“Excuse us for a minute. Titania, you can go ahead upstairs to the kitchen if you don’t mind, I have some...certain matters to deal with Stabs and Euphino here...” Arma dismissed as politely as he could to which his eyes failed to show the same hospitality towards the young man himself. Titania, still oblivious with what these two lads shared simply nodded without further questions and trotted upstairs. Once Arma was certain that Titania was out of earshot; the tall lad glared at Euphino before glancing at Stabs, his eyes demanding an explanation.
“I know, I know. You two didn’t get on the wrong foot but...hear him out a bit please? He can answer everything, not me. Please not the face...” Stabs whimpered lightly, both arms rose in surrender. Arma merely eye rolled at his theatrics, letting Stabs go. He watched as the lanky guy clumsily tripped over the golden stairway and trotted upstairs to join Titania. Once he disappeared from view, Arma glanced back and crossed his arms with malcontent at Euphino who had the same annoying aura around him which grinded the tall lad’s nerves intensively.
“Okay. Explain” Arma ordered furiously, his voice clipped. Euphino’s grin never faltered as he scratched the back of his curly hair somewhat awkwardly.
“Where to start...oh...I am sorry what I did the other day. Honestly I was just teasing you. So I called you a monster, who knew you could hold such a grudge?” Arma felt one eyebrow twitching in disgust. Euphino just proved something Arma thought was impossible. He was even more of a handful than Zatch the ‘Human Database’. However, he did not see the day where Euphino would apologise at his doorstep but Arma wasn’t ready to be best buddies with this guy yet.
“What’s with the sudden change of heart? Did Zessica tell you that never to see her again unless you become my friend or something?” Arma asked acidly to which Euphino simply grinned broadly, looking somewhat guilty at the taller lad.
“That, and the fact that I truly am sorry. Like I said, it was simply a little tease. Though, I didn’t expect Zessica to react and get you both in Blessed Combat, which you have proven yourself worthy to be her partner. However, just not quite there yet, if you don’t mind me adding.” Arma narrowed his eyes at Euphino who simply stared back with those eyes that feigned innocence. It seemed that Euphino did still not like the idea of Arma being Zessica’s partner.
‘Well he will have to deal with it.” Arma thought coldly, suddenly protective over the short girl who was sleeping away two floors above. Euphino glanced up where Stabs had disappeared then stared at the tall lad, quiet with his own thoughts when he hunched his shoulders down low. A big grin materialised on his face, making Arma wonder what sort of scheme he was devising right now in his cunning mind of his.
“Perhaps I chose the wrong day to come over, since it seemed like I am ruining your...date?” The mere mention of that wretched word instantly made Arma’s cheeks to grow warm from shyness.
“It’s not a date! God, you and Zessica, what is with you and this date? It’s hanging out! I wouldn’t have invited Stabs here if it was a date!” Euphino chortled lightly at Arma’s outburst; who was now flushed red from embarrassment. Arma wondered how on earth Zessica had enough tolerance to even deal this guy. Everything this guy did seemed offensive towards the taller lad. Then again, Zessica had a fair number of ticking him off too. Was it that similarity that made Zessica claim that this weird guy here, her old acquaintance?
“Speaking of Zessica, where is she?” Euphino asked curiously, looking around. Arma didn’t know why but Euphino’s voice made him to grit his teeth tightly and dig his nails to his clenched fist. Several veins started throbbing at once at his temples and Arma is left with glaring at the younger guy.
“None of your business.”
“Oh come on, not even a hint? I even said sorry... which is sort of rare coming from me. I am not the apologising type after all.” Euphino asked challengingly, taking a step forward. Arma surprised himself when he unconsciously stepped back. He thought he could easily tackle Euphino, with the height difference to his advantage but it seemed last time Arma tried to beat the heck out of the younger lad still hasn’t worn off of him. He was still wary of the guy who claimed to have super speed when he actually has something else, something no one knows yet.
After staring at the younger lad for a long while, Arma knew that this was not in the field of his expertise as the tall lad was the one who broke the staring contest.
“...Ugh...She’s out cold...there, happy?”
“Oh...her illness stroke up again is it? Had she taken her medicine?”
“Of course she did. I take more responsibilities than you think bastard.” Arma snapped a little bit too loudly. Fortunately for him that little raise of the voice wasn’t going to be too loud enough for the floor above him to catch. Euphino took a step back, clutching the left side of his check as he pretended to look offended with his face looking horrified.
“Ouch. That hurt, and to think that we are friends.”
“Dream on loser. You and I will never be friends.” Arma concluded out loud as he turned his back on the younger lad and strolled up stairs. He could hear Euphino snickering lightly as he followed Arma’s trail with ease.
“Haha that’s what you’ll say but we will see...” Arma refrained himself from knocking him out then and there.
“So how did you guys exactly meet?” Titania suddenly asked as she took another mouthful of her tomato salad, swallowing it down gently. Stabs, being the gentleman he was took the time to be in the queue and bought as many foods as he could. Arma took a big bite on his beef burger before turning his attention on the infamous idol who was smiling glamorously at the tall lad. Wiping away the sauce on the corner of his lips, Arma cleared his throat.
“I met Stabs two years ago when Zatch and Phoenix decided to give me a ‘surprise’.” Stabs looked a bit lost, before nodding at Arma which confirmed what Arma said was true and continued to munch on his chicken burger hungrily.
“What about Euphino?” Titania prodded on curiously, almost making Arma choke on his burger as he half glared, half glanced at the speak of the devil. Euphino was nibbling on his nuggets lightly but evidently smirking at the tall lad so to speak. Arma felt the tension build up between them as electric sparks flew.
“Not too long ago. He just enrolled to school after all. Anyway how was your trial?” Arma asked breezily, trying to change the subject cleverly. He caught Euphino gaping at him, something in between of awe and disbelief before turning his attention towards his nuggets again with his bottom lip puckering out like a child who didn’t get his favourite toy.
“Oh it was easier than I thought. I had to climb this huge spider web net thing all the way to the top. These huge torpedoes and bombs will be thrown over head and if you fall you are disqualified. Once you get to the top you press this button and you are in the second trial.”
All three guys occupying the kitchen, which ultimately became the dining room, stared at the infamous idol as if she had gone mad.
“What?” Titania asked innocently, self consciously eating her salad now as she swallowed a tomato leisurely.
“N-no its nothing...it’s just that...you said it was easy...but what you said about things falling down on your head sounds like a lot harder than you claim...” Stabs explained awkwardly, munching down on his chicken burger timidly. Arma simply agreed while Euphino remained quiet throughout the whole conversation, picking on his nuggets. Honestly, why wasn’t he eating? Was the nuggets that bad or was had he lost his appetite?
“What about you Stabs?” Arma asked, half heartedly ignoring the quiet guy and as if on cue, Stabs burst to a fit of laughter, causing everyone in the kitchen to flinch. Stabs covered his mouth to prevent any chunks of chicken to fly out and wheezed lightly. He forced himself to swallow before answering the tall lad’s question.
“Oh you should have seen it Arma! That was the best and awesome trial ever! I wish they movie-ed it or something. I mean, what we had to do was hunt down some rabbits and get the highest score as you can. White rabbits is fifty points, black is hundred and this gold rare rabbits are five hundred. Of course Phoenix nailed it by burning those poor souls alive but Zatch? He was hopeless. He even lost his glasses half way! It was quite a struggle!”
Arma found himself laughing along too. It was such a sight that he could only envision in his mind and just from using a little bit of imagination, a wave of chuckles over took him. He could imagine Zatch cursing lowly and getting up, only to be run down by a mass of several thousand rabbits again. It was such a sight that he regretfully hasn’t seen. Sure Zatch can have a good heart at times but then again, seeing that guy struggle? It was too funny.
“Awww...poor guy. He must have sighed in relief when it was all over.” Titania cooed apologetically, but the tall lad saw there was a small smile crawling at the corner of her luscious lips. Wait, had he actually thought that? Arma felt himself blushing a deep shade of red before looking away to calm himself. As he did so, he caught Euphino staring at him, catching him in his moment before the weird guy smirked wickedly at him. All of a sudden the fluttering feeling ceased and hatred for the guy remained.
“That he did hahaha” Stabs replied, still laughing and having a hard time stopping. Eventually, he forced the burger in his mouth, causing him to gag lightly before halting his laughter to a screeching stop. It was a strange method, but after seeing Stabs doing it a million times, Arma knew it was effective. Maybe he should do that too sometimes?
“Oh yea, Titania, how old are you?”Euphino suddenly ask, his eyebrows perked up. Instantly the room went quiet as Titania blinked. Even though Arma hated Euphino’s guts more than ever, he couldn’t stop himself thanking him for asking a question that Arma hadn’t had the courage to ask for each time he happened to bump into the infamous idol.
“Sixteen. Turning seventeen this year.” The moment he heard sixteen, Arma felt a sack of huge rocks settle on him. This was a problem, even though not as serious as Zessica losing her memories and definitely not as serious as Phoenix’s feelings towards Zatch being revealed, it was a problem nonetheless. Reason being-
“Same.” Euphino added, interrupting Arma’s chain of thoughts unwittingly. Before he could respond and steer the conversation to a new topic, he almost swore when Stabs answered as well.
“I am turning eighteen this year. I feel like twelve though...” That’s when all three pairs of eyes turned towards the tall lad. Arma gulped and cringed lightly in his seat uncomfortably. After a brief moment of complete silence, Arma sighed, admitting his defeat. He might as well get over with it anyhow.
“...Fifteen...”
“You are actually younger than her huh?” Euphino noted, wiggling his eyebrow. Arma didn’t know when he meant by ‘her’, whether it was Zessica, or Titania. He hoped it was Zessica because if it were Titania, Arma would have sworn he would be bursting to a volcano by then and might as well confess his crush towards Titania in the spur of the moment.
“By a few months! I will be sixteen this year!” Euphino simply chuckled, hugging himself as he hunched down low when he felt a six pack coming as he laughed too hard.
“Oh and I been meaning to ask, how exactly did Zessica and you become friends? I mean, I don’t want to sound rude or anything but she seems like...a really quiet girl. I didn’t even know she existed till she became your partner Arma...” Titania asked out loud.
The laughter paused to a halt and Arma saw Euphino’s eyes grew with before narrowing down in interest. Now two pairs of eyes were on him and truth to be told, the tall lad felt like he was in a serious interview by then. Sweat was already pouring down from his head and the room suddenly felt stuffy and hot, which was phenomenal since all the air conditioners were set low.
“Uh...well...you could say we kept seeing each other every morning and we happened to sit next to the each other in the same class. We didn’t really talk much but once she started talking to me...little things lead to another and here I am...” Well it was the truth, without the waving back and forth and silence shared between the two. Arma knew if he added those facts, it would have sounded pretty awkward and creepy at the same time. Fortunately, Stabs finally proved what he was worth and saved Arma from being the most humiliated guy on the virtual world when he pitched in to help.
“I met Zessica just soon after he became partners with her.” Stabs added. Arma gave a silent thanks of gratitude at Stabs as Titania glanced over at Euphino, who was munching on his nugget now.
“What about you Euphino?” Euphino stared at the girl for a second before swallowing the chunk of meat down his throat. He then took a sip of water from a nearby water bottle and cleared his throat a bit before he responded to Titania’s question.
“We were in the same orphanage when Doomsday occurred. I was the kid who was grieving for his parents and she was the mischief maker running on sugar. Honestly, all the pranks she did back in the orphanage, you should have seen all the social worker’s faces. They were priceless! I don’t know how she even gets away with it. To this day, those social workers still doesn’t know that all those pranks were done by that girl”
All the other three who were listening were genuinely surprised when they heard this. Of course, this surprise was only short lived to Arma. He had dealt with Zessica first hand to believe this story. Even Stabs had heard more than enough of the tall lad complaining and yelling through the HVCT to be surprised. However, Titania who still hasn’t met Zessica to this day had to object.
“A mischief maker? She doesn’t strike up the type to create pranks, more or less cause trouble” Arma couldn’t help but scoff politely as she stated this out loud. Titania glanced at Arma, who swallowed nothing but air and grew a bit red as he muttered an awkward apology. Although, he had to add the little event that sprung in his head just a while ago, it was just waiting to be revealed.
“You honestly haven’t met her yet then. Even with the expressionless face, she can fool you. One time she added white powder in the hair dryer. After a shower I tried to dry my annoying hair down and BOOM, a snow storm had arrived.” The effect was immediate and the tall lad found himself chuckling along with all of them who found it just as amusing as he did. Though he had to admit his sense of humour wasn’t present on that day when it happened, not that he should mention that out loud.
“Ahahah the powder trick. I remember this one time she experimented on some poor kid’s toothpaste and he had blue berry coloured teeth for days.” Euphino added, still laughing along. That’s when another one of Zessica’s pranks came to mind and Arma knew that that had to be revealed as well. Even though it was the most humiliating and annoying day it ever was, he can look back at it and laugh at himself for falling for the short girl’s trick in the first place.
“Hehehe, one time I thought she made this caramel coated apple. You know what it was actually? A caramel coated onion. God, I definitely can’t forget that raw taste from a million years from now!”
“Wahaha! Also! There was this time she tapped an air horn under the bed so every time when someone tries to sleep on it, it blows so loud, no one could sleep properly again!” As Euphino stated this, Stabs was now howling in laughter. Arma didn’t notice that Titania was now glancing at both Euphino and him. He was on the roll to even notice that Titania wasn’t laughing and was staring at both of them with interest sparkling in her eyes.
“Have you also tried her toothpaste Oreos?”
“You guys seem to get along very well” Titania finally spoke out loud, silencing everyone at the next second. All the guy’s smiles and laughter froze and birds were chirping in a distance. It just dawn on Arma that he was acting as if Euphino was his best friend, as if they were actually friends. The minute he realised this, Arma coughed a bit before sending a glare at Euphino’s way again. The cheeky guy simply averted his gaze but was evidently ticked off as well. Before anyone could break the ice that was lingering awkwardly, someone’s phone started ringing.
“Oh! Sorry! Um... question... where is the bathroom?” Titania asked suddenly as she got up abruptly, as if her chair was on fire. She fished out her cell phone from her jean’s pocket and was clenching it tightly against her chest, as if it was the most precious thing in the world.
“Upstairs, the...fifth room.” Arma replied curtly. Titania nodded and smiled briefly at the tall lad before scurrying up the second floor, leaving all the guys in the kitchen with the ever so growing silence between them which were getting heavier by the second.
“...awkward...” Stabs muttered quietly but loud enough for the other two to hear. Something about this snapped Arma’s patience and the tall lad found himself glaring at Stabs with one finger raised, his aura peering off authority at the lanky guy.
“Not. One. Word. Or I will swear I will cut your head apart and feed it to the wolves in the forest nearby” Stabs shrunk slightly in his seat as Arma snarled. The tall then felt guilty when Stabs accidently let out a soft whimper and he was just about to apologise when Euphino decided to open his mouth again at that moment.
“It’s that attitude that nobody wants to be friends with you tee hee~” Euphino snickered as he nibbled on his nuggets again. Arma felt his eyebrows twitching irritated and didn’t even bother glancing at Euphino for he might punch the lights out of that guy just by seeing his face.
“Shut up.”
“Hmm...Hey, random question. Have you ever wondered why Zessica changed? She didn’t used to be like this before? Okay she still got a lot of tricks up her sleeves but she used to be more...lively.” Euphino started as he swallowed another mouthful of chicken nuggets. Stabs stared at the curly haired guy and Arma slowly did the same. It occurred to him that no matter how annoying this guy was he was still linked to Zessica as an acquaintance. Chances are that he would know some things in Zessica’s past.
“...Where are you getting at?” Arma asked warily, trying not to sound too eager at this. After all, he didn’t exactly show his hospitality openly to the cheeky guy. Euphino smiled broadly with a great resemblance to Cheshire the cat in Wonderland. He took one nugget and pointed it at the tall lad calmly.
“Just thought I would be generous enough to sell you free information.” Arma didn’t respond as Stabs became quiet, both of them interested in what the cheeky guy had to say. This made Euphino to smirk even larger than before.
“I see, that caught your attention. Alright. I will tell you. What you are seeing the girl right now is a defence mechanism. I don’t think she is aware of it but something happened between her and her partner during the Taboo, causing her to be this way. Right now, she is solely using her instincts since she doesn’t remember but she knows that whatever happened during the Taboo was bad.”
“What happened?” Stabs asked curiously, the gap between his eyebrows furrowed and his skin paled.
“That I don’t know yet. Heck, I don’t even remember things in the Taboo. She was with her partner and boom! Massive destruction everywhere. Last thing I remember is this guy walking up to me and saying something that I don’t remember yet.” Euphino resumed, using arm gestures to express his thoughts. It looked a bit funny, but the topic he was on was too serious to actually pull the comical part off.
“The Phantom Dancer?” Arma asked suddenly. Even though Zessica’s memory was his first priority, he couldn’t help curiosity get the best of him. After all, this Phantom Dancer was what Stabs had informed him was a legend that created the destruction in the first place. Plus the fact that no one except the Rising Star knows the identity was something extraordinary.
“Maybe? Maybe not? I don’t know? I couldn’t see his face but then he was there. That’s for sure. Back to the topic, I don’t think you should find out about her past.” Euphino warned lightly as he plopped another nugget in his mouth. Arma frowned suspiciously as Euphino averted his gaze once more. He was a bit dismayed that even Euphino didn’t as much close to the Phantom Dancer, but back to the important point.
“Why? Why does she deserve not to know?” The tall lad asked, pressing the subject further. Euphino stared at his nuggets for a minute before sighing with a groan, as if Arma was pressuring him too much about the subject at hand.
“You obviously didn’t see what I seen. After spending about a year in the orphanage, she took off with her partner. I thought she was a nice girl but after not hearing from Zessica for a long time, I went to check. Her partner wasn’t in her right mind. She was sick in the head and she was beating Zessica a lot to the point that she lost that vibrant personality of hers. Of course she would occasionally smile but it was mostly sad ones. Though after the Taboo, Zessica was a completely new person. It’s like her partner had killed half of the young girl inside of her and the Taboo murdered the next half.”
“Oh my God...” Stabs said. There was sympathy in those navy blue eyes and he looked extremely apologetic. Even Arma couldn’t stop the horror from sprouting in his face. He couldn’t believe it. Zessica? Beaten by her own partner? Why? Why would her partner do that? Sure the short girl has her pranks but it never went too serious, or had it?
“....Who would do that to a.... twelve? Thirteen? year old girl?... Who is she?... Her former partner...” Euphino shifted in his chair uncomfortably, twitching here and there before answering. It was clear that that the partner was an unpleasant person to speak of judging from the answer he gave.
“That...well...sometimes ignorance is a bliss...”
“What do you mean by that? This is domestic violence we are talking about! Who the hell beat Zessica up to the point that she can’t even smile?!” Arma snapped, slamming his hand on the table which caused the other two to flinch. Stabs prepared himself for the outburst that was sure to follow and readied himself to pounce on Arma if he were to tackle Euphino again. Euphino, unperturbed by Arma’s dangerous aura stared at him expressionlessly when answering back.
“Armageddon, if she is to know now who her partner is, her memories of those awful time being confided in one place, being beaten up might return. I bet that even the mere mention of her partner’s name would make her scared and break down then and there. I don’t want that to happen...and neither do you...” All the anger that Arma accumulated inside of him suddenly dissipated, leaving him a bit lethargic and miserable for a bit. He regretted for yelling at the guy but still, he wasn’t in the wrong.
“...Still...Tell me...Who did that...Who took her happiness away?...Please, I won’t tell Zessica if I don’t have to...” Arma watched as the other lad twitched lightly, looking a bit troubled with how things were going. He stared at something else, letting his eyes rove anywhere but the tall lad while Arma continued to stare at the quiet guy. This was Zessica’s past after all and she is his partner. This wasn’t a subject that he would simply let go easily. Eventually, Euphino sighed once more, giving in to his defeat.
“Ophelia...her name is Ophelia...” That’s when Arma heard Stabs taking a sharp gasp. The tall lad turned to him and found him trembling feverously, as if he realised that he wasn’t safe anymore. Confused, Arma wondered what about this name sent shivers run down in Stab’s spine when he saw the lanky guy staring at the tall lad as if he grew another eye on his forehead.
“Don’t tell me, you don’t know Ophelia?” Stabs asked out loud while Arma remained silent, shrugging his shoulders, trying to figure out what on earth he was going on about. Stabs eyes widened in a mixture of bewilderment and disbelief, almost looking disappointed at Arma for being so blissfully unaware about the danger of the virtual world.
“Ophelia, a.k.a, Rising Star Prodigy. She is one of the strongest players that Wind Crest has to offer. She could have joined Blessed Combat if she weren’t injured twice last year. People say she is merciless and she almost killed a player once, sending her to a coma”
Arma’s face fell immediately the second he heard the infamous nickname of ‘Rising Star Prodigy’. When he heard Stabs mentioning about her sending a player, most likely Sophie, to a coma, he knew that this was a very serious matter that he should not take lightly of. However, how did Zessica, a Child of Misfortune and a weak girl at that made Ophelia, the Rising Star as her partner?
“They met in a random game the AI had to offer, much like the Hallway of Horrors you two went through. Zessica barely passed and Ophelia happened to meet her. They eventually became friends and well, Ophelia was a nice and kind girl back then. After she made Zessica her partner to ‘protect’ her, she took Zessica away from the orphanage and they lived in the same roof.” Euphino continued, almost as if he read Arma’s mind.
“She wasn’t famous back then, just another normal player like you. Zessica wasn’t much of a shadow player back then as well but after a few duels, Zessica eventually nourished that talent inside of her. The reason Ophelia became so famous is actually due to Zessica too. She worked in the shadows, making Ophelia stand out so much that she earned the name as the Rising Star Prodigy.” Arma then understood better what Zessica meant by making him the ‘light’ when she first talked to him. So she had done this before, no wonder she acted like a professional when working ‘in the shadows.’
“When did she started...you know...” Stabs trailed off awkwardly, having no courage to ask when Ophelia started changing.
“Beating Zessica? Well, like I said before I haven’t heard a word from Zessica for a long while so I thought of visiting since I was worried. Even Ophelia didn’t respond to my messages so I thought it was serious, like she being sick again or something. When I reached their house, the door was locked so I tried looking in the windows. There I saw her, Ophelia beating Zessica up. Zessica wasn’t even trying to defend herself. She looked...broken by then.” Arma saw Euphino shudder lightly before continuing.
“Of course I knocked the door immediately, trying to stop Ophelia and by the time they opened, they acted like nothing had happened. Of course I asked what happened to Zessica with all the bruises and her hair cropped short. Her answer was she fell too much in duels and that there was chewing gum in her hair so Ophelia cut her long hair short because of that. The neighbours were terrified at Ophelia. She pretty much became very powerful back then so no one took action. I tried to report this but then Ophelia participated in Blessed Combat. I didn’t have solid proof so the only thing I could do was join Blessed Combat as well to stop Ophelia if I happened to see her beating Zessica again. Then the Taboo occurred and here we are today.”
Euphino then glanced at Arma, his eyes turned hard and cold, as if trying to lecture him. The tall lad felt himself shrinking back in his chair; he did not like the look Euphino was giving him.
“If you even think about teaching Ophelia a lesson I suggest to postpone that. Ophelia right now is too much powerful for you so build up some muscle and control your Major better so you can at least have a chance. Right now, she would beat you to a pulp.” Euphino stated coldly in a dangerous manner. There was some authority in his voice and Arma felt like the need to obey, even though he didn’t want to. Nonetheless, he knew what Euphino said was true. Arma had heard several rumours of how strong Ophelia was and if she beat Sophie, who could easily, overpower him with her Major, Minor and physical combat together to a pulp; there was no chance he would survive against Ophelia.
“I am back!” Out of the blue, Titania’s sing song voice rung in the air as the girl herself trotted down the stairs. All the three guys looked up to find her a bit flushed from haste with an apologetic look in her face and her bottom lip puckering out in a pout.
“Sorry Arma, I have to go. This date didn’t turn out the way I hoped at all! Let’s try again next Saturday okay? Pretty please? With cherry on top?” Titania asked eagerly, her head cocked to a side with her hands clasped together and giving him the ‘puppy eye’ look. Arma found it somewhat amusing and chuckled light heartedly, already not minding the word ‘date’.
“Sure, next Saturday.” The tall lad waved it off good naturedly. Titania beamed in return and picked up her purse which she left on the table, strolling down the gold stairs in seconds.
“I got to go too. My purpose here has been fulfilled.” Euphino noted, standing upright as he joined Titania. He tossed the remaining nuggets casually in the dustbin nearby when Arma realised that there was still something else he had forgotten to ask him.
“Wait. What about her brothers? Her cousin too? Who were they?” Euphino stopped short before glancing at him with wide eyes. He looked slightly dazed before replying back that left Arma with more questions than answers.
“She had brothers? And a cousin too?” Arma would have sworn his jaw drop open and hit the floor from shock. This guy didn’t know? How was that even possible? Were her brothers and cousin in a different orphanage? Was that it? Arma glanced at Stabs who mirrored his reaction perfectly. Even he looked baffled. As the tall lad mulled over this, without warning Euphino spoke out, startling the other two.
“Oh yea...she did...I can’t remember though...damn the Taboo cleaned my memories too well...” Euphino stated gawkily as he awkwardly scratched the back of his head before disappearing down the stairs along with Titania. Arma sat in the kitchen, still dazed even after he heard the door shut, indicating the other two guests had left. He had once again, hit a dead end.
“I still can’t believe it though...Zessica being beaten up by her partner...and the Rising Star too at that...how cruel...” Stabs noted wistfully. Arma could only nod in agreement. He couldn’t even imagine the short girl to be in that spot. On the contrary, it could be the reason why she isn’t so open with others. That would also explain the faint scar she had at her cheekbone. Maybe Euphino was right, maybe Zessica wasn’t ready to face the truth yet...
***
Euphino was strolling on the streets alone, listening to the voices that were whispering in a distance. Of course he didn’t like eavesdropping on people but this was one of the most efficient methods to be updated with the on goings around Wind Crest. He stopped short near an abandoned alley, glancing at it warily before taking a tentative step towards it. Once he was very much in the alley and out of earshot from public eyes, he sighed and looked up at the sky which was too blue for his taste.
“Come on out, I know you are out there, Phoenix and Zatch.” There was the sound of hesitation, then feet shuffling. Soon, two figures emerged in Euphino’s view, the fiery girl being cautious and poised herself to attack if necessary and the guy who was laid back and calm with that smile on his face.
“Well aren’t you such a sad sight. What happened? Got dumped by your never to be girlfriend again?” Zatch teased lightly while Euphino chuckled a bit sadly.
“Nah, just remembered something unpleasant. I blame your friend for that, now what do you want? You obviously wanted to meet me with all that whispering you were sharing.”
“Heh... straight to the point huh? We need you to explain this.” Zatch opened a large window and the full picture of Arma’s Team was displayed. Euphino cringed lightly as he recognised the picture instantly. He, a whole lot younger with crazier curly hair than the present, had one arm around Arma, congratulating him for winning the basketball challenge of two on three with the local bullies in the orphanage.
It was a pity that Arma couldn’t remember that, hence why Euphino glanced at him with disbelief when Arma claimed he only met Euphino the day he enrolled to his school. Also, if Zessica wasn’t battling pneumonia that day she would have been present in the picture too. Nonetheless the small shock of Arma not remembering was pretty severe to easily overcome it.
“What about it?” Euphino asked bitterly, trying to play dumb. He really didn’t want to talk about the past for it was fouling his mood by the second.
“As you can see, you are with Arma in this picture and Arma doesn’t remember that since he lost his memories too. He wasn’t even present in the Taboo but he lost his memories either way. Care to explain why?”
“Look, Four Eyes. Even if I remember some things about the past, I don’t know. I didn’t even know he couldn’t remember me till today. Plus I don’t remember everything as well so Arma and Zessica aren’t the only ones who forgot. I told everything I can remember to Arma already so ask him instead. He will surely tell you.”
Euphino cried out exasperatedly, clearly ticked off to deal with this. That’s when he noticed two particular people at the edge of the court. One of them, whose face was blurred was standing up right and cheering at Arma and Euphino. The other kid was sitting crossed legged and simply watching, or at least he looked like he was watching. It was hard to tell with that yellow hoodie he was wearing.
“Hey...that looks like Pikachu...haha I will never get Pokémon” Euphino didn’t realise that he was smiling amusedly till he saw Phoenix staring at him, as if observing him with curiosity. He quickly wiped the smile off his face and tried to look intimidating at the other two, which failed miserably.
“Hmm...You don’t seem to be lying...” Only then did Euphino notice the guy in glasses had his eyes glinting in red. After scanning him up and down, Euphino frowned when he smiled even more broadly, still calm and collected as ever. It was the type of smile which warned Euphino that he was up to no good. Zatch closed the window before him and took a confident step forward.
“So what do you think Euphino?” Zatch suddenly asked, causing Euphino to frown even more. Had he missed something at what this peculiar guy said? If so, what was it? What was it that made him want to think about it?
“What do you say? Shall we be...friends?” As Zatch heavily implied the last word, Euphino knew what he was getting in just a second. He had to admit, he was a tiny bit curious to why Arma lost his memories too when this guy claimed he wasn’t even present in Blessed Combat. If they worked together, two informants with the same goal, chances of solving several mysteries of the Taboo along with erased memories would be faster. Also, judging from the other girl, Phoenix’s reaction, she didn’t know what he was talking about, causing Euphino to grin broadly in return. This was going to be fun.
“Sure, why not?” Euphino accepted lightly, taking his hand out. Zatch stepped closer and shook it with his own hand, sealing the deal firmly with all smiles. Phoenix could only roll her eyes in sarcasm only because she was once again, left in the dust.
“Boys...” She muttered lightly, she would never understand how their minds work.
Author's note: I am not happy with how this chapter ended but meh, I hope it's good enough. I am not a professional writer after all, just a hobbyist xD This chapter is dedicated to a friend who she and I made this awesome cause together. Right now looking for more followers to make nap time as a class time and to prove it improves grades ROFL.
Anyway, its the usual. I sort of rushed this so if you notice any mistake please notify me okay? Oh and don't forget to vote!