[Ara's Point of View]

...

Glave was truly starting to piss me off. He was a degenerate that absolutely deserved that kick in the crotch. Was he in pain? Was he wincing? I don't know; it was hard to tell with that mask of his.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I must take my leave now." I smiled without guilt.

My first priority was to find Add, so I could beat the crap out of him.

"Very well." Glave sauntered away in the opposite direction while leaving a mysterious, yet somewhat dark aura.

I continued my search in hopes of finding that Nasod researcher.

...

Eventually, I spotted the Mastermind leaning against the trunk of an eucalyptus tree. I ran over to him the best I could with my high-heels, seizing his hand/arm. It felt warm.

"Add!" I shouted.

Silence.

"Add...?"

He slowly glanced over at me. "Ara."

"Where the hell were you?"

"Keh." he coughed into his other arm; the one that wasn't being grasped by me.

"Did you catch a cold?" I asked with concern. "Let's go home." I was genuinely worried about him.

He shook his head.

I removed my snug, cozy boa, wrapping it around his neck.

"It embellishes you quite nicely." I teased. "Fuzzy, isn't it?"

There was a long, awkward pause before he spoke again.

"Thanks." he quietly mumbled, it was almost inaudible.

I gradually wrapped my arms around him; I embraced him.

"A-Ara?" he stuttered.

I looked up at him. "Here, I present to you, a handy gift. Make use of it, alright?"

He nodded, not knowing what to expect.

I went up on my tip-toes, my face slowly inching towards his. Our lips met, and it stayed like that for quite a while. Fortunately, there was no one in the vicinity to witness this.

When our mouths parted, I whispered something into his ear. "Self-Defense Spirit. You should be able to withstand the illness or whatever's wrong with you for a little longer." I explained. "Like I said before, make use of it."

"I suppose that I do feel better now. But was the kiss really necessary?!" he blushed.

"Shh. Lower your voice." I simpered. "You enjoyed it, didn't you?"

"Hmph. Don't tease me."

I giggled, taking a step back. "Hmm~"

Add seemed to be in thought. After a minute or two, he summoned his computer screens, made from the Nasod resources he had in possession. The monitor irradiated his face due to the reflecting light. His violet eyes stood out the most, it was as if they were illuminated. He started to type at a rapid pace.

I tried to peek at the display, but he kept shuffling away, still managing to multi-task.

"Meanie." I puffed up my cheeks.

"Heh."

...

A certain period of time later, he showed me what he had typed. It was simply a series of complicated math equations and expressions; each question was associated with a letter, and on the bottom, there were blanks with numbers below them.

"What's this for?" I inquired curiously.

"Decipher the secret message. Solve the mathematics, and whatever answer you receive is the one you plop down onto the blank. For example, 1 + 1 = 2. Let's say that letter was A. You find the number 2, then on the vacant space, you write A. Simple enough. Analyze and evaluate."

"And I'm going to willingly perform this task because?"

"Just do it."

"Oh joy. How fun. Math is the best." I deadpanned.

...

Another certain amount of time passed. Math was stressful, but I managed to complete all of the calculations. The message was...

I love you

"You could've just said it directly to me, doofus." I felt my cheeks, increasing in temperature, they were a lot warmer than usual.

He smirked. "But it's amusing, seeing you struggle like this."

"Shut up. I'll kick you again."

Add dismissed his Nasod screens, taking a step closer as he cupped my cheeks and kissed me once more.

Right at that moment, the fireworks went off. I could hear the loud burst of explosions into the starry night sky. Perfect timing, but it was cliche.

Even though Add temporarily abandoned me, this definitely made up for it.

...

—-[CHAPTER 12 - ANALYSIS : END]—-