He disappeared again. She was used to it. Acma's thoughts wandered to Zyma during a break between classes, labs, and social outings. To keep her mind occupied, she deliberately filled her schedule with some Garden Festival's preparation tasks.

When they got out of Centra Ruins, they engaged in a heated argument, pointing fingers and assigning blame. He accused her of putting everyone in danger, and she blamed him on keeping them in the dark. In private, their disagreements might have fizzled out quickly. Acma usually lacked the energy to press him for explanations. And Zyma, being Zyma, would have jumped out of a window to evade her interrogation. However, in the midst of that desolate landscape of Centra continent, under their friends and Zyma's mother's watch, they confronted and hurt each other badly.

Eventually, Zyma retreated to his mother's side, and together they flew away.

Acma returned to Balamb Garden with her classmates. Luckily, none of the faculty had questioned their absence from morning classes.

Two weeks. He made no attempt to contact her.

He hadn't treated her well. She hated his silent treatments.

"You deserve someone better!" Those were the words the Trepie girls would always say whenever a jerk broke up with one of the girls.

But he was the first person who made her heart flutter, and she realized she had no frame of reference to compare him to.

He was a unique jerk.

Zyma: Meet me at Rinaul Coast at 1700. Bring your swimsuit.

He texted her with another absurd request after zero communication, as if nothing had happened between them. Knowing he wouldn't reply back, she didn't bother asking "why."

She carried on with her day as usual, feeling a little lighter, knowing that he was fine and even had the audacity to invite her to the beach.

Swimsuit. She didn't have one since Trabia's weather was cold and there were no swim-friendly beaches nearby. But she had access to a scuba diving suit, which was suitable for any occasion. She also wouldn't let that jerk make fun of her modest body. What kind of person would make you believe they are attracted to you while constantly referring to you as a kid? Definitely a jerk.

Zyma: Are you coming?

He texted her again to confirm, something unusual.

Acma: Yes. Can you actually read my messages now? She texted back.

She waited for ten minutes. Nothing from him. Of course! What a jerk.

But then her com device rang again.

Zyma: Sean helped me figure out how to read texts from my special device. Please expect some delay.

She debated whether she should text back and finally left a mocking reply.

Acma: On my way. Let's see who wins, me reaching the beach or your reply to this text, grandpa.

Acma won. When she reached the beach, the sun was on its way to sleep, and Zyma waved for her to join him.

"When did you come back?" she asked.

"This morning," Zyma replied.

"Is your mom doing okay?"

"She'll be fine. Already back to her usual nagging about her new nest."

"Please let her know that I'd like to thank her."

"I will. She really likes you."

"That's kind of her. I like her too."

Aware that Zyma was adamant about keeping his mother's location hidden this time, she chose not to propose another visit. But this topic reminded her of his rage when he threatened her with a burning shuriken.

She changed the topic, asking about the well-being of Uhrik, Gema, and Adelik, whom Zyma also took care of.

"Thank you for looking out for them. Please let us know when it's safe for a visit. Do you think G would be okay with it if they found out?"

"I do my best to leave no traces behind. Additionally, it's against our rules to harm assassins. We have our own network to protect our kind," Zyma explained, pausing for a moment. "Look, I'm really sorry for what happened at Master Miyagi's house."

"Don't worry about it. I would have been angry if I were in your shoes. We had just met, and there wasn't much trust between us. And, well, I turned out to be an actual spy, so your suspicion had some basis," she admitted.

"So, are we good?" Zyma asked.

"Well... Honestly, I was terrified… You threatened me with a burning red shuriken instead of just asking me questions. If you had explained what was going on, I would have told you everything," she replied.

"I'm sorry..."

"We both have trust issues. I blame our jobs for training us that way," Acma said. "Anyway… You're not inviting me for a beach trip, right?"

"Right," Zyma explained the task. Tiamat was still young and preferred living in her own cavern near people and friendly monsters. She had also expressed her willingness to assist Balamb Garden students in their mission. Hence, Zyma wanted to locate a nice cavern for her.

"I've found an underwater cave just below this water. Do you want to help prepare a new nest for Tiamat?" he asked.

"I'd love to," Acma felt delighted at the seemingly fun activity.

"Great. Here, Put on this scuba diving suit," he smiled, and retrieve some gears from his backpack.

"Um... I already wear a scuba diving suit.'' She revealed the suit under her cadet jacket.

"That's not what I meant by swimsuit.'' He looked at her suit and surprised. "My gear includes the suit. Can you take yours off?

"Um... but… Where do I change?" she asked, looking around in the open space.

"I won't look. And no one's here," he continued assembling the scuba gear.

"We don't know about that..."

Zyma shook his head. "Another reason why I don't like having female partners."

She rolled her eyes in disbelief at his usual rude remark.

"Come on. We have to go before dark. Do you want me to change it for you?"

"Excuse me," Acma felt conflicted. "Hyne! I don't even know why I have to endure all these..."

"Endure what?" Zyma asked, confusion in his face.

Acma put on a painful smile. "You know what? Forget it. I can't follow your absurd rules anymore. Thanks for offering me to see your GFs and prepare a nest. I can't take these. You can ask Sean or any of your male friends. Have a great evening!"

She turned her back and started walking which caught Zyma's attention.

"Hey, come on. Don't be mad," he grabbed her hand and suggested. "If you need somewhere to change, we can find a cavern, or worse, go to Balamb Town and put on your swimsuit there and layer it with your clothes."

"It's not that..." she began.

"Then what is it?" he asked.

"You never think for me," she screamed with frustration shimmering for months.

"I... I didn't know it was important. There's no one here to see you," he replied, trying to understand.

"Why would I bring it up if it's not important? See? If something is not important to you, you just accuse me of being a girl or whiny," she explained, her frustration evident.

"I'm sorry… But are we still talking about changing into a swimsuit?" he asked, trying to clarify, sensing her tendency to overgeneralize.

Acma fell silent. Of course, it wasn't just about changing. It was about multiple instances where she had questioned him, and he had dismissed her concerns by running away without explanation. Now, by the beach, there was no way he could pull that trick again.

"No," she blurted out.

"Then what is it?" he pressed.

She shook her head. "Many things. I can't keep track of how many times you've brushed off my concerns and walked away, expecting me to follow your way. Your one and only rule: 'Don't ask questions.'"

Zyma was frozen, processing her words. "But that's how I've always been with you... focusing on business matters, doing what I think is right for you, even if you may not have realized it."

"Really? Even if it's right for me. I don't like that," she murmured.

"I'm your mentor, not your babysitter. You don't have to like me. What I try to do is keep you alive," he responded defensively.

"I don't see how respecting my choices and inputs could lead to my death. You're just making up ridiculous excuses now," she asserted.

Zyma scoffed. "Don't you think you're being a bit double standard here? It's okay for you to be upset when I disregard your choices, but when I provide my reasons, you accuse me of making bullshit excuses. You've done that a lot too. And I hate that," he emphasized.

Acma frowned, taken aback by his use of the word "hate." It was a word she had never heard someone direct at her before. "You hate me?" she asked, her voice filled with a mix of hurt and disbelief.

"I... I didn't say that," he stammered, realizing his choice of words was too harsh. "But you see, you just crossed the line from business to personal yourself..."

She furrowed her brow, trying to protest, but Zyma's further explanation shed some light on the situation.

"I said, I hate that you downplay my reasons. You twist them into thinking I hate you as a person," he clarified. "You know… I don't hate you, quite the opposite."

She gasped, unable to reason with herself in that moment.

"Acma," Zyma mumbled, "you should have known the importance of separating business and personal in our line of work..."

They stood in silence, their eyes avoiding each other as they both gazed at the sunset. The topic they had both tried to avoid thinking about finally came up. Even Acma, a newly transferred student, had been educated early by Trepie #23 about the risks involved when it came to love among mercenaries.

"True love can give you strength, but heartbreak can lead to grudges. Anything that affects your decision-making in battles can be detrimental," Trepie #23's words echoed in her mind, a reminder of the potential consequences of getting romantically involved in their line of work.

"What is she doing?" Acma wondered to herself. She had encountered several lousy teachers in the past, but she had never dared to criticize them. Unintentionally, she had treated Zyma differently because she knew he had feelings for her.

Before meeting him, her main goal had been to become stronger and free her sister. She was deeply involved in research, hoping to uncover what had happened to them in the research camps. She wanted to free her sister. And after that, she would fix her sister's legs. Now… it was clear that her insignificant romantic involvement had sidetracked her from her objectives. She felt a strong sense of guilt, as she had let her sister down.

Acma realized that, despite Zyma's rudeness, he was actually better at suppressing personal feelings. In comparison, she seemed to pose a greater threat to their safety due to her impulsiveness. The incident in Centra Ruins, where she had foolishly chased after him, had nearly resulted in harm to him, his mother, and their friends.

"I don't think I can do it. Separating business from... from us," she finally admitted. "I am sorry."

She took out the printed mentorship responsibilities with all the items checked, with "Limit Break" being the last one completed.

"What are you doing?" Zyma perplexed.

"You signed here. I'll turn it into Miss Xu to clear you from the grades requirement," she said, her voice filled with resignation. "I… I don't want to cause you more troubles…"

He glanced at the list, pretending to read, but trying to gauge her expression from the corner of his eyes. Six months of training had passed quickly. What he had anxiously waited for since they agreed to the Fisherman's Horizon's railroad was no longer possible. He had been naive to believe that they could have a relationship. The problem wasn't solely his this time. She had her own flaws, some similar to his, but she refused to accept them. The way she accepted her flaws resulted in her thinking that they just couldn't get along in business, so it must be the same in their personal lives. And thus, she declared a death sentence to a relationship that hadn't even had the chance to see the daylight.

He had debated within himself whether to hold onto hope, especially after the incident with his GFs. It was clear that they would be in danger if they got involved, yet he couldn't make up his mind. He didn't dare to break her heart with words he wasn't even sure he believed himself. He even invited her to prepare Tiamat's nest together, thinking it would be a fun and legit business activity that would bring them back to normal without touching the sensitive topic.

Perhaps her decision to end it now was a blessing in disguise. It meant he didn't have to be the cruel jerk.

Her mature appearance and wit had initially sparked his interest, but he soon realized she was just a selfish teenager. He questioned whether she was worth the chase, feeling tired before their story even began.

He signed the paper in a careless manner, allowing the strokes to trail off and tearing the paper a little. Who cares? Definitely not Xu.

She took the paper from him and began to recite some lines. "Thank you, Sensei. I have learned a lot from you. I'll see you around. And if I don't, good luck on the SeeD exam."

"Yeah, you too. Thanks for helping with my secret shop," he played along, his tone lacking genuine emotion.

She tilted her head down, then mustered a smile. "I hope we can reset things... you know, go back to how we were a while ago."

"Yeah... I've become quite skilled at that," Zyma replied nonchalantly, masking the burning fire in his chest.

"I'm sorry that we're ... I... I hope you understand," she began, wanting to explain further, but he cut her off. It wasn't the first time he had been rejected, though it was surprising for it to happen so early. Girls had a way with words, sometimes sugar-coating their rejections. But the underlying truth remained sharp and painful.

"No need to say sorry. You can't end something that never truly began. See you around. Let's keep it strictly business, I insist," he said, trying to maintain a composed facade.

"Yeah," she replied softly. "About Uhrik..."

"I'll talk to Timeth myself.''

"And..."

"Please! Go!" He cut her off, almost yelling, then murmured. "You're making it worse...''

"Okay..."

As she uttered the word, he was certain he heard a hint of sorrow in her voice. He watched her turn away, her hands discreetly wiping away tears from the corners of her eyes.

A sudden lump formed in his throat.

Please... Let this pain go away soon, he silently pleaded.

He ran and jumped into the water, allowing the cold embrace of the sea to chase away the anguish from his chest.