I rolled off my bed at Fii's knocking. I had gotten zero sleep last night with thoughts of Eru running through my head. When I got tired enough, I started hallucinating memories of he and I together in other animes. I even hallucinated that we had children... When it got to that point I gave up trying to sleep and just counted the stars out my window. I bet I counted the same star a hundred times, but it was no matter... So long as it kept me from thinking he was Prussia and I was some weird country.
I stumbled down to breakfast after I shrugged into a clean Kimono. I didn't care what I wore, so I ended up wearing a purple one with red lining. Ookami raised a brow at that, but didn't say anything. I bet he could tell I had a rough night...
"Would you like to see what all we have?" Fii asked, smiling as Clammy served us. She was very different while in servant mode.
"I was actually wondering if I would be able to speak to them in private," Eru interjected. "If that's alright with everyone, that is."
Ookami nodded. "I'm fine with that. I'd like to talk with you two as well, as Sarasa seems to evade my inquiries..."
"Bet if you were determined enough you'd get the answers you wanted..." I mumbled around a mouthful of food.
Eru smiled and Ookami sighed. "Alright, what do you think, Sasa?" Eru asked.
I shrugged, still bleary-eyed. "I'm to tired to argue..."
"Oh, did you not sleep well?" Fii asked, worried.
I smiled. "Oh, don't worry about it. It was my own fault. I'll sleep better tonight."
She gave me a relaxed smile, but one still worried. "Well, alright. Feel free to nap whenever you'd like."
"Believe me--she will..." Ookami grumbled.
Eru had an odd look on his face. It wasn't sad, but it wasn't happy, either... Masked irritation? Possibly... In any case, he moved on.
"Let's go to the pond," he proposed, dabbing his napkin to the corners of his mouth and standing. "We could also use that as a training ground if you so desired. I don't know what you magic-resistant animals do for games, but we'll see."
So he's also spying on us... We'll have to keep this a secret, then.
I relayed that to Ookami with one look. I hoped he understood it... We couldn't let anything slip. While soon the world would know what we used for games, we didn't need that leaking to the Elves quite yet. Blank had to win, first.
But then again, didn't Eru already know what the Werebests used...?
~*~
"Do you know how to message Blank?" I asked Eru. He has lost some of my trust with his statement, but I still felt close to him due to us both being from the real world.
He shook his head. "Unless I enchant paper, there's no way."
"No cell reception... Wait, what about a link? Did our cells come through as well?"
Eru frowned, standing and bringing out his smart phone. "Let's see if we can't rig a way to talk to them with no cell towers... But first..."
He aimed his phone at me and I covered my face with my arms. "Nonono!"
He laughed. "Oh, come on! It would be a waste to not take pictures of a neko!"
I glared at him. "Then take a picture of the inu!"
Ookami blinked. "This is the Ookami. The Inu is back in the Eastern Federation."
I raised my eyes heavenward. "Dear Lord give me strength to restrain my fists against this idiot..."
"Hey!"
"I prayed to not maim you, didn't I?"
"Alright, alright, party's over..."
And then a shutter sound!
"Hey!" I snapped, launching for his phone. "Gimmie that!"
He laughed and held it above his head. "Hey, now, hey now! Don't make me drop it in the water!"
I growled and started to crawl up him. "Give. Me. That!"
He just kept on laughing, eventually shoving it into his pocket.
"Going to get it now, Miss Kitty?"
I looked him strait in the eye and went pocket diving, "accidentally" touching something.
"Hey, hey, hey!" He yelped, dancing back while I sat on the ground, trying to decipher his lock.
I snuck a look at Ookami to see him looking at us with a scared expression. I exhaled through my nose, smirking as I continued.
"Don't lock it, dammit!" he ordered, reaching to snatch the phone. I stuffed it down my front and looked at him blankly.
"So not fair..." he muttered, turning away, having given up.
One of my ears flicked and I continued working on his password.
"What did you wish to speak to us about?" Ookami asked, getting things underway.
"Oh, right." Eru sat, closing the triangle-circle by facing the pond. "All three of us vowed to help Blank, correct?"
We both nodded. "I even became friends with Sora and Shiro," I informed him. "Shiro is so cute~"
Ookami rolled his eyes. "I personally don't like the Eastern Federation... I'd much rather help the two Imanity."
Eru nodded. "Then I can speak here freely. As you probably know, Sasa and I are not from this world."
"Yeah... Picked that up with her babbling on..."
I ducked my head at Eru's raised brow. "References..."
His face broke into a kind smile. "Would you stop confusing the poor guys..."
"Yeah, Alley-cat."
"I'mma fierce alley-cat! Meow! Ftchuftchuftchuftchu!!!"
Eru shook his head, his smile growing. "Settle down, Tulus... Before I continue, what others have you used?"
I rattled them off on my fingers. "James Bond, Sherlock, Bruce Lee... Oh, and Cyberchase of course."
Eru grinned. "Just don't get carried away, Ruby."
"But Yaaaang...! I don't need people to help me grow up. I drink milk," I told him, crossing my arms and closing my eyes sassy-like.
"Traitor!" he told me using his best Ed voice.
We started laughing while Ookami looked at us with a brow cocked like we belonged to the loony bin. Which, I admit, I might have needed to...
"Moving on," Eru conducted, his face normal again. I was still struggling to control my snickers. It was so nice to have someone who got your references! "Well, we know what's going to happen," he told Ookami. "We know Blank's next move, just as soon as we know whereabouts they are. They've gotten Jibril, haven't they?"
I nodded. "We left while Steph was tied up."
"Alright, so it won't be long before we forget Sora's existence."
"That happens for a couple days, right?"
He nodded. "That's correct. Before that, they meet with the Eastern Federation."
"We should find out when they do that when Clammy starts freaking out."
"Right, since none of us here are Imanity."
"Miko might call us back when that happens," Ookami interjected. "She knows that you spent time with them, and might want to interrogate you."
"Only if she can beat me in a game," I winked.
His features relaxed.
"So we know that we're someplace between Jibril and Inu," Eru summed up. "Now do we know that Steph has given them the key or not..."
"I wonder..." I started, looking down at his phone. "They're not too far away, are they?"
At first he frowned, but he slowly started smiling. "No, as a matter of fact... They're not..."
We exchanged looks and started running, leaving Ookami in the dust. "Hey, wait!" he called, hurrying after.
~*~
Ookami finally caught us when we were lying down on a hill, Elkia below us.
“It’s dark, you can’t see them…”
So it had taken us a bit longer than expected to play secret agent...
“Yes, we can.”
Ookami shook his head, lying down beside me, his tail and ears flicking. I couldn’t tell if he was mad or bored… I guess despite the fact that we’d spent over a week with each other we still didn’t really know much about one another. But Eru and I…
We didn’t know each other hardly at all, much less spent a lot of time in the same company. So why were we able to communicate just by looking? How did I understand his gestures?
I mentally sighed, resting my face in my folded arms. I was thankful that it was dark enough that Eru couldn’t see my ears drooping.
“What’s wrong?” Ookami asked in a hushed voice.
Curse you and your wolfish ears.
“Just thinking…”
A dangerous pastime, I heard Sarah’s voice laugh in my head.
“About what?”
“...things…”
I didn’t even have to look; I knew he had a scowl on his face.
“Fine, if you don’t want to talk to me.”
I winced and buried my face deeper into my arms.
Everything was going so nicely… And then so many questions came… I don’t… I don’t even know what to do anymore…
As I closed my eyes, I suddenly saw a face. He had lightly tanned skin, white, white hair, and brilliant red-violet eyes. One eye was squinted shut, and a cheeky grin was stretched across his face.
I gasped, perking my head up and opening my eyes wide.
“What is it?!” Ookami asked worriedly.
Eru looked at me with shock and concern.
“I just… Never mind. It was nothing.”
I shrank back into my arms. Ookami dismissed it and went back to spying on the castle while Eru looked at me with a light frown.
While Ookami peeked through the windows of the castle, Eru and I looked through the windows of the library. My wonderful werebeast eyesight gave me the ability to basically have binoculars, and Eru’s phone was able to zoom in far enough to get a fairly good view.
“Any sign?” I murmured.
Eru shook his head. “Not that I see. You’re the one with the great vision, though…”
I sighed. “I can’t see anything. Must not be for another few days. We’ll need to know, though, so then we can get back to the Eastern Federation before them…”
“Why would we want to get to the Eastern Federation before them?” Ookami inquired.
I smiled. “Believe me, you’ll want to see it.”
Eru barely suppressed a snort of humor. “It’s a sight alright.”
“I’m thinking of stealing some of Shiro’s lines…”
“Now, now, don’t rain on her parade.”
“Alright, alright… I’ll just add to the fun and make things even more interesting.”
“Can I go, now?” Ookami asked, clearly not liking what I was planning.
Eru chuckled. “I’d say yes. We’ll know tomorrow morning if they really had found the key, am I correct?”
“Either tomorrow morning or the morning after I’d suspect,” I answered, standing and brushing my pants off. “Let’s go.”
The two stood and headed after me.
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Things are slowly heating up~ Let's get to it!