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[guerrilla]

[That still leaves 25%...the mystery deepens.]

So basically since the beginning, since that happened in my first battle here. Unless you're actually the kind of person who checks out the people who are trying to kill you...?

[He's got her number.]

[sealeted]

[Gosh, it's almost like she sees something in him that he doesn't, isn't it.]

.......

[She falls silent at that accusation, which could mean anything. But the way her fingers flinch back, brief but noticeable, all but screams 'bull's eye'.]

[guerrilla]

...Hakuno.

[His tone takes a turn for the incredulous.]

Look, I'm flattered, but think about your priorities once in a while.

[sealeted]

What!

[It's a short, defensive sound, punctuated by an embarrassingly weak hit to his shoulder blades. All in all, it's pretty much just another part of the massage. If he glances back, however, he'll get to see her ears and cheeks burning.]

I can't help the fact that multiple people who tried to kill me were also very attractive! O-Or that I noticed that fact!

[guerrilla]

[He laughs quietly when she hits him, then a little louder when he looks over his shoulder to see her crimson cheeks.]

Noticing someone and checking them out are different things, you know.

[He is never going to let her live this down.]

...So, how'd I rank? I must've been in the top five, at least.

[He might not have very many things about himself that he likes, but he knows he's handsome, at least.]

[sealeted]

I... uh, g-give me a second, I never really thought about it.

[They were all dead, after all.]

What criteria do you mean? Like... just Servants, just men...? Every enemy?

[guerrilla]

[Oh no. Oh, no. He's started laughing again.]

Every enemy? Yes, please, compare me to those weird...things in the Arena. I'm very interested in how I stack up to them.

[sealeted]

Well, there are those, yes, but there were Alter Egos on the Far Side. You might laugh, but they were more or less based on the Infirmary AI physically. With... a few tweaks, appearance-wise.

[And power-wise.]

They were crazily obsessed with me, but I can't say they weren't beautiful.

[guerrilla]

No, the Infirmary AI was pretty cute, I can see why you'd say that.

[She's the only thing he even remotely likes about the Infirmary, considering what went down there.]

But if they're all based on the same person, they only count as one, alright?

[So his chances of being in the top five are better. He's got a personal investment in this now.]

[sealeted]

No, they all had their own... quirks. There were three of them, so bundling in Sakura herself, four. I'll round down to half that, for fairness.

[Sorry, Sakura.]

But, all enemies, not just Servants... mm... I'd put you at ssseventh? Maybe sixth, maybe eighth. It gets kind of complicated. A lot of people have tried to delete me, but some ended up as allies too.

[guerrilla]

I didn't think I'd have to explain to someone who's won a war that someone is your enemy if they try to kill you.

[He's not even going to address this "seventh" bullshit. He's definitely top five in his own heart.]

[sealeted]

On the Far Side, our memories were taken by an Alter Ego. Aside from me, every Master and Servant over there was salvaged by her from their deletion.

[So...]

Leo Harwey and his Servant were there, if you recall them.

[guerrilla]

Who? No, never mind, I don't give a shit. You said every Master?

[She should be able to figure out what he's getting at, though he's not especially hopeful about the final result.]

[sealeted]

[You know, that blond prince-looking kid who exposition-babbled in a conversation with Blackmore in Week 2?]

Every Master there. And some of them didn't have their Servants.

[Her hands slow to a stop.]

...like I said, we were all brought over by the original Alter Ego. And, others were salvaged as their forced subordinates or playthings. You, a girl named Alice, and her Servant.

[guerrilla]

[If she thinks Robin gave a single shit about Leo Harwey and his shitty knight, Hakuno is sadly mistaken.]

...You know.

[This is a dangerous topic for a lot of reasons. It threatens to derail their conversation entirely, and it exposes a vulnerability Robin doesn't want to think about most of the time. But even so - ]

I don't mind being your friend, and it doesn't matter anymore, but I'll never forgive you.

[For what, he doesn't say, but given the topic they're on, it should again be easy for her to guess what he's talking about.]

[sealeted]

No, it's something that I'll never be able to forgive myself for, so I'm not selfish enough to ask that from anyone else.

[With a nearly-silent thump her forehead falls against his bare back.]

The opponents before Blackmore and you were Francis Drake and an eight year old boy with an avatar that made him look my age. After you, there was Alice and her twin Servant. Both of them were children too. And more besides. But, as much as the Moon Cell lets me, I remember. Every breath I take has a price tag. I know that.

[guerrilla]

[He stares straight at the wall as he responds, refusing to even so much as glance in her direction.]

...You're worth it.

[Blackmore himself had certainly thought so, at least. Robin, as harsh as it seems to say, isn't entirely convinced yet.

But he knows that even if she isn't now, she's working toward it. She'll be working to feel like she's worth that many lives for as long as she's breathing. He doesn't know if she'll get there - he knows he never would - but striving to be worth the sacrifices of other people is admirable in itself.]

If you weren't, I'd have killed you the second I saw you here.

[In defeating Blackmore, she'd given him some sort of salvation, and while it's a sad excuse for a consolation prize, at least he was given one at all.]

[sealeted]

That might be one of the nicest things that you've ever said to me.

[It may or may not be a stab at levity.

Her voice, the fingers on his skin, the slow breath she blows out, they're all trembling too much to make it seem like a joke. And, as ever, she's utterly sincere.]

[guerrilla]

[It might be the nicest thing he's said to her, since most of the nice things he says to her are only nice after the surface sarcasm is removed.]

You deserve to hear it once in a while. And it's the least I can do to apologize for bringing up something that unpleasant.

[It didn't work out in his favor in any sense of the word, but she's still fought harder than he's ever seen anyone fight. She had to fight to live - to prove that she had the right to live in the first place.]

...That's what friends do, right?

[sealeted]

[Well, it's not like he would actually apologize for that, but in a way what he actually said meant far more than a simple 'sorry' ever could. The trembling subsides soon enough, and shortly after she shifts up on her knees, and braces against him. Just enough to angle forward and brush a kiss across his cheek, and then she settles back down.]

Thanks, Robin. You're a pretty great friend.

[And to prove it, she starts the massage back up again, this time working over both shoulders.]

[guerrilla]

No, I'm not.

[But he's trying.

He leans back into her touch, sighing quietly to himself.]

You're good at this.

[Or maybe not? He can't tell, since he's never had a massage before.]

[sealeted]

You are by my standards.

[For whatever that might be worth.]

Thanks. If it helps, I could do it more often; I could use the practice anyways for our anatomy coursework.

[guerrilla]

You just want an excuse to touch my arms.

[Though he can't say he'd be dismayed if that really were the reason.]

Just...no oils, okay? I don't want them sticking to the cloak or my uniform and making them smell funny.

[sealeted]

Yeah, I figured as much. Maybe I could find a scentless lotion...

[Or he could take a bath right after, but that might be stretching it. Also, she is very emphatically turning her thoughts away from him bathing right now.]

Also, if you think about it, I've barely even touched your arms so far.

[guerrilla]

You can't weasel your way out of this after giving 40 out of 100 points to them.

[Just because she hasn't doesn't mean she doesn't want to, or something.]