Affection

Everyone gathered in the main room, waiting for Shu to begin his announcement. He cleared his throat and spoke as loud as he could, "I know that many of you have probably been wondering about this for a while, but... Gai has captured Inori. We are to infiltrate GHQ head quarters, stop the apocalypse, and bring back Inori. I don't want to make this too long, so I'll just get to the point. We will strike tomorrow afternoon, so start preparations. They most likely know that we are going to attack soon, so we should be ready for whatever they have in store for us. There are also a few ships set to set sail tomorrow night. We will board as many innocent people on them as possible for their safety, and... Thank you, everyone... That is all."

The room instantly cleared. Yahiro scanned the room and quickly ran towards Daryl. He tapped his shoulder and calmly asked, "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

Daryl nodded and ruffled Tsugumi's hair. "I'll be back in a bit, I guess."

He cautiously followed Yahiro into a smaller room and closed the door behind him. "So what do you want?"

Yahiro bluntly stated, "Long story short: I don't trust you, and why did you switch sides all of a sudden anyways?"

Daryl sighed and finally took a seat and rested his head on his palm. "First of all, they kind of broke me out of that dumb glass cell of mine. Courtesy of Tsugumi, of course.

"Wait what? Cell? Why the hell would you be imprisoned?"

Daryl forced a grin. "Insubordination." He sat up straight and eyed Yahiro curiously. "And besides... Shouldn't we all be suspicious of you too? I mean... You did kind of betray that poor guy."

"Tch..." Daryl saw him flinch ever-so-slightly. Yahiro spat, "I can't change what I did, but what I've done probably doesn't measure up to what you've done in the past! And back to the topic at hand... People don't just magically switch sides because some random cat-eared girl pranced into their life! I can probably understand why that Rowan guy is here, but!– "

"Actually! Rowan just got dragged into my mess."

"W-Whatever! A-Also! There's Segai! I don't understand why he's even here!"

"He's just obsessed with voids and Shu." He sighed and passively stared at Yahiro. "I can understand why you're suspicious though. Let's just leave it at: Tsugumi, I guess, helped me in many ways. She... changed me."

"Do you honestly expect me to believe that?" Yahiro snapped. He glared at Daryl, waiting for him to say something. He noticed his right eye twitch. Daryl's amethyst eyes pierced straight through Yahiro, somewhat paralyzing him.

"Is this what I get for trying to be nice?" Daryl yelled, flinging his arms into the air. "I don't see a point in trying to explain this to you anymore. You won't even believe a single thing I say! I was telling the truth, but no! You just had to be a complete jerk about it!"

"You're the one who just had to bring up the fact that I betrayed him!"

"Well I don't see why you absolutely have to know why I turned good!"

"Stop acting like a kid!"

"Me? Acting like a kid? Pfft. Look who's talking! You're the one making accusations here!"

"At least I'm not a psychopath!"

Daryl grabbed him by the collar and shoved him up against the wall. "What did you just call me?" He raised his fist but hesitantly lowered it shortly after. His eyes widened at the realization of what he was about to do. Surprisingly, Yahiro was completely still.

He dropped his arms to his sides and glared up at Daryl, speaking in a raspy voice, "So? What are you waiting for? Do it."

Yahiro suddenly fell to the ground. Feeling his collar loosen, he quickly readjusted it and looked up at Daryl, confused. Daryl sighed and slowly made his way to the door. "I– Sorry. I guess I kind of stepped out of line there."

He slowly got up. Seeing a tinge of remorse in Daryl's eyes, he frowned. "I'm sorry too. I guess I was being a bit rash, and!– ...Good luck tomorrow..."

Daryl smirked, opening the door, "You too. Later."

He shut the door behind him and sighed. That was close... If I didn't have any sense of self-control, I would've beaten him back there, but... Since I stopped... Does that mean that I've really changed? The blonde nervously rubbed the back of his head and went to go look for Tsugumi. I hope that didn't take too long. When he entered the main room, she was gone. Daryl climbed the stairwell until he reached the highest floor and saw her sitting on the ground, gazing out the window. She was in deep thought, for she didn't even notice Daryl walk in. He broke Tsugumi out of her trance when he finally spoke, "So I see you're here again."

She let out a tiny yelp and quickly turned her head around to find that it was only Daryl. "Don't sneak up on me like that! You took an awfully long time."

Daryl took a seat next to her. He sat there and stared at her, waiting for her to say something. Instead, she said nothing and kept tilting her head from side to side.

"What's wrong?" Daryl inquired.

Tsugumi suddenly blurted out, "You better not do anything stupid tomorrow! Don't charge in like an idiot like you always do! You're just going to get blown up like you always do. You're always so reckless!"

His face reverted to his usual frown. "I know, I know! Sheesh. Don't worry too much. I'm not stupid."

She giggled, "Sorry~ I'm just worried."

"I know."

"But don't be afraid to let out your "Kill 'Em All Daryl" side tomorrow." Tsugumi playfully punched his arm. "Can't hold anything back at an important time like this, right?"

Daryl forced a smile and nodded in agreement. Daryl was, well, genuinely excited for the battle, but he was also worried. He felt somewhat sad realizing that if something went wrong, he wouldn't get a second chance. No one would. He was actually a little scared for the first time in his life, scared that he would lose Tsugumi, scared that he would lose people who were precious to him. He was also scared that he would die. Daryl had always managed to cheat death one way or another, but this time, it was different. There was no cheating death this time. The thought of everyone dying made him feel somewhat... lonely. He wrapped his arm around Tsugumi's waist and pulled her closer to him, allowing her to rest her head on his shoulder. He heard Rowan's words echo inside his head.

"I always knew you were a good kid deep down inside!"

And for the first time, he agreed with Rowan.

He had finally found someone who actually cared about him, something he had longed for for the longest time, and he wasn't going to let some incestuous-crazed sister take it away from him. Perhaps he was being a tiny bit selfish. Daryl wasn't the type of person to waste time doing soul searching, but hey. The world was about to end, so he thought, "Why the hell not?"

And after lots of thinking, Daryl came to a conclusion. He lightly nudged Tsugumi, "Hey, Tsugumi?"

"Hm?"

"Now that I think about it... I was a freaking douche bag back then."

His comment made Tsugumi burst out laughing. "Oh my gosh, Daryl!" She buried her face in the crook of his neck. "You just now realized this?"

"W-What's with that reaction?" Daryl instinctively pushed her off of him and frowned. She tried to give him a hug, but instead of reciprocating, he planted his hand on her cheek, preventing her from getting any closer to him. Tsugumi started to childishly flail her arms.

"Daryl! I'm so~rry! Now let me hug you!"

"No."

"But why?" She cried.

"Because! Just... because!"

Tsugumi stopped flailing her arms and gently pushed Daryl's arm down. She held his hand in hers and frowned, "I'm sorry, Daryl. I really am."

Daryl felt his face grow hot. He pouted, "I'm sorry too... I was being... childish..." He quickly added, "But you were being childish too, so!..."

Tsugumi smiled and playfully pinched Daryl's cheek. "Aww! You're so sweet, Daryl. You never apologize that easily." She noticed his cheeks growing slightly redder, and her face softened. "Come on, Daryl. It's getting late. We should go to bed now." She suggested, looking up at the dark, starry sky. He simply smiled and nodded. Daryl quickly got up, and helped Tsugumi get up right after.

Daryl was unusually silent. He was still thinking. However, he had changed topics. It took a while for him to accept the fact that he had changed, but he decided that it was for the best if he didn't think so hard about it. His mind had shifted to Tsugumi. He hadn't given it much thought lately, but the more the topic was brought it, the more it bothered him. Was he in love with her? When he thought about it, he realized that he had never felt so... happy before. Before he met Tsugumi, he was irritable and vain, and now he was, well, irritable, vain, and a nicer, happier person if that made any sense. Daryl treated her completely different compared to everyone else. He loved to tease her. He felt compelled to please her and make her smile.

Was this what people called affection?

Daryl asked himself the same question once more, and this time, it hit him all at once. After all this time, he had finally realized it.

I-I love her?

I love Tsugumi...

Before he knew it, they had reached their room. Tsugumi snapped him out of his thoughts. "Daryl? What's wrong?" She asked, shutting the door behind her. "You've been awfully quiet lately."

Daryl suddenly grabbed her shoulders and gazed into her dark eyes. "Tsugumi, I..."

"Daryl?"

"Remember when I promised that we'd be good friends forever or something like that?" He asked all of a sudden.

Tsugumi slowly nodded, confused as to why he was asking about this all of a sudden. He continued, "Well... I-I don't think I can... keep that promise."

"But why?" She pressed. "What do you mean? Don't tell me that you intend to throw your life away out there!"

The blonde jumped slightly at her tone of voice. "No, no! I didn't mean it like that. It's just that... I kind of... Well, okay. Maybe not kind of, but..." His voice trailed off until it was almost inaudible, "I want to be– I want us to be more... more than that... so..."

That's when he said it. After all this time, he finally said it, the words Tsugumi had been waiting for for the longest time.

"I love you!"

He tilted her chin up and leaned down. Tsugumi wrapped her arms around his neck and closed the gap, pressing her soft lips against his. They slightly parted and both smiled.

"I love you too, Daryl!" She flung her arms around him and pulled him into a tight hug. On her face was a big goofy grin, and Daryl couldn't help but smile back as well. Having his feelings reciprocated was probably the best thing to ever happen in his whole life. For now, that is.

I don't know why, but for some reason, I'm really, really, REALLY happy! Stop it, Daryl! Stop. Now. Stop before you become a hopeless romantic!

They both climbed into bed. Tsugumi was quick to cuddle up against Daryl. She rested her head on his chest like she always did. Daryl wrapped his arms around her, enveloping her in warmth. It was practically a daily routine now that he thought about it, and now that he thought about it, he was thinking an awful lot today. He rested his head on top of hers and mumbled, "Stupid runt... Making me fall in love with her."

This caused Tsugumi to giggle. "Stupid sprout. Why do you always have to be so cute? You're always so nice to me! Then you try to cover it up by acting mean. How precious is that?" She laughed. "Oh wait! Don't tell me... Isn't this what people call a... tsundere?"

"Shut up, runt."

"Nee, nee, Daryl?"

"What is it now?"

"I've been thinking... Once all of this is over, I'm going to start going to school again."

"H-Huh? And why are you telling me this?"

Tsugumi grinned, "You should go to school too! If you do, then we'll all be in the same school! Shu, Inoreen, Aya-nee, Yahiro, Souta, Kanon, and me! It'd be so much fun! Well. I would be in a lower grade level, but still! What do you say?"

Daryl rolled onto his side, facing away from Tsugumi. "I-I'll think about it..."

She cheered, "Yay! I'm going to take that as a yes!" Tsugumi hugged Daryl from behind and softly smiled to herself. "Trust me, Daryl... You won't regret anything! Trust me!"

Daryl deeply sighed, "Okay, okay. Fine! Whatever you say." He smiled and hugged her back, causing her grin to grow wider. He closed his eyes and was about to drift off into sleep when he heard her whisper, "Good night."

"Good night, Tsugumi." He looked down at her, and that's when he realized something.

"Hey... You do know that you're still wearing your headband, right?"

"What?" Tsugumi jolted up, and nervously laughed. "Whoops! I was so happy, I completely forgot about it."

She slid her headband off her head and gently placed it on the table next to the bed. Tsugumi then fell back into Daryl's arms. "Okay! Now good night, Daryl!"

"Whatever." He smirked.

"Actually! One more thing!" Tsugumi chirped. "About going to school and stuff! That means that we'll be able to have school festivals! Remember? That's how we met! Sorry for not letting you sleep, but it just kinda popped into my head."

Daryl smiled to himself, remembering the day they had met.

He was minding his own business, upset that he was ordered to go undercover at the school festival. "Why are they holding a festival at a time like this?"

Daryl was adjusting his glasses when a girl with long violet hair suddenly bumped into him. He staggered backwards, holding onto his glasses, making sure that they didn't fall off. The girl was holding two gigantic boxes filled with what appeared to be costumes and props. He placed his hands on his hips and frowned, "Hey, that hurt! What would you do if I got injured? Be more careful next time."

She simply grinned, "Sorry, sorry! But you're just in time! I could use a little help!"

She unexpectedly threw the boxes into Daryl's arms, causing him to struggle with the sudden weight in his arms. "Wait! Why do I?–"

When he thought that this was all she was going to make him carry, she suddenly piled on two more bags, causing him to stagger back and forth. "Oh! And these too, please!"

Daryl almost fell forward, but he quickly regained proper footing. "S-So... Where do you want these?" He grunted.

She pointed behind him and smiled, "Over there!" She skipped on over to their destination, her violet tresses bouncing behind her. Daryl followed, a prominent scowl on his face now. I can't believe I'm doing this right now! When he looked ahead, he noticed that she had disappeared. "Where the hell is she now?"

When he reached where she told him to go, he dropped the boxes without a moment's hesitation against the wall. He plopped himself down onto the ground, panting. "Why do I have to do all this work?"

He heard her voice on the other side of the boxes. He jerked his head to the right and frowned. She leaned over the boxes and bluntly said, "You're such a weakling."

"It's just because you gave me too much at once all of a sudden! I wasn't prepared!" He rudely yelled.

However, to his surprise, the girl simply tilted her head and smiled. She extended her arm and held out something... weird. It was a bright red thing on a stick. "Oh well. Here! Take this and cheer up!"

"What is this?" He asked, curious to know what she was holding.

"Your reward."

Daryl turned his head away from her and rejected her offer, "I don't want that yucky food of yours." Suddenly, he noticed a large shadow looming over him. He gazed up to see the girl standing right in front of him.

She put her hands on her hips and frowned. "When someone does something nice for you... Shut up and accept it!"

The girl lunged towards him, trying to shove the candied apple in his face.

"S-Stop it!" Daryl screamed. He tightly gripped onto her wrist, keeping the candy from getting any closer to his face. "I don't want it! Leave me alone!"

"Hohohoho!" Her laugh sent shivers down his spine. "No! Take it! Come on! Just try it. It tastes really good!"

Daryl was struggling to keep her away. He was pretty much cornered, to a certain extent. She got down on her knees and planted her hand on the ground to his left, preventing his escape. Daryl frantically looked to his left. Half of her body was in his way, and to his right were the large boxes. Shit! If I knock the boxes down, I can escape, but I might draw attention... And if I do knock them down, she's most likely going to chase after me and force me to clean it up. I can't blow my cover... If she does chase me, that could mean bad news...

The girl noticed that he had stopped struggling for a moment and took the opportunity to shove the candy onto his lips. Daryl noticed this and tightly shut his lips, not wanting to taste it.

She pouted, "Come on! One taste can't hurt, right?" She was practically begging him now. The girl gazed deeply into his bright purple eyes. Her eyes were practically sparkling, almost hypnotizing. "Puh-lease! Please! Just one lick. I promise!" Suddenly, her eyes lowered to the bright red candy, and her eyes twinkled mischievously. "Or perhaps... You would rather me give you a taste myself?"

Realizing what she was hinting at doing, Daryl quickly snatched the treat out of her hand and reluctantly licked it. "There! I tried it! Happy?" He cursed under his breath. "Stupid runt..."

She quickly nodded. "So? Like it? How does it taste."

Daryl pouted, trying to avoid her gaze. "It's... sweet."

"Do you like it?"

"I-I guess... I like sweet stuff..."

"Now what do you say?"

"Huh?"

The girl helped him up, frowning at his rudeness.

Daryl stuttered, "O-Oh... Thank you?"

"You're welcome." She grinned. She looked down at Daryl's wrist and noticed that he was wearing a watch. "Say, what time is it?"

Daryl turned his wrist and examined his watch. "6:52."

"Oh crap! Sorry, but I have to go! Hope you enjoy the candy! See you later, I guess?"

"Yeah... I guess..."

Before leaving, she quickly added, "By the way! Nicknames like 'stupid runt' aren't very nice, for you information!"

"Whatever!"

She simply smiled and waved good-bye before finally leaving. Daryl sighed in relief. "She's finally gone..." He turned on his earpiece as he left the campus.

"So are all of them there?"

"Yes. Everyone is there. Ouma Shu and Yuzuriha Inori." He answered.

"Good work, Lieutenant."

With that, Daryl turned off his communication device and slightly twirled the treat in his hand. He eyed it suspiciously and took two more quick licks. "Seriously... what is this thing?"

He pushed up his glasses and scowled, "I swear...The next time I see that runt, I'm going to torment her!"

"Yes. I remember a little bit too well." He sighed. And instead of me tormenting her, she ended up tormenting me instead...

Tsugumi giggled at her fond memory and was slowly falling asleep.

"Wait a moment!" She suddenly exclaimed. Tsugumi sat straight up after coming to a sudden revelation.

"What is it?"

"Remember when you confessed a few minutes ago? You said that we promised that we'd be good friends forever. We never made a promise like that!"

"Well... If that's the case... Then I take back everything I said before!"

Tsugumi nearly kicked him off the bed after hearing his comment. "What do you mean 'take back everything I said before'? You can't take back something as big as that! Daryl Yan!– "

"I'm sorry! I love you very, very much, my dearest Tsugumi. Happy now?"

Daryl was about to fall off the bed when he felt her arms securely wrap around his waist. "Okay. I like it when you hug me and all, but I'm about to fall off the bed."

"Whoops! My bad! But, hey. It could've been worse."

"Like...You could've actually kicked me off the bed and injure me?" He scoffed.

"Shut up before I actually do kick you off the bed, sprout." She coldly suggested.

Daryl grinned as he suddenly wrapped his arms around Tsugumi. "Whatever. Now go to bed. It's late."

Tsugumi rested her head in the crook of his neck and smiled softly to herself. So he really does love me...

"Good night, Daryl."

Ugh! Distractions are the worst things in the world! *coughtheinternetcough* At least I'm finally done with this chapter! As you guys can probably tell, the story should be wrapping up soon. I plan on covering the whole battle in the next chapter, but I may just end up splitting it into two chapters. I'm not sure how many chapters there will be left, but there will be an epilogue or two. There will be a few epilogue chapters because, hey. We gotta know whether Daryl lives up to his promises, but they'll be more like separate one-shots than anything else. I just don't feel that I should upload them as separate stories though.

But haha. I guess you all didn't expect a confession in this chapter! BECAUSE NEITHER DID I. I feel kinda silly though. When writing this chapter, I kept pulling up my own fanfic online to skim through all my chapters because I couldn't remember anything I needed to for this chapter *facepalm*. Silly me.

So canon-wise, the only things left to cover are: Shu making up with his friends, so they can be all buddy-buddy again, Dramatic final battle with a badass segway, Inori turning into Mana and revealing Gai's true intentions (which I don't know if I should even include the Gai part). I need to decide on whether I should incorporate Gespenst in this story. And I need to fix that sad excuse of an ending.

Well! Until next time! Thank you for following this story and putting up with me for so long! It's hard for me to believe that I published this in February (woooaahh). Comment/Review! Whatever. Thank you!

Edit: Ugh, so as stated before, I am planning on writing an AU Zelink story... I thought I had a pretty decent idea... Then all of a sudden at like 1 FREAKING AM IN THE MORNING, I GOT AN EVEN BETTER IDEA. Don't you hate inspiration's timing? I've been thinking about starting on Chapter 1 for it before I totally forget about it, so the next chapter for "I Promise" may be slightly delayed. I want to get the story up and running before all my free time in Summer is gone. So just giving you all a heads up (for once *shame*) that the next chapter may be delayed slightly. And if you want to know more about the story, just check my bio/profile whatever it's called.