4 July 2018

  ". . . ."

  Neo opens his eyes. He looks to his left and right. He realized Yuki is sleeping on his left, and they are inside another ice igloo. He sits up to properly wake up and clears his head.

  "It's morning. . . What happened last night? Weren't we fighting the 2nd Judge pair?"

  *!!!*

  "URGH!! AKKKHH"

  All of a sudden, Neo felt an incredibly sharp burning pain on his back. He takes off his shirt to check on the source of the pain. He tried touching where the pain felt the most hurt, but he felt the texture of his normal skin as usual, no matter where he touched.

  "This is weird."

  He gets up and walks closer towards the wall of the igloo. Since the sun is up, the wall of the igloo is reflecting all the sunlight, making it a slightly unsatisfying mirror, yet still a mirror nonetheless. He turns his back towards the wall as he tries his hardest to turn his head to the back to look at the reflection of his back on the wall.

  "Senpai, we shouldn't do this until marriage. Please put on your shirt quickly before I lose my mind seeing your slightly six-pack abs. I'm enticed, and I'm currently trying my best to hold myself back."

  *!!!*

  "Ko-ko-ko-ko-KOUHAI-KUN?!"

  "Senpai, like I said, please put on your shirt. Your abs are sexy. Please, senpai, before I freeze you in place so I can have you all for myself."

  "No, no, no no no no no, wait!! My back felt incredibly painful when I woke up, so I'm trying to see if I have a wound or not."

  Neo then turns around to show his back to Yuki.

  "Kouhai, do I have any wounds?"

  "Nope! Your back is smooth and slightly muscular. The way I like it."

  "OKAY THANK YOU I'LL PUT ON CLOTHES RIGHT AWAY!!"

  After Neo puts back his shirt quickly, he sits down in front of Yuki.

  "That girl's faith power. It's so insane that I can still feel its sharp burning pain even after about 10 hours later. Yet it doesn't directly harm my body, nor does it leave any wounds. What a weird Faith power."

  "I feel bad that you're the only one experiencing this, senpai. I touched her flames too, but I feel nothing but lukewarm temperature on my hand."

  "It's okay, kouhai! That only means I don't have to see you suffer like me!"

  ". . . Senpai, after showing me your body, now you're flirting with me. Let's just get married, senpai."

  "*COUGH COUGH* THERE'S A WHOLE LOTS OF STEPS WE'RE SKIPPING HERE!!"

  "Okay, senpai, I'll be patient until then. . ."

  ". . ."

  Neo looks back on every time Yuki confesses her direct, blatant feelings to him. He hasn't been able to answer Yuki this whole time simply because of one thing: his past. He feels sorry for Yuki. Sometimes he thinks to himself that he's just playing with her genuine feelings.

  "Kouhai, I'm sorry. I'm gonna be honest, I like you too. It's just. . . I. . ."

  "Senpai."

  Yuki immediately gets up and walks towards Neo. She puts his head towards her chest and she embraces his head.

  "Senpai, I'm sorry for imposing my feelings like this. I never meant to put pressure on you. Of course, I understand what you're trying to say, senpai. I apologize for being so pushy."

  Yuki stroked Neo's hair multiple times as she embraced and comforted him.

  ". . .Thank you, Yuki."

  *!*

  Neo's sudden name-calling startled Yuki. Her face turns red, and for the first time in more than a year, her facial expression shows a little bit of emotion, the emotion of embarrassment. She buries Neo's face deeper into her chest so that he doesn't see her current face.

  Neo calmly taps Yuki's back multiple times.

  "Kohai. . . This is making me dizzy and hot, please let me go. . ."

  "O-Of course, senpai."

  Yuki regains her flat expression and lets go of Neo, but then she sees how red Neo's face is, and she immediately turns around to hide her face as she's afraid she's gonna lose her flat expression again, seeing how adorable her senpai currently looks.

  "S-Senpai, let's just wrap this up and tidy this place so we can start the day."

  "(My senpai is too precious. . .)"

  "O-Okay. . ."

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  "(I felt like I was in heaven for a few seconds. . .)"

  “Oh, wait senpai. Let’s do our daily prayer first.”

  “Oh, right!”

  A few minutes later, they finished praying and tidied up every mess they made in the place they're staying. After Yuki thawed out the ice igloo, Neo finds out where they are.

  "The ocean. . ."

  They are currently near the edge of a cliff where the land stops and just falls sharply for about 20 meters towards the surface of the ocean. The morning sunlight hits them and warms them up.

  "*inhales* *exhales* What a refreshing and beautiful scenery!!"

  "I agree, senpai. It's been a while since I last saw the ocean. . ."

  "We've spent way too long in the desert. About time we change location!"

  "Same, I'm sick of getting sand under my shoes. Especially during the fight last night."

  "Speaking of that, how did it go? My memories are fuzzy."

  ". . .How should I say this? I lost the fight but won the war."

  "Huh? You lost? You?! You are like the strongest Believer I've ever met in my entire life, and yet you lose?"

  "I don't want to brag, but I gave up on my own accord."

  "Oh, so that's why you say you lost!"

  "But I achieved my goal. The 2nd Judge let me go after I showed him my past. I explained to him carefully that I did not have any personal grudges towards any of the Judges whatsoever. It's more of a matter of principle."

  *!!*

  "YOU DID WHAT?"

  "I'm sorry, senpai. I should have discussed it with you first."

  "No, no, no, that's not my point! HOW DID YOU DO THAT?"

  ". . .Huh? I just stabbed myself with the Sword of Purification."

  "THAT SWORD HAS A FUNCTION LIKE THAT?"

  "Oh? I just realized I never told you about it. Sorry, senpai."

  "*sigh* No, it's fine. I'm just surprised that there are still new things to discover about Judge-related things, even after becoming your Support for almost a year now. I'm also surprised that God didn't tell us about any of this."

  "Well, from my perspective, He wants us to actually explore and learn on our own accord. Because the joy of learning is unmatched by anything else. You of all people should be familiar with that, right, senpai? Who knows what else the Sword of Purification has to offer in terms of its functionality? There might be a whole lot more."

  "Wow, you opened my eyes. I was about to say, "Wouldn't it become a hindrance instead when the Sword to save people has a hidden functions that eases the process?", but I just realized there's little to no use of sharing your past towards people who's still bound and chained by their own. . . . Just like me. . ."

  "Senpai. . ."

  "I-I'm sorry, Kouhai! I shouldn't get depressed every so often! I should be better by not being fixated so much on the past."

  Yuki walks closer to Neo. She puts her hand on his back as she gazes at Neo's eyes with sincerity.

  "Senpai, you have your own pace. Take your time. But always remember that I'll always be by your side every step of the way."

  "Thank you kouhai! I truly mean it. That was sweet of you."

  Neo stares back at Yuki's eyes for her gentle act. They are now staring at each other gently and endearingly.

  *!!*

  And then there's a strong breeze of wind that flows towards both of them.

  "Wooooohoooo!! What a delightful sensation!" Neo raises both of his arms as he relishes the moment.

  "Not to mention that this view is very beautiful, senpai. And I'm happy I got to share it with you."

  Yuki stares at Neo again with such an honest and genuine gaze. Neo looks down and thinks to himself for a second.

  "Alright, I've decided!!"

  "What is it, senpai?"

  "Kouhai! I want to face your genuine feelings head-on with no regrets. So, I'm gonna try to face my fears!"

  *!!*

  "Senpai, you don't have to---."

  "No! I have to do this! A guy can't just keep looking back at the past! It's about time I'm moving on!"

  "Senpai. . ."

  Yuki has mixed feelings about this. On one hand, she's happy Neo made the decision of wanting to face his past, but at the same time, she feels guilty that she is a big part of why he made the decision.

  "Kohai, I apologize, but can we suspend our Judge activity for today? Or at least until I'm finished? There's a place I want to visit."

  "Of course, senpai. I'll always be by your side every step of the way."

  "Please take me to Japan! Our home country."

  “Okay, senpai.”

  .

  .

  .

  3 July 2018

  On the other side of the world, America, nighttime 19:00. . .

  ". . . ."

  Runelt is lying down on his bed in his room inside his apartment.

  *KNOCK KNOCK*

  "Onii-chan!! Are you there?"

  There was no response.

  *KNOCK KNOCK*

  "Onii-chan? If you're not answering, I'm forcing myself in!"

  Again, there was no response.

  *KNOCK KNOCK*

  "Onii-chan?!"

  Even after a few seconds, there was still no response.

  "Alright then!"

  *BAAM*

  Runelt's younger adopted sister, Rena, bashes the door to Runelt's room open violently. The door lock and door knob were broken by the force of her bash.

  "Onii-chan!! How long are you gonna sulk like this?"

  ". . .What is it, you fool?"

  "*sigh* Onii-chan, just get up from bed already! You've been sulking and staying in bed since we came back! Get up!"

  ". . .I apologize, Rena. I couldn't keep your promise to invite the 4th Judge with us. I also have to apologize to Light and Lily-san."

  "ONII-CHAN!! DON'T MIND ABOUT THAT!! LET'S GO EAT!! YOU HAVEN'T EATEN ANYTHING!!"

  Rena grabs Runelt's hands and tries to pull him out of his bed. Runelt, without showing any signs of struggle, didn't budge at all, even when Rena pulled him with all of her strength.

  "Rena."

  "What is it?"

  "I'm sorry. I wanna be alone for a while."

  "*sigh* But you have to eat! Let's go out to have dinner, Onii-chan!!"

  "I'm not hungry."

  "*SIGH* Okay then, I'm going out to the city to eat and sightsee, and maybe I'll do something interesting afterwards if anything catches my eye."

  "Be careful."

  Rena walks out of Runelt's room, but just before she closes the door, she turns back towards his brother.

  "Please cheer up, my foolish dear brother."

  And then Rena closed the door and left the mansion.

  ". . ."

  Runelt has been thinking to himself. He has been taking the role of the Judges quite responsibly and leisurely at the same time. He never struggled with anyone he encountered during his duty, both Faith power wise and emotionally. It has been a leisurely straight road for both him and Rena. But that's probably because they were siblings, and they were always together from the start. They became a Judge and Support exactly at the same time and day in front of the One True God together.

  Since Light and Lily, and now Yuki and Neo, he realized that most of the Judges are probably doing their Judge duty solo before they found their Support on the way. Because when he got a peek into Yuki's life, surprisingly, Neo was nowhere near her during her most crucial times in her life.

  "I've been acting so high and mighty and I've been taking my duty so lightly. . ."

  "Yuki, Light, and Lily. They all have to carry such heavy burdens on their mind on every step of the way in their life. Who knows what Neo has to carry in his mind as well."

  When Runelt went to face Yuki, he was so sure he could convince Yuki to come to the gathering. He told himself, "She may be a Judge, but I can easily overpower her and make her understand our standing. That way, she'll agree that she needed more companions in this long journey as a Judge, fulfilling our duty". He always taught that no matter what the hurdles in front of him, he would be able to overcome them with relative ease.

  'Justice always prevails against evil' is Runelt's life motto. No matter how strong evil becomes, the heroes always emerge victorious in the end. It's not necessarily wrong to think this way, and considering how powerful his Faith power is, he is welcome to act as he always has. However, he never fully considers the perspectives of others or the broader world around him, especially regarding how vital his role as a Judge really is.

  ". . ."

  "Maybe I should take a shower to clear my head."