Kalos Quest (Vol.4): Finale

112. Competence

Luna knew Axel had been through some tough times. She was also fully aware that she was the one who told him to 'cry as much as you want if it makes you feel better' and that it was 'better to let it out instead of hiding it away'.

By that, she meant for Axel to be himself, but she did not quite expect Axel 'being himself' to directly translate as blank silence and intense awkwardness.

It was almost foreign to see him so quiet— he used to be so cheerful and talkative after all. He looked as if he were always in deep thought, his mind drifting off to a world of his own. There was an indescribable, complicated air around him that made Luna sort of nervous as well.

It was awkward. Really awkward.

Now, it wasn't like she's fed up or anything. She knew his circumstances, and meeting Axel's younger self in what Elio called Axel's 'dream world' made her understand him more and sympathize for him. It made her feel like there's got to be something more she could do for him, but she can't quite figure out what.

If she were to be honest, however, that wasn't what she expected Axel to be when he was just a child. She saw him more of a... outgoing person, when in fact he was more of the 'socially awkward nerd' archetype.

In the past months, she had come to realize that she did not really know Axel as well as she thought she did. As of now, she wasn't even sure how to talk to him anymore? It was like she didn't quite want— or more like, didn't quite know how to face him. She didn't want to interrupt his thoughts, and she didn't want to sound rude or desperate, and she didn't want him to feel uncomfortable either.

She looked Axel's way again, who was still staring forward blankly. He was now half a head taller than her. If Luna were to say, though, she had done a great job of trimming his hair. She liked being able to see his eyes properly, though they weren't what she remembered them to look like. His eyes were sort of sharper now, and the energetic, curious sparkle in his eyes was gone, making him look kind of gloomy. There was also the faint mark of dark circles under his eyes that contrasted his pale face— he must've been pushing himself past his limit.

She sort of missed Axel's annoying, snarky comments and playfulness.

It was as if the roles were reversed now, with Luna now being the initiator instead of Axel— and boy was she bad at it.

"Are you ready?" She decided to say, "for the conference."

His gaze shifted to the ground, "I guess."

It felt like a half assed answer: to a badly asked question.

Earlier this week, the two received a letter from the World Researcher Organization— WRO for short, requesting their attendance to a conference regarding the 'ongoing crisis in Kalos'. Naturally, it had been weighing on Axel's mind. He hadn't been caught up with any recent developments following his sudden departure, and was worried about any consequences he would have to face given his irresponsibility.

He felt like a complete jerk. In the end, nothing had changed, except that Team Alpha had one minibase left, he had acquired more useless information, and the research team is probably in shambles with one less person on the active workforce. 

Axel also had no idea what Luna thought of him now. Sure, she tried convincing him to travel with her again, which he did anyway, despite winning the bet, but what did that mean? He pursed his lip slightly. The kiss felt real to him, but Luna would never do that. Surely she didn't think of him that way. Not after all that he's done to her.

In the spur of a moment, he had pathetically spilled everything out in the Dream World. Indeed, it was a Dream World— a world of his dreams— surely the Luna he 'met' was just a reflection of his ideals. She couldn't really have been standing there telling him all that, with him returning some equally embarrassing confessions and lines, because if she was, he might as well just dig a hole in the ground and die of embarrassment right now.