{AVERY'S POV}
Stupid playboy. Stupid stupid whatever-helps-you-remember-me.

I was hanging out in Domus Flau, walking down a back hallway and minding my own business, when I heard Yuuki's voice and hid reflexively. Sure enough, he's confessing to yet another girl.

"Look, Yuuki-kun," she says in a faux sympathetic, unnaturally high-pitched voice, "I really really like you and I'd totally accept your confession, if you were anybody but you. I absolutely cannot be the one to break your rejection record! That's cheating! My friends totally have mega crushes on you too and I just couldn't do that to them! You're, like, everybody's Yuuki-kun. We have to share. Omg, now I have to tell the girls that I just got confessed to by the Yuuki Eucliffe! They'll be so so jealous!"

The girl giggles and twirls her hair. I can practically see the hearts in her eyes. I honestly hate this type of girl, the type who will spread nasty rumors about you the second you turn your back.

She runs off. Yuuki's shoulders slump. Then he turns and something in my chest drops. Yuuki should be smiling. I've never seen Yuuki not smile until now. His face right now is flat and his eyes are dead.

Yuuki runs a hand through his hair, defeated. He laughs dryly, but I can hear a touch of hurt. Under his breath, he mutters, "Anybody but me. Got it."

"Hey, Yuuki!"

Yuuki snaps to attention. It's like he puts on a filter. Suddenly he's smiling wide and his eyes sparkle with good cheer as he faces the oncoming voice. A mask of happiness so convincing I'd fall for it.

Axis enters my field of vision. "This may sound weird, but tell me a joke."

Yuuki taps his chin, over-exaggerating his thinking pose for comedic effect. "I got one! What did the fish say when it swam into a wall?"

"I dunno."

"Dam." Yuuki grins. "How 'bout this: what's red and bad for your teeth?"

"Candy?" Axis guesses.

"A brick."

Axis can't help but laugh at the corny jokes. "Thanks man. Hey, who was that girl just now?"

Yuuki laughs. "No idea. But she was following me around and begged me to confess, so I did."

"Well, whenever someone attractive confesses to you, it's a huge confidence boost." Axis blushes slightly, scratching his cheek. "Speaking of confessions—"

Yuuki clasps Axis's hands. "I'm flattered!"

"No!" He yelps, three shades redder. "It's... Edel."

Yuuki grins, delighted. "I know. I was just teasing. I'm happy for you, Axis."

"I haven't confessed yet." Axis mumbles. "I'm too nervous to face him. What if he says no?"

"Then you tried. That's all you can do, right?" Yuuki elbows him lightly.

"Yeah well, I figured I'd talk to you, being the Confession King and all. You may be notorious for being rejected, but I've heard that everyone who comes to you for relationship advice ends up having their confession accepted. You can get a significant other for anybody but yourself." Axis laughs.

Yuuki laughs with Axis at his own expense. "Regardless of my personal life, I've seen how Edel looks at you. You've got nothing to worry about."

"What if we get shunned by our guildmates?" Axis looks nervous. "I don't want Edel to lose his place because of me."

"If your friends look down on you for being yourself, then maybe you should reconsider who your friends are." Yuuki says seriously.

"Easy for you to say." Axis snaps. "You're not in any danger of people not accepting you. You're like a magnet, funny and talented, making friends wherever you go. Everybody loves you! Lucky Yuuki Eucliffe, the guild master's golden boy with a perfect life. Sometimes family isn't so accepting!"

Yuuki takes the tongue-lashing without retaliation. He looks stricken for a second before his glitter-shiny-happy filter resets.

Axis is crying. He frantically wipes his tears away. "I'm sorry, man. That was totally uncalled for. I've just got some nerves."

"No skin off my back, don't worry about it." Yuuki grins, clapping Axis on the back. "I'm confident it'll work out between you and Edel. Besides, I'm pretty sure your guildmates already know how you two feel about each other. You can always come to me if you need some asses kicked, okay?"

"Okay." Axis takes a deep breath. He leaves, and Yuuki is alone again.

Yuuki sighs, his back slumping once more. He trudges down the small hallway that connects his hall to the one I'm hiding in, like the short line of an H. Yuuki walks past without noticing my silent form, still leaning against the wall.

"People pleaser." I diagnose, irrationally irritated. He just let Axis and that girl walk all over him!

Yuuki tenses. He whirls to face me. "Avery?! Wha... you... saw that?"

"Everything. So don't even think about putting up that stupid front of yours."

"What front? I have no idea what you're talking about." Yuuki laughs jokingly, but his conviction is weak. Not convincing.

"I can see through your mask now, Yuuki. I know. Have you ever heard the saying: the loneliest people are the friendliest and the saddest people smile the widest, because they don't want others to suffer like they do? I think it suits you well."

Yuuki's shoulders slump a little as the idol energy he constantly exudes runs dry. Suddenly, Yuuki doesn't look like the star everyone makes him out to be. He looks like a normal boy, and he's tired.

Yuuki is no longer so out of reach to me, no longer a pretty twinkling light in the pitch black sky that anyone can admire but nobody can claim as theirs.

I can reach you now.

Without conscious order from my mind, my hand reaches out to tug on Yuuki's cheek. He splutters but doesn't protest against my touch.

Yuuki finally lowers his guard and promptly looses the strength in his limbs.

He staggers to the wall and presses his back against it for support, sliding down to the ground slowly. He curls up in the fetal position. I follow him to the floor. We end up sitting side by side with our backs up against the wall, making jokes, cracking each other up, and chatting about random stuff.

I judged Yuuki way too quickly. There's a lot more to the infamous Confession King than meets the eye. I kinda like this genuine person I've unlocked.

Yuuki is afraid of breaking the status quo. He's always the clown, so he acts goofy. He's always the lighthouse, so he can't show how lost he is.

Yuuki's been given the title of Confession King, so he confesses all the time.

"Plenty have told me outright that they have a huge crush on me but they'll never date me because they'll break the status quo. I'm a celebrity surrounded by fans yet I'm still forever alone. Yay." He deadpans.

I elbow him. "I'm here, aren't I?"

"Oh no, you're hogging Everbody's Yuuki!" He snickers, his voice mockingly high-pitched.

"If my crush liked me back, I'd date him. I'd never join some stupid no-touch pact. Please." I scoff. Then I glance hesitantly at his side profile before continuing. "Too bad I've never been confessed to."

Yuuki's mouth drops open. He whirls his head to face me. "I've totally confessed to you. You said no."

"You haven't confessed to me."

"I swear I have."

"I swear you haven't."

"For real?" Yuuki looks perplexed by this revelation.

Why is my heart beating faster? I hate playboys. I'll only date someone whom I like romantically. So of course I'd say no to Yuuki... right?!

"Hmm..." Yuuki stands up quickly and walk forward. He chews on his thumb for a second, then turns so he's facing me. He wipes his palms on his jeans.

I break eye contact, whipping my head to the side; I  pray he doesn't hear my heart trying to escape my chest. I turn up my nose. "Don't push your luck."

I do grab his hand and use Yuuki as a brace to pull myself to my feet. Am I flushed? I feel hot. I need to calm down before I do something embarrassing.

"Let's go for a walk."

"Why?" Yuuki tilts his head.

"To conquer my crippling fear of exercise." I joke, fanning myself. "I could use the fresh air."

We walk through the woods, continuing our talk. It's pleasant out. Yuuki glows brighter than ever; I can see clearly the path, even with the sun sinking.

"Hey," Yuuki mutters during a lull in the conversation. "Wanna hear this crazy stupid half-baked idea I've been stewing over for a while now?"

"Crazy and stupid? How very Yuuki."

"Ha. Ha ha." He rolls his eyes. "I'm serious, Avery."

I can tell by his somber voice that he really is being serious, so I adjust myself appropriately. "Shoot."

"I wanna quit Sabertooth."

"What?!" My mouth drops open, catching flies. I stop dead in my tracks, staring at Yuuki. He walks ahead with his hands shoved deep into his pockets. That would... definitely be breaking the status quo.

The light Yuuki emits is further away. I jog to catch up, but trip over a root I can't see and stumble. Yuuki backtracks in a second, allowing me to catch myself by falling into him. He supports me.

I cling to his shirt, whisper-shouting, "Why?!"

"I've been stuck playing this role for I don't know how long and I feel like I can't get out. I'm always the 'golden boy' or the 'son of the guild master' or the Confession King. I'm not able to be myself even around my own family and I hate it. I just want to be free to be Yuuki. Stupid, eh?" He laughs awkwardly. "Yeah yeah, forget I said anything."

Okay. I've had time to compose myself now.

I push off of Yuuki's chest (then hallucinate a look of disappointment crossing his features) and tell him, "If you think quitting Sabertooth will free you to be you, I'll support your choice 100%."

Without warning, Yuuki's squats and ruffles his hair like he's gonna pull it out. "Gaaaaaah! Damn it Avery, you weren't supposed to say that! You were supposed to talk me out of it! I can't just up and quit!"

"Why not?" I challenge, squatting next to him. "You always play the clown and help everyone else. It's high time you started helping yourself. Live a little. Be brave. Have courage—be you, Yuuki."

Oh Mavis, that was so corny. Yuuki jerks his face up to look at me, so I reward him with a broad toothy grin. His eyes widen and cheeks flush. His jaw sets.

Yuuki opens his mouth to say something, but my nose twitches; I rise suddenly. "Do you smell that?"

"What?" Yuuki asks, rising as well.

Without explanation, I chase the strongly distinct smell of iron. Please no, please no, please no. Please Mavis, let this be a minor injury.

"What's wrong?" Yuuki shouts, keeping pace and providing a comforting glow.

"You were honest with me, so I'll be honest with you! I'm afraid of blood because I smell it!" I admit.

It was way worse before I knew how to control my magic power. Back then, I couldn't restrain my senses so I would smell all metals in my vicinity—including the iron in blood. I could sense when people near me bled, and I began to associate that blood-iron combined scent with pain and suffering.

"You can smell..." Yuuki gasps. "You just caught a whiff of some?!"

"Not just some." I correct him grimly. This much can only mean that someone is bleeding out. The last time I smelled blood-iron this strongly, I was twelve and uncovered a grisly murder scene.

"Someone might've gotten injured facing their fear. There are dangerous beasts in these woods. We've gotta help them!" Yuuki pours on the gas. I push the pedal to the metal as well, following my nose.

The smell is strongest in a open clearing, where all the trees have been knocked down or otherwise incinerated. Those burn marks were made by lighting. I suspect who I'll find at their source.

I'm right. It's Lexi, and Reiki is with her. Their wounds are far worse than I imagined. They lay together in a pool of blood, fingers touching. They've lost so much—too much blood. I vomit.

I think they might be dead.
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Avery is so punny. She uses his name, 勇気 (Yuuki/Yūki), to encourage him.

Hehe, see what I did there? Encourage. 😜Okay fine, I'll stop now.