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Aamori continued to watch him as he started up the stairs. She had started to look away but noticed him stop. She stared at him for a moment at least until she saw the look in his eyes. She was glad that he didn't look at her like that for long, she was already getting the feeling she wanted to look away but couldn't bring herself to. She sighed softly after he said goodnight again and then shut her eyes and slumped down on the couch once he was out of sight. She kind of wished she hadn't called him by that name now. She'd done it on purpose, and then purposely corrected herself just to cover her own ass. It was obvious by the hurt in his eyes that he knew that name, and knew it well. She finally stretched her legs out on the couch and then heaved a heavier sigh. And here she thought she'd made some leeway with speaking to him. She barely noticed when Kanone came down the stairs finally. She opened her eyes and lifted her head just as the front door was shutting. She shook her head lightly and dropped her head back down and placing her arm over her eyes.
Nero hadn't exactly been paying close attention to where he was walking, otherwise he might have noticed Kanone before he ran into him. He took a couple steps back and then looked down at Kanone, obviously now noticing that they had collided. He sighed hearing Kanone's question. "Yes." He answered simply, assuming that Kanone had wanted to know whether or not she had been buried. He took the shovel pieces in his left hand and passed them back to his tail before extending his hand to help him up. "Your grandfather is still out there. At least that is where I left him." He added. "So where are you off to in such a hurry?" |
Kanone looked up to Nero until he answered him and then nodded once and turned his eyes down. "...Oh..." he said quietly without really looking up. Nero hand just barely caught the corner of his eye and he scooped the rest of his clothes up on his arm again before taking his hand and hauling himself up. "Thanks..." he murmured quietly, only looking at him again when he asked where he was going. He glanced away again and sighed quietly. "...Home...I think..." he said quietly. He still wasn't too sure that he could get himself through that door. "...I...still have to feed that...stupid cat." His voice wavered slightly on that last sentence. Sonia was always getting onto him about forgetting that chore. She usually did it, but she always chewed him out because it was his job. Obviously...mom wasn't going to do it for him today...or any other day from now on.
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Nero dropped his hand down to his side once Kanone was back on his feet. He shook his head lightly hearing where Kanone was headed. "Either your going home, or your not." He said quietly. "There is no 'I think' about it." He looked at Kanone for a moment before turning slightly to look back down the road the way he'd come. "Don't force yourself to go back so soon, unless you're really ready to deal with all those emotions. I'm sure you're aware it's going to feel like a flood as soon as you open that door. You should make sure you are prepared for it." He sighed softly and looked back to Kanone. "And I wouldn't worry about that pain in the ass cat. She'll get hungry and come find you I'm sure. I, for one, know she's persistent..." He said with a slight eye roll.
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"Yeah..." Kanone agreed quietly when he said that it was going to be like a flood. "...I know..." He looked up to Nero again and chuckled quietly when he said that the cat was persistent. "...Yeah...sure is." he said quietly. He sighed softly and shook his head. "...There isn't really much room left to crash here..." he said finally, "...I was trying to save everyone a bit of a hassle... There's only one bed open and....I...don't think I can sleep anywhere near it." he said quietly, obviously referring to the one that he had laid Sonia on earlier.
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Nero shook his head lightly. "Don't be silly. Room can always be made." He said quietly. "Have you even looked around upstairs for a free space on a bed to lay on?" He paused. "Or how about the couch... or even the floor as a last resort. There are other places, other then that one open bed you're speaking of." He stood there for a moment before swinging his tail around with the shovel pieces still in tow. He reached for them with his free hand and looked at them for a moment before looking at Kanone. "Since it really doesn't sound to me like you're ready to go back right now. Do me a favor and show me where these go." He paused. "Then we'll find you somewhere to sleep for the night. You can try going home in the morning after you've had a night of sleep." He said more so in a commanding voice.
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Kanone sighed softly and shook his head. "...No...I just thought I should go home while I still felt brave enough." he said quietly, revealing the hurry right there. Obviously he'd lost that urge in a hurry. He looked at the shovels again and then nodded slowly, though his ears laid back slightly at Nero's tone. He honestly didn't think that he wanted to risk saying 'no.' "Yeah...this way." he said quietly, waving him on as he turned around and went back around the house again, pausing at the shed long enough to open the door for him. "...I don't think there's any rhyme or reason to this stuff...just toss it in."
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Nero followed after Kanone when he started around the house to the shed. Once he'd opened the doors he just set the shovels down inside and took a step back. He sighed softly as he tried to dust his hands off on his pants. Though he rather quickly found that pointless since even his pants were as dirty as his hands. He looked back to Kanone and then turned and started back towards the front door. "C'mon, we need to get you a place to sleep." He paused and glanced back over his shoulder slightly. "Like I said before, you can go back in the morning. You shouldn't go trying to go home when the wound is still fresh... It'll only make you feel terrible again." He commented before rounding the house and heading for the porch.
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Kanone closed the door once Nero had put the shovels up and then watched him try to clean off his hands. He half smiled and started to follow him, though is smile faded when he repeated himself again, though a softer one took it's place a moment later. he had no idea how he was still able to smile after all of this. "...Thanks..." he said quietly as he followed after him. He reached up to him and put his hand on his shoulder for a moment, doubting highly that Nero would appreciate being hugged by a guy. "...Heh...you know...I think I left some hot water." he said with a slight smile after he looked over his clothes again. He lowered his hand as they climbed back onto the porch. "...I'm kind of...glad I ran into you..." he said quietly. He probably would have ended up curled up in the middle of his living room floor sobbing all night long if he hadn't.
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Nero glanced down briefly when he felt Kanone's hand on his shoulder. His eyes trailed from his hand up to his face, though his expression was a bit softer then it had been. He didn't want to creeping the guy out by looking at him like he was ready to kill him. He sighed softly at the mention of some hot water being left. He, at this point didn't care whether the water was hot or not. He stunk, and his clothes were filthy, cold water would work just as well as hot. Once on the porch he moved over to the door and started to place his hand down on the knob. He glanced back over to Kanone momentarily. He shook his head lightly. "Yeah... well, I think it was stupidity more then bravery to try and go back there tonight." He paused. "You should be taking it one step at a time, and in the morning, if you decide to go back for a while... Make sure you've got someone with you. I don't care who. But you should have someone who can pull you out of that house if it gets too hard for you." He started to open the door. "The last thing you need to do is break down crying somewhere in that house by yourself and wind up plummeting yourself into depression." After he had the door open all the way he stepped inside and held the door open while he waited for Kanone to come inside.
Aamori removed her arm from over her eyes when she heard the door open. She laid there for a minute before pushing herself back up into a seated position, rather then lay taking up most of the couch. She might have been able to fall asleep, rather easily actually. But after talking with Nanashi and seeing that look he had she really couldn't seem to quiet her thoughts long enough to get to sleep. She stifled a quiet yawn with her hand and then looked towards the front door. She saw Nero, and how dirty he was and quirked a brow slightly. It didn't take her long to come to the conclusion that Nero was probably helping Marius. She sighed softly and kept her eyes at the door to see who Nero was holding it open for. |
Kanone smiled weakly at Nero again when he finally say him not looking at him like he could run him through with something. "...I never claimed to be smart..." he said quietly when he said that it was stupid of him to try to go back tonight. "...I just go, I don't think about it first...if I did I probably wouldn't do half of the things I do." he said quietly. He looked at the open door for a moment and then stepped inside again slowly and glanced around for a moment, nearly cringing when he saw Aamori since he assume that she'd been there when he left, too. He hadn't even looking behind him into the living room, he just had his eyes on the door. He gave her one of those little half smiles and then sighed softly and glanced down the hall. He half wondered if anyone would be sleeping in there tonight or if they were going to avoid it like the plague the way that he was.
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Nero started to close the door after Kanone had stepped inside but stopped when he glanced down and noticed his boots were encased in dirt. Of course he should've known that they were like that. It's pretty much impossible to dig that much dirt and fresh earth and come out with clean boots. He sighed heavily and stepped back out onto the porch for a moment and pulled his boots off, dropping them down beside the front door. He could clean them up tomorrow, right now he didn't feel like bothering with it. He stepped back into the house and shut the door behind him. He glanced over to Aamori for a brief moment before noticing Kanone looking down the hall. He shook his head and stepped past him wandering down the hall to the bedroom that Sonia had been in earlier. He paused in front of it for a moment before reaching in and taking hold of the door knob and pulling the door shut. Sure, that didn't solve much but at least the door was shut now so they could pass by it without having to look in. He released the door knob and walked back down the hall and headed right over to the stairs. He stepped up onto them and looked back at Kanone. "Do you want to find a place to sleep now, or a little later?" He paused. "Oh.. wait.. you may not have to look for a place. I'm pretty sure no one's touched the bed I've been using. I honestly think they're afraid to." He said with a soft, nearly nonexistent laugh. "My point, you can use that bed if no one's in it." He then continued up to the top of the stairs. He walked over to the room he had been staying in and glanced in. Like he thought the bed was free. He shook his head a bit when he noticed Kyran asleep in the chair. Well, that told him that someone had to have been in the bed that he and Nanashi had been using and of course the girls bed was probably taken too. He didn't care one way or the other really if Kanone used the bed, he could find some place on the floor to sleep or even outside. If he really felt like it he was sure that he could talk Aamori into sleeping in the chair again so he could have the couch. She didn't seem to have any trouble falling asleep in chairs anyway.
Aamori looked at the door long enough to see Kanone and then looked away after he gave a half smile. At least that answered her question as to who left the house before. She kept quiet and continued to sit there. She hated to admit it but she was a little bothered that he left the house without saying anything to her, yet again. He did the same thing to her last night, and even after he went to the trouble to go find her and then walk with her all the way back to Marius' house. She sighed softly and leaned back against the couch again. |
Kanone shifted his gaze again to focus on Nero when he went to close the door and then he sighed softly, glancing away again. He sighed softly and turned his eyes to the floor again before he looked up to see Nero heading up the stairs again. He smiled weakly and was just abut to answer him when he said that he could sleep in his bed, though he grinned a little when he said that they were afraid to take his bed. "I wonder why." he said playfully and then smiled at him again. "...Thanks." he said softly. He felt kind of bad running Nero out of his room though. He was about ready to ask him where he was going to sleep until he realized that he'd already gone upstairs. He shook his head slightly and then looked back to Aamori and smiled slightly, walking over to the couch to sit down beside her. "...Hey...how long have you been down here? ...I didn't even see you when I went out." he said as he rubbed his head, realizing then that his hair was still a little damp. He sighed softly, "...Sorry...I wasn't really looking. I had a feeling if I stopped I wouldn't make it out the door." he said with a weak laugh. "I still barely made it off the porch."
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Nero only stood at the door for a moment longer before he continued down the hall to the bathroom. He didn't bother checking any of the other rooms as he walked. Once he reached the bathroom he stepped inside and shut the door quietly behind him before locking it. He fished around for a clean, unused towel and left it by the sink before he started over to the shower to run the water. Just like earlier this morning he wasn't in the shower for that long. Only long enough to get himself cleaned up. Once he was done with his shower he put his dark colored boxer briefs back on and then looked over shirt and pants to see just how dirty they were. He really didn't want to go putting them back on while they were so filthy, that would just defeat the purpose of taking a shower. He sighed softly and then shook out his hair a little before he proceeded to wash the dirt from his clothes.
Aamori looked up briefly when Kanone sat down beside her. She gave a soft sigh. "..Since just after you left the kitchen, earlier." She answered. She couldn't really complain if he didn't see her, he'd left so quickly that she hadn't even seen him. She'd only seen the door shut on his way out. "...It's okay." She said quietly. "It's no big deal, so no need to apologize." She added lastly. She was still a little bothered that he had left without a word to her, even if he didn't see her. That just meant the thought never crossed his mind while he was on his way out. She was at least trying to just let it go since he had come back and was talking to her now. |
Hikari was still awake and still sitting on the edge of the bed where Kyran and Nanashi had left her with Celestine. He had finally let go of her hand and seemed to be sleeping pretty soundly now at least. She hadn't bothered to get up, but she did glance toward the door when she heard someone walking by and sighed softly when she say Nero, though she didn't really have time to see how dirty he was before he was out of her sight again. She looked back down to Celestine again, half wondering if she and Nero were the only two still awake since it had been pretty quiet for a while. She sighed softly and sat there for a little while longer before she finally stood up and stretched her arms up over her head. She didn't think Celestine really needed her there anymore, he was off in dream land by now.
Kanone sighed softly and closed his eyes as he leaned his head back on the couch. "...Good thing... I'm so scatterbrained right now....." he trailed off with another sigh and looked over to her again with a half smile. "...So where are you going to sleep?" he asked as he tried not to yawn. He turned his head away from her when the yawn got out anyway and then sighed again. |
Nero finished cleaning the dirt from his clothes and tried to wring them out the best he could. Of course they were still too wet to wear. He sighed softly and grabbed the towel he had pulled out before taking his shower and laid it out on the floor before taking his damp clothes and laying them down on top of the towel. He then rolled the towel up as tightly as he possibly could. At least this way he thought they'd dry out a little faster, then he wouldn't be stuck wandering around in his underwear for very long. Frankly, he didn't care one way or the other. He was still clothed after all. He picked up the rolled towel with his clothes and moved over to the sink to set it down so that it was up off the floor. He set it down in such a way that he didn't think it'd unroll itself too much. He sighed softly and then proceeded over to the door, unlocking it and then opening it and stepping out into the hall. He wasn't going to sit in there until his clothes dried. There were other people in the house after all and it'd be rude of him to stay in there the whole time. He started down the hall, pausing when he passed by the room that Hikari and Celestine were in. He noticed that she was awake, he kind of expected the others to be asleep already since it was as quiet as it was. He stood in the doorway for a moment and crossed his arms over his chest loosely. "You're still up?" He paused. "...How's he doing?"
Aamori could understand him being scatterbrained, so she really couldn't hold it against him. She looked over at him and smiled slightly. "...Well, I think I'll probably be down here again. Either on the couch or in that chair like last night." She answered as her eyes trailed over to the chair. She still couldn't believe how she woke up this morning. She absently rose her hand to the back of her head to feel for that knot she had gotten from falling on her head. It was still there, but it wasn't quite as noticeable and it had stopped hurting when she touched it. |
Hikari was abut ready to turn around to head for the door anyway when she herd Nero's voice. She smiled slightly, half surprised that he was even speaking to her. She finally started to turn around to face him. "He's do--" Her words caught in her throat when she got a good look at him and realized he was in nothing but his undergarments. She stared at him for a second before her milky cheeks turned bright pink. "Ahh--" She threw her hands over her eyes, feeling the warmth in her cheeks as she did so. "Um...h-he's fine!" she answered his question quickly before she turned away from him again. She could see a guy shirtless just fine, but she wasn't too used to them parading around in nothing but their underpants around her. Even her father didn't do that. Oh god, how was she supposed to go the rest of the trip with him? She was probably going to see that every time she looked at him now.
Kanone smiled weakly and reached over to her, gently wrapping his arm around her shoulders and giving her a quick hug. "I think I'm going to go crash for the night..." he told her as he leaned his head against hers for a moment. "Good night, Aamori." he said to her before he stood up and started toward the stairs with a sigh. |
Nero continued to stand there quietly. At least until Hikari turned around and stared at him for a second. Seeing her reaction to how he was dressed was priceless and he couldn't help but laugh softly, for once it was clearly noticeable. He shook his head lightly quieting his laughter after she'd turned away. "That's good." He said simply since she had answered his question. "...So is something wrong? It's not like you to not look at the person you're talking to." He asked while trying not to laugh again.
Aamori smiled a bit after he gave her a quick hug and then nodded slightly when he said he was going to bed. "Goodnight." She uttered quietly. She continued to sit there once he stood up and started for the stairs. She sighed softly after debating with herself for a moment and started to drop her legs down from the couch. "...Kanone ...wait." She said as she pushed herself up from the couch. She walked over to him and slipped around in front of him. "...Now tat you're not coated in blood..." She gave a small smile and then reached out to hug him, resting her head against him lightly. After a moment she lifted her head up and looked at him as she started to pull her hands back. "...Now you can go to bed." She said quietly. |
Hikari groaned quietly when she heard hims laughing and shook her head while still hiding her face in her hands. She thought it was turning an even deeper shade of red if that was even possible. "Why are you laughing at me!?" she squeaked an octave higher than usual, though she already knew why he was laughing. She groaned again at his lay statement, though she did turn around, but she on hand over her eyes, "What do you want? Did you just come in here to embarrass me?" she asked finally lowering her hand, though her shining blue eyes were instantly off in any direction but his. She cleared her throat and finally looked at him, though she kept her eyes on his face for just a second before they wanted to travel down. It was just one of those things that you couldn't look away no matter how hard you wanted to. She only made it to his shoulders before she made a face. "Oh this is so indecent!" she said, putting her hand over her eyes and ducking her head again. "Out." she said, pointing to the door without looking, which...inevitably caused her to point at the wall rather than the door.
Kanone paused when he heard Aamori tell him to wait. He smile slightly and stopped then looked back to her. "Yes?" he asked and then smiled when she put her arms around him. "Aww...you remembered." He said with a soft chuckle. He wrapped his arms around her again for a moment, and held onto her until she started to let go. He nodded slightly when she told him that he could go to bed no. "...Right...night." he said, leaning quickly to press his lips to her forehead as he held onto her shoulders and then he dropped his hands and back up, starting for the stairs again. "Oh yeah." He went back to the couch and gathered his dirty clothes from the floor quickly before he started back to the stairs again and headed up quickly. |
Nero shook his head lightly with a smile plastered to his face due to her reactions. "No, I didn't come here just to embarrass you. That's a bonus." He paused. "I was walking by, noticed you were awake and thought to see how Celestine was doing. Especially since I already know how the other two are." He said with a shrug. He watched as she covered up her eyes again. He laughed softly. "Indecent? Just be happy I did decide to put my boxers back on. I could've come out here in the buff." He said as a smirk crept across his face. He leaned in the room a little and looked at the point on the wall that she pointed at and then shook his head. "Sorry but I don't think I can 'out' through a wall."
Aamori smiled lightly. "...Of course I remembered." She said quietly. Her cheeks immediately tinted pink when he pressed his lips to her forehead. She tilted head to the floor slightly once he backed up. She stood there for a moment about to open her mouth, until he came back and got his clothes from the floor. She lifted her eyes and turned slightly as he started up the stairs again. "Goodnight, Kanone." She said softly before looking back towards the couch. She sighed softly and spotted her glass, empty still sitting on the coffee table. She slipped over to the table and picked up the glass before taking it to the kitchen and setting it down in the sink. She stood there for a moment, thinking briefly about washing it out but turned and headed back to the living room instead. She started over to the couch at first, but stopped and moved over to the chair instead. She remembered that Nero said Kanone could take his bed, she wasn't sure how many spaces were available upstairs but she thought she'd leave the couch open just in case Nero or anyone else needed a place to sleep. She sat down in the chair and swung her legs over the one arm rest and then laid back on the other just like she had the night before. She shifted around slightly and made herself as comfortable as possible before shutting her eyes and trying to go to sleep. She was tired after all, she just hoped she wasn't going to wake up half in and half out of the chair again. |
Hikari groaned again. "I'm glad you find this so funny..." she muttered, though she sighed and finally just gave up and tried to compose herself, though her face was still cherry red. She dropped her hand to her side again and took a deep breath before raising her head. "Where are your clothes, Nero?" she asked, shaking her head. "Honestly, in spite of what you may think I am still a lady and it is most certainly indecent to walk around like that where a woman can see you unless she is your wife!" she said as she looked away again. "Geez..." She was still having so much trouble not staring at him. He did have a pretty nice body but there was no way she was going to tell him that. She closed her eyes and sighed. "...Though I do believe this is the first time I've seen you smile when I'm around. I guess I have to make a complete fool out of myself to get that much out of you. Honestly considering that I was the only one in here I'm half surprised that you even stopped." She turned around to look at Celestine again when she heard him shift positions and saw that he'd just rolled on his side away from them. She smiled slightly at him and then sighed. "...So how are the others?" she asked finally.
Kanone yawned once he got to the top of the stairs and glanced down the hall. He blinked when he saw Nero standing at the one door in nothing but his undies and then shook his head and went into the bedroom. He dropped his shirt beside the bed and then removed his shoes and crawled into the bed with a sigh. He blinked when he noticed Kyran asleep in the chair and then shook his head as he burrowed down under the covers and snuggled into the pillow, closing his eyes to try to sleep, though...that was a lot easier said than done. |
Nero looked at Hikari and sighed softly, the smile he had on his face slowly fading. "My clothes got dirty after shoveling dirt. They needed to be washed." He answered. "And believe me, if my clothes weren't still wet I'd have put them back on after my shower. But since they're drying, this is what I've got until they are dry and you'll just have to deal with it." He gave another sigh and let his arms fall back to his sides before he took a couple steps into the room so that he wasn't standing in the doorway. "I was curious to know how Celestine was, by stroke of chance, you happened to be the one in the room with him. I'd have stopped regardless of who was in here so long as they were awake." He said quietly. He moved again, walking closer to Hikari so that he was practically standing beside her. He glanced down at Celestine for a moment and then looked back at Hikari. "...Kanone seems to be in better spirits, at least. I ran into him out front, he was going to go home but I told him to stay here tonight. Then, Marius, he seems to be handling everything as best as he can. He's being strong, obviously for the boys. He's still out at the cemetery I think... at least that is where I left him." He answered.
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Hikari raised her head slightly and half glanced back to him for a moment. "Shoveling dirt...? Oh... I see..." she said quietly. She lowered her head again and then gritted her teeth a little when she heard him coming closer to her. She sighed softly, "...I'm sorry." she said quietly when he said that she was just going to have to deal with it. She glanced over to him again, keeping her eyes on his face while she looked at him and then lowered her eyes again. "...That's good..." she said quietly before her eyes returned to Celestine. "...To be honest...I don't really know how he is. He has been asleep since I have been up here. Apparently...he cried on Aamori until he passed out and then Kyran brought him up here. I am still in here because he's been clinging to my hand for the past couple of hours. If Nanashi translated what he was saying right, I think he was pretty sure he had his mother's hand..." she sighed softly, "...And he kept saying not to leave, so I didn't. I mean he wasn't talking to me of course but..." She sighed softly and shook her head slightly. "...Poor boy is taking it pretty rough... He's convinced it's his fault..." she at least gathered that much from what all Kyran had been saying.
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Nero's eyes fell on Celestine once Hikari had finished speaking and he sighed softly. "I couldn't exactly tell how Marius was either, at first. Though, that's mostly because I think he's trying not to be quite that open with his emotions." He paused. "I'm sure it's been good for him to be out at the cemetery all this time, he doesn't have to be strong for anyone there..." He said quietly. He glanced back to Hikari briefly. "I'm pretty sure that they're all taking it roughly, in their own ways of course. And I have no doubt that they all feel to blame. It'll just be a matter of convincing each of them that it wasn't their fault. In all honesty what happened couldn't really be helped. It was going to happen, be it to her, or who ever else went through that forest..." Ordinarily he wouldn't bother saying this much to any of them, let alone Hikari of all people. But for once he actually had something to say and since no one else was really around he didn't see anything wrong with talking to Hikari a little. Though the instant Celestine woke up, or someone came by the room he'd button his trap and go back to being the cold, quiet person he usually was and then likely leave the room.
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Hikari nodded slightly. "Yes...I'm sure it has." she said softly in response to what he said about Marius. She finally gave in and looked over to him again, though again she kept her eyes up on his face while he finished speaking. She still couldn't get the color to drain from her face. She nodded slightly. "...Yes...I know that... and I'm sure they all feel that way to some extent..." she said softly, "...I would venture the guess that Kanone yelling at him didn't help him much though..." she said softly as she looked back down to him again. She smiled slightly and shook her head when she got the urge to stroke his hair again. "He may beat me up in the morning as long as I've been sitting in here petting him." she mused, more to herself than to Nero. "...So you helped with the burial... that was considerate of you." she told him quietly when she brought her eyes back up to his face again. "I'm sure they all appreciate it."
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Nero nodded his head a little. "Given some time, Celestine will be just like he was before this happened." He paused. "And I'm sure that if Kanone talks to Celestine, that might help clear things up a little." He glanced down at Celestine once more and then looked at Hikari. "...It's more like I did the whole burial." He started. "Marius, tired. He managed a few shovelfuls, and then handing the body down to me... that's about all he could do." He uttered quietly. He stood there for a moment longer before he took a step back. "...Well, I'm going to go. Last thing I want is to talk so much it wakes him up." He said as he turned around and started for the door and then out into the hall.
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