Snippet #2110702

Shadow listened quietly to Mayumi's words and truly closed his eyes for the first time in over three days.

"Mayumi, your name and mine are not affiliated with one another. The people of this continent know me as the Red-Eyed Demon, and only the underground and the world of Assassins knows me by the name of Shadow. You have nothing to fear for my 'reputation', as I don't care about it one way or the other in the end."

He looked over to her for moment, taking in the last part of what she said and then realizing that Mayumi was probably right. If Sereinia was truly as much like the one from Shadow's past, she would definitely think she was a burden by now if she hadn't thought it before and try to leave. The problem was that it was still too dangerous for them to be apart. A fact that was clearly demonstrated during their recent encounter with Kiiro.

Shadow stood up and placed a hand on Mayumi's shoulder, gently feeling the muscles of her neck and shoulder for a moment before turning away to find Sereinia. When he did, she didn't look very good. She was still in pain, and she had that look of defeat on her face. Shadow himself had experienced this frustrating feeling many times before, so he knew what she was going through.

"Sereinia..." He said quietly as he approached and sat down beside her.

"How are you?" He asked gently.