Before the first trial

[alchemicalwater]

[You can bet your ass that she is pulling Akira aside.]

I want to help them.

Comments

[alchemicalwater]

[Right. Because people like that, they never stick by each other. They're always the first to turn when someone gets into trouble.]

Right, I will.

I'm watching your back, too.

[Because he sure did paint a huge 'FITE ME JUNKO' sign on his back and all.]

I'm- I'm actually really good with water powers, so I can catch people off-guard. If any of them try anything, I'll help you.

[purrtagonist]

[actually, hearing her say that brings a grin to his features]

And I've got yours.

[allies, after all. as established way back after their first Reaper meeting]

Our partnership sounds pretty official when you put it like that, too.

[alchemicalwater]

A reaper-partnership of sorts, I guess.

[She's kind of wishing she had gotten Akira as a partner, even. There's no way it would have happened, not with them both being reapers, but it would make things so much easier.

Also, she's going to bring out a bottle and offer it to Akira. It's a chocolate milk bottle, but the cap has been taken off and put back on. And the contents are brown and milky, but don't look like chocolate milk.]

I suppose it's only fair, if I'm going to be your coffee-smuggler and all.

[purrtagonist]

[HE HOPES THE BOTTLE IS OPAQUE TO HIDE THE NOT-AT-ALL-CHOCOLATE-MILK LIQUID WITHIN]

Ah-- [right. he knows she promised she'd do this, but!! he's still!! pretty touched by the gesture]

[he can't help it. he laughs as he reaches out to take the bottle from her]

Just don't let the higher ups catch you. I hear coffee smuggling comes with a sentence of five to ten years.

[alchemicalwater]

[The label is big enough to hide almost all of it so!

And Akira's laugh there makes Undine finally smile too.]

I can't have my reaper-partner going into a trial without his caffeine, now can I?

[purrtagonist]

[GOOD ENOUGH]

I might run out of battery juice halfway through if you did, and that wouldn't help anyone, would it?

[alchemicalwater]

Exactly! So this is just me keeping you fighting-ready.

[purrtagonist]

[his smile softens a bit as he pops the lid off of the bottle and takes a swig, eyes slipping shut. aaaah, coffee. it isn't Leblanc's, but it hits the spot after nothing but stupidly sweet soda the past few days]

[he lets out a breath, soaking in the sudden rush of espresso, before he talks again, voice soft]

Feeling better, now?

[alchemicalwater]

A little, yes.

[She's not really better, but calmer? She can go into this with a clear head at least.]

Thank you, for helping me.

[purrtagonist]

You're welcome.

[always]

. . . you know. [while they're on the subject of their fellow reapers? sort of] Truthfully, I don't really know how much I can trust the others at this point, either. All of us seem to have our own set of goals, don't we?