Kaito: Dai-chan’s out today, so we’re hosting the show!

Mizu: Y-yaaaaay! -claps-

S.C.: Woo-hoo! -cheers-

Kaito: Ahem. Yes, well, even though I know S.C. is cheering for the entirely wrong reasons—

S.C.: Guilty!

Kaito: It is still a monumentous occasion! For the first time in a very long time, we muses have equality! We will speak first!

Mizu: A-and last! C-congratulations!

S.C.: Mizu, you are a muse, you know that?

Mizu: Ha-hai!

Kaito: Anyway, I thought I’d answer a question someone posed to S.C. a long time ago.

S.C.: Heh heh heh… I’m famous! Yay for me!

Kaito: …Right. ’Kay then, S.C. The ‘fans’ (yeah right) want to know: Why is it that everything you get around for too long changes?

S.C.: BECAUSE I AM AWESOME!

Kaito: Or just mental.

S.C.: Anyway, the important thing to remember is that it has nothing to do with my cross, understand? Nothing. My cross necklace is completely unrelated.

Kaito: And that’s not suspicious at all, hm. Whatever. That’s all for today! Join us next week on Living With Insanity Live!

Mizu: B-bye-bye! -waves-

Chrono Adymeus lived what we shall refer to as a rather unfortunate life. It wasn’t a horrible life; his parents didn’t beat him or anything, he wasn’t the personal manifestation of Murphy’s Law, and he didn’t contemplate suicide on a regular basis any more than other teenagers. He did, however, have longer hair than ninety-nine percent of all the girls at school and wasn’t the least bit gay seeing as he was in love. (Depending on your point of view) He also had a grand total of three friends at school, and used to be bullied by nearly everyone until a certain girl threatened to bash anyone who so much as pokes him in the shoulder without his written consent’s face in. His brother was pretty much the epitome of immorality, seeing as he was seventeen and cheerfully rebelling against any and all paternal influences—and he made it his personal mission in life to get on Chrono’s nerves. We all know that seventeen is the age of true and deep evil.

Another strike against Chrono; the girl he was in love with had no clue, and showed no sign of getting one any time soon.

All that; and Chrono’s parents were health food addicts.

They were very much the stereotypical hippies; both had long hair (long ago Chrono had tried to cut his and gotten into a long argument of why he wanted to cut when that just turned him into another thoughtless drone following the government’s manipulation—at the end of which Chrono just said ‘whatever; screw it’, because it just wasn’t worth the trouble.) both naturalists, and both natural evaders of taxation. They were kind of normal about breakfast—there just wasn’t any cereal in the house, and Chrono had to take a bunch of vitamin pills. Dinner wasn’t bad either; occasionally his brother would go get fast food and let Chrono eat some too because it meant he was disobeying his parents. But lunch… Hoo-boy. That was another story.

He almost always got a sandwich and chips. The chips weren’t bad, but they were way tangier than the generic brands, and Chrono felt the need to wash each one down with two-to-six gulps of water, lest his taste buds shrivel up and die. Sometimes he got fruit, which was actually better as health food, and considered it pretty much as a treat. But the sandwiches… The bread was dark brown and filled with random things like oats and seeds. It tasted like… Well, he did his best to block out the taste. The fillings tended to be fine, but there was nowhere near enough for all that dry, thick bread, and he ended up chugging his water before he was halfway done. Yes. Water. Water and some strange variation of milk were all that could be found at Chrono’s house. It had taken its toll; Chrono couldn’t stand the taste of soda, and had many, many issues with coffee.

“You’re insane,” his best friend, Rosette Christopher informed him, taking a sip of her drink of choice; Mountain Dew. Chrono had this little theory that all the sugar she got from her daily six of these was why she was so easily riled up and hit him all the time. “How can you not like soda? You’reinsane, Chrono.”

Chrono shrugged noncommittally. He was Aion’s brother. Insanity probably ran in his genes. Rosette shook the drink in his face, grinning wickedly. “Are you suuuuure you don’t want any? You’ll get taller if you have some. And it builds character. And all the girls will fall in love with you.” Chrono raised an eyebrow.

“Isn’t that milk?” His eyes scanned the road for the fourth time. The red convertible was still very much missing. Damn Aion. Damn him to hell where he surely belonged. Knowing Aion, he’d like that. “And anyway, I have enough problems in school without a bunch of jealous guys trying to kick my butt.”

“That you do,” Rosette said after a moment’s thought, giggling vaguely maniacally. “The principal was hilarious. ‘Is your hair really real, young man? You should think seriously about getting it cut. You look like a woman.’ And your face, Chrono!”

“So glad you thought it was funny,” Chrono scowled, although the edges of his mouth twitched up in a smile. “You’re a brat, Rosette.”

“Yes. Yes I am.” Rosette flopped against Chrono, debating on whether to try to force feed him Mountain Dew again or not. “I am a horrible awful nasty wicked little girl. Ya know you looooove me, though!”
“Yeah yeah,” Chrono shot her a sharp look, perhaps reading her mind. “And don’t you dare.” Rosette pouted.

“Bah. What are you, a mind reader?” She heaved a dramatic sigh. “I never get to have any fun with you!” Chrono rolled his eyes but didn’t answer.

“Y’know, I still say you should dress up as a girl one day,” Rosette pressed, grinning at the blush that flared up on his cheeks. “Just to see what everyone would do! You’d make a cute girl, anyway. And I could help you with makeup!” At this point Chrono’s face rather resembled a beet.

Oh great. His love interest wanted to make him cross-dress. Strike six against Chrono Adymeus.

Yes, Chrono was in love with Rosette Christopher. Rosette was a fierce tomboy, and tougher than most of the boys that went to their school. She was the person who went around the school one day, and told every single person that if they didn’t stop bugging Chrono, she’d clean their clocks. It wound her up in the principal’s office, but she never took back her words. Rosette was impossible to intimidate, and also more stubborn than a rock. And Chrono, soft-spoken, quiet, nonviolent Chrono; had fallen head over heels for her.

There had been that period of awkward denial when Chrono had hidden behind doors every time she walked by, but Rosette had ended that fairly quickly by threatening to lock him in the girl’s restroom unless he told her why he was avoiding her. Chrono had caved, admitting to himself that maybe he did like her just the tiniest bit, and as for Rosette, he spun a very elaborate lie about… Lice, or something like that. Anyway, that was where they were now, Chrono trying very hard to smash any romantic impulses to tiny bits with his mental sledgehammer, and Rosette cheerfully oblivious.

“No, I will not be dressing up as a girl,” Chrono insisted, turning so that she couldn’t see the shade of color his face had taken. This did not escape Rosette, and she snickered, clapping him on the back. He shot her a glare, before seeing the long awaited convertible pulling into the parking lot, Aion at the wheel. The elder Adymeus honked a few times, murdering eardrums although it was plain that they had seen him. Chrono redirected the glare at his older brother.

“Why so sour, Chrono?” Aion asked mockingly, whipping the car around the minute they got in and then laying on the gas. Chrono made a choking noise as he was thrust back into the seat, and suddenly became very interested in fastening his seat belt. Rosette cheered from the back seat, encouraging Aion loudly. Chrono closed his eyes. The people he associated with were going to get him killed.

“Aion, you’re going to get pulled over,” he declared, setting his backpack down. “Mom’ll kill you if you get a ticket and you end up ‘On the Radar’.” Rosette laughed from the back seat, and Chrono gave her a dark glare, which just made her laugh more.

“Not if I drive fast enough,” Aion replied optimistically, blowing a kiss to some driver who honked at him and made a very rude gesture. Rosette was practically suffocating from laughing in the back seat now, and Chrono just rolled his eyes. He was very used to Aion.

“There are cameras in the street lights, you do realize,” Chrono muttered, feeling the tiniest bit jealous. Aion always made Rosette laugh and laugh, and the elder Adymeus made it very clear that he liked her. Why not? Rosette was beautiful, plain as day. She had medium-length golden hair, and sparkling blue eyes. She was slender, with a beautiful figure. The boys who weren’t afraid of her (most of them being either older or not knowing her terribly well) tended to ask her out. But only once. Always only once. Aion had yet to, but he flirted with her constantly. It just made Chrono want to strangle him all the more, and Rosette, quite frankly, tended to egg them on.

“You worry too much, Chrono!” Rosette exclaimed, leaning forward to get a better view of the world as it shot by in the windshield. Chrono sighed again.

“He does, doesn’t he?” Aion smiled at her. “I apologize on behalf of my brother’s lack of guts. So does he.” Chrono wondered if he could kick Aion without causing a traffic accident. Probably not. He just glared.

“I do not worry too much, for your information,” he grumbled, sufficiently annoyed and regretting his request to get Aion to drive them home. Rosette had gotten kicked off the bus for a long list of reasons Chrono had yet to fully decipher that Rosette had no hurry for telling him. “You two are just both completely insane.”

“Thank you,” Aion and Rosette said at the same time, laughing at the look on Chrono’s face. Chrono’s mood darkened further.

“That wasn’t a compliment!”
Amazingly, by some miracle of divine providence, all passengers of the car made it home safely, and Chrono immediately put as much distance between himself and his evil, seventeen year-old, mentally-challenged brother as was physically possible. By this, I mean he went up to his room, slammed the door, and locked it. Aion was laughing the entire time, and as he went to his own room, took a moment to whisper something mocking to Chrono’s door, which elicited pissed off yells from inside the room. Aion’s sides were sore from his laughing by the time he actually got to his room.

Chrono glared at the door one last time, folded his arms, and sat cross-legged on his bed. Aion had told him he looked like a swimming duck when he did that, but Chrono didn’t care. It helped him concentrate. And after being in a car with Rosette and Aion at the same time, he always felt like thinking very long and hard about a lot of things. Namely how to keep Aion from flirting with her. Chrono knew she’d end up dating someone eventually, but he refused to let that person be Aion. Aion was freaking seventeen! He was evil incarnate! Rosette just couldn’t go out with him!

So Chrono would sit like a swimming duck, frowning and deep in thought. He came up with countless plans to make her hate Aion or keep them apart, but he didn’t have any that weren’t totally obvious. Besides, Aion would kick Chrono’s butt if he did anything like that. Chrono considered telling Rosette how he felt, but what good would that accomplish? It would humiliate him, and she still might go out with Aion anyway. So far, the best option would be to set her up with some guy who wasn’t a total loser, but Chrono pretty much loathed that alternative.

It wasn’t like it mattered. Chrono would just brood over it in silence; he never did anything.

“Chrono!”

Chrono blinked at the wheezy voice of his father, and called back, “Yeah?”

“Phone for you!”

Chrono shouted his thanks, and then picked up the phone on his bedside. There were a couple of phones in the house, but only one rang. There was a long story about that, and it involved Aion and his friends drunk and with power tools. It had been such a pity Aion hadn’t managed to kill himself. “Hello?” He asked.

“Chrono!” It was Rosette. “I just remembered I had something to—“

“Hold on a second, please,” Chrono said, and pressed the receiver into his shirt, before yelling. “Aion! Quit listening in!”

“…Do I have to?” Came the reluctant reply from down the hall, and Chrono glared in the direction of Aion’s room.

“YES! Get off and go call someone who actually likes you!” He demanded, and Aion sighed audibly.

“Fine…” Aion relented, and a general ruckus of banging from his room told Chrono that he was actually finding something else (but surely equally annoying) to do. Chrono raised the receiver again.

“You were saying?”
Rosette snickered. “You have lungs, Chrono. Can I borrow them when Joshua is hogging the bathroom?”

Chrono shuddered. Hopefully she didn’t mean ripping them out of his chest every morning. He kind of needed them; and the skin and ribs that were attached. “…No.”

“Aw,” Rosette sighed, and Chrono could imagine the pout on her face. “Whatever. Josh’s like a member of the undead that early anyway.” Chrono was inclined to agree. Rosette’s younger brother didn’t seem to do anything but stare and drool a little until at least nine o’clock. “Actually, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about! You know how Joshua and Azzy are dating, right?”

“Yes,” Chrono replied. Quite frankly, you’d have to be blind not to notice. Between their constant blushing and Rosette’s constant teasing, he figured the entire school knew. “Actually, they got together around today last year, didn’t they? Isn’t their anniversary coming up?”

“Exactly!” Rosette cried, snapping her fingers. “That’s what I wanted to ask you about. I don’t have a present for them yet, and because you’re a guy I know you don’t have one. So, do you wanna go shopping with me tomorrow afternoon?” Chrono made a face. Shopping was boring. How did girls—scratch that—how did Rosette stand it?

“Um,” he said, less than excited. “Do I have to?”

“Not really,” Rosette admitted. “But come on! Come keep me company! It’ll be more fun than suffering alone.”

“I don’t know,” Chrono said uncertainly, scrabbling for an excuse. “I think I have homework…”
“Chrono, NO ONE assigns home work on a Wednesday,” Rosette said skeptically. “Besides, it’ll be pretty fun. We can make fun of the other people who're shopping, blow all of our money on random junk food—”

“I thought we were buying a present for Joshua and Azmaria.”

“A minor technicality,” Rosette said smoothly. “So? Are you in?”

“…Alright,” Chrono finally agreed, heaving a sigh. “But you owe me.”

“Of course! Whatever you want!” Rosette promised triumphantly. “Oh! Can you get Aion to drive us? I think my parents are going to a… roller skate disco night… or something.” Chrono stared at the receiver.

“A what?”

“Oh shush. Your parents are no better,” Rosette grumbled irritably, and Chrono bit back a laugh, imagining Rosette’s parents doing the disco with a bunch of other old people.

“Heck, they might see my parents there,” Chrono muttered mirthfully to himself, before saying a little louder. “OK, I’ll see what I can do.” He promptly hated himself for saying it. He had just agreed to go talk to Aion, Evil In-seventeen year-old-Carnate of his own free will, over being forced to sit in a car with him and Rosette. Again.

“Cool! You rock. See you there!” With that Rosette hung up, and Chrono wordlessly set the receiver down. He proceeded to punch the living daylights out of his pillow, and then resume his zenlike Swimming Duck position. He brooded for a while, and then got up and made his way to the hellhole referred to as Aion’s room. Slowly, and feeling just the tiniest bit afraid, Chrono knocked.

“Come in,” Aion’s voice called lazily, and Chrono opened the door, eyes widening at the walls of filth criss-crossing his brother’s room. Aion was stretched out on his bed, throwing darts out the window with great concentration. Chrono opened his mouth, thought the better of it, and then closed it again. He was better off not knowing.

“Hey Aion?” He asked, not moving for fear that the rising tides of decay might devour his very soul. He could swear he saw something move. Honesty, how did Aion live like this? “Can you do me a favor? I need you to drive me and Rosette somewhere tomorrow afternoon.”

“Why would I do that?” Aion asked, looking genuinely bewildered. “Are you feeling OK, Chrono?” Chrono rolled his eyes.

“I really need you to.” He insisted. “What? Do I have to pay you? Do your laundry for a month? Don’t even feed me that ‘I’m busy excuse’. You barely ever leave your room!” Aion sat up, looking mildly affronted.

“I do plenty of important stuff!” He objected, throwing the rest of the darts out the window. Chrono heard someone scream, and shivered. “What does it look like I’m doing?!”
“Um…” Quite frankly, like you’re attempting to kill someone who’s walking their dog. Is this one of those ‘more than meets the eye’ things? Because it looks remarkably stupid… And it sounds that way too… “Assaulting the mailman?”

Aion frowned. “Hmph. Didn’t think you’d get that one. Alright, I’ll drive you too.” Chrono blinked. That was way too easy. “But in return…”

Here it comes.

“You have to let me spend three minutes with Rosette in the car.” Aion smirked at him, watching the look of horror dawn upon his brother’s face. “Alone.”

“No way!” Chrono said immediately. “That’s just… Ew! Aion, you’re disgusting!” He started to go forward to punch his brother’s face in, but paused when he remembered the garbage on the floor. The thing to his left twitched again, and Chrono practically cowered.

“Way,” Aion replied, still smirking. “Or else, you’ll have to find someone else to drive you. And Mom and Dad are out tomorrow.” Chrono grimaced.

“Oh come on, Aion!” He pleaded, knowing it was futile, and trying anyway. “Aren’t we brothers? I’ll do whatever you want! Just not that! Can’t you be nice once in a while?” Aion continued to smirk, not offering a reply, and Chrono fell silent, considering his options. OK, on one hand, if he didn’t get the ride, Rosette would kill him. If he did, Aion would do heaven-knows-what to her in the car… And if he told her that, she’d probably insist on going anyway.

He paused to mentally curse Joshua and Az. Had they not liked each other, none of this would be happening, dammit!

“…I get the keys,” Chrono finally said. “I get the keys so you can’t drive off with her or something, and if you lock the doors I will rip out your spine and beat you with it. And I will stand right outside the door, so if you try anything, I’ll know.” Aion frowned.

“You are such a spoilsport,” he informed the younger Adymeus, which earned him a covert glare. “Oh fine. But don’t watch us; that would be creepy... I mean, how would you like it if I was watching you on a date—”

“And you’d better not try to do anything with her,” Chrono interrupted, practically steaming at this point. Aion’s smirk widened.

“Other than if she wants me to you, you mean…”

Chrono stiffened. “If you two want to do anything, that’s none of my concern,” he stated coldly. “But if you do anything to upset my best friend, I assure you, there’ll be hell to pay.” With that Chrono turned and walked out the door, slamming it behind himself. Aion stared bemusedly at the closed door for a minute. He had never seen Chrono get that angry before.

Aion started smirking again. “He must really like this girl.”

After suffering through eight hours of class, and countless scenarios of how horribly this whole thing could go wrong, the last bell finally rang, and Chrono vacated his seat in record time, speeding to what he knew to be Rosette’s fourth block class. He intercepted her there, and she raised an eyebrow, not noticing his obviously strained appearance. “You could just wait outside, you know,” she informed him, frowning. “What’s the big deal?”

“Never mind that,” Chrono said, with some difficulty, seeing as he had run the entire way to that classroom. “I have something important to tell you. Er, about my brother.”

“Well, what?” Rosette asked, looking more annoyed than properly terrified like she should have been. Chrono took a deep breath.

“AionblackmailedmeintopromisingtolethimtalktoyouforthreeminutesaloneinthecarinreturnforarideandI’mreallyreallysorryaboutthatbuttherewasnootherwaythereIfinallysaiditnowpleasedon’tkillme!!”

The impressive part was that he said this entirely in one breath.

“Chrono.” Rosette latched onto his shoulders, steering him into an empty seat and then sitting directly across from him. “Breathe. Deeply. In, out, in, out…” Chrono followed her expressions and managed to stop hyperventilating. “Better?” He nodded, and Rosette did too. “OK. Now. Repeat what you just said, just way slower.”

“Aion blackmailed me into promising to let his talk to you for three minutes alone in the car,” Chrono admitted, miserably. The more he thought about it, the more miserable he got. He’d sold out his best friend! “I’m really sorry, but he wouldn’t agree to anything else… But, if you don’t have to go today, we can call it off! We can go shopping a little later, or something.” Rosette gave him a dark look.

“You promised to leave me all alone in a car with AION? Are you stupid or something?” She scowled, grabbing Chrono’s collar in a very threatening manner. “He’s cool and all, but…”

“I know!” Chrono wailed, wishing there was a conveniently placed precipice for him to jump off of. “I’ve lived with him my entire life! But he wouldn’t agree to anything else! I at least made him promise to give me the keys and not try anything! It’s fine Rosette—we don’t have to go shopping today!”

“Actually, we do,” Rosette answered, releasing Chrono with a sigh. “It turns out my calendar was wrong… The anniversary is tomorrow. We have to get something today.”

“…Crap,” Chrono said after a moment, hating himself more than ever. “Well, I guess we’ll just have to be a day late; you can blame it on me. This is my fault anyway.”

“No it’s not,” Rosette replied absently, and then rolled her eyes. “Oh whatever. Joshua and Azmaria are important to me; I’m not going to screw them over like that. If Aion does anything at all, I’ll kick him in the nuts and be done with it. Besides, you’ll be guarding me from outside the entire time, right?” Rosette’s eyes took on a slightly lethal gleam, and Chrono nodded vigorously. “Good. C’mon, wouldn’t do to keep your bastardly older brother waiting.”

There’s no way I’d desert you, Chrono thought sadly, trailing after her as she marched out to the parking lot. But I bet you’d never believe that… Great. Rosette will think I’m a total ass now. And I deserve it.

“Hello kiddies!” Aion called, spotting them with ease. He drove his car up in nearly record timing. “Pile in,” he said cheerfully, and both Rosette and Chrono slid into the backseat, glaring at him suspiciously. Aion laughed. “Ah, I see; Chrono has informed you of our deal, has he? Don’t worry. I assure you, my intentions are nothing but honorable.”

Rosette snorted, but grinned, and Chrono grimaced. The words ‘Aion’ and ‘honorable’ did not belong in the same sentence, no matter what conjunction you put between them. Aion would do something, whether Rosette knew he would or not. He fell silent, contemplating once more as Rosette and Aion fell into easy conversation. Time slipped by when he was thinking so hard, and they were at the mall in what seemed like a flash. Aion grabbed Chrono’s hand, pressed the keys into them, wrapped Chrono’s fingers around them, and flashed him a dazzling grin.

“There we go now. Shoo.” He waved a glaring Chrono out of the car, and made a twisting motion with his finger when Chrono didn’t turn around. Chrono made a growling noise in the back of his throat, and did so, leaning against the side of the car. With that, Aion turned to Rosette, smiling brilliantly at her as well. Rosette raised an eyebrow. “Now, Miss Rosette, where were we?”

“I think you were going to tell me whatever you didn’t want Chrono to hear,” she replied evenly, a smile quirking her lips. Aion laughed.

“Correct as usual…”

Chrono strained to hear whatever was going on in the car, and failed wretchedly. His parents’ cars had been soundproofed, something personally paid for by the neighborhood committee, who did not appreciate their habits of driving home at eleven or so with hippy music blasting out of the vehicles. Aion’s was no exception. For all Chrono knew, they could have burst into song.

The first minute still wasn’t up.

How stupid could he have been to agree to this? How stupid could Rosette have been? Aion was a big, scary seventeen year-old! How could she be sure he wouldn’t do anything? How was this worth the punctuality the two of them so often lacked?! Well, it was for Joshua and Azmaria. That did make it a little different… But not that much! Why couldn’t they make something for their friends?

One minute down.

Well, there was the fact that both Chrono and Rosette lacked any vague concept of artistic talent. Rosette’s idea of a masterpiece was a stick man beating up another stick man, and Chrono’s was an ‘o’ that people wouldn’t mistake for an ‘e’. But… why couldn’t they have just given their friends something they already had that those two didn’t?! Chrono could find Joshua something, he was sure, and as for Azmaria… Well, maybe he could steal some of his mom’s jewelry… Come to think of it, what did people give other people for anniversaries? Honestly, Chrono had no idea…

The distraction thing really wasn’t working. Chrono risked a quick glance into the car window. To his immense relief Rosette and Aion weren’t making out or anything. In fact, they didn’t seem to have moved at all. Aion was facing away from him, so he couldn’t see his face, but he could see Rosette was speaking. He looked away too quickly to see what her facial expression was like, feeling much better.

Two minutes down.

Thank God Aion was holding true to his words for once. He hadn’t seemed to have laid a hand on Rosette, and Rosette wasn’t freaking out and leaping out of the car. Chrono knew he would have lost all control, even if Rosette didn’t protest against Aion’s advances. He would have yanked it open, and all but attacked his stupid, perverted, evil, seventeen year-old brother until Aion either knocked him unconscious, or Rosette made him stop. Which wouldn't be good for anyone in the long run. Quite frankly, he wasn’t even sure he could hold his own against his brother for more than twenty seconds.

Time’s up!

Chrono whirled around just as the door opened, smacking him in the shins. Currently, he was too happy to care, especially when a head of blonde hair bobbed into his view. Rosette grinned, flashing him a thumbs up, and as Aion converted the car back into a topless one, he leaned down to give him a glare. “You better not have done anything,” he declared in his best ‘Scary’ tone of voice. Aion didn’t seem to notice, and to Chrono’s utter shock, he simply ruffled his little brother’s hair.

“Of course not. I was a perfect gentleman, wasn’t I, Miss Rosette?” Chrono looked back at his friend who shrugged and nodded, but didn’t say anything. Chrono frowned, leaning away from the driver. Aion… being nice? That was just not right.

“Thank you?” He said uncertainly, and Aion just laughed. Without replying, he slammed on the gas, and the car was off in a cloud of dust. Chrono watched him go, feeling very confused, and very happy, before turning back to Rosette. “Well, so glad that’s over with!” He paused, feeling guilty again. “He really didn’t do anything?”

“No,” Rosette replied slowly, frowning slightly. “No, he didn’t do anything. We just talked.”

“What about?” Chrono asked, more out of curiosity than suspicion as he started for the mall. Rosette was honest; if she said Aion had behaved himself, he must have. He glanced back when Rosette didn’t answer; surprised to see her bright blue eyes were clouded over thoughtfully. He frowned, and walked back over to her, seeing as she hadn’t moved. “Rosette…?”

She still didn’t answer, her eyes far away. Now that he was looking for it, he saw that her face was paler than normal too, and that she wasn’t holding herself in the same confident stance she always did. Anger bubbled up in Chrono’s chest, and he clenched his jaw. Aion did something to her, alright! That bastard! Chrono was going to murder him…! All of a sudden Rosette looked up and seemed to realize Chrono was there. “Chrono?” She asked in a very small voice. “What Aion said… Was he telling the truth about…?”

“What did he say to you?” Chrono asked gently, crushing his anger. He didn’t want to upset Rosette… more that she already was. She was scaring him. When had Rosette ever been so quiet? He took her hand in his, giving it a little squeeze. “Tell me, please.”

Rosette stared into his eyes for a minute, seeming to search for something; and then shook her head. “Never mind.” She pulled her hand free and marched off toward the mall. Chrono frowned, and then jogged after her, trying to get a clear look at her face. Her eyes were bright again when she looked at him, a teasing smile on her lips. “Hurry up! You’re way too slow, bookworm!”

“You brat!” Chrono grumbled back, making Rosette stick her tongue out.

“You know it!” She replied cheerfully, and Chrono’s uneasy settled somewhat. At least she was acting like she was back to normal… It couldn’t be that big a deal, then, right?
Right?

About two hours of shopping later, Chrono felt much better about Rosette. She hadn’t acted strangely again, and they had both found nice gifts for their friends. Now all that was left was for them to get their ride back, drop Rosette off at her house, beat the crap out of Aion, and find out what was bothering her so much. Chrono couldn’t stand it, and hated it that she kept everything that really bothered her all bottled up inside. Still, he wouldn’t risk hurting her by asking what was wrong directly. Things like that had to be handled delicately, or at least that’s what Chrono thought.

“OK, I’ll call Aion and tell him we’re all done here, OK?” Chrono asked, flipping out his cell phone. He glanced back at Rosette, wondering if that blank look might show up again, and he was right. A flicker of darkness crossed Rosette’s eyes, hardening Chrono’s resolve to cause Aion great bodily harm, or die trying. His eyes narrowed.

“Mm.” Rosette said in way of a reply, suddenly quiet.

“Right.” Chrono tapped his foot patiently as the phone rang. After too long a time, Aion picked up the phone.

“’Yello?” He answered through a flow of music that was bound to be shaking their house. Chrono struggled to keep in a flow of obscenities, and forced his tone into something neutral-ish.

“It’s Chrono.” He said rather unnecessarily; their phones had caller ID. “We’re done shopping, so come pick us up.”

“Ah, Chrono,” Aion crooned in a rather disturbing tone. “Wonderful to hear from you again. How’d your shopping trip go?” That smug BASTARD. Chrono glanced over at Rosette, making sure she wasn’t paying any attention, and when this was confirmed, a bit of his self control crumbled.

“You smug BASTARD!” Chrono hissed. “I can’t believe you! ‘Perfect gentleman’ my ass! What on earth did you do to her?!” There was silence on Aion’s end.

“Beg pardon?” Aion finally asked, sounding like Chrono had surprised him. “I’m afraid I don’t follow. Did something happen?”

“You know exactly what happened!” Chrono growled, squeezing the phone hard enough to elicit a tiny squeak of protest from the device. “She’s been acting strangely all afternoon—because of something you said! I’ll kill you Aion, whatever you said really messed with her mind!”

“…I think there’s a bit of a miscommunication here,” Aion said after a long moment. “Chrono, I didn’t say anything particularly bad to her… I just asked her out.” Chrono’s breath caught in his throat, and his anger sort of fizzled out just like that, replaced by an icy wave of dread. Oh hell no…

“You… what?”

“Don’t act so surprised!” Aion laughed again, and was it Chrono’s imagination, or did he hear someone else laughing in the background?! Great. Either Aion’s room actually was alive, or he’d thrown a party with Chrono’s parents away. Either way it went, it did not bode well for either of them. “You know I liked her. Why else would you be glaring at me every five seconds when she rides home with us?”

Chrono’s ears pricked up. “Liked? Past tense?”

“Yeah,” Aion sighed. “I got dumped, unfortunately. She pretty much shot me down… I asked her why and she said she just didn’t like me. So I… I said that was OK. Because, I mean, well I told her… Look, Chrono, don’t take this the wrong way. I hate your girly little guts, but I had a momentary lapse of sanity.” Chrono blinked, utterly lost.

“OK…?”

“I sort of… Told her that you like her, and have for a while.” Chrono choked on his own spit, and spent several minutes coughing. Rosette noticed and looked a little concerned, but the expression of bloody murder on Chrono’s face discouraged her from trying to help.

“YOU WHAT?!”
“I told her you like her and… I asked her to… Consider that, ’cause you really like her and stuff, and that’s pretty hard to find.” Aion coughed, and Chrono got the distinct impression that he was uncomfortable with the conversation. “So, yeah. She kinda stared and… yeah.”

“You… did…” Chrono closed his eyes, feeling dizzy. “You. Aion, you…”

“Ugh. Geez. I told you not to get the wrong idea!” Aion replied irritably. “I wasn’t trying to be nice or anything! I was just… surprised! It won’t happen again!”

“…Never mind,” Chrono said, deciding not to push his luck. If he kept thinking about this; that Aion had done something that could actually be perceived as kind; he would lose his mind. “Never mind, never mind! Look, can you just come pick us up?”

“No,” Aion refused almost instantly. “That wasn’t part of the deal. It’s what you get for being stupid and not being thorough enough, and just so you know, I hate you, I am evil, BWAHAHAHAHAHA, and I’m sick of hearing your voice so later!”

Click.

Chrono blinked. Aion was… So nuts. His brother seriously had issues and—wait.

Did he say he wasn’t coming?

Chrono’s eye twitched, looking back at the dead silent girl who now knew that he liked her. She didn’t notice, her eyes distant again. Chrono dropped his head into his hands. Great.

“Rosette?” He began, vowing that Aion would be disemboweled the very minute he got home. “It looks like we’re walking home.” Rosette blinked, and looked up.

“Huh…? Why can’t Aion?” Chrono rolled his eyes skyward.

“Aion’s being a flake,” he said by way of explanation. “A big, stupid flake… I’m really sorry Rosette, but I think we’re stuck walking.” Rosette shrugged, and stood.

“OK, but we’re going to my place first,” she decided, starting to walk, swinging the bag with Azmaria and Joshua’s present. “’Cause it’s closer and because it is partially your fault for not making sure your brother would get us back.”

Chrono walked beside her, smiling sheepishly. “Yeah, sorry about that. Apparently I wasn’t thorough enough.” Rosette snorted.

“I’ll bet. You avoid him don’t you?” She looked over at Chrono, inquisitive. “How come you’re so scared of him?” Chrono shuddered.

“Well… Because it’s Aion.” Seriously. Chrono was convinced that one day he would open a dictionary to look up the word ‘evil’ and find Aion’s picture leering at him. “He’s evil incarnate. I’d know. I’ve had to live with him since we were born!”

“That must kinda suck.” Rosette admitted. “Are you sure you think he’s evil incarnate? Aion tries really hard, but…”

“When I was six, I found him sacrificing a squirrel on some kind of altar in the backyard.” Chrono said flatly, and Rosette’s eyes widened. “Six! Do you want to know what he was doing?”

“…Not really, no.”

“Good. Neither do I.”

They lapsed into silence, the thumps of their feet on the asphalt and sounds of cars being the only noises they heard. Chrono cursed Aion out in his head again. At least Rosette’s house was relatively close by. Chrono’s was only two or three miles, so that was OK… He still wished doom on his brother. He glanced over at Rosette, to find her wrapped up in her thoughts. He couldn’t help but feel a little gleeful. Rosette had rejected Aion too! Thank God! He felt pretty silly for getting so excited; it wasn’t like she’d agreed to go out with him or anything. The mere mention of his liking her had made her very quiet for the rest of the day… Chrono heaved a sigh. She must really hate me…

“Mento?”

Chrono looked up and over at his friend, confused. “Excuse me?”

“Do you want a mento?” Rosette asked impatiently, waving a cylindrical tube of paper in his face. Chrono recognized the smell of sugar, and figured there had to be some kind of food in it. He had never had a ‘mento’, though. Quite frankly, it sounded like medicine—like one of the pills he was stuck eating at home. Or mint. Chrono wasn’t fond of either. “No thanks,” he said quickly. Rosette shrugged, and withdrew the tube, popping one into her mouth. Chrono made a face. It looked like medicine too.

“Suit yourself.”

The silence returned with a vengeance, and Chrono felt kind of stupid. Had he made her angry? He was pretty good at that, but he hated it when Rosette was angry with him. She had to be too; because Rosette and he never had weird silences like this. They were always chatting or fighting or laughing over something, never quiet. Chrono found himself missing those times, and began to curse Aion all over again. Would things ever go back to normal between them? This was exactly what he had been trying to avoid… He’d much rather just be Rosette’s friend then be forced to endure awkward silences like this!

“You sure?” Rosette said suddenly. She looked back over at him, still sucking on the one she’d eaten. Chrono shook his head, blushing a little. He felt silly for letting himself get caught brooding like that.

“Positive.”

Rosette pursed her lips, looking him from head to toe, which made Chrono blush harder. “Yes? Can I help you with something, Rosette?” He asked, turning to hide his blush. Darn it! Stupid face… Stop it!

“I don’t get you,” she said suddenly. “You say you don’t want any, but have you ever tried one?” Chrono shook his head slowly, and Rosette’s eyes narrowed. “I knew it! See, Chrono? You never do anything! Would it kill you to try something new once a while?”

“Maybe,” Chrono replied brightly, earning a covert slap to the back of his head. Rosette smiled sweetly at a staring couple as Chrono let out a yelp of pain, clutching his head. “Ow! Fine, fine! Maybe not! Geez Rosette, you hit hard!”
“There you have it,” Rosette nodded sagely, selecting another mento. “You always stick to the safe side of everything. Honestly, just because your parents are hippies, doesn’t mean you have to be. You should try something new once and a while—if it tries to kill you, I’ll beat it up for ya.”

“I know that!” Chrono huffed, crossing his arms. “If I just did what everyone else did, I could have turned out like Aion! So I don’t always follow other people’s examples.” Rosette glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, and started to smirk.

“No. No, Chrono, I don’t really think you could ever be like Aion,” she snickered, making Chrono scowl at her and aim a half-hearted punch at her shoulder. Rosette dodged with ease, still giggling. “But you know, I’m glad that you’re like that.” Chrono glanced up, surprised, and found her staring off into space again. “I like you better than Aion…”

Chrono turned bright red in a flash, and ducked his head quickly. Rosette was just EVIL! She knew he liked her now, and she still said that sort of thing?! Was she purposely provoking him? Or did she just like watching him squirm--?!
Chrono blinked as a familiar cylindrical candy wrapper was shoved right under his nose. His face still a nice rosy hue, he glanced over at Rosette, who smiled innocently. “Mento?” She offered for the third time, and he glared at her.

“Third time’s the charm?”

“Yep!”
“It’s not.” Chrono shot her down, shoving the candy out of his face. “So no.”

Rosette grimaced at the back of his head, and then returned to the all-important business of candy. Chrono began to lose himself in his thoughts again, his eyes becoming as hazy as hers had been a moment again. He did too try new things! He just wasn’t reckless like her or Aion, or his other friend Satella. He liked to think his actions through was all—it had nothing to do with trying new things! Besides, Chrono had tried plenty anyway. Like…

…

When had he tried anything new? Whenever he did, it was because someone had forced him into it. He never rebelled, never protested against anything, and never took any chances. He just automatically thought he’d lose no matter what he did… So why even try…? Chrono’s brow furrowed. It had been the same with everything. They had bullied him at school because he let them. Rosette and Satella made him do their homework because he never complained about it. Aion got everything he wanted from Chrono, because Chrono never stood up for himself. Aion had told Rosette because…

Because he knew Chrono never would.

“Chrono?” Rosette saw how peculiar the expression on his face had become, and frowned. “Chrooooono?”

Chrono stopped short, shocked with himself. He’d been like this his entire life—and he’d never even noticed! He had always thought of himself as cautious, sure, but never a coward. And that’s what he had been. It was a surprise. Now that he noticed, he was shocked that his friends even bothered with him. He must have seemed so hopeless; but people like Azmaria and Joshua and Satella still came to him. And Rosette. Always Rosette; the very first person who had said something nice to him. His best friend, the most important person in his life; the girl he… loved.

“Chrono!” Rosette tugged on the unresponsive boy’s arm fruitlessly. She scowled at his dazed expression, temper rising. “Chrono! Wake up!”

And Chrono did love her. He loved her more than anything in the world, more than he’d ever cared for anyone. Rosette was like an angel to him; a goddess; pure perfection. And he was going to let her get away. He was going to let her fall in love with someone else without saying anything. Without trying. He wouldn’t even try for her. What kind of coward was he?!

WHACK!

“OWW!” Chrono ducked away from a second punch, hand closed over the side of his face. He stared up at Rosette in shock. “OW, OW, OW! The heck?! What on earth—?!” Rosette smirked at the stunned look on his face, and dusted her hands off.

“I had no choice. You temporarily left for la-la land,” she justified, clasping her hands behind her back and beginning to move again. Grudgingly, Chrono followed his psychotic friend, glaring at her back. Suddenly Rosette started, and whirled around to Chrono with a bright smile on her face. “I can see my house! Wanna race?”

Without waiting for an answer she was off, dashing towards the familiar house, a protesting Chrono shortly behind her. Eventually his protests died off to save air, and the two struggled to get a lead, grinning. She shoved Chrono off the path, and he let out a yell, pouring on the speed to catch up and shoved her back with a triumphant laugh. The two got closer and closer, fighting to win, and when the house was almost five yard away, Rosette used the last of her energy, shooting forward past Chrono with a war cry. Chrono stared at her, astonished, as she leapt forward to touch the door—

And then tripped, falling flat on her face. Chrono ran smack into the door with a loud ‘Oh no!’ After which he wobbled for a moment, and then ran over to Rosette, helping her up. Rosette whined uproariously the whole time. “Owowowowow!” She moaned, rubbing the side of her face. “I’m gonna have a bruise, you idiot! I can’t believe you!”
Chrono looked offended. “Me?! How is this my fault? You tripped over all by yourself!”

“You made me fall over!” Rosette insisted stubbornly, still nursing her sore cheek. “You wanted to win so much; you made me fall over with your mind or something!” Chrono rolled his eyes. With his mind, eh? “And by the way—” Rosette hopped up and tapped the doorbell with a grin. “You still lose.”

“What?!” Chrono jumped to his feet too, hands on his hips. “You did not! I got to the door first, so I win!”

“The goal was the doorbell, not the door.” Smirk.

“You never said that!”

“My house; my rules.” Again; smirk.

Chrono gave her a sour look. “Brat.”

“One-hundred and twenty percent, Chrono!” Rosette was grinning again by now, and waved. “So anyway… Thanks for coming with me. I’ll see ya tomorrow—”

Against his better judgment, Chrono grabbed her wrist, keeping her from walking inside. Rosette looked back at him curiously. “You need something Chrono? Are you thirsty? Actually, if you want, you can stay here for a while.”

“That’s not it,” Chrono murmured, blushing embarrassedly again. The sane part of his head screamed for him to shut up and leave, but he ignored it. He’d made his choice. “Um. Rosette? About what Aion said to you in the car…”

Was it his imagination, or did Rosette stiffen for a moment? He released her hand, and she folded her arms, still looking curious. “What about it?”

“I… Well, I think I know what he said to you.” Rosette opened her mouth to say something, but Chrono pushed on relentlessly. “I, er, think he said that I… Um, like you. He told me that when we were talking on the phone and… stuff.”

“So?” Rosette chuckled, rolling her eyes. “Don’t worry Chrono. I was kinda freaked out for a while there, but I should have known better. It’s Aion, after all.” She gave him a soft smile. “Sorry if I was worrying you.”

“No, Rosette…” Chrono bit his lip for a moment; then forced himself to look up at her. He wasn’t going to be a coward about that too. “Aion was… telling the truth.” Rosette blinked. “I’ve felt like that for a while. I should have told you—”

“Chrono, it’s OK.” Rosette’s tone was far quieter now, and she had looked away, he realized. “I know you wouldn’t take advantage of me or anything. I’m not mad or anything; it won’t bother me to go back to normal and just… forget whatever Aion told me.” She turned to leave again, but Chrono latched onto her arm again, feeling sick, but refusing to give up without a fight this time.

“Wait! Please, Rosette, please listen to me! I need to tell you…”

“It’s fine!” Rosette tried to yank her arm free, but Chrono wouldn’t let her this one time. He squeezed his eyes shut, and clutched her arm even harder. “It’s fine, Chrono! You don’t have to tell me! Let it go!”

“No!” Chrono yelled, biting his lip again. “I won’t chicken out again! You can hate me forever if you want, but that won’t change how I feel! I have to tell you… Rosette, please just let me explain! Let me try to explain!”

“Then just say it!” Rosette roared back, and as she whirled around, Chrono saw angry tears in the corners of her eyes. She yanked on his fingers with a free hand. “If you mean it, say it! Get some guts and just say it!”

Chrono felt like he was being torn apart, but he opened his mouth again anyway, fighting to keep a grip on her. “I l-like you! I like you, I like you! I like you Rosette! I really, really like you…” He swallowed hard, pushing his fear aside. “I love you!”

Just like that Rosette stopped struggling, and instead sagged against the doorframe. Chrono managed to crack an eye open, and saw that her bangs had fallen in front of her eyes and that what he could see of her face was blank. He found that he wanted to brush her bangs away, but he didn’t. He felt sick and shaky and hopeless and worried and he absolutely knew she’d reject him like everyone else in any minute… But also like a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He felt like he could fly.

“…You really said it, huh?” Rosette said suddenly, her voice quiet all of a sudden. “I never thought you would. No one did… I can’t believe it…” She fell silent, and Chrono realized he still had a death grip on her arm. Guiltily he released her arm, and Rosette let it fall beside her. “Wow…”

“Rosette, I’m sorry,” Chrono said in a slightly choked voice. “Oh God… I’m sorry! I never meant to hurt you or anything… Look, if you want to, forget all about it. I won’t ever bother you; I’ll move; I’ll run away from home, I’ll do anything you like! Just don’t be sad—ow.” He rubbed his arm where Rosette had smacked it, and caught a glimpse of her blue eyes glaring at him from beneath her bangs.

“Don’t say that, stupid,” she grumbled, withdrawing her hand now that Chrono’s more -or-less hysterical rant had been silenced. “I hate it when people make promises they can’t keep. And I’m not mad at you, so just… give me a minute.” Chrono tilted his head to the side, feeling more confused than ever.

“I was just surprised,” Rosette said after a moment. “I mean, Azzy told me she thought you might have liked me once, and Joshua’s always been rather effective at dodging the question… Even Satella said something hinting that you might have felt that way. But I never bought into it, y’know? I couldn’t imagine you liking me. It was so weird. I put it out of my mind.”

“Rosette…” Chrono felt absolutely worthless. Had he really caused her that much trouble?

“Then Aion just said what he did, I was really shocked!” Rosette blew some hair out of her face, showing that she was just staring at the ceiling above them. “I couldn’t get it out of my mind, and I kept contradicting myself… Ugh! I was acting so weird, and I kept getting these weird mood swings. It was like I wanted to test you, or something. And then you said that just now…” She made a wry face. “I freaked out just a little. Sorry about that.”

Rosette pushed off the door so that she was standing face to face with Chrono, and grinned. “I get it now, I think. Why I never like any of the guys who ask me out… Why you’re the first person I think of when they do… Why people saying you liked me bothered me so much.” Chrono stared back obliviously, and Rosette rolled her eyes. “Don’t you get it?”

She leaned forward to whisper in his ear, her golden hair tickling his neck. “I like you, Chrono.” She leaned back, blushing herself, while Chrono stared at her, pretty much moonstruck. Dazedly, he pointed to himself.

“Me?” He said with some difficulty. “You like… me? As in… me?” Rosette rolled her eyes again, her blush apparent at this point.

“Yes, Chrono.” She smiled at him. “I don’t see another you around here.”

“Really?” Chrono said, just to be sure, and Rosette reached up, smacking the back of his head. He winced, giving her a wounded look. “What was that for?”
“For being stupid.” She coughed lightly into her hand. “Listen up, because I probably won’t way it again… I, Rosette Christopher, am in love with you, Chrono Adymeus.” She looked up then, her face rivaling one of Chrono’s best blushes. “Capiche?”

Chrono looked blank only a moment longer, and then burst into a wide grin. “Yes!” He laughed, and then gave her a quick, giddy hug. He couldn’t believe it! Rosette loved him! Rosette loved him! Ah, he had never heard anything he thought sounded as wonderful! He loved Rosette! He’d told her! And she freaking loved him BACK! Chrono pulled away, beaming, and then blushed when he saw the close proximity they were in. “Uh…” He said, and Rosette rolled her eyes again.

“Oh, just kiss me, idiot.”

So Chrono, still blushing might I add, leaned down, and kissed her right on the mouth. Rosette froze for a minute, and so did he, and then an astonishing spark shot through them both. Rosette wrapped her arms around his neck, and Chrono slid his around her wrist, kissing her harder, all his feelings, kept locked inside for years, flowing into it. Rosette’s lips were amazingly sweet, tasting like the candy she had eaten moments ago, and something else that was entirely her own. He loved her… He loved her! And she loved him back! He couldn’t believe it. Rosette leaned up, kissing back with an equal fervor, her hands tangling themselves in his purple hair. Air became too much of a necessity after a moment, and they parted, Chrono resting his forehead against hers, both breathing heavily.

“Wow,” he breathed, his eyes half-shut, and a smile playing on his lips. “That was…”
“If you say ‘amazing’ or ‘magical’ or something else corny, I’ll hurt you,” Rosette muttered, her eyes not even open. Chrono laughed.

“No. I was going to say ‘everything I’d dreamed it would be’… But it wasn’t.” Rosette’s eyes opened for a moment, looking hurt, and Chrono grinned. “It was better. So much better.”

“Pfeh. Still corny. So you dream about me, huh?” She smirked, and Chrono nodded immediately.

“All the time…” He leaned down again, and they were kissing again. The world around her spun and Rosette practically had to hang onto him in order to stay upright. Chrono’s kisses were… wow. Rosette sort of lost the ability to think after that, and this time when they parted, their lips were slightly bruised. “I think I like this ‘trying new things’,” Chrono commented mischievously. “And you were right… Mentos are good.” Rosette blushed brilliantly, and used her position to her advantage, rapping her knuckles lightly on Chrono’s skull.

“Careful,” she warned, “or you won’t get any more.” Chrono gasped in horror, and she giggled, leaning up to kiss him again.

At that instant a piercing honk filled the air, followed by a wolf whistle; then further honking.

The two sprang apart in an instant, faces flaring up redder than before. What Chrono saw made his jaw drop. It was… Aion? Aion, sitting in his car, smirking, and all but laying on the horn. Seeing that the two were gaping at him now, he waved, looking entirely too smug for his own good. Chrono stared a moment longer, then turned back to Rosette. “Wanna just go inside and ignore him?” He asked, ignoring any and all honks that came after the first.

“Nah.” Rosette looked between the two of them, incredibly amused. “Joshua’s home, and probably wondering what happened to me by now. I don’t want him to call the police or anything. Besides, I think I have a few things to explain to him…” She leaned up and brushed a kiss on Chrono’s cheek. “See you tomorrow!” She whispered in his ear, winked, and then slipped inside.

Chrono let out a laugh, and then practically skipped to Aion’s car, hopping in. Aion raised an eyebrow. “You look like an idiot,” he informed Chrono. “And if I’m not mistaken, anyone who is watching you right now will know you for quite a while longer… Seeing as I believe you’ll be visiting Miss Rosette a good deal more.”

“I don’t care,” Chrono decided, and realized he didn’t. He was just too happy, too light, and too free to be anything but… happy. He could worry about trivial things like dignity some other time. Right now… All he could think of were those perfect words. He loved Rosette. And she loved him.

Aion shook his head disbelievingly, and then drove off, the surroundings zipping by as he (predictably) speeded. Chrono laughed more as the world whirled by, spreading his arms wide to feel the wind. Aion smiled just a little bit when Chrono wasn’t looking. He hadn’t ever seen his idiot brother looking so contented. Would he ever again…?

Maybe.

Chrono loved Rosette. And she loved him back.

Kaito: Aaaaaand we’re back! Welcome to Living With Insanity episode two!

Mizu: M-M-Moonlight i-is st-still b-busy…

Kaito: Yep! And we have another question. This time it’s for… me?

S.C.: Dude! You’re popular! The ladies will be all over you in no time!!

Mizu: E-eh?!

Kaito: No they won’t. Go away S.C.

S.C.: What, you want Mizu to read it?

Kaito: …Here you go, S.C.

S.C.: Thank yooouuuuuu. Ahem. The question is posed as thus: Dear Kaito-kun. Why are you so mean to Moonlight Wings 13? She tries very hard and is an exceptional author. You should worship the ground she walks on. Everyone should. At least, that’s what I think. Sincerely, Dai-chan.

Mizu: …

Kaito: ...

S.C.: …Heh.

Kaito: I’m going to kill that little…

S.C.: Who freaking signs their name?

Mizu: I-it was a w-w-well thought out l-letter?

Kaito: She’ll die a painful death too.

S.C.: Hold on a sec Kaito… You never formally answered the question. Why are you so mean?

Kaito: BECAUSE DAI-CHAN IS A STUPID, ANNOYING, PROCRASTINATING PIECE OF WORK WHO I WILL SEE SUFFER TO HER GRAVE!

S.C.: …Dude.

Mizu: Th-that’s all f-f-for now! S-see you next t-time!