Our Eternity

Chapter 13 - Out of character

Sero's POV

 Was big brother right or not in the end?

 Things have been weird these days.

 Just like big brother had said, Kuni had indeed lost interest in the matter of Kazuha's sword soon after gaining it in the first place. That was all good and well, but...

 Though he lost interest in the sword, he was blatantly showing interest in Kazuha himself!

 That was weird and suspicious on its own, but Kazuha was acting abnormally as well.

 He was showing interest in Kuni too, though it wasn't obvious enough for Kuni to notice and seemed to be mixed with some anger and helplessness.

 What is up with those two? Did I miss something important?

 "Kuni! Kuni!"

 "What?"

 "Are you interested in Kazuha?"

 "Maybe..."

 "Why?"

 "Something he did caught my interest." He said simply.

 Is he trying to avoid answering? Let's try again.

 "What did he do?"

 "Something fascinating."

 He really is avoiding it. Damn it. What is it?

 "Sigh!"

 "What is bothering you so much, Sero?" A voice sounded from behind me.

 "Huh? Who- Sis? What are you doing here?"

 Did she say she would go to Snezhnaya to check out the situation with the other harbingers?

 "I just got back. I decided to pass by."

 "So, how is the situation back there?"

 It would be a problem if that bunch of brats showed up suddenly.

 "Other than the ones stationed in Sumeru, Fontaine, and Natlan, the other harbingers are all in Snezhnaya."

 All of them? I thought of a certain harbinger whose presence in Snezhnaya could result in something unexpected, but She spoke before I had time to ask.

 "Ah, little Ajax is still in Liyue with Morax, though." She said with a smile.

 "What's with you and that Snezhnayan kid?"

 She's always so happy when it comes to him. I never actually asked why.

 "Most of my work is in Snezhnaya you know. That kid caught my eye about 18 years ago and I've been keeping an eye on him ever since. Let's just say I'm proud to see what he has achieved after everything that happened to him."

 "Ugh, you sound like a proud parent."

 "Pfft! Hahaha! Is that so? Since you've reached your conclusion on that matter, how about we go back to why you were sighing?"

 "Ah, about that... Look, that's what's bothering me!"

 I pointed to where Kazuha had been sitting before. 

 At some point, Kuni seemed to have gone over and now he was whispering something to him. He probably said something infuriating, because Kazuha, against all common sense, stood up and stomped on his foot. Well, he intended to, at least. He was still a little too slow to succeed though.

 "Just look at how those two are acting. Leaving aside that little leaf should have sensed the fact that he wouldn't stand a chance against Kuni, yet he still tried to... attack him, look at how Kuni is reacting!"

 After dodging Kazuha's attempt at stepping on his foot, Kuni burst out laughing before stepping closer and pointing at his foot, inviting Kazuha to try again.

 "He's laughing! From what I know about our dear fatui harbinger, it would have been good if he killed the other party in one move instead of torturing them, had they done something like that. Look at him now! Does it look like he's about to brutally murder him?"

 "You're calling him Kuni?" She caught onto something, but...

 "That's not the point!"

 "Okay, okay, calm down. They seem to be getting along quite well. Isn't this what we wanted? I don't see why you would be so bothered by it."

 "How is this- Hah! Look, one of them is a fatui harbinger, a puppet created by Raiden Ei, one of the most violent people I have ever met, while the other is our very own two-faced poet! Don't you see how out of character they're both acting?" 

 "People act differently once they fall in love." She spoke calmly.

 "That's definitely not two people in love, okay?! That's two particularly murderous people acting out of character!"

 Argh! I'm gonna go crazy!

 "Sero, I-" She froze as a small spirit appeared beside her, whispering something to her before disappearing.

 I saw her face fill with shock, and she soon turned serious.

 "We have a problem."

 "I know. I was just telling you about-"

 "Not that. Dottore is missing." She spat out.