(Obsidia's Perspective)

I-Impossible...she caught it in mid-air?! A bullet, of all things?!

This distracted me momentarily, but it was the brief window she needed to close the gap between the two of us. The rule with her was that once her Apoxyia form ended, she had to eliminate contestants by touching them directly, similar to Amane. And that, was exactly what she was about to do to me.

In a panic, I pressed down hard on the trigger as Mei Gui's face appeared directly in front of me, and she grasped my neck. And then...

"You win," we said at the same time. We then looked at each other's eyes in confusion.

"...You win," she muttered again dejectedly, letting go of my throat and turning around.

After getting my breath back, slightly shocked by how strong her grip was, I noticed that her chest had a black gas emitting from it - I had hit her with my final, Hail Mary shot. But...similarly, my throat had a red smudge on it, signaling that she had touched me. Now the question was, did my bullet hit her first, or did she touch my neck first?

"No...you won this fight," I replied defiantly. "I am certain you touched my neck before my bullet struck you."

"..."

"..."

We both fell silent. And then, the sound of a helicopter's whirling blades dawned upon us, as we both looked up. Above us, the door of the helicopter slid open, and down came a ladder for us to climb on. Old Man Leng hollered at us impatiently.

"Well? What are ya waitin' for? Get up here!"

Mei Gui and I exchanged glances and we both complied obediently...although I did hear Mei Gui mutter the following words:

"Tch...if it wasn't for Master, I would never obey a human's commands..."

I wonder...just how close is she with Xuan Kai? She calls him Master and all, but is that merely a title, or are there actual feelings of attachment behind it?

By the looks of it, it seemed like Mei Gui genuinely viewed Xuan Kai as the most important person in the entire world to her. Whether that had anything to do with their Chaos-borne connection or not, I had no clue, and quite frankly, did not care all that much either. I was only staying with these humans temporarily; we have a deal, and that was the extent of our relationship - business partners, you could say. The moment they fulfilled their end of the deal, we would part ways.

Or at least...that is what I always believed would happen up until now.

I am a dragon. I have always looked at humans as a inferior race - nothing more. I saw them as weak, pitiful little maggots who could be easily crushed under my talons. But after journeying for so long with Xuan Kai and the girls with him...I, quite unexpectedly if I do say so myself, found this to be fun.

As much as I wanted to deny it, to turn away from that fact, I could not. The past few months...this paintball mock battle...everything has been entertaining, interesting...fun.

Before I met Xuan Kai, I never would have thought one day, I would be travelling along with a species I had always seen as maggots, and having fun with them, no less. I never thought that I would be genuinely enjoying being alongside these humans.

Perhaps...once everything is over, I may be able to continue travelling with them. If that is possible...I think I would like that.

Of course, these were merely thoughts in my own head. I would never say them out loud, especially not to Xuan Kai. I would continue acting as I have always been, not showing a trace of emotion.

My mother once told me that emotions were a weakness. They were nothing more than a flaw for your enemies to exploit, to take advantage of. And so, I learned to mask them, only ever showing my true feelings when I was alone. Until eventually...they disappeared as a whole. Even when I was by myself, I barely had any emotions left. But Xuan Kai...somehow, he managed to trigger an emotion in me when we first met - embarrassment.

I remember he had suddenly picked me up in a princess carry and flew me downwards into the city. At first, I was just surprised - surprised that a human could be so fearless of a living dragon. But that feeling of shock quickly turned into embarrassment as I realized what was really happening. Against my own volition, I had let out a high-pitched yelp of surprise, something extremely unlike my normal character.

After that, as I journeyed along with these humans, my emotions slowly began returning, more and more. I could even feel joy now - joy at this mock battle, for example, and just...being here, with them, in general.

I...I kind of understand why the Primordial Chaos chose Xuan Kai now. That human...he is a person of miracles.

He may be contradictory at times, perhaps cold and ruthless, maybe even indecisive sometimes, but despite how he seems on the surface, deep down, he cares a lot about all the girls with him. That much is a fact. Other humans may not see it, but all dragons have an innate ability to sense what a person's true personality is, to an extent. Xuan Kai's...was a bit confusing, to say to the least.

He is a cold-blooded murderer. Killed hundreds of people. Merciless and ruthless. That much I instantly saw.

But what I did not expect, was that under that cold layer of ice, a burning sun lay. He had a warm side to him too, though he did not show this side too often. But when he is with the girls, he seems to become more gentle and caring...almost like a top-tier boyfriend.

Xuan Kai...he really confuses me. But one thing, I knew for certain - I needed someone to trust, to rely on - and this human, I could trust he would not hurt me, even if I asked him to.

And that, is all that matters to me.

*****

(Xuan Kai's Perspective)

Once Obsidia and Mei Gui climbed up the ladder tossed down to them and entered the helicopter, Old Man Leng shut the door. I noticed Obsidia giving me a slight...almost affectionate glance when she first saw me, but then quickly looked away.

What's that all about...? The hell? She take an aphrodisiac or something? Do those even work on dragons? Wait, what am I thinking about?

"Anyway, who won between ya two?" Old Man Leng asked, getting back in the cockpit.

"...A tie," Mei Gui and Obsidia muttered at the same time.

"Huh?" I raised an eyebrow, and the other girls did the same.

DId they...defeat each other at the exact same time? No way.

"A tie. Interestin'," Old Man Leng chuckled. "So who's the winner then? I mean, of this whole thing."

...Oi, Old Man Leng. Don't tell me...

Mei Gui and Obsidia exchanged glances, and then both shrugged.

"Well, whatever. Let's just say you two both got first, and head back," Old Man Leng continued after seeing their reactions.

...Yep, he really forgot.

"H-Hold on," I interrupted, stopping Old Man Leng from taking us back into District A.

"What?" he asked, mildly irritated.

"Aren't you...uh, forgetting someone?" I asked, hoping he would remember. Because if he didn't...that would be quite awkward.

"Huh? Who?"

...

Wow. He really forgot. Is it old age? I'm hoping it's just old age.

"Er...Qing Yue," I replied. "Y'know? The short girl with the white hair? Ring any bells?"

Heh. Speaking of, Qing Yue taught me that phrase.

"Ah...yes...er, sorry," Old Man Leng muttered quietly, before activating the earpiece comms. "A-Ahem, uh, Qing Yue? Can you hear me?"

"Hm? Oh, yes!" Qing Yue's excited voice came through from the other end.

"Alrighty. Can you shoot a bullet or somethin' so we can tell where ya are?"

"Eh? But why? The fight isn't over yet...?" Qing Yue asked innocently over the comms.

"It is," I replied in Old Man Leng's stead. "We'll explain once we pick you up."

"Big Brother Xuan Kai?" Qing Yue's voice suddenly turned happy, and she giggled. "Okay!"

And then, we heard a gunshot in the distance.

"Okay~done," Qing Yue said. "You heard that, right?"

"That we did," Old Man Leng chuckled. "Comin' over right now. Don't move."

"Got it, tee-hee!"

And with that, Old Man Leng cut the comms, and began driving the helicopter towards Qing Yue's location, not too far off.

Geez, old man...I can't believe you really forgot about my cute little sister. Wait, none of the other girls said anything either...

I turned to look at the other girls, and as soon as they noticed my gaze, they knew what was up. Each one of them looked away and pretended to be busy doing something awkwardly, like playing with their hair or staring down at their lap.

I sighed.

Well...I suppose it's been a long day. Well, technically it's nighttime, but...the Fortress is very different from the outside, as I've come to realize firsthand. Ah, whatever. Can't exactly blame these guys for having minor memory lapse, but still...forgetting someone even existed completely? Good lord...