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When Akaza arrived that night, you didn't even bother to turn and greet him, remaining in your spot on your futon where you sat hugging your legs to your chest. You really didn't feel like talking, much less facing him. The disappointed look he had given you the night before continued to plague your mind, making you dread whatever he had to say about your performance in the fight.
"What are you doing?"
Startled by Akaza's voice, you perked your head up, but didn't dare to turn and look at him.
"Why are you not ready for training?"
Riddled with confusion, you finally let go of your legs, slowly turning your body and staring up at him with a perplexed look. "What...?"
Upper Moon Three crossed his arms, sending you an impatient look while tapping his foot like a mother scolding her child. "Did getting knocked around cause you to become hard of hearing or something?" He asked with a raised brow.
"I..." Gripping the blanket of your futon, you looked down, brows furrowing. "But I lost..." Your words came out in a low whisper, and your heart began to pound as you nervously awaited his next words.
"Tch. Idiot."
Your head snapped up at him, meeting his slightly softened eyes. "Huh?"
"That fight was never about winning."
Forehead creasing, you tried not to jump to conclusions and get your hopes up. "Then what was it about?"
Akaza let out a huff through his nose, closing his eyes and dropping his arms to his side. "The whole point was for you to overcome all of your self image issues and give it your all to the very end."
Yeah, you got your hopes up after he said that, eyes widening with a glint of relief. "Really?? Then, you mean...?"
The demon nodded. "You successfully crossed this broken bridge. I'll continue training you."
You didn't waste a second before jumping up and smiling so wide that it almost hurt, tears streaming out of your closed eyes.
"The hell are you crying about??" Akaza leaned back in surprise at your outburst, mildly disturbed by the waterworks.
In response, you shook your head and wiped your tears. "They're tears of joy... I'm just so happy right now." A chuckle escaped your lips as your smile became more tender and you looked into Akaza's eyes, your own eyes glassy from crying. "Thank you so much, Akaza!"
Upper Moon Three didn't know how to respond. But when he looked at your face... an image of a beautiful woman appeared in his mind. She wore a soft smile on her face, looking at him with a fond gaze. He didn't know why, but seeing that smile made him feel warm, and your words of genuine gratitude filled him with another kind of fuzziness (platonically, chill).
