Keep moving forward.

That night, as we settled in for bedtime, I felt a knock on my door.

Weird, but a quick look outside showed it wasn't Star as usual but rather Wanda.

Hn?

Right.

She's probably sad or something and wants to talk. I can understand that.

I yawned, opened the door and pulled out a chair for her.

Wanda stood in the doorway, striped pajamas and undone hair, cascading down her chest like a waterfall, pillow and blanket in hand and looked at the chair before shaking her head.

No?

"What happened?" I asked, handing her a glass of water.

She gulped it down, pale and sweating.

"Um...I ...can't sleep. I just don't want to be alone tonight. Can I sleep here today? Please."

I raised an eyebrow, and she blushed.

"It's not that. I'm just. I see him, in my dreams. Pietro. I'm scared. It's like a nightmare."

Ah, of course.

It can be a terrifying thing, the death of a loved one.

I can relate to her pain.

I remember having nightmares for weeks after my grandfather's death.

It was horrible. I still miss him. Even more than I miss my parents.

It's weird how he made more of an impact on my life than both parents combined and yet I couldn't even muster up the courage to be with him in his last moments. He called out to me from the hospital room as I walked out. I could still here his weak cries.

And I am ashamed of myself. To this day.

I still regret not having the balls to witness his passing.

I sighed.

So many regrets.

"Sure. Come on." I patted the bed beside me.

"No. I'll sleep on the floor." She waved me off.

I flat out refused her though.

"None of that now. There's enough room on the bed for two. And I won't sleep well if I know you're there on the floor." I pulled her into bed, and she fell into my lap, flinching.

"Don't worry. I don't bite." I teased and she blushed like a rose, scooting off me and over to the other side as I laughed.

"Idiot." She muttered, relaxing noticably as her shoulders eased up and she fell flat onto the bed.

"I heard that." I said, poking her side.

"I meant for you to." She stuck out her tongue at me.

I laid back on my side of the bed, tickling her to laughter.

She giggled like a wind chime, sweet and tinkling.

"You're surprisingly feisty for someone who's scared to be alone."

She just replied with a soft smile, looking back at me.

"I'm not alone anymore."

"Uh-huh?" I rolled over, "That's good."

With a thought the night light switched off.

"Good night."

"Wait, just like that?" She muttered.

"Why?" I teased, "Were you expecting me to sing you a lullaby?"

She blushed, giving me an indignant look.

"I wouldn't mind one." She shot back trying to regain ground.

Oh is that how we're going to play, eh?

"If you want." I smirked, clearing my throat.

"Somewhere over the rainbow way up high

There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby

Somewhere over the rainbow skies are blue

And the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true..."

I sang as she hummed along, until she began to feel sleepy.

"You know...." She mumbled, hugging my arm, "You have a nice voice."

"I know." I said, pulling the blanket over her, putting her to sleep.

.

The door opened but I didn't notice, my attention glued to the device I was building.

It wasn't until two soft mounds pressed against my back and the familiar scent of lavender and incense tickled my nose, arms wrapping around my neck, did I notice her.

I looked back coming face to face with Offee, and she didn't miss a beat, planting a kiss on my lips.

It sent a tingle through me and I felt a giddy happiness in my stomach, just like the first time we kissed, and I leaned into another.

It was just something about the sheer overflowing love in Offee's eyes that just pulled me into it.

It was as if she only saw me, like nothing else existed in her little world except me and her.

"I take it Star is already asleep." I asked, parting lips.

"Uhun. Nice and tucked in." She replied, licking her lips.

Her eyes wandered over to the desk.

"What are you making?"

"Just some improved circuit prototypes for the new ship." I replied, "Faster response times and more durable."

"Can I watch?" She said, pulling out a chair beside me.

"Sure. But it's not going to be very interesting. Just a lot of math and soldering." I shrugged.

"Yeah. The circuitry is boring." She said, leaning over, a flirtatious smile on her face.

She leaned her head on my shoulders. "But I'm not watching it. I'm watching you. And that I could do forever."

I felt my heart skip a beat as she looked at me with upturned eyes, and I couldn't help but plant a kiss on her forehead, just because I didn't have the words for the feelings I was experiencing.

She was good at making me feel flustered, like a boy on his first day at school.

She did that so often it had almost become a habit for me.

She preened with joy, happy that her ploy had worked, and nuzzled into me as I returned to work with a pep in my hands listening to her hum a folk song softly.

It felt like a dream, this life.

I missed this.

I could feel tears pooling in my eyes.

I missed this so much... So...much?

Wait a minute, is this a...dream?

I bit my lip as the answer came naturally to me.

I didn't want to believe it.

I didn't want to leave it. Leave her.

Just a moment more, my mind begged.

Forevermore.

But I knew better.

She was gone. At least for now.

And I ...I needed to move on.

I looked down at her, the soft silky purple of her hair tickling my chin, as I pressed my head against hers.

"I missed you." I said, softly and she looked up at me.

"But I need to go." I cupped her face in my hands, and planted one final kiss on her forehead.

"I need to move on." I said, more to myself than her, even as I could feel my heart get caught up in my throat, looking into her deep, electric blue eyes.

She just smiled, as if to say 'Go on. I'll be right behind you.'

Perfect as she was, only in memory.

I nodded, biting my lip, holding back the tears.

I have been held back too long. Two years. It's been two years.

No more.

"Goodbye, Love." I said, and she waved back.

The world was going white at the edges now. Her visage was blurring up too.

I moved. The world moved.

The distance between us increased, space stretching out to infinity, as the workshop disappeared into the encroaching whiteness till only her vague facade remained in the distance.

And I nodded resolute.

Raisng my hands, I slammed my thumb through my palm.

A simple trick for lucid dreaming.

"Whiaah!" I woke up with a start, my pillow wet with silent tears.

I looked back on my dream and wiped my tears away.

"Goodbye, Love." I repeated softer this time, and looked forward. I'm awake. Might as well get ready for the day.

It's time to move on.

.

Wanda awoke slowly, with the draft of breakfast luring her up, out of her slumber.

She got up and sat on the bed, stretching, when she noticed the bed and remembered the previous night, immediately casting detection spells and checking herself for.... incidents.

"Glad to see you have such a high opinion of me." I commented sarcastically from the side startling her.

Even if I did want to do something, I could do it without leaving a trace so her perception checks weren't going to help her anyways.

"It's not- I didn't mean it like that." She excused.

"Oho~" I smirked, teasing her, "Then were you expecting something?"

She blushed so hard I could see the steam coming from her ears. Or was that just chaos magic?

It was cute either way.

"You always do this Jay!" She huffed, before her eyes wandered to the platter on my lap.

"Only because you're so fun to tease." I bit on a bacon strip, before extending the platter to her.

"Breakfast in bed?" I offered, sitting down beside her.

She nodded, munching on a ham sandwich with tiny little bites like a squirrel.

"Thanks." She muttered softly.

"Don't worry about it. And eat up. Over eat even. You'll need all the protein you can get for today." I advised.

"No, I meant for last night." She clarified, "But this too. Yeah."

"As I said. Don't mention it." I waved her off.

Wanda nodded.

"Wait, you said I was going to need the proteins? Are we starting the training today?" She perked up.

"Yup. But let me warn you. It's going to be painful. It's going to be hard, back breaking work. Are you sure about this?" I asked.

Of course, I knew she wasn't going to say no now. Not this far in already.

But even if she did, I would still put her through it, because I do what I want.

Wanda nodded with conviction.

"I'm ready. Come hail or high water!" She replied, stuffing another sandwich down her gullet. Agressively.

It was a funny sight to see how she made that 180.

"It's good that you are hyped for it. Let's see if that enthusiasm lasts." I chuckled, "Today, since it's the first day, I want to give you an easy assessment. We will be testing your basic attributes.

Your power and output is unquestionably good. But what about casting speed? How fast can you react to a situation? How creative are you mid battle? What us your skill level? Can you think on your feet when something blindsides you?" I explained, finishing my plate.

"So for the test you can only use one spell. Say, Crimson Bands Of Cyttorak? You know that one, yes?"

She nodded and finished her breakfast too.

"Alright. Now that that's cleared up, let's get right to it!" I clapoed my hands and we dropped through a portal into a meadow, flowers blooming everywhere, lush grass and cool breeze. A small stream flowed past some distance from us.

But the most prominent feature in the meadow was the rabbits, pristine white with ruby red eyes.

Wanda knelt down to pet a passing rabbit and looked at me confused.

"It's beautiful. Like a little slice of heaven." Wanda said, "But this doesn't look like a training ground?"

"Oh, but it is." I smirked, jabbing her with a CodeRed, just in case, "My forcefield is in stealth mode so you just don't see it. Or rather, they don't see you."

Wanda looked around again and saw nothing.

She turned back to me and raised an eyebrow.

"The bunny rabbits?"

"Precisely." I answered, floating up into the air, as the forcefield I had extended around her started to flicker, attracting the bunnies' attention, as their heads turned to all look at her vague form.

"I call this test, The Hunt." I explained, opening a holoscreen depucting a VS. screen.

On one side was Wanda, on the other it depicted the rabbits.

"You want me to hunt the bunny rabbits?" She frowned, looking up at me floating in the sky, meters off the ground.

"Oh my sweet summer child, you seem to think it's you who's going to be doing the hunting." I grinned, snapping my fingers, removing the forcefield from over her, making her visible and vulnerable to all.

"No. Your goal here is to survive for as long as you can, only using the Crimson Bands Of Cyttorak. Try your best." I added, just as a bunny close to her hopped onto her leg, and she looked down, ready to coo over the cute little thing, when he opened his jaw wide, biting into her ankle, drawing blood.

And so it began.

Instantly, the rest of the rabbits swarmed her, tearing at her clothes, carving into her flesh as she entered the first desperate life or death struggle. Against a fluffle of rabbits.

More specifically, the Great Rabbits of Daphne, Witch Of Gluttony, from the world of Re:Zero.

And I just pulled put the popcorn and enjoyed the cute but bloody gladiatoral match below.

______________________

The extra chapter for 200 powerstones, as promised.

MC begins to train Wanda and throws her off the deep end like the reckless Papa he is.

Also, I know I said no more character growth. But this is the last one. Promise. Last bit of character growth here. Just so I can progress the Wanda-MC romance.