"It's usually fair," Aiba murmured back to her. Of course, in his many years he had seen things go horribly wrong, but for the most part, the price paid was usually always equal to the gift given. He was on edge, his mind spinning a mile a minute trying to figure out if there was any downside to this suggestion.
"Behave...I. Hmm." Aiba thought, hard, brow furrowing. It was a little tricky to deal with magical-related wishes, but this- this might just work. Of course they would risk that they would go through all the steps, only to find that it had not taken, but Aiba was pretty sure. The wish was one of those things, just shallow enough that his magic might persist to grant it.
"I don't- I don't know if I can stop him from destroying the furniture, you know? I don't know if I can go that far. But no harm. I might be able to do that. So he can't hurt anyone, or any animals. Then you and Kitty von Catcat would be totally safe! It would be a really good wish!"
He blinked a couple of times as he thought before his attention returned urgently to Misono.
"Maybe we should talk to him about it in person. Maybe. I can be really professional about it! I mean I have to be now, cause of Sho-chan. And of course it's totally up to him it's his wish so he'd have to agree, he'd have to ask for it or I can't do anything! But- but we should- we should ask. It could work really well! For everyone!"
Hopefully. But Aiba thought, maybe he didn't need hope. Not if he had luck.
"I don't care if the wolf wants to eat other people," she told Aiba earnestly, kneeling with her back straight in unconscious manners. "As long as he doesn't want to eat me I can keep him away from everybody else and protect Kitty von Catcat. As long as it's that..." As long as Yesung would be satisfied that he wouldn't hurt her and she could stay, it was fine.
She reached out and put her hands over his. "I trust you all the way. I know you can do this professionally and make Yesung feel comfortable talking about it and everything!" And if Yesung could be made comfortable then he coudl think clearly and then he could decide to go for it. Maybe. Because this was good. This would solve their problem AND Aiba's all at once. This would actually help.
"Phone!" she recalled suddenly. She had to pull it out of her top but she was pretty sure that if Aiba looked it was just because he was excited about the phone. Yesung was the top of her speed dial, their home phone just below it. "I'm just going to--" she stopped as the phone picked up. "Yesung, there might be a way to fix things for the moon. You've got to come to Come Again. Take a cab--I don't want you jostled up and I can hit the streets later to make up the fare. Just get here, okay?"
She hung up on him in excitement. AND to give him time to get excited about the idea of fixing things. She wanted him to go for this. Dropping her phone back down her cleavage she crawled on to the couch beside Aiba. "Now we just have to wait."
Yesung had been off work approximately sixty seconds when his phone rang. He immediately knew it was Misono, because she'd set herself a flightly, bubbly ring tone a few days before when she realised all his ring tones were bland. And like usual, she didn't given him a chance to even say hello. He felt himself smiling when she launched into speech.
Fix things for the moon? At Come Again? What? But then again, Misono was more aware of magic and magical people, so maybe someone had stumbled in with the answers written on their hands. Or maybe she'd been reading.
Okay. Then he'd go to Come Again. And luckily, he wasn't going to have to try and remember how to get there, because he remembered the street it was on, and the cab driver zipped him up 53rd.
He wondered what the cab driver must think when he was standing on the curb, looking sheepishly at the door. Well. Here goes nothing.
He pushed his way into the store. "Hi Misono, Aiba," he greeted them when he spotted them on a couch.
"Yesung!" Misono dropped Aiba's hand to go to Yesung's side. She slid both her hands around one of his and tipped her head back so she could look into his face. "Yesung..." This was going to be strange, no matter how it went. At least at first it would be. Wouldn't it be best to jump right in?
"Remember how I told you that Aiba is an incubus? He can make deals, exchanges. He's got to if he's going to stay, you know! Anyhow, deals. If you wish for the wolf to stop trying to eat me or anybody he can make that happen. Almost certainly make that happen. There's no way to know until it's done but--and you'd have to pay. His magic will pick a payment. Something you lose or a bad thing that happens or something. There's no way to know that until it happens, either."
She twisted and looked back at Aiba. "Should I leave the process up to you or do you want me to tell him about the--" she stopped and looked up at Yesung. "It's seriously okay, this part." More or less, right?
It really wasn't all that long before Yesung was walking in through the store's door, and Aiba noted idly that his luck really was holding out. It couldn't really be this easy, could it?
Aiba still smiled seeing Misono run to Yesung. It was rare he got to see Yesung at all, let alone see him interacting with Misono, who Aiba saw all the time! But unfortunately there were more pressing matters at hand.
Like...like Misono turning the dirty details over to him. Well then. Wouldn't be the first time Aiba explained this, would it?
Aiba rose to his feet, and stuffed his hands in his pockets, if only to avoid fidgeting. Normally this part didn't make him nervous, but he knew Yesung. Also, he really wanted this to go over well.
"Ah...well I'm an incubus, right? So. There's kind of a condition to making a deal with me. I need- there has to be a joining, to complete the deal. Which in your terms- well it's sex, you see. And- well I'm not sure how okay you would be with that but I promise you it would be strictly what is necessary to complete the deal."
"And if- if you're not sure you're up to- to that part but you still want the deal, with your permission I can- can kind of magically seduce you! If you wanted that. And it would make things go...easier. But I really think I can help you with your problem. Make it so you don't have to worry about harming anyone else, any being, large or small."
There. Even if he was blushing. He got the point across? With luck?
Incubus. Huh, guess he'd forgotten about that because he felt his mind blank as he blinked. Magical seduction. By Misono's other favourite person. How awkward and strange and weird and he kind of wanted to turn around and walk back to his apartment because did Misono really think it was a good idea to get her friends to proposition him? Oh god, she was trying to pimp out Aiba. He felt himself making a strange face.
But. Never harming anyone. Really, that was all it took to make him stay. Hurting people had always been his biggest fear, ever since he was turned and realised what he was. He never wanted to eat anyone, or accidentally turn someone, or make someone live in fear because he was a monster.
He let out a deep breath. "Okay, let me get this straight. I sleep with you and I'm no longer a slobbering monster once a month?" That sounded way too easy.
Yesung was creeped out. He was making the 'Misono, I can't believe you are talking to Vampire Baby in front of me and yelling at Flippy and Maureen when I turn around' face at her. She squeezed his hand. "You don't slobber," she said encouragingly.
Except that really didn't address anything.
"The wolf would still come. He'd still make a mess of things and scratch and howl. But it wouldn't hurt anybody. It wouldn't try to hurt me or Kitty von Catcat anymore." She bit her lip. "But...there's no way of knowing what the cost is going to be. There's just not. It'll be equal but it won't...you'll be safe. I trust Aiba-chan."
She leaned close to Yesung. "I know this is all--this. A lot. But Aiba-chan needs to make a deal soon and if it could be something that means something...he could help us and you could help him." Was that good? Was it good enough? "If it helps, I think you two could kind of enjoy the...that part...of it. Because Aiba-chan is probably amazing at it because of the practice and you're Yesung."
If Aiba were to venture a guess, based on Yesung's current expression, he would have had to guess that the answer would be a straight out 'no'. He could already feel his stomach sinking a little with bracing disappointment. It seemed like such a perfect fix, a deal for him, and a solution for Misono and Yesung! But...often in reality ideas fell short of their potential.
Or...perhaps not. Aiba tried not to look surprised when Yesung posed his question and Aiba was already nodding very quickly. He nodded along to Misono as well, because she had it right, and was far more eloquent then he could ever manage to be at the moment. Even if she was praising his...sexpertice, and Aiba wasn't sure how to feel about that at all.
"The price really could be anything. It's not- it can't be something for nothing, that's not how the magic works. But based on your request I don't think- well it will probably be something that will have staying power, you know? But I don't think it'll be too bad. You'll definitely be mostly okay. It's still- still completely up to you though. If you want this enough to make the deal. Then I - we, can...do it. You know." He was normally much smoother with this sort of thing. Honestly.
Yesung wasn't surprised Misono was the only one not blushing, because as far as he knew, she didn't do things like embarrassment. But she was nine years old, damn it, and he couldn't believe he was having a conversation like this in front of her. It made him really uncomfortable to even be thinking about something like this around her.
So instead, he focused on Aiba's words. Was he really prepared to pay something he wasn't even sure of? What if it made him blind, or took his leg, or god forbid took Misono? Was that worth it?
But what if it didn't? What if it wasn't something outlandish that it took, what if it was something he was more than willing to pay? He always thought he'd give anything up to be certain he wasn't going to kill someone when he was out of his mind, but now that he had the opportunity, he was hesitating.
He took a deep breath. Well. "Okay." If it didn't work, they'd just have to find something else. If it did, and the payment was something he wasn't prepared for, they'd just have to find an answer for that when the time came. "What do I have to do?"
For a moment there was silence--like neither Yesung nor Aiba could believe that he'd said 'okay'. Misono looked from one to the other. Oh. Well.
"I don't know anything about this part," she said cheerfully into the silence. With more cheer than she really felt; she was nervous about this business. These two men were the most important people in her whole world and they were going to take a big risk together. "But it's gonna have to be soon and if Aiba-chan's magic is going to join with Yesung's...Yesung, then you're going to need a place to..." Oh, what to call it? "Lie down," she temporized.
She looked to the ceiling first. Up, to Aiba's place. "Not here," she decided. Aiba's bed was his bed and he shared it with Sho. It wasn't a place for his darker business. Besides... "Somebody's got to mind the shop and I can't promise that my magic won't try to interrupt."
"Ahh, but a hotel seems cheap, right? Like you don't know each other and like this is some sort of...some sort of dirty liason and it's not. I suppose you could go to the Jade Palace." She looked at Yesung. If Aiba's bed was Aiba's then the same could be said for Yesung's... Hm. "You can use my bed if you want," she offered. "I won't mind. And I flipped the mattress the other day so the brier patch is all out of the way!"
But still...the Jade Palace. If Aiba was going to go to her home she'd want it to be inviting. With snacks and drinks and things. "If you guys can wait a while before you do it, I can make it nice!"
Aiba was sort of in shock. So easy... Not, that he thought Yesung was easy. Not at all. He would have to kiss Misono later though, for helping him with this. For the luck, for the suggestion, for the help.
Jade Palace? Confusion, but it didn't take Aiba all that long to realize they were talking about their home. Where else would Misono's bed be? Aiba immediately started to shake his head. "Miso! I can't do it in your bed! I just can't!"
He chewed his lip, sending a considering look Yesung's way, and made a firm decision.
"I can get us a hotel room. A nice one, that's not cheap. Okay? All you have to do, is ask for it, your wish, ask me for it and know what you're really asking and the deal will start to happen. But you can't ask me until we get where we're going, or I won't- Once you ask I can't wait, I just have to- you know. Also, my eyes are going to go a little glowy and green? Don't worry about that it's totally normal."
God, Misono's bed. He pulled another face. That was probably the worst idea she'd ever had, and that included getting the wolf "fixed." (Her bed!) "I think a hotel room would be best." Discreet and clean and not home.
Hotel rooms and green glowing eyes. Okay, not exactly what he thought he'd signed up for, but he could handle that. He took another deep breath to calm his nerves. "Are we doing this now?"
Looking back and forth between them, Misono couldn't answer that question. This was the point where she wasn't in the equation anymore. She had the feeling--based on the whole bed thing--that she wasn't helping matters anymore. She let go of Yesung's hand. "I'm gonna go do something in the store room!" she chirruped.
But...
She stepped close and hugged Yesung. She whispered, "Yesung? I know it's all messed up and strange and really, really weird but... try to make it a happy memory, okay?" She pulled back and smiled. "I want you to be okay when you remember it." She squeezed him again and let go.
Even though she wasn't that cheery, she skipped over to Aiba and hugged him, too. "Make it good, okay?" she said softly. "I want you two to be friends and be able to laugh about this and happy and...so make it happy if you can." She let go of him.
Her two number ones. "Do your best!" she said, flashing a peace sign before heading for the storage area. Maybe she could do something with the genital jewelry?
Aiba was more than a little relieved that Yesung was in agreement on not doing anything in Misono's bed. A hotel also seemed to him the best idea for everyone involved. Not to mention, Aiba knew of a fairly good one, just a few blocks away, that would suit their purposes fairly well.
He was ready to answer Yesung in the affirmative (Aiba didn't want to waste the luck Misono had given him), but Misono first went about saying her goodbyes. He couldn't hear what she said to Yesung, but he definitely heard what she said to him, and he gave her a small, thankful hug back, already decided in his head that he would do something really nice for her for her help.
"I'll do my best!" Aiba promised after her, giving a little salute before she disappeared into the back. In the silence of her absence, Aiba shot Yesung his most encouraging smile.
"There's a place a few blocks away. We could walk, it'll only take five minutes or so. To get there I mean. I know this is a little weird but I've been doing this a long time and it's totally okay."
Aiba side-stepped a bit into an aisle, shoved something into his pocket, and reappeared. He reached out, giving Yesung a little tentative pat on the shoulder. There was always a first step, right? "Ready to go?"
Maybe it had been easier with Misono around, because as soon as she dipped towards the back, he started having second thoughts, because now he was completely alone with a demon and didn't Misono used to worry that Aiba was going to eat her soul?
Yesung cleared his head and smiled back. It was probably too late; he'd already agreed to do it, wasn't that like inviting a vampire into your house? Oops, too late to change anything? And Yesung really wasn't one to change his mind, so. "Lead on. Walking's fine." Even though Misono had a walking ban in effect and his ribs still twinged sometimes. He wanted some air to clear his head.
Aiba grabbed up his coat (the one from Sho, and Aiba forced himself not to think of that) and double-checked that he had his wallet before leading the way out to the sidewalk.
They hadn't been walking very long before Aiba shot Yesung a thoughtful glance. "I know you're getting something out of it, but I appreciate you agreeing to this. If I don't make a deal soon, I'll have to leave the human world. It really would have sucked. So thanks."
"Behave...I. Hmm." Aiba thought, hard, brow furrowing. It was a little tricky to deal with magical-related wishes, but this- this might just work. Of course they would risk that they would go through all the steps, only to find that it had not taken, but Aiba was pretty sure. The wish was one of those things, just shallow enough that his magic might persist to grant it.
"I don't- I don't know if I can stop him from destroying the furniture, you know? I don't know if I can go that far. But no harm. I might be able to do that. So he can't hurt anyone, or any animals. Then you and Kitty von Catcat would be totally safe! It would be a really good wish!"
He blinked a couple of times as he thought before his attention returned urgently to Misono.
"Maybe we should talk to him about it in person. Maybe. I can be really professional about it! I mean I have to be now, cause of Sho-chan. And of course it's totally up to him it's his wish so he'd have to agree, he'd have to ask for it or I can't do anything! But- but we should- we should ask. It could work really well! For everyone!"
Hopefully. But Aiba thought, maybe he didn't need hope. Not if he had luck.
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She reached out and put her hands over his. "I trust you all the way. I know you can do this professionally and make Yesung feel comfortable talking about it and everything!" And if Yesung could be made comfortable then he coudl think clearly and then he could decide to go for it. Maybe. Because this was good. This would solve their problem AND Aiba's all at once. This would actually help.
"Phone!" she recalled suddenly. She had to pull it out of her top but she was pretty sure that if Aiba looked it was just because he was excited about the phone. Yesung was the top of her speed dial, their home phone just below it. "I'm just going to--" she stopped as the phone picked up. "Yesung, there might be a way to fix things for the moon. You've got to come to Come Again. Take a cab--I don't want you jostled up and I can hit the streets later to make up the fare. Just get here, okay?"
She hung up on him in excitement. AND to give him time to get excited about the idea of fixing things. She wanted him to go for this. Dropping her phone back down her cleavage she crawled on to the couch beside Aiba. "Now we just have to wait."
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Fix things for the moon? At Come Again? What? But then again, Misono was more aware of magic and magical people, so maybe someone had stumbled in with the answers written on their hands. Or maybe she'd been reading.
Okay. Then he'd go to Come Again. And luckily, he wasn't going to have to try and remember how to get there, because he remembered the street it was on, and the cab driver zipped him up 53rd.
He wondered what the cab driver must think when he was standing on the curb, looking sheepishly at the door. Well. Here goes nothing.
He pushed his way into the store. "Hi Misono, Aiba," he greeted them when he spotted them on a couch.
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"Remember how I told you that Aiba is an incubus? He can make deals, exchanges. He's got to if he's going to stay, you know! Anyhow, deals. If you wish for the wolf to stop trying to eat me or anybody he can make that happen. Almost certainly make that happen. There's no way to know until it's done but--and you'd have to pay. His magic will pick a payment. Something you lose or a bad thing that happens or something. There's no way to know that until it happens, either."
She twisted and looked back at Aiba. "Should I leave the process up to you or do you want me to tell him about the--" she stopped and looked up at Yesung. "It's seriously okay, this part." More or less, right?
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Aiba still smiled seeing Misono run to Yesung. It was rare he got to see Yesung at all, let alone see him interacting with Misono, who Aiba saw all the time! But unfortunately there were more pressing matters at hand.
Like...like Misono turning the dirty details over to him. Well then. Wouldn't be the first time Aiba explained this, would it?
Aiba rose to his feet, and stuffed his hands in his pockets, if only to avoid fidgeting. Normally this part didn't make him nervous, but he knew Yesung. Also, he really wanted this to go over well.
"Ah...well I'm an incubus, right? So. There's kind of a condition to making a deal with me. I need- there has to be a joining, to complete the deal. Which in your terms- well it's sex, you see. And- well I'm not sure how okay you would be with that but I promise you it would be strictly what is necessary to complete the deal."
"And if- if you're not sure you're up to- to that part but you still want the deal, with your permission I can- can kind of magically seduce you! If you wanted that. And it would make things go...easier. But I really think I can help you with your problem. Make it so you don't have to worry about harming anyone else, any being, large or small."
There. Even if he was blushing. He got the point across? With luck?
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But. Never harming anyone. Really, that was all it took to make him stay. Hurting people had always been his biggest fear, ever since he was turned and realised what he was. He never wanted to eat anyone, or accidentally turn someone, or make someone live in fear because he was a monster.
He let out a deep breath. "Okay, let me get this straight. I sleep with you and I'm no longer a slobbering monster once a month?" That sounded way too easy.
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Except that really didn't address anything.
"The wolf would still come. He'd still make a mess of things and scratch and howl. But it wouldn't hurt anybody. It wouldn't try to hurt me or Kitty von Catcat anymore." She bit her lip. "But...there's no way of knowing what the cost is going to be. There's just not. It'll be equal but it won't...you'll be safe. I trust Aiba-chan."
She leaned close to Yesung. "I know this is all--this. A lot. But Aiba-chan needs to make a deal soon and if it could be something that means something...he could help us and you could help him." Was that good? Was it good enough? "If it helps, I think you two could kind of enjoy the...that part...of it. Because Aiba-chan is probably amazing at it because of the practice and you're Yesung."
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Or...perhaps not. Aiba tried not to look surprised when Yesung posed his question and Aiba was already nodding very quickly. He nodded along to Misono as well, because she had it right, and was far more eloquent then he could ever manage to be at the moment. Even if she was praising his...sexpertice, and Aiba wasn't sure how to feel about that at all.
"The price really could be anything. It's not- it can't be something for nothing, that's not how the magic works. But based on your request I don't think- well it will probably be something that will have staying power, you know? But I don't think it'll be too bad. You'll definitely be mostly okay. It's still- still completely up to you though. If you want this enough to make the deal. Then I - we, can...do it. You know." He was normally much smoother with this sort of thing. Honestly.
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So instead, he focused on Aiba's words. Was he really prepared to pay something he wasn't even sure of? What if it made him blind, or took his leg, or god forbid took Misono? Was that worth it?
But what if it didn't? What if it wasn't something outlandish that it took, what if it was something he was more than willing to pay? He always thought he'd give anything up to be certain he wasn't going to kill someone when he was out of his mind, but now that he had the opportunity, he was hesitating.
He took a deep breath. Well. "Okay." If it didn't work, they'd just have to find something else. If it did, and the payment was something he wasn't prepared for, they'd just have to find an answer for that when the time came. "What do I have to do?"
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"I don't know anything about this part," she said cheerfully into the silence. With more cheer than she really felt; she was nervous about this business. These two men were the most important people in her whole world and they were going to take a big risk together. "But it's gonna have to be soon and if Aiba-chan's magic is going to join with Yesung's...Yesung, then you're going to need a place to..." Oh, what to call it? "Lie down," she temporized.
She looked to the ceiling first. Up, to Aiba's place. "Not here," she decided. Aiba's bed was his bed and he shared it with Sho. It wasn't a place for his darker business. Besides... "Somebody's got to mind the shop and I can't promise that my magic won't try to interrupt."
"Ahh, but a hotel seems cheap, right? Like you don't know each other and like this is some sort of...some sort of dirty liason and it's not. I suppose you could go to the Jade Palace." She looked at Yesung. If Aiba's bed was Aiba's then the same could be said for Yesung's... Hm. "You can use my bed if you want," she offered. "I won't mind. And I flipped the mattress the other day so the brier patch is all out of the way!"
But still...the Jade Palace. If Aiba was going to go to her home she'd want it to be inviting. With snacks and drinks and things. "If you guys can wait a while before you do it, I can make it nice!"
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Jade Palace? Confusion, but it didn't take Aiba all that long to realize they were talking about their home. Where else would Misono's bed be? Aiba immediately started to shake his head. "Miso! I can't do it in your bed! I just can't!"
He chewed his lip, sending a considering look Yesung's way, and made a firm decision.
"I can get us a hotel room. A nice one, that's not cheap. Okay? All you have to do, is ask for it, your wish, ask me for it and know what you're really asking and the deal will start to happen. But you can't ask me until we get where we're going, or I won't- Once you ask I can't wait, I just have to- you know. Also, my eyes are going to go a little glowy and green? Don't worry about that it's totally normal."
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Hotel rooms and green glowing eyes. Okay, not exactly what he thought he'd signed up for, but he could handle that. He took another deep breath to calm his nerves. "Are we doing this now?"
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But...
She stepped close and hugged Yesung. She whispered, "Yesung? I know it's all messed up and strange and really, really weird but... try to make it a happy memory, okay?" She pulled back and smiled. "I want you to be okay when you remember it." She squeezed him again and let go.
Even though she wasn't that cheery, she skipped over to Aiba and hugged him, too. "Make it good, okay?" she said softly. "I want you two to be friends and be able to laugh about this and happy and...so make it happy if you can." She let go of him.
Her two number ones. "Do your best!" she said, flashing a peace sign before heading for the storage area. Maybe she could do something with the genital jewelry?
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He was ready to answer Yesung in the affirmative (Aiba didn't want to waste the luck Misono had given him), but Misono first went about saying her goodbyes. He couldn't hear what she said to Yesung, but he definitely heard what she said to him, and he gave her a small, thankful hug back, already decided in his head that he would do something really nice for her for her help.
"I'll do my best!" Aiba promised after her, giving a little salute before she disappeared into the back. In the silence of her absence, Aiba shot Yesung his most encouraging smile.
"There's a place a few blocks away. We could walk, it'll only take five minutes or so. To get there I mean. I know this is a little weird but I've been doing this a long time and it's totally okay."
Aiba side-stepped a bit into an aisle, shoved something into his pocket, and reappeared. He reached out, giving Yesung a little tentative pat on the shoulder. There was always a first step, right? "Ready to go?"
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Yesung cleared his head and smiled back. It was probably too late; he'd already agreed to do it, wasn't that like inviting a vampire into your house? Oops, too late to change anything? And Yesung really wasn't one to change his mind, so. "Lead on. Walking's fine." Even though Misono had a walking ban in effect and his ribs still twinged sometimes. He wanted some air to clear his head.
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They hadn't been walking very long before Aiba shot Yesung a thoughtful glance. "I know you're getting something out of it, but I appreciate you agreeing to this. If I don't make a deal soon, I'll have to leave the human world. It really would have sucked. So thanks."
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