame smirks. "Sorry, I'm taken-"
"No," the boy growls, even though he shouldn't. He's wearing a black cat mask, not a dog, and Ayame is disappointed that he didn't stay in-character. "My power, making my own fire, it's called an Alice."
Maybe it's just Ayame who thinks it, but calling a supernatural power 'Alice' is... lame.
"There's a special school for Alices," Natsume says. "You're training me so I can do their dirty work."
Ayame stays silent. She knows all about dirty work, and the risks of spilling its secrets.
Does this mean Natsume trusts her?