Ch 32: Zircon & Cleria's Worries

The autumn arrived with all its splendour. The leaves on the trees became orange, brown or red, giving an exotic view to the neighbourhood.

Zircon woke up early as usual, however, Asako wasn't in the house yet, still occupied with the 'old geezers' in the organization, as she and Yuria called them. It seems that she was assigned to a final mission for her to finally retire. She even said that she was planning to be the PE teacher in the high school branch of Kuoh Academy.

He was sincere with his own feeling so he would not say that he doesn't miss her, but yet he doesn't want to interfere too much in her life. His trust in Asako was equal to his trust in Yuria, who is his lover.

Yes, Zircon has started to develop stronger romantic feelings for the other woman who raised him since he was a toddler. However, at the same time, he didn't know what to do. He already had a romantic relationship with Yuria, even if it was strange for the public it was a good relationship. Nevertheless, he felt that if he started to make an advance with Asako then she would feel betrayed. That's why he didn't do it.

Unfortunately, it wasn't easy for him, because with each passing day, his feeling for Asako grew. It didn't mean that his love for Yuria was decreasing; he would rather punch himself in the face until his skull brakes before that.

However, it made his heart starting to ache, and knowing in part Asako's feelings wasn't helping him. He wasn't some dense protagonist of an anime or manga to not notice that Asako shared with him those same feelings, but at the same time she seemed, confused.

Neither of them dared to take the first step, fearing the consequences, not from the society point of view, but from how it would affect their relationship. They would no longer be in a 'sister/mother-brother/son' relationship.

What happened with Yuria was due to an impulse, and even if Zircon didn't regret it, he would prefer to make things right with Asako if there is the occasion.

(I'm such a hypocrite.) He mocked himself with that thought.

Now leaving for school, he went out early because he wasn't in the mood to argue with Issei, who was still being a pervert. At least his parents were a little stricter with him about the topic. Zircon just expected that the attitude of that kid could become more 'decent'.

On his way through the park, he saw someone familiar sitting on a bench. She had grey eyes and hair. But in comparison with other times, she wasn't wearing her aristocrat dress and her hair wasn't tied in a braid. Instead, she was wearing grey jeans and a white blouse, and her hair was loose with an undulate style.

Zircon walked towards Cleria, who seemed to be too lost in her thoughts for her to notice him.

He sat next to her but there wasn't yet a response. Then he touched her cheek with his finger, making her jump due to the scare and then looked at Zircon.

"Gosh, Zir-kyun. Please don't scare me like that." She said with a playful smile. "Aren't you supposed to be in school at this hour?"

"I still have some time left to go." Zircon said. "What about you? Are you ok?"

Noticing the preoccupation from Zircon's voice, she couldn't help but feel happy but at the same time guilty for making the kid feel preoccupied.

It has passed several days since Cleria received the information about the King Pieces. It seemed to be that the leader of the Great King Faction, the Bael Clan, had been using them to maintain themselves in the top of the power since the early stages of the Rating Games.

The creator obviously was the same person that invented the Evil Pieces, Ajuka Belzeebub. Who else could have been if not him?

However, if the Satan knew about how his creations were being used or not was still a mystery for her. If she is careless and results that he already knew it and was conspiring with them, then that would put a target on her back. After all, it wasn't a good idea to be targeted by a Satan, overall if her friends and family ended up being involved in the mess.

Alas, she couldn't either ignore this and act like nothing happened. But for her to expose them without much risk, she would need companions of trust apart from her peerage, and enough and reliable evidences. Things that she doesn't have yet.

As she lost herself in her thoughts once again, she just snapped out after feeling a hand patting her head. She turned her head at the kid who was now standing on top of the bench. It seemed that due to their difference in stature, he had to stand up to pat her.

This made her chuckle, seeing Zircon that sometimes acted as someone mature, and others as the kid he was.

She then remembered a talk that she had with Asako before they came to the town. It was about Zircon and the reasons why she adopted him. She even had to say that one of those reasons really shocked her.

Next, Cleria hugged him, placing her head in his head. It was innocent hug, by the way; because maybe some of you might have some weird thoughts.

Ahem.

Anyway, Zircon who at first was taken back by her sudden action returned the hug, letting her hear the calm and steadly beating of his heart.

Zircon didn't know what Cleria was thinking about, but she seemed troubled by it. That's why he started to comfort her. He wanted to help those who he considers his family and friends, even if it was with little actions like this one.

Some minutes passed, and it was getting a little late for Zircon to go to school. Cleria didn't want to him to arrive late so she took initiative to end the hug. Then she looked at his dichromatic eyes, and she couldn't help but think, that even if 'Zircon' wasn't a common name, it was very fitting for him.

"If you have some worries, you can always talk with us." Zircon said with a reassuring voice.

*Thump*

Cleria's heart beat with force, leaving her astonished. She couldn't believe that the words of a child could make her heart beat. (But, it isn't bad at all.) She thought.

Their meeting was short, and even if they didn't talked too much, this cleared many thought in her mind. Reminding herself that she wasn't alone, and that there will be people supporting her. Her peerage, her friends, her family. They were her strength and her reason to fight.

Both of them went to separate ways from the park, and Cleria started to make plans for the future; but first, she had to make some preparations.

/The same day at night, Tokyo/

A female silhouette was stumbling in an empty allay while holding her bleeding abdomen with her hand. Behind her, a track of blood could be seen.

"Fuck, those geezers tended me a trap." She said.

She walked through the alley until she was under the spotlight of one of the signs of a bar, revealing her identity. She was Asako, and she was now in a deplorable condition.