Leo wanted to run away but his heart told him that if he did, this would probably be the last ti he ever saw her and he truly did not want that.
"Crystal. I know that what I did was cowardly and I would totally understand if you would never want to see again...?!"
Tears started streaming down her face as she glared at him with a mixture of rage, sorrow and indignation
"You jerk. I have always wanted to see you. All of you. Even if you looked like a walking ani character. Even more so if I knew you were sick!"
She wiped at her eyes furiously as she tried to stop the tears from falling
"You think I wouldn’t have shown up every damn day if I knew you were still alive? You think I wouldn’t have camped out at your hospital bed with a dumb DVD player and so chocolate?!"
A weak laugh escaped Leo’s lips.
"Honestly...? That sounds exactly like you."
Crystal sniffled, then gave a half-hearted punch to his arm.
"You owe ,"
she softly growled with a pout.
"I know."
"Like, big ti. I want snacks. A full explanation. And I want to touch the ears~!"
He smiled, soft and small. Even now, she was going at her own pace
"I can do the snacks and the explanation. The ears though... We will have to negotiate on that."
They stood there in the fading sunlight, the tension finally giving way to sothing warr. Crystal took a deep breath and stepped forward, this ti not to interrogate or accuse—but just to be close.
"I missed you, Leo."
’I missed you too.’
Leo couldn’t say the words but Crystal could see it in his eyes. Even with the ears, he was still the serious but awkward boy that she had fallen for all those years ago.
After a long silence, she asked gently,
"So what now? What happens next?"
He exhaled slowly.
"Now... things get weirder."
"Weirder than you growing cat ears?"
"And a tail. Yes. You would be surprised."
Crystal’s eyes widened in shock at the casual reveal.
"You have a tail too?! I wanna see! Show !"
Leo glanced around before replying
"Not here. Too many people could see. How about you visit at my place? I am sure Sis would be happy to see you too?"
"Let’s go now then. I have a bone to pick with Luna. I have seen her a couple tis but she could never be bothered to tell about your situation!"
"About that..."
Leo scratched his head awkwardly, averting his gaze. Crystal noticed this and narrowed her eyes, staring daggers at him.
"You told her not to tell . Didn’t you?!"
"...Maybe?"
"Ooh I can’t believe you! That’s it! I demand double the ear petting. Also you said a tail yeah? I wanna pet that too!"
Leo was aghast at the demands she was putting forth as she bared her teeth in anger.
"When you get back, you better get that new ga Ascension of Souls so I can kick your butt without having to worry about breaking you!"
Leo’s expression froze into one of shock as he reached out and grabbed Crystal by her shoulders.
’You’re playing that ga?!"
Confused as to why he was acting like that, Crystal had a sense of foreboding as she replied
"Yeah...?"
"You need to be careful, Crys. That ga is the reason why I am like this now. Yeah it saved my life but it is affecting people in various ways. It may affect you soon!"
Crystal blinked in stunned silence, not really comprehending what he had just said.
"Affect ...how?"
Leo narrowed his eyes into a glare
"You know exactly how. Whoever made that ga has it mutating people here in the real world."
"That’s ridiculous! There is no way–"
"My sister’s hair has turned white and her eyes are now red. I have a buddy who can regenerate almost instantaneously from getting stabbed, his blood is purple and highly corrosive."
"Whoa... But that’s just like two people not including you."
"Well there’s a girl at my place sent by the governnt who now has monkey ears and a tail."
"Oh man...."
She looked like she was about to pass out for a second but then her brow twitched and with renewed anger in her voice
"Wait a second. A girl is at your house that is not your sister? Did you get a girlfriend?! Like what kinda guy gets a girlfriend while on their deathbed and ditching their best friend!"
Leo flinched, holding his hands up defensively.
"She’s not my girlfriend! She’s more like... a handler Or a liaison of sorts. More often than not she is an unhinged agent of utter chaos ."
Crystal narrowed her eyes, clearly not buying it. "Uh-huh. So that’s what they’re calling it these days."
He groaned.
"Crys, I swear.
She was sent by the governnt to monitor and protect .
Apparently, I’m a real hot commodity for people with less than ’savory’ intentions. She reports everything back to the higher-ups and annoys constantly. Honestly, if she wasn’t cute, I’d be so annoyed!."
Crystal blinked.
"So she is cute?!"
Leo imdiately realized his mistake and backpedaled. "No—I an, yes—I an—that’s not the point!"
She folded her arms and huffed.
"You’ve changed."
He gave her a deadpan look.
"You’re literally talking to a guy with cat ears and a tail who’s alive because of a fucked up video ga. Of course I’ve changed."
There was a tense beat of silence before Crystal sighed and muttered under her breath,
"...Still better be single."
"Anyways, why did you bring up the ga"
Leo asked, finally bringing them back to the topic at hand after that brief derailnt.
It was Crystal’s turn to avoid his gaze this ti as she felt his stare drilling into the side of her head.
"I may have started playing the ga a bit already."
"Define ’a bit’"
"Well I am in the top 10 in various aspects. My userna is Empress!"
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