In all honesty, it was difficult for Kuzon to believe that ten years had passed since he was separated from Ana.
However, after considering two major factors, he had no choice.
The first was the fact that Ana was so adamant about it, and she wasn't one to lie. She also didn't seem to be teasing him, so that really meant she was currently 26 years old.
As for the second option…
"You've grown by one millimeter. I didn't notice it before, but now that I look closely… yeah, I see it."
In essence, her increased height supported that quite some time had passed since their last encounter.
The moment Kuzon realized this, he patted Ana's head and told her the truth.
"Don't worry, little one… I believe you."
He made sure to give his warmest smile as his hand massaged her soft blond hair. They had lost a lot of time, but if they could catch up, Kuzon didn't see any problems with their relationship.
'I really missed out a lot from your life. I want to know everythi—' His thoughts were suddenly cut short by searing pain.
"Ow, ow!"
Ana had grabbed his hand and was now biting it! Yes, she was biting the had he had just used to pat her.
"What are you doing? Ow… stop!" Kuzon cried out, a bit of tears in his eyes.
Even though he had treated her kindly, and he had been so understanding, why was she being so violent? Sure, he still found it cute, but…
"I'm 26 years old, Kuzon. I'm older than you, so show me some respect!" Ana hissed, finally letting go of Kuzon's hardly bruised hand.
She confidently placed both hands on her hips, grinning with self-satisfaction as she reveled in her age and superior maturity.
Now that things had become like this, she was no longer the little one.
"Pfft! What in the world are you talking about?" Kuzon's word, however, broke Ana out of her bubble of confidence.
"Do you know how long I spent with Crazy Neron? Haha… I'm way older than you!"
"Crazy Neron? Who…?"
"Doesn't matter. He's an old man who taught me a couple things. In any case, if we're to calculate age, I'm at least a thousand years old. HAHAHAHA!"
Ana's countenance nearly shattered as she watched Kuzon laugh at her, his hands on his waist too. Compared to his much bigger, imposing pose, she seemed to be nothing more than a little child.
It was enough to make her sniff a little as her shoulders dropped slightly.
"Okay, okay. How about we make a truce to see each other as equals? Is that better?" Kuzon was still chuckling, but he lifted his hand for a fist bump, a wide smile playing on his face.
His offer seemed to do the trick for Ana, as she readily raised her hand to reach his.
The contrast between both their limbs, how one was much bigger and tougher than the other, made their fist bump appear all the more genuine.
They both stared at each other in silence for a while, and then broke into wide smiles.
Sure, their method of interaction was… odd, to say the least, but they understood each other. And in the end, wasn't that all that mattered?
"I'm surprised you've still not asked me about mmy adventures after I got teleported away. I could have sworn that curiosity would be eating you up on the inside." Kuzon finally broke the silence by going on a tangent.
"Well, I guess I've grown up." Ana grinned in response.
"Sure, you do…" Kuzon could only reply sarcastically as he found himself rolling his eyes.
"I'm serious! I don't want to know about your 'crazy' adventures, at least not yet. Let's enjoy this moment a little more."
As soon as Ana said that, she lunged at Kuzon, wrapping her arms around him to the point where her body squeezed on his.
Kuzon didn't mind this at all.
"I was thinking the same thing." He smiled, remembering how long he had waited… how many times he had dreamt of this very moment.
The chance to finally feel Ana's flat chest on him.
Kuzon closed his eyes and let the experience take full control of him, smiling in satisfaction as everything that had happened to him until now faded into obscurity.
Right now, only the two of them mattered.
"Hey… just so you know…" Ana's lips moved close to his ears and began to whisper words to him. "... After this is all over, you'll tell me every single detail of your adventures…"
It was probably just his imagination, but Kuzon felt a somewhat heavy atmosphere taking over.
"... Including the girl you spent so much time with, and why you reek of her aura."
"Eh?"
Kuzon's body suddenly grew rigid as his memories traveled back to his time in the Lost Worlds. He remembered just how much time he had spent with his female companion.
'She can sense Maya on me?!' Beads of sweat began to appear all over his face as he carefully pondered on his next words.
However, even after Maya, he had hung out with other girls in his other voyages. Whether it was the Hunters Association, or the Grand Federation Academy, or the Demons in Edward's Dimension.
The list grew more and more as Kuzon thought ore about it.
'But I did nothing wrong! I'm innocent!' This sole conviction stopped him from gulping hard or overreacting.
Perhaps he would have a stronger card if he could sense the aura of a guy on Ana, but the strongest sensation he got from her were auras of metal and minerals.
Kuzon felt a little worried about her social life.
In the end, Kuzon knew he had to speak up before his silence became suspicious. After carefully picking out his words, he finally spoke.
"Which girl are you referring to?"
Ana instantly furrowed her brow, and she made sure Kuzon saw her as she looked him straight in the eye.
"There's no use lying to me, you know?"
"Ah, I guess I need to rephrase my question…" Kuzon mumbled to himself, straining a smile as he looked straight into Ana's eyes.
"... Which 'particular' girl are you referring to?"
Upon hearing this, Ana's eyebrows began to twitch, and Kuzon's lips curled upwards. He seemed to be holding in laughter, most likely due to how funny Ana's scowl looked to him.
"I'll kill you…"
"No you won't."
"I'LL KILL YOUUUUU!"
~WHOOOOSSSHHH!~
Kuzon swiftly dislodged from Ana's embrace the moment she wanted to crush him, and sped off into the sky.
Ana shrouded herself in energy and instantly chased after Kuzon as her eyes were alit with passionate fury.
"Come back here, Kuzon!"
"Noooooo!"
"Explain yourself now!"
"Neverrrr!"
They danced in the sky, playing a game of tag, with both sides knowing exactly what was at stake if they lost.
To be honest, Kuzon really had nothing to hide, and Ana also knew that on a fundamental level.
Still, they engaged in these childish squabbles.
All for one reason…
It was FUN.
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[A/N]
I can't believe I spent an entire chapter on these two. It feels like a filler chapter, but I genuinely had fun writing it.
Thanks for reading!
