Chapter VII: Act XIII

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Riddles and Hints
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(F/n) looked over their shoulder, and noticed how both Aether and Paimon were trailing behind the group that was following Teppei; who was walking in the front, pointing out certain things that might've seemed interesting to them.

Slowing down their walking speed, the feline walked beside the quiet duo with a sneaky grin on their lips.

"So, you must be the infamous Aether and Paimon," (F/n) chirped with a raised brow.

Paimon nodded her head in excitement. "Yep! But how did you know Paimon and Aether's names?" She asked in curiosity.

(F/n) placed a finger to their lips and decided to lie. "(Y/n) talked about both of you," they answered.

Hearing this, Aether's eyes widened a bit since he thought that (Y/n) would still be angry at him.

The ombre bluenette took notice of that and looked forward. "Are you worried about (Y/n) still being angry at you?" They asked.

Aether and Paimon's eyes widened.

"How did you..." Aether trailed off.

(F/n) giggled quietly. "Your eyes and a little of your body language. Even if you try and hide something, both of those things can sometimes show what you're feeling," they answered.

Dark blue eyes glittered in amusement. "If you haven't realized. (Y/n) wants to talk with both of you badly, but he doesn't know if you'll just shut him down," they pointed out.

Aether and Paimon looked at the said (H/c)ette, watching as (Y/n) speak with Xiao and Tomo quietly.

(F/n) looked back at the duo beside them. "Did you two have a fight or something?" They asked.

"Yeah. It was um... over my sister," Aether answered.

(F/n) raised a brow at that. "And was it because you connected the dots on how (Y/n) is working with them?" They continued to question.

"Wah!? You knew!?" Paimon gasped out in disbelief.

Aether gave a dumbfounded look.

(F/n) nodded. "Before you two and (Y/n) met, we would send each other letters until the Decree happened last year. But, tell me. Do you know why he hasn't told you? Do you even have the full story of why he's working with them?" They retorted.

Aether and Paimon looked at each other before shaking their heads.

(F/n) lowly hummed, "I won't get much into (Y/n)'s personal life since it isn't up to me to say anything about it... But, it all depends on how you shed your views on him."

Aether bit the inside of his cheek. "How long have you known..." He trailed off quietly.

(F/n) gave a thoughtful look. "We're childhood friends, so we've known each other for quite some time," they answered.

"Hey, Paimon?" (F/n) turned their attention to the young figure beside them and Aether.

"Huh? Yeah?" Paimon asked, her eyes swimming with curiosity.

"I need to know, do you like puzzles... like, number puzzles?" (F/n) asked, raising a brow.

Paimon hummed. "Paimon likes them! Paimon just doesn't like doing hard ones with too much thinking!" She chirped.

Aether raised a brow at the feline in front of him. "Why are you asking?" He questioned.

(F/n) shrugged their shoulders. "Just wondering," they answered.

(F/n)'s dark blue eyes darted toward the front for a few seconds before pulling out a pen and a small piece of paper.

"Hm? Whatcha going to do with that?" Paimon asked, floating over (F/n)'s shoulder in curiosity.

"Just writing down something," (F/n) replied as they wrote down a certain familiar group of numbers they lived with when they were younger.

"Huh?" Paimon squeaked out in confusion, tilting her head off to the side to look at the numbers even closer.

(F/n) handed over the small slip to Paimon. "I want you to try and decode this, alright? It should be like... a word puzzle, but with numbers!" They explained with a clap of their hands.

Aether gave a calculating gaze at the young figure before him.

The changed personalities scared him a bit, but he wasn't one to talk about it.

Paimon squinted heavily at the numbers even more, trying to figure out what the hell they were supposed to be.

(F/n) made sure that the group in front of them was farther ahead before turning their body toward the duo behind them.

Giggling softly, their dark blue eyes sparkled with mischief.

"I wonder... if you have ever thought about how two people are quite older than what they were originally supposed to be? I mean, it's quite hard to pinpoint it out, ya know?" (F/n) hummed while tilting their head to the side.

Aether and Paimon felt a shiver up their spines as they noticed a familiar shine they once saw in Childe's eyes.

"Did you know? If I wanted to... I could ask (Y/n) to stay here and travel with me. I mean, the three of you aren't even traveling with one another," (F/n) states while tapping lightly on their bottom lip.

Aether and Paimon's eyes widened when they felt a menacing aura from the shorter.

(F/n) released a giggle from their lips. "Twenty-six letters... 2,000 years... I wonder if they clash together or something," they wondered.

"2,000... years?" Paimon repeated.

"Twenty-six letters?" Aether questioned.

(F/n) grinned, their eyes glowing a soft vibrant dark blue color.

"Hints and riddles, maybe that's the clue? Hehe... You're both smart, well Paimon isn't..."

"Hey!"

(F/n)'s eyes made contact with Aether.

"I believe that the both of you can figure it out yourselves. And don't go asking for help now!" They chirped.

Aether stared at the feline in silence, trying to understand the message that they were slipping through.

(F/n) turned away as their tail swayed behind them. "Come find me when the both of you can figure it out."

"Hey, wait–" Aether went quiet as the feline caught up to the group in front of him.

Paimon pouted angrily. "Paimon can't figure out what these numbers are for!" She complained.

Aether frowned softly. '2,000 years and twenty-six letters... what could that mean?' He wondered about with furrowed brows.

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