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"I want you… to love me too…"

She repeated. She didn\'t have to repeat it. I know if I did, I\'d just end up fumbling, flapping my lips until I either accidentally bite my tongue, or immediately turn the other way and march myself away. 

Sure, broken bones sting, bruises throb and, open wounds sear… but the feeling of awkwardness was just plain bloody murder, and I\'ve already been killed once. No thank you.

But as with literally everything else, she took the statement at surface level… acknowledging only what was said, and hearing none of the implications that came with it. That\'s why she could always say the things she said all so easy.

After all, can\'t think emotionally, when you barely have any to begin with.

"That… makes sense…" Adalia said, then slowly rose to her feet. "I have… questions…"

"Yeah, I bet you do," I said, keeping my eyes on her stiff walk towards her haul of baked goods. "I\'ll do what I can to answer them, as weird as it is… whatever though, so long as we can get you to an understanding then - "

"Not… for you…"

She walked past me holding biscuits to her chest, a trail of falling crumbs following after her, as did my gaze to the bright, clamorous narrow opening leading out of the alley.

Not for me?

"Hey," I stood up after her, chocolate bits rolling down my lap. "You going somewhere?"

"To meet… my sister… ask her… questions..." She responded, continuing on without pause. "And also to… give her… her present…"

Present? Oh yeah, the red gem. Almost forgot she had that with her.

"You mean, like, right now?" I asked.

"Yes…"

"It\'s barely evening though, sun\'s still bright."

"Not so… bright…" 

"You don\'t wanna stay for just a little bit longer? Convention\'s almost finished, I think." 

"I\'m… fine…" She assured me. "I\'ll meet you… home later… I… promise… okay…?"

Why the sudden rush all of a sudden, I have no clue. I never knew Adalia to act on impulse before, hell, I don\'t even know what that impulse was. I don\'t mind her going, I trust her to look after herself well, I just wish I knew why she was going.

"Must be some question..." I remarked, keeping a sly blank smile. "What are you gonna ask her exactly?"

"A… question…" 

"What type of question is it?"

"Her… question…"

"What does her question sound like?"

There was a pause. "A… question…"

Oh, okay, guess we\'re playing this game right now… alrighty, then.

"Can I answer it for her, maybe?"

She shook her head. "No…"

"Can I at least know what it is then?"

Once again. "No…"

"Why not?"

At the border between the light of the outside and the dim shade of the alley, that\'s where she stopped to turn - for once, in that instance - her eyes avoiding mine, with most of her face obstructed by her long murky grey locks, so I couldn\'t at all tell how she looked like.

But I did hear how she sounded like.

"Be… cause…"

And I heard her loud and clear.

"It\'s… embarrassing…" 

Just the slightest bit. 

It seems the raw power of awkwardness is capable of transcending any and all boundaries… emotional or otherwise.

And so she went, and I didn\'t try to stop her in any way whatsoever. What I did instead was to take some spare muffins for the road and walk out right after her.

By the time I left the alley, Adalia was already out of sight… probably halfway across town already for all I know. Gone without a trace. There wasn\'t even a single crumb to litter the sidewalk.

What was there on the sidewalk, however, as I turned left closer towards the festivities, was a pair of eyes in a bright golden glimmer, contrasting starkly with the dark purple shrouding the rest all over.

Before, in every other instance, those golden rims of hers would always meet my eyes the same way you do when you smell something repugnant… but in this case, I think Sera might have been in a good mood.

She didn\'t look all that displeased to see me. Not happy, not glad, however… but definitely also not disgruntled. 

I greeted her with a cordial \'hey\', to which she, of course, promptly ignored, instead poking her out inside the alley, and sounding a little perplexed murmur behind her veil.

Noticed there was a rather bulky bulge inside of her cloak, and from the way it jumbled around… I\'m guessing if I were to lean into her a bit closer, the smell of freshly-baked cookies also wouldn\'t be that far off.

"If you\'re looking for Adalia, unfortunate to say, but your partner has swiftly left the life of crime," I told her, taking a bite from one of my muffins. "She\'s seeking an intervention with her sister, right now. Family affair, private stuff. Will be home later."

I took a sniff, positively smelling the whiff of chocolate chips. "And I suggest you do the same. Cookies taste better with a clear conscience, you know? Ask, next time, alright?"

She gave me a nasty look, accompanied by a low, annoyed growl.

"Don\'t give me that look, not being able to speak is not an excuse… certainly ain\'t gonna fly in court, I\'ll tell you that. I know you aren\'t good with interactions, but… try and make an effort to get better, alright? Please?" 

A roll of the eyes - don\'t know what that meant, but it certainly wasn\'t a \'no\'.

I took another much. "So, Adalia told me you watch the whole tournament."

To that, she began her response by veering her glaring gaze astray and finished it with one firm nod of the head.

"What do you make of it? Do you still believe in what you think, or have you started believing in what I\'ve been saying? Would any other Master put themselves through all that bullshit for his or her Servant? Have Ash\'s previous Masters done anything remotely close at all to what I\'ll do for her?"

Her blinks were long and hard ones. There wasn\'t a no, couldn\'t see a yes, not when her head stayed stiff and unmoving.

I continued to speak.

"You saw what I did, and you heard what I said. If that\'s proof enough that I really do care about her more than you could ever know, then I don\'t know, Sera. The deal we made… I know you want the best for her too, and maybe in another life, maybe you\'d be right… maybe you are right. But, as things stand now… ask yourself: are you?" 

Something hard suddenly pushed me aside, and a flutter of violet hastily moved past me, that\'s when I realized that Sera surprisingly has a very sturdy left shoulder.

She stalked away, not a growl sounded, not a dirty look thrown - I don\'t think she even realized her cookies fell into a crumpled heap on the pavement, and if she did, then it seemed she didn\'t care - Sera just wanted out of there.

"For what it\'s worth, though, Sera," I called out to her, just as she disappeared around the closest corner. "I\'ll always be willing to renegotiate." 

The thought of going after her briefly crossed my mind, but I stayed that impulse, and turned my legs the other way. 

She\'ll turn up sooner or later, she won\'t leave without Ash either and besides, I wasn\'t what she wanted or needed right now. Sometimes solitude was a better company than any. It\'s just how she is… confrontations were just not her specialty. 

Except for the times when she is right. When she knows she is, she\'d stand her ground to the bitter end, expect great resistance if that\'s the case. 

But when she\'s wrong… and if she knows she\'s wrong - she wouldn\'t stand still, she wouldn\'t resist - she\'d just walk.

All these days I\'ve been waging a war against the former… and I\'ve sustained many a-battle scars to show for it. All those growls, those glares, all those attempts at infuriating me, sabotaging me… and at one point… very nearly murdering me.

I think I very much prefer the latter better. If all I ever have to suffer now is a slight twinge in my shoulder every now and again then I\'m all for it. I won\'t mind watching her walk too. 

Only hope she knows she can\'t just simply keep walking forever. 

At some point, I\'ll be chasing right after her… and I don\'t care how loud she growls, or how terrifying her eyes shimmer, she\'s well-informed and well aware already…

For her, I\'ll do everything and anything I can.

But let\'s not get ahead of ourselves just yet, there\'s a time and place for everything, and my time and my place now shouldn\'t be standing on the street getting crumbs all over my robes. 

I\'m guessing it\'s just about time. Amanda wanted to see me, so see me she shall… she isn\'t exactly the princess of patience either.

I walked a bit, I bit a bit, I chewed a bit…

I stopped for a bit.

Across the street, all the way on the other end, I caught again that familiar golden glimmer.

Except this time, they flowed, they waved, swayed… oh, how the wind blew, and how the gold fluttered. Exuding so much charm, so much suave… I couldn\'t help but stop and stare.

And it seems, neither could he… standing all the way over there, staring right back at me, with a single eye swollen and bruised, and in spite of it, somehow  Leon\'s smile remained wide and shining.

I guess, first things first, I should go over there and thank him for the change in attire. 

Like a true honorable hero would...