Kairos let out a sigh to Nicole’s declaration to make him understand.
“What is that even supposed to mean?”
Nicole pouted.
“W-Well… first up should be getting you used to physical contact.”
Kairos blinked a few times.
“Huh? I don’t get that at all.”
Nicole puffed up her cheeks.
“Then hold my hand and tell me how you honestly feel.”
She reached her hand out to Kairos, waiting for him to voluntarily grab it. After a bit of hesitation, he complied. His first instinct was to lie about how he felt, but he decided to try his best to be objective.
“…I feel uncomfortable, but it’s not that bad.”
Nicole frowned.
“Don’t you think it’s a little weird to feel uncomfortable just from skin contact? Maybe it would be normal if it was someone you didn’t know, but I’ve been with you for so long, and you still feel apprehensive.”
Kairos let out a soft sigh.
“I suppose so… but isn’t that just who I am?”
Nicole was taken aback.
“What does that mean?”
Kairos shrugged his shoulders.
“I guess it is slightly abnormal for me to feel this way, but this is pretty much how I’ve been for most of my life. At the end of the day, it’s essentially become a part of who I am.”
Nicole frowned.
“But it’s still a bad thing!”
Kairos nodded.
“Maybe… but I don’t think that’s something that will change any time soon.”
Nicole seemed to be on the verge of tears.
“But… but…that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be fixed!”
Kairos smiled bitterly.
“Maybe. You’re probably right when you say that. But still, even if it’s something that can be fixed, it’s not something you can do just like that. That is unless you rip out a fundamental part of myself.”
Nicole blinked in confusion.
“Then…”
Kairos shrugged his shoulders.
“I’m sure it will get better with time, especially since you’re here. This is another thing that you just can’t rush.”
Nicole scratched her cheek.
“Ok…”
Kairos nodded.
“Anyway, what were you talking about earlier? Do you really think there is a problem with our group?”
Nicole let out a soft gasp.
“Y-Yes!… It’s just that it doesn’t seem any of us can truly trust each other. Although it isn’t too bad on the surface, none of us can really trust each other. There is… distance that shouldn’t exist between a true team.”
Kairos narrowed his eyes.
“I guess so, but… there’s no helping that.”
Nicole fell silent for a moment.
“What do you mean?”
Kairos shook his head.
“We were a team formed by circumstance. If it wasn’t for the apocalypse, all of us would probably still be in our homes doing our own thing. If we passed by one another on the street, we wouldn’t even give the other a second glance.”
Nicole stamped her foot.
“That was then, but now is different! I want all of us to be able to depend on each other! Just like… just like…”
She bit the bottom of her lip.
“Like when the three of us were still together.”
Kairos wore a despondent look.
“That’s just… not possible.”
Nicole furrowed her brow.
“Why? Why! It was possible before!”
Kairos shook his head.
“When we were children, none of us really had ulterior motives. It was only us. But now that we’ve grown older, there are too many things that remain hidden in the dark. If interests conflicted while we were younger, it would be something along the lines of stealing someone’s candy. But now, it involves whether or not we survive.”
He looked out the window.
“Even if you are willing to risk your own life, the other person has no obligation to follow.”
Nicole took a deep breath.
“I get it.”
She clasped her hands together.
“I get that it will be hard, maybe impossible.”
A small smile formed on her face.
“But I don’t want to give up just like that.”
Kairos didn’t know how to respond for a few moments. He was honestly thinking of a similar problem and was planning to test everyone in his future sight dreams. But he was beginning to think maybe Nicole’s way was better.
Instead of testing, they could make a bond with each other.
Kairos sighed.
“Well… it’s definitely going to take a long time, so we should get started as soon as possible.”
Nicole blinked a few times in surprise.
“A-Ah! Yes!”
Without thinking about it too much, Kairos called everyone over to his room once more. Everyone was more or less compliant, and the group sat down while looking at one another awkwardly, wondering what this was all about.
Kairos cleared his throat.
“Alright, I was thinking about it, and I believe we should come up with a plan that allows us to work better as a team.”
Chase raised an eyebrow.
“That does make sense. Having a plan is better than none, but I believe most of us are still quite good at improvising.”
Tori tilted her head to the side.
“Eh? What does that mean?”
Chase let out a soft sigh.
“Whenever we’ve been in tense situations, nobody just freezes up cluelessly. It may not be the best action, but I’ve seen that everyone at least attempts to do something that’s somewhat reasonable.”
Kairos nodded.
“Yes, I’ve thought that too, but I still feel it may be better to have a proper structure to it.”
Nicole gave him a few glances, as though wondering what this had to do with what they were talking about earlier.
Kairos gave her a short glance before clearing her throat.
“First off, let’s talk about Chase. You are able to use your arrows to deliver powerful strikes from far away. However, your weakness is when you get surrounded by monsters on all ends.”
Chase slowly nodded.
“But that doesn’t mean I’m hopeless in that situation.”
Kairos nodded.
“Yes, but it is still what you are least apt at. On the other hand, Tori doesn’t have the same ranged strength, but she has high mobility and is able to carry people. She can help make up for your weakness if she carries you away from danger whenever needed.”
Tori clapped softly.
“Oh! That makes a lot of sense!”
She smiled to herself.
“I guess it can’t be helped, I’m the white knight in shining armor after all.”
Chase let out a soft sigh.
“…But it’s the guy that’s supposed to be the knight.”
Tori giggled.
“But I have short hair, and you have long hair like a princess! I’d say it’s close enough.”
The corner of Chase’s lip twitched.
“Just because a guy has long hair, doesn’t mean they are feminine.”
Tori pouted.
“Ehhhh? Are you sure?”
Kairos coughed, interrupting them.
“Anyway, regardless of how you look at it, the two of you have a lot of potential. Perhaps if Chase was able to shoot arrows while being in the air with Tori, then many new strategies could open up.”
Tori brightened up.
“Wow! That sounds really cool!”
Chase sighed bitterly.
“I suppose if we did practice enough, it could turn out to be quite useful.”
Kairos then looked at Sydney.
“As for Sydney, due to the nature of her abilities, she has… a lot of defensive capability, since she can regenerate damage. That allows her to take the front without too much concern. However, just being able to regenerate isn’t enough. If it is paired up with significant offensive power, or the ability to protect others, then it can become meaningful.”
Sydney listened attentively.
“Ah… I see.”
Kairos continued.
“If I recall, you have the earth spell, am I right?”
Sydney slowly nodded.
“Yes…”
Kairos took a deep breath.
“I don’t believe that spell has too much offensive capability, but perhaps you can practice creating a sturdy wall to protect the others.”
Sydney smiled bitterly.
“I suppose it can’t be helped…”
He then turned to Nicole.
“You have the ability to turn invisible. Your role will probably be a bit more detached, as we will probably rely on you to take out the enemy that is most heavily protected. Because of the nature of your job, it will be a bit harder to practice, but you can still work on getting familiar with your invisibility ability.”
Nicole nodded promptly.
“Got it!”
Kairos rested his hands on his lap.
“And that leaves me. If I am far away from the group, then my spells will be several times more powerful. In situations where we need that power, I will likely break off from the rest of the group, but otherwise, I will be the spellcaster, playing a similar role to Chase, but midrange.”
Chase nodded.
“That all makes sense. Should we all head off our separate ways to practice?”
Kairos shook his head.
“No, we should do so together. Seeing each other perform their abilities lets us become aware of their limitations and capabilities. It’s best that we practice together to become more familiar with that.”
Nicole looked at him with a slightly surprised expression. It seemed she had realized what he was doing.
Kairos stood up from the couch.
“Then we can do it like this. In the morning, we have a practice session, and at night, we go hunt monsters. Does anyone have any objections?”
Chase shrugged his shoulders.
“None from me.”
Sydney spoke up.
“I think it’s fine…”
Tori smiled.
“I like this arrangement!”
A small smile was on Nicole’s face.
“I do too.”
Kairos cleared his throat.
“Then we can agree to meet up next morning and do that.”
Everyone except for Nicole left to go to their own rooms again, but now they had plans to meet up in the morning. Nicole pressed the tips of her fingers together.
“I see what you did. But… isn’t this a little indirect?”
Kairos shrugged his shoulders.
“At the end of the day, this is also something that needs time. Just by working together, it will slowly improve our relationship. In time, I’m sure our relationship will become a little better.”
Nicole nodded.
“I see.”
Kairos cracked his neck.
“Anyway, since it’s night, you should go to your room now.”
Nicole tilted her head to the side.
“But we have to start working on getting you used to contact, right?”
Kairos’ eyelid twitched.
“…I guess?”
Nicole cleared her throat.
“Then… you can just do whatever you were planning to, but I will be next to you, alright?”
Kairos looked at him strangely.
“Well, alright.”
With that, he continued to work on memorizing the frost spell diagram, trying to get a better grasp on it. The entire time, Nicole just rested on his side. This didn’t actually distract Kairos all that much, because he was used to Nicole wrapping her arm around his shoulder.
For whatever reason, this sort of contact was just different to him.
And so, the two of them remained in this way for quite a while.
After making decent progress, Kairos felt he should sleep. However, the sun was going to come up in a couple of hours. He was unsure if his sleep schedule was completely ruined, or if he even needed to sleep in the first place.
After some deliberation, he just decided to stay up the entire time.
With that, he continued to practice until morning came. Once it was more or less time, he woke up Nicole, and the two of them went down to the entrance of the central building.
Tori was already there, but Chase and Sydney weren’t there. It was still fairly early in the morning, so Kairos decided that it was fair enough. The three of them waited for a couple minutes.
Chase came down at around that time and apologized for being late, but clearly wasn’t sincere.
Then, as they were waiting for the last person, another person came down to meet them.
But, it wasn’t Sydney like they were expecting.
Rather, it was Tiana.
She waved to them.
“Hey, what are you all doing here?”