HELLO WORLD: I honestly wasn't expecting to get through these chapters so fast, but I'm happy I can keep the story going with more frequent updates than my last one. Apologies if this chapter feels shorter than the others, I can promise the next one will be longer since I'm nearly done with it already.

"Who said you could be on this floor so late?"

She took a deep breath and pasted on her most neutrally professional expression before responding with a gesture, "My apologies, Master Weaver Fuwa, I did not see you there."

"That doesn't answer my question, Kyoko," he sneered. "What are you doing here?"

"I am working on a research project in one of the laboratories," she strained to control the anger roiling inside her. "If you would excuse me, I must be heading back now."

In two steps, he was beside her, gripping her wrist in his hand to stop her from turning away. She narrowed her eyes at him and scowled.

"I would be most appreciative if you would please release my my hand," she spat from between clenched teeth.

"Not until you tell me why you're really up here," he demanded harshly. "Only Archweavers are allowed to use the labs on this floor and there's no way you became an Archweaver before me. So, why are you here?"

"She was assigned to Archweaver Tsuruga as his lackey this week," a disembodied female voice came from the room Kyoko assumed he had just exited.

She watched as a curvy, blonde Master Weaver emerged from the room, adjusting her cloak around her neck. Kyoko noticed her smoothing down her mussed hair and it sickened her. Her stomach turned as she watched the woman blow a kiss at him before walking away. Turning an indignant glare on him, she wrenched her arm free from his grasp while he was distracted.

"Perhaps I should be asking what you're doing here instead, Shotaro," her voice dripped with venom as she folded her arms and stood her ground.

"That's none of your business. I can go wherever I please, unlike you," he barked, clearly irritated. "So, whose ass did you have to kiss to get to work for Takarada's golden boy?"

"No one, the Grand Archweaver personally selected me for this," she raised her chin slightly to look down her nose at him. "And I don't work for him. I work with him."

"That's one hell of a lie you've cooked up there, Kyoko," he laughed coldly. "There's no way a talentless Class 1 would get assigned to work with an Archweaver. You don't have to try so hard to impress me. You're the one who left me, remember?"

"Believe me, I haven't forgotten," she snapped. "And don't think for one second that you still have any influence on anything I do. Now, if you'll excuse me, again, I'll be on my way."

"I didn't say you could go anywhere," he moved his hand towards hers again but she stepped backwards just out of his reach.

Kyoko continued to back away when she collided with something tall, sturdy… and human.

"That is unfortunate as I was hoping she would help me plan our next steps for tomorrow," a deep voice rumbled behind her.

Her face went crimson in an instant and she stood, stiff as a board, as the person placed their hand on her shoulder. Too petrified to move, she looked straight ahead and tried not to flinch.

"I do not know why a Sonic weaver would have any business in the Enchantment wing so late in the day. All the same, I would appreciate it if you would refrain from delaying my research partner any further," Kyoko could not miss the way he emphasized that she was his partner, rather than his subordinate.

"Whatever," came the huffy reply. "I hope you two have fun on your little project."

And with that, he turned and sauntered off down the hallway. The weight of the hand on Kyoko's shoulder lifted as she slowly regained her composure. She stiffly followed the Archweaver's retreating figure back to the laboratory doors, letting them close softly behind her. Wringing her hands, she tried to fight back the shame and embarrassment that threatened to engulf her.

"How long were you there?" she blurted out towards his back.

"Long enough. I heard raised voices in the hallway and came out to investigate."

"I know you said that I should not have to apologize, but there is no excuse for my behavior out there. I should have just ignored him."

He halted his steps to turn and face her, "Perhaps you would, instead, like to enlighten me as to why a Sonic Master Weaver was harassing you in the hallway?"

"Would you like the long version or the short version?" she cringed at the thought of explaining herself.

"I will take whichever version you prefer to give me," he raised an eyebrow at her and folded his arms across his chest.

"He was my next-door neighbor when we were children and we were… close," her left hand clasped her right arm tightly as she spoke. "We ran away from our homes in Kato together to move to the city so he could get into the Spellweavers guild. I had worked for two years as an Apprentice Server to support his studies when I overheard him telling a colleague that he could never love a 'common Server' and he only kept me around as a surrogate parent to look after him." She shook her head sadly and continued, "Mind you, he comes from a family of highly ranked, and respected, Servers. Well, we had a rather heated disagreement because of that and I left to pursue my own studies as a Spellweaver."

"So, you joined this guild try to win him back?" anger and disappointment laced his tone.

"Absolutely not," she nearly shouted; taking a deep breath, she continued. "I was always interested in Spellweaving, since I was very young, but his parents were training me as a Server around the time we left. My mother was rarely around after my father passed so I spent most of my time at their house. They assumed he and I would marry and take over their business. I was good at it, but I was not passionate about it. This is the path I chose for myself. I want nothing more to do with him."

"I see."

"Please believe that I did not mean for you to get involved in this," her voice got quieter as she continued. "I will understand if you would like to ask the Grand Archweaver to remove me from this project."

"Considering how hesitant you were to talk about your past earlier, I believe you," he sighed lightly. "And I have no desire to lose any further progress on our research. I trust you will not let this interfere with our work?"

"You can count on me," her face brightened with relief. "Thank you, really."

"Good, then let us return to our assignment," he returned swiftly to his desk. "I would like to swap lists tomorrow so we can go through them with a fresh pair of eyes."

"Oh! That's a great idea," she exclaimed and walked towards her workspace.

Another two hours passed as she completed her list of drafts. Throwing herself into her work seemed to be the best way to keep her mind off of the confrontation in the hallway. Her face set into a grimace of concentration, she speedily worked through the remainder of her list. After marking a star on the final sheet, she sat up and stretched languidly in her chair. She could see it had gotten quite dark outside to the point that the crystal spell lanterns on the walls had automatically activated bathing the room in a warm, ambient light. After replacing the sheet to join the others along the wall, she looked to where Ren sat to find him rolling his shoulders and tilting his head from side to side. He looked up at her when he had finished.

"That was my last one," she said triumphantly.

"What a coincidence," he picked up the sheet from his desk and stood to place it on the wall. "I am also done."

He was not about to tell her he had reached the end of his list twenty minutes prior as that would preclude her finding out he had spent that remaining span of time silently watching her. There was something calming about observing her carefully studying each draft. The way her tongue tucked itself firmly in the corner of her lips and her brow lightly wrinkled in concentration was mesmerizing to him. While it was obvious she was not actively trying to be alluring, he was fascinated all the same. It perplexed him how this tiny, spunky spitfire worked her way under his skin in two short days.

Granted, he immediately recognized her the first time they encountered each other two years prior by the blue stone hanging from her neck, her black hair now cut short and golden eyes as dazzling as ever. Never did he dream he would meet that girl from days past who cried and clasped her doll tightly as if it were keeping her afloat on a stormy sea, vibrant orange hair hanging in her face. At first, he thought she joined the guild in search of him; wearing the evidence of their connection boldly on her person. It made him happy despite the fact that he knew he never would be—never could be—recognized in his current state. His ego suffered a significant bruise when her recent revelation proved otherwise, compounded by the way her speech pattern was so relaxed around her former friend—or was he a lover? There were not enough details to be sure.

"Shall we call it a night, then?"

"If my mind had any remaining capacity for additional thoughts, you would have read them," she said with an exhausted sigh.

"Feeling a little overloaded?" he laughed.

"Very much so."

Gathering their things and quickly straightening up their workspaces, they prepared for their departure. They locked the laboratory door and, walked while talking idly, down the main stairwell and out of the Main Edifice. Kyoko paused on the main walkway in front of the building, assuming they would say their goodbyes and go their separate ways. He stopped a few steps ahead of her, realizing she had lagged behind, and looked back at her confused.

"Are you also going towards the dormitories?"

"Yes."

"Oh, I assumed you lived in private housing."

"I do."

"Then why—"

"I am escorting you," he shook his head with a smile. "You should not have to walk back in the dark by yourself."

"You did not need to," she smiled back shyly. "But, thank you."

Kyoko was beside him again in a few steps and they continued their walk together towards the dormitory building. Stealing sideways glances, she watched the easy grace with which he strode along the walkway. He seemed to be carefully metering his steps to allow her to easily keep up with him, keenly aware of their differences in height. His eyes darted back and forth at their surroundings like he was expecting someone to jump out of the shadows. Thinking about it, she realized it was entirely plausible for Sho to attempt a second encounter by waiting outside for her. Though she was confident she could handle it, this current arrangement was less stressful and she was appreciative of the gesture.

Despite their unhurried pace, the walk seemed much shorter than she ever remembered it being. When they reached the dormitory entrance, Kyoko turned to gesture towards her escort before going inside. Looking at him, she saw his mouth set in a grim line and his eyebrows pushed towards each other as if he were seriously considering whether or not to speak his mind. She looked at him expectantly to try to urge him on. His chest heaved as he took a deep breath before opening his mouth.

"In regards to earlier, I wanted to thank you for sharing that with me. I realize it was something rather difficult for you to talk about and you would have preferred keep it to yourself," his eyes were sympathetic as he spoke. "You must know that I will not betray your confidence."

"I am grateful for that," she said quietly, looking off into the distance.

"You should also know that I hold your talent in high regard just as the Grand Archweaver does. It was a mutual decision between both of us to assign you as my partner. No one should ever call your skill as a Spellweaver into question. And that includes yourself."

"Well I—thank you," she had no idea what else to say, he floored her with his praise.

"I should not delay you any further. I will see you in the morning. Goodnight, Kyoko."

"Ah," she slowly emerged from her stupor. "Goodnight."

It was not until she pulled off her cloak in the seclusion of her room that she realized he used her given name.

YOU WERE RIGHT: To the reviewers who guessed the person that called out to Kyoko at the end of the last chapter, you were right. Not that it wasn't a really easy assumption to make, the odds were definitely in your favor. Stay tuned for the next chapter when we introduce a tiny bit more drama (but not too much). It's always fun hearing from all of you so keep the notes coming!

AUTHOR OUT!