When I opened my door the following morning, I was met with a strange but not unwelcome sight. It was Kaze, resting leisurely against the opposing wall. Upon seeing me emerge from my room, he quickly pushed himself off of it, smilingly lightly.

"Kaze? What are you doing here?" I found myself asking. Like I said, it wasn't as if I didn't want to see him. It was just… strange… Usually I went out by myself. It was even like that at the arena, but here Kaze was, waiting for me outside of my door. Was it because… we were a couple now…? The thought still made me giddy, but Kaze began to speak, so I tried to quell my excitement.

"Well, I usually go on ahead because of your lessons, but now that we're both off, I'd be happy to walk you to wherever you'd like to go today," Kaze offered. A smile worked its way onto my face.

"Thanks. Why don't we go get something to eat first, though?" I suggested in turn. Kaze nodded and so we departed, heading for the dining area, which was as packed as always. As soon as we entered, Ida bounded over to us.

"No fair, no fair!" she cried out as she waved her arms about, taking us by surprise. "You picked Aki up but you never picked me up, it's no fair at all!" Ida continued to complain before crossing her arms and pouting. Kaze gave her a sympathetic smile as I sighed. If anything, I was the one who should have been complaining. Ever since we came to the Arcadia Movement, Ida and Kaze had spent most of their time together while I trained. Granted, that was my choice, but still, it was more of a valid reason for complaints than Kaze simply meeting up with me in the morning. After all, now we were…

"Come on, it's like you two are a young couple or something," Ida sighed, irritated. I quickly tensed and I felt Kaze jump back a bit from beside me. Of course, we had accepted what we were, but we hadn't even thought of bringing it up to other people. I shot a glance towards Kaze, who was just looking back at me with an equal amount of apprehension. Part of me wanted to just come out and say it, just to establish the facts, but the other part felt that it might complicate things. It might interfere with Ida's whole heroism thing, after all. "Wait… N-no way… Don't tell me…" Ida trailed off with her eyes wide as she looked between us, apparently already being able to deduce the answer from our reactions.

Kaze was the first to react, taking a deep breath as he took hold of my hand with his, causing me to blush a bit. "Ida… Aki and I… We're dating," Kaze said slowly, trying to ease the shock. It didn't seem to do much good, though, as Ida just kept staring at us with the same flabbergasted expression.

"Ida, is something wrong?" I tried to check on her but Ida quickly shook her head.

"No, no, it's nothing, nothing at all!" Ida insisted, but I noticed that her smile was way too forced. If she was forcing it… she was worried about something, and that was probably…

"Nothings changed between us, Ida. We're still the Justice Brigade. We'll still go on adventures and everything," I insisted. Ida drew back a bit, looking confused for a second.

"O-oh, right! That's great! I just thought that maybe this was your way of kicking me out, so I'm glad! Totally glad that we're still a team!" Ida grinned as she scratched at the back of her neck. "Anyway, I just finished eating, so I'm going to be off. I've gotta practice with a few more duel puzzles!" Ida dismissed herself before darting away. Kaze and I turned around a bit so we could watch her retreating form.

"That's the opposite way of the duel puzzle room…" Kaze noted. It was… That was the way to her room. Given that and her sudden departure, her forced smile… I couldn't help but be worried about her, and her sudden mood swing from yesterday didn't really help. Just as I considered bringing up the idea of going after her, someone began approaching us. It was a fairly small boy, probably just reaching ten or eleven, with brown hair and an Obelisk uniform on, which meant he wasn't a member here. Kaze let go of my hand, apparently feeling a bit of trepidation about holding hands in front of the small boy, and I couldn't blame him.

"Miss Aki! It's really you!" the boy shouted excitedly as he clenched his hands into fists eagerly at his side.

"Do I… know you…?" I asked cautiously. He was wearing a Duel Academy uniform, sure, but it seemed to be a different style, since it seemed to be based on a tailcoat. Was he from a different branch? He had to be, or he wouldn't be so eager to meet me. Why was he approaching me then…?

"Oh, no, no, you don't know me at all, but I know you! I mean, of you, and, gosh, I'm a huge fan of yours! My name is Tobi Lola and, you see, I have psychic powers too!" the boy continued to gush, causing me to blush a bit. A fan…!? I didn't deserve any fans…!

"Y-you do now?" I tried to focus on what he was saying and not my own embarrassment.

"Yeah! I want to be just like you, Miss Aki!" the brunette grinned up at me, his eyes still sparkling away.

"Oh, no, I'm not…" I trailed of as I felt Kaze place his hand on my shoulder. I turned to face him and saw that he was smiling at me. That was right… Kaze believed in me and my powers… That they were good… I smiled back at him, showing that I understood. "You should go talk to Divine. He'll teach you everything you need to know," I suggested.

"Really!? Thanks, Miss Aki!" Tobi said before darting off further into the building, probably to locate Divine and seek his advice. I was sure that Divine would be able to help the kid. He helped everyone else here, after all. I turned back to face Kaze, who had a deep frown.

"Kaze, are you okay?" I found myself asking.

"I just… Something isn't right about him. About Divine. I can't place my finger on it," Kaze muttered as he shifted a bit on his feet. Something was weird about Divine…? That couldn't be, could it?

"You think so? He's kind and caring. Kind of like you," I pointed out.

"Is he, though…?" Kaze murmured to himself as he cupped his chin in his hand. What exactly was going on through his head…? Divine had only shown us kindness. What kind of reservations could he have about him? Was it because of their conflicting training methods? "It's nothing. Anyway, it's Sunday, so we should do something. I mean, I like dueling as much as the next guy, but we should do something special today!" Kaze insisted with a bright smile.

"Like what?" I asked. The only times that we really went out were when something else came up, like Ida's injury, the ice cream special, or Ida's heroism antics…

"Oh, um… Well… It's too early for ice cream, and we still haven't eaten yet…" Kaze murmured to himself.

"You and your ice cream," I laughed lightly as I shook my head.

"I-I usually don't get out very much…!" Kaze protested with his cheeks heated up in embarrassment.

"Like I said, it doesn't bother me. I find it cute, actually," I smiled, which only made Kaze blush a little more.

"Ah, Kaze. Good morning," a familiar voice suddenly greeted the brunette beside me. We both turned and saw that Kage was now approaching us. What was with us being so popular this morning…? Though… he only greeted Kaze…

"Kage, good morning to you as well," Kaze smiled before turning towards me. "Aki, allow me to formally introduce you to Kage Hikari. He's my partner for my training," Kaze said as he gestured to the blonde. Of course, I already had a vague idea of who the teen was, but… Just like last time, he was simply staring at me, practically drilling a hole through me with his intense stare. He… really didn't seem like the type of guy to be Kaze's partner. Kaze was so affable and friendly but this guy…

"What's going on with you?" I decided to just be frank with my concerns. In all honesty, his constantly staring slightly unnerved me.

"I'm sorry. My specialty is reading auras. I was just reading yours. Don't mind me," he dismissed my question before resuming his staring. It disheartened me a bit that he was refusing to divulge what he saw, but I figured that that might be good. I would hate for him to reveal some bad, ominous aspect of my future or whatever it was aura reading said.

"So, uh, how does your guys' training go?" I tried to change the topic.

"Well, Kage is at a stage much like myself, where he has to be channeled by the spirit in question," Kaze pointed out.

"Kaze's powers are a bit more advanced than mine, however. I can't really explain it, but his brain waves react differently than mine. They act like they're searching for something," Kage muttered as he turned his attention to the duelist in question.

"Maybe you're like a satellite dish, always searching for spirits in trouble," I suggested. Kaze chuckled a bit, smiling at the suggestion.

"I can hear other spirits too, though, not just ones in trouble," he pointed out.

"Talking to spirits is new grounds for the Arcadia Movement so we have very little to go on for it. Kaze is the only other person that we've found with the ability to talk to spirits, so I'm hoping that maybe our powers can develop together. Our brain waves might bounce off of each other and allow us to communicate with the spirits easier," Kage theorized.

"While it'd be nice to talk to all spirits, I'm okay with things this way. I'm like a one way radio, so I don't get distracted during duels and the like," Kaze shrugged lightly. "Oh, I'll keep doing our training, though, don't worry," Kaze quickly added for his partner. Apparently satisfied with his answer, Kage once more turned his attention to me.

"Why are you so close to Divine?" he pondered suddenly. I blinked a few times, trying to comprehend what he was asking.

"Well, Divine wants to help me… and… that's why," I said. It sounded rather pathetic, thinking back on it… I'm sure there were others that he wanted to help, but maybe he identified with me more for some reason…? Kage simply shrugged, though.

"That's cool," he muttered, putting us in silence for a while.

"So, Kage, do you know if there's anything for us to do around here? Outside of dueling, I mean," Kaze asked the blonde. That actually wasn't too bad of an idea. Kage had been here longer than the both of us, so if there was some kind of activity famous to the area, he'd probably know.

"Ha, what, are you two on a date or something?" Kage asked as he crossed his arms. Kaze and I looked at each other once more.

"Er… yes, actually," I admitted. The duelist before us quickly did a double take, as if he didn't believe what I had said.

"Wow, you aren't kidding…? I meant it as a joke, but…" he trailed off.

"Is something wrong?" Kaze asked, seemingly a bit offended.

"Oh, no, no, nothing's wrong. I just didn't see it at first. I can see it now, though, getting a better look at you two," Kage nodded a bit as he said this. I found myself blushing. So we really did look like a couple… He wasn't the first one to say such a thing. "Anyway, to your question, I haven't taken anyone on a date, or even really left the movement, so I'm afraid I'm no real help. You have access to the D-Wheel, though, yeah? I've seen it on TV where a couple just goes and rides around the city together. The highway system is rigged up for duels, but you can travel by it too. Maybe if you drive around, you'll find something?" Kage proposed. Kaze turned to me, silently asking if this seemed like a good idea. I thought back to the last time I rode on a D-Wheel with Kaze and found myself blushing even more.

"That sounds nice," I admitted.

"Great, so we'll do that! Thanks, Kage," Kaze smiled as he back turned towards the blonde.

"No problem. Just make sure you get it back before it gets too late. D-Wheel training starts up again tomorrow for the others. Congrats on the whole record thing too, by the way," Kage commented.

"Oh, you heard? I didn't think it'd spread so fast, but thanks," Kaze said. Kage nodded, humming a bit to add to his affirmation.

"Well, anyway, looks like you two have some things you need to be getting to. I'll leave you be," he said before leaving, giving us a one-handed wave as he did.

Now free of distractions, we finally made our way to the breakfast area to pick up some food. "So, I'll probably go on ahead to get the D-Wheel ready, removing the safety lock and all that. If you want, you can just wait here and I'll come pick you up," Kaze offered.

"I'd like to come with you, though. I want to learn more about D-Wheels," I said. Kaze's eyes sparkled a bit, clearly thrilled with the idea of talking more about D-Wheels. He quickly picked up a few pieces of toast while I picked up a bagel before we headed out. When we arrived at the garage, Kaze quickly made to make the adjustments he spoke of. Trying to save time, he tried to nibble on his toast while working and also explaining what he was doing. I'd like to say that it was because of this that I didn't understand what he was saying, but I could make out his words clearly. It seemed I was doomed to just never make sense of the whole D-Wheel thing… Soon enough, Kaze finished whatever techie thing he was doing and left a note on the tool table beside him, saying that he was taking the D-Wheel out for the day. We both got onto the D-Wheel before Kaze revved it a few times and shot off.

I found myself leaning forward like last time, burying myself in his warmth and scent once again. I could see why they would make scenes like this in whatever shows Kage was watching. Being with Kaze like this, enveloped in his warmth with the wind whipping around us… it was almost as if there was nothing else in the world.

Suddenly we began going downward so I pulled myself back to observe our surroundings. Kaze had veered off of the highway and was taking an exit down towards the city. "Where are we going?" I called out against the wind.

"You'll just have to wait and see!" I could practically hear the grin in his voice as he spoke. I found myself smiling before leaning back against him. I could trust Kaze, after all. Wherever we were going, I was sure it'd be amazing, since we were together. "We're here," Kaze announced as we slowed to a stop. Dislodging myself from my iron grip around his torso, I began scanning the surrounding area, which was when I saw a sign that read 'Neo Domino City Botanical Garden'. "I know you like flowers since you hung out at the garden all the time at DA, so it just seemed like a good fit. Since we were underground so long with the arena, I figured it'd be a nice change of pace," Kaze continued.

I found myself touched that he had put so much thought into it, even though it was an impromptu trip. The garden was where I always felt at home, where I'd go when I felt the pangs of loneliness and utter self-loathing… but now… with Kaze…

"Come on. Now it's my turn to teach you a few things," I smiled as I took hold of his hand. Kaze returned the smile before we went inside. Hundreds of bright colored flowers met our eyes as we entered the courtyard, which branched off into several paths that lead to seemingly endless varieties of blossoms. In the center was a large ornate fountain, made out of several different types of colored rocks. It was absolutely breathtaking. How had I never came across this place before?

Kaze seemed to be taken by surprise as well, as he stared on with wide eyes and his mouth hanging open a bit. It truly was hard to believe that all this beauty was hidden away inside of our bustling city. There were forget-me-nots and chrysanthemum and jonquil and ambrosia and gloxinia and flowers that I didn't even know existed. Where did one even start in such a vast garden?

I eventually decided that the systematic approach was the best, and so I lead us down the furthest left path so that we could simply go clockwise. That way we'd be able to remember where we'd been as well. We walked in silence for some time, simply reveling in the beauty around us.

"Ah, that one looks like a sword," Kaze remarked as he pointed to a cluster of gladiolus flowers. I supposed that he did have a point, as the foliage on the stem did kind of give it that look, as well as how the flowers were stacked on top of each other from the bottom up.

"Those are gladioluses. They're supposed to represent a strength of character," I supplied. Kaze hummed a bit as he nodded, taking mental note of the fact. How befitting that he chose to notice that one, though…

"And that one's a tulip, right?" Kaze pondered as he pointed to a red blossom.

"Nope, but you're close. That's a crocus."

"Eh? What's the difference?"

"Well, you see, the crocus is smaller than the tulip and it has narrow, grass-like leaves, which you can see right here."

"Ah, I see."

And that was how we spent our time together, wandering through the garden and talking about the types of flowers that we'd seen. While I was by no means an expert on all of the types of plants, Kaze was certainly worse than me, so I'd point out the different types of flowers and whatever bits of information I knew about them. He did his best to follow along and was eventually naming a few of the basic flowers correctly. Seeing how happy he was when he got one right made me smile too.

"Ah! There's a rose!" he grinned as he pointed a little ways in front of us where there, indeed, was a bush of roses. We closed the gap between us and the flowers before observing the many different shades that were there. "Roses really are the most beautiful flower," Kaze's lips formed a soft smile as he stared down at the cluster of black roses that were growing. I found myself frowning a bit.

"That's not true… they have such sharp thorns. There's no beauty in that, in always harming everything around you, even those who just want to be near you," I muttered. Kaze slowly reached out, brushing his fingers against the petals. I found myself inwardly flinching, waiting for one of the thorns from a nearby rose to tear into his skin.

"I still think they're beautiful… there's… a kind of beauty in it, I think. That imperfection, the thorns… You may think that it's bad, that it'll only hurt people… and most people probably do think like that… but I think… that just means that they're too closed-minded… too fearful of the tiniest bit of pain… I think it's alright. The flaws… are just part of the rose… part of its beauty. The fact that it's still so loved despite its flaws… The fact that it still perseveres, despite its thorns… and continues on with such vibrancy and life… I think that's what real beauty is. It wouldn't be as beautiful if it didn't have the thorns, because then it'd be just the rest. That's what I think, anyway," Kaze murmured. I found myself trembling before I could stop myself. It was a stupid thing to get emotional over, just a rose, but at the same time…

Noticing my state, Kaze quickly drew back from the rose, instead taking hold of my hands and placing our foreheads together in a reassuring gesture. He really meant it, didn't he…? Despite my flaws… despite my powers, despite everything… he still… I felt his hands tighten a bit, trying to quietly reassure me that everything would be alright.

"I'm alright… I'm alright," I let out shakily as I pulled back a bit. Kaze still held on firmly to my hands though.

"Are you sure…?" he whispered. I nodded as I took a breath, trying to calm myself. Kaze stared at me for a bit longer, still concerned, before letting go of one of my hands, making sure to still hold on to one.

"Kaze… I… thank you," I said.

"It's the truth though," Kaze smiled at me. I found myself turning back to the roses. Maybe… they weren't so bad after all…

"Hey, I think there are some lilacs over there," I pointed over to our right where there were some purple petals sticking out.

Thus, we spent the rest of the day wandering around the garden, observing the flowers hand-in-hand and then visiting the nearby stores for some food and shopping. Eventually the sun began to go down, so we went back to the D-Wheel and began our drive back to the Arcadia Movement. After returning the D-Wheel to the garage, Kaze then escorted me all the way back to my room.

"Good night, Aki. I'll see you tomorrow," Kaze smiled before turning to walk away. I found myself reaching out for his hand before I could stop myself. The brunette turned around, wondering why I stopped him. I tried to think of what to say but my words just came short. Figuring actions spoke louder than words, I took a step forward before kissing his cheek. I then let go of his hand and took a few steps back, blushing a bit. Kaze slowly raised his hand to his red tinted cheek, as if trying to comprehend what I did, before he began smiling. I couldn't deny that it made me feel warm inside too…

"Well… good night," I smiled as I placed my arms behind my back. Kaze nodded before turning and continuing on his way. With him gone, I reached into my pocket and pulled out my door key before opening the door. I walked in, mind reeling from my amazing day with Kaze when I caught sight of something that shouldn't be there. Or someone. Ida was seated on the edge of my bed, staring down at the floor. The logical part of my mind demanded answers on how she got into my room when it was locked but the other part was more concerned on why she was here. She had to have a reason to come visit me so late at night. She must have been waiting a while too… "Ida, are you okay…?" I asked experimentally, "Kaze and I were worried when you left suddenly like that this morning."

Ida continued on in her silence and continued staring at the ground. Eventually she stood up, but her movements were almost mechanic, like she was forcing herself to do so, before she whirled around and faced me, with the most intense glare that I had ever seen on her face. "I… won't forgive you. I'll never forgive you," she hissed out.

"W-what?" I let out the only thing I could in my surprise. The utter spite and malice in her voice left me flabbergasted.

"You… I know you and Kaze have your secrets, and I can deal with that… but all you've done is hurt him…! Why did he choose you?!" Ida demanded as her hands clenched into fists. Choose me…? Was this about this morning?

"Ida, what are you…" I trailed off. It was the mood swing thing again, this sudden ominous and foreboding atmosphere… What happened to her that made her like this…?

"I've seen Kaze's scars…! I know what you did to him!" Ida shouted, causing me to involuntarily take a step back.

"They… they're scars now…?" I whispered.

"You're not even going to try and deny it…!?" Ida cried out in disbelief.

"Do you want me to?!" I retorted. Ida just bit her lip as she continued glaring at me and I tried my best to return her glare. If this was about what I did to Kaze when we just met then I couldn't give up until she understood… Kaze had said he was fine. He forgave me. If I left things as they were, Ida might start to fear people with powers again… This was all just some big misunderstanding, that's all… I just had to make Ida see that.

"I… Kaze was the first person to be nice to me… Everyone else made fun of me and thought I was stupid for believing in heroes… Even you did… but… Kaze is my own personal hero…! He's… he's like a prince!" Ida began shaking a bit as she smiled at the thought. That was right… Kaze really was like a prince… He was so chivalrous and… "So I just don't get why he'd fall for a witch like you!" she snarled suddenly, causing me to wince. Witch. That word… The meaning behind it… The thing that I had been running from… The thing Kaze told me that I wasn't, but… I…

"Hold on, Ida… What are you-" I began.

"No! You're a witch! You're not an anti-hero at all, you're the bad guy! You don't even realize how much trouble you've caused Kaze!" Ida shouted as she threw an accusatory finger at me.

"I do realize just how much I put him through!" I snapped. "Kaze has given up so much for me! His school, his friends, and I… I'm indebted to him for that!"

"So… you don't know," Ida muttered, her face darkening even more. I blinked a few times, trying to understand what she meant. Don't know…?

"Don't know what?" I asked.

"Of course you don't. You wouldn't bother to pay attention, what with all the time you spent with Divine," Ida scoffed at me as she rolled her eyes.

"Ida, this isn't like you! Tell me what's going on!" I demanded.

"On the first day of D-Wheel training, Kaze crashed," Ida said suddenly.

"W-what?! But he's so good!" I spoke my disbelief. He broke an Arcadia Movement record just yesterday. We hadn't been here for even a month, it was impossible that he went from crashing to a pro in so short of time. There was just no way, so Ida had to be… she had to be lying.

"At the beginning, on the straightaway, he was good. He didn't waver a bit. Our instructor was impressed. When Kaze went and leaned into the turn, however…" Ida trailed off as she clenched her fists once more. "He… He… He had this look of pain and the D-Wheel didn't make the turn. He just… ran into the wall. Our D-Wheels have a safety lock for speed during training, so it didn't hurt him too bad, but… but… he had this look in his eyes. He… he knew his dreams couldn't come true…!" Ida hissed out.

"Ida, I don't get what you're saying…" I muttered. There was no way that any of this could be true. Kaze was… he was so good on the D-Wheel… He… There was no way that…

"Kaze… the scars you gave him… When he goes to turn, the burns you gave him act up. He can't make the training course turns as he should. He has to start them early and from the other side of the track to make it and it works for now, but if he were to try and go get an actual license… Let's just say it wouldn't happen. He told me not to tell you… he said you'd feel bad, that you'd fear your powers even more, but…" Ida shook her head as she trailed off. I just found myself shocked into silence.

That couldn't be… Kaze… he… He never said anything about that. Did I really crush his dreams? Can he never be a professional D-Wheel rider because of me…!? How could he continue on without spite, without despising me, even to the point of liking me enough to date me…?! It just didn't make any sense…! There was no way that…

'I wouldn't want to hurt him, though…' Suddenly it all began clicking into place. The times that I had seen Kaze wince when Ida hugged him… I hadn't been imagining it at all. Ida really did know along, that was why she made that comment. She knew all along yet I never… I never even had the inkling that Kaze was suffering…! I… hurt him all over again.

"I-Ida, I… I… I had no idea…! I…" I found myself choking on my words.

"Of course you don't," Ida scoffed at me once more. "And yet… even though you stole his dreams from him… he still likes you. I… I just don't get it! The heroes in the stories always fall for other heroes… So why did the hero fall for the witch?!" Ida demanded. That word again… It stung more and more every time she said it. For some reason, I had the nerve to think that we were friends, but… I really was just a witch to her this whole time…

I was, though, wasn't I…? I hurt Kaze so much… I did such things to him… I ruined his dreams… I… I was a horrible person. Even though Kaze said that our flaws are what made us beautiful… I didn't deserve such sentiments, not from him…! How could he… How could he like me…?

"I… I don't know why," I whispered, causing Ida's glare to increase tenfold.

"I won't forgive you…!" Ida hissed. "But… for Kaze's sake, I'll keep acting like nothing's wrong. Don't think I'll forgive you for ruining his dreams like that, though… Witch." With that, Ida left, and I just stood there with this horrible feeling of dread that made me feel like I was going to throw up at any moment. I numbly made my way over to my bed, laying down.

I… I wished that I could just get rid of my powers and all the destruction that I caused. If I never had these powers… Kaze never would have gotten hurt. He never would have gotten those scars. He would have been able to live on with his life happily and became a professional D-Wheeler like he always wanted.

But… if I didn't have my powers… would Kaze have even met me…? If I didn't have my powers, then I wouldn't have been at DA. My parents never would have become afraid of me, never sent me off, and I'd still be living in innocence with them. My powers… My powers brought me to Kaze, the person who gave me the first sense of family and home since my childhood, but also harmed him for it…

Maybe Ida was right… Why would Kaze ever fall in love with a witch like me…?

Notes:

So, let's talk flower meaning, because I decided to throw some nonchalant symbolism in here (possibly..? It's up to you if you want to see it like that, I suppose):

Ambrosia: Your love is reciprocated

Chrysanthemum: I love you, you're a wonderful friend, cheerfulness, rest

Jonquil: Love me, affection returned, desire, sympathy, desire for affection returned

Gloxinia: Love at First Sight

Forget-Me-Not: True love; memories

Gladiolus: Strength of Character

Red Tulip: Expressing that you are deeply in love. In the case of anniversaries, as it's usually the 11th anniversary flower, it means you want to be with them that long and more.

Crocus: A powerful symbol of being open to capture the goodness of all that surrounds us and is available to us

Purple Lilacs: First Emotions of Love

So, essentially, all of these flowers somehow correlate to Kaze's and Aki's relationship.

Reviews:

SilverFlameHaze: Oh no, you're on to me! I really was pumped about that chapter but that's just because I'm usually really pumped about throwing drama into things. You can clearly see that in this chapter~

Uchu no akuma no kami: Well, I'm glad you liked it, unexpected twist and all.

Lion Heart Leon: This reminds me of a quote that I saw that said 99% of problems in stories could have been solved with proper communication. Miscommunication or the lack of is a great plot device/advancer though. Unless you're referring to the actual in-characterness of the action, in which case I can try to justify it. I imagine Rei as the kind of character who is in love with the idea of being in love, if that makes sense. Like, she doesn't ACTUALLY love any of the guys she runs into in GX, she just wants to be in love, like in all the stories with a prince and be carried away into the sunset or whatever. When she's confronted with ACTUAL love, though, like, the butterflies in the stomach, the whole deal, she just freezes up and doesn't know what to do, so she goes back to what she knows, which is chasing the idea of love. Hopefully that clarifies it, and if not, I can try to go into a bit more of detail. When I write Rei, I just really base her off of my own reactions to things, since my friends tell me that I share certain traits with her, so I figured why not. I also had a friend try and analyze Rei's character for me and that was what she proposed (the whole 'in love with the idea of being in love' thing, because rarely do we fall in love so quick unless we really don't mean it, was her proposal and I suppose I'll trust it). And yes, love is very complicated.

Anonymous: Indeed, it was a bit of a 'calm before the storm' moment, since we have a shift in the dynamics of our relationships, so it obviously can only get worse from here. You'll just have to wait and see~ You guys are going to kill me for saying that, though, I bet xD

Tyler Nator: Wow, I didn't even realize I was at 10k! Thanks ^w^ I was considering not throwing in that extra, but at the same time, I felt like it would leave a whole bunch of unanswered questions, so it'd be easier to just address them in an extra form instead. I'm glad to see it went over well/you enjoyed it, though. As for the layers in Rei's character compared to LBJaR, I suppose there are a few different reasons for that. The first and foremost would probably be the actual situation. In LBJaR, Kaze is still single and just has other people after him, which, hello, isn't a totally strange thing to Rei (at the Academy there was Asuka, random NPC's, and what have you) so she was able to keep going at it like she always did. In this scenario, Kaze has already entered/been in a relationship for some amount of time and is clearly quite devoted to his significant other as seen through the necklace. Not only that, but Kaze chose to tell her that he's simply not coming back instead of 'Hey, I have a girlfriend so I'm not coming back', which is what Rei totally sees (Since she doesn't know the half of what's going on behind the scenes). So, when confronted with reuniting with your friend and finding his harem changed versus finding him seemingly betraying your trust on top of being deeply involved with something, there's going to be a different reaction to it. Aside from that, there's the shift in universe itself, which is a little more minor, but means that situations aside from the transfer are new as well. And finally, there's also my slight shift in writing style with the new story, I believe. At least, I think I have a slightly different, slightly darker style than compared to Jealousy/LBJaR. Sorry for the super long response, but I'm glad you've been enjoying the story.