"What are you thinking?"
At Adam's sudden words, the white haired girl's eyes shifted briefly towards him- and he saw his own reflection on those blue eyes
"Nothing in particular." Her lips curled upwards, but her face exuded melancholy. "Just taking in the view…."
He similarly focused downwards, eyes narrowing.
The city below stretched outward in ruin- collapsed structures, jagged rooftops, entire blocks hollowed out like something had taken bites out of them. The higher they rose, the smaller it all became, until even the Academy in the distance looked less like a place and more like a shape forced onto the horizon.
Adam noticed that, despite the increasing height, Kiana remained steady and leisurely.
"Aren't you nervous? Not even a bit?"
The silver haired boy spoke up, swinging his legs softly
The Kaslana girl didn't look up at him
"About what?"
Her gaze stayed outside, following the slow shift of the horizon as the pod climbed higher.
"The height."
The boy smiled.
"Mhm…"
She hummed, eyes flickering briefly sideways to catch his figure.
"That's an interesting question." Kiana smiled lightly like him. "Why would I be?"
Adam leaned back slightly against his seat, watching her more directly now.
"True." He blinked. "Most people would at least be a bit shook up- but it's you after all."
Kiana being nervous or afraid of heights? What a joke. After experiencing so much, not even Mei would be even the least bit afraid. Only Kyuusyou is a 'special case'.
"That's right." She nodded, smile widening. "I'm not most people. And you aren't either. If we fall down from here, we'll both survive."
The white haired girl tapped the glass around them, indicating that, even if it broke down, they'll still survive without major injuries.
There was no arrogance in how she said it.
And it was true. Since they'll survive anyway, what's there to fear?
Human fear stems from the unknown. Since a result of a fall(survival) is already known, there is no reason for fear. This is especially true for people like them who have already tried it and confirmed that, yes, falling from heights isn't sufficient enough to even break their bones.
"...."
Silence permeated the room, and Adam crossed his leg over the other one.
The pod creaked again, louder this time, as it passed the midpoint.
The ground felt farther now. Both physically and visually.
"So…"
Kiana shifted in the seat, adorning a more comfortable position.
"Are you going to explain?"
"Explain what?"
The silver haired boy's eyes rose.
He had a vague idea to what she was alluding to…And it feels awkward for him.
"Explain your…" The Kaslana girl paused to gesture vaguely at him. "Weirdness."
Recalling his behavior upon first seeing her, she titled her head with a stiff smile.
"When we first met, you were acting really weird." Her blue eyes shimmered as she continued to stare at him "I mean, I don't think I have the right to talk, but it was very strange, you know? It was mental illness level of strange- the one where people will normally try their best to ignore you."
As she described her past feelings with accuracy and detail. Adam's mouth twitched.
His behavior was certainly weird for her. But come on! Aren't you Kiana Kaslana, the protagonist- the one who has journayeyed throughout the world and experienced plenty of thing? Why are you making such a big deal out of this?
"You didn't have to be so direct." The silver haired boy scratched his cheek, averting his eyes. "I know my behavior was suspicious, but aren't you exaggerating a bit?"
Leave it to this elegant Kiana to make him feel embarrassment.
Even with his shamelessness, he still felt ashamed of how he acted like. Though his behavior hasn't changed even now- since they are more familiar with each other after experiencing so much together, his behavior isn't that out of place.
But can anyone blame him? With his Kiana, he shares an intimate relationship. They are boyfriend and girlfriend- even though that's a recent thing.
Meeting an alternate self of Kiana, and knowing for sure that she's truly the Kiana of another universe and not a clone or just similar in appearance…Only avid multiversal travelers or time traversers would act as if this is no big deal.
"Ah, whatever." Adam sighed, shaking his head in acceptance. "Since you're so curious, I'll tell you. It isn't really a secret that needs to be kept. And besides, I have a feeling that you'll find out soon enough by yourself."
"Great!"
The white haired Kaslana warrior clasped her hands together, a smile adorning her face as she waited with anticipation.
"This will be a bit embarrassing, but whatever…"
Not intending to disappoint her, Adam reached his hand into his pocket.
He didn't continue speaking. Instead, he fumbled inside his coat, and finally-
"Erm…."
Kiana Kaslana let out a puzzled sound as she saw him pull out a photograph from his coat.
Seeing her confusion, he shrugged:
"A picture is like a thousand words." His mouth twitched. "You're smart. Look at this picture, and you'll understand."
He said no more, seemingly not intending to personally explain anything.
Looking at his outstretched hand in front of her, the white haired girl grasped the photograph and took it into her hands.
She turned it around, and she finally saw the contents of it-
"....."
Kiana fell silent.
In the center of the picture sat a silver haired blue eyed boy with black clothing- Adam.
He is in the middle, and at his left is a purple haired indigo eyed girl- Raiden Mei. Mei in the picture shyly wrapped her arms around the boy's hand, pressing her body against him as she gave the camera a gentle, shy, yet happy smile.
In the front, reaching Adam's chest, is a short girl with gray hair styled into drill twin tails and gray eyes that look forward almost emotionlessly. On this girl's face is a stiff and strained smile that somehow looked….genuine?
And on the boy's right is a….
"...."
Kiana pursed her lips, her eyes flashing with a complicated emotion.
To his right is a white haired blue eyed girl. Her hair is double braided. She has an arm confidently and boldly wrapped around Adam's shoulder, with her head close to his own as she gave the camera a bright, confident, yet also foolish smile.
"Heh…"
Suddenly, she chuckled. As her lips remained upturned, her thumb gently rubbed over the white haired girl's image in the picture
"I can feel this person's airheadedness even from the photo."
Kiana lowered her head, her white hair covering her expression. She was gripping the photo with considerable force- fortunately though, it hasn't teared.
But indeed…
Just from this photo alone, this girl- this Kiana Kaslana here- seems very silly.
"...."
Adam remained silent, not answering at all.
Sitting with his back straight, both of his hands are resting on his thighs.
No matter how much he wanted to speak and make a joke, now isn't the time. He needs to wait for the Tuna of this world to process things.
"So…What is it?"
The white haired girl slumped her back, closing her eyes as she held onto the picture
"Hm?"
The boy hummed in confusion.
"Time travel? Parallel worlds?"
Kiana opened her eyes, blue orbs locking onto his figure. She listed every possibility she could think of to explain the existence of this picture in her hand.
She hoped to get a straight answer.
As for the possibility of being deceived? The thought of this picture being fake did cross her mind at one point, but she instantly discarded it.
"...."
Adam stared back at her, pursing his lips.
This girl's composure is truly something worth admiring. She went straight to the point without beating around the bush.
"Which one is it?"
Seeing his silence, Kiana pressed on with narrowed eyes.
Is it something unspeakable? Something even weirder? Is 'this' Kiana just a clone of her-?
"It's a bit like parallel universes." Adam sighed, a frown slowly appearing on his face. "Though, my universe if far less dangerous than yours."
The white haired girl opened her mouth, wanting to voice out plenty of more questions-
"I see…"
However, she stopped herself. Though her curiosity is burning like a flame, there's no need to be agitated.
There is plenty of time for them to converse further. One reinforcements arrive and they go to a safer place….They can talk as much as they want, with a relaxed attitude.
Right now, throwing countless questions at him would be like an interrogation…Well, not exactly, but Kiana emphazises with him, so she doesn't want to bother him with her own curiosity.
After all…A lost traveller that strayed off from his own universe, finding himself into a familiar yet unfamiliar place….It does sound like the premise of a novel, but despite it, she can imagine the emotional burden that this situation can place on a person.
"You're taking this better than I thought."
Adam smiled. It was a smile of relief and happiness.
This Kiana is truly reliable and elegant. He truly feels at ease talking to her- even if that 'talk' is about topics like these that are…grand and secretive.
"Hey?" She raised an eyebrow in amusement. "What were you expecting?"
"...."
...
..
.
----
A/N:
Next chapter is the final one of the GGZ arc- or at least, I hope it will be. For immersion's sake, I'll try to contain everything in one singular chapter....