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Alfonse sighed, resting his head in his hands. The second round of the voting gauntlet hadn’t gone his way and he couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. He meant no offense to Kagero, nor to any of the other participants, but Alfonse couldn’t help but feel he had lost his chance to prove he really could be cool.“At least I made it past the first round…” he murmured aloud before letting out another sigh. He knew it was better than nothing, but he had been so close that this felt more disappointing than it should have.“Alfonse..?” a soft voice called out, accompanied by light footfalls. As the Askrian prince turned in his seat, his eyes were greeted with the hooded head of the summoner.“Ah, Kiran. Is there something you need?” This struck Alfonse as a little strange, shouldn’t Kiran be helping with the gauntlet like usual?“About that…” Not bothering to finish their sentence, Kiran preferred to grab a seat next to Alfonse instead. The pair sat quietly together for almost a minute, neither Alfonse nor Kiran saying anything.“So, uh… About the gauntlet?”“Ah, right…” Kiran murmured. “I’ll still be doing a bit of it, for the orbs and the feathers.”The summoner hesitated for a second as if they weren’t sure how to say what came next. “But…”“But?” Alfonse prompted, curious to know where this conversation might be going.“...It’s not the same if it’s not with you.”Alfonse froze. What was that supposed to mean? It wouldn’t be the same without him? Kiran didn’t think gauntlets would be worth it without him? His mind began to run in circles as his cheeks turned red. “Oh, I mean,” Kiran began again, glancing at Alfonse’s face before looking away. “It’s like, I remember my first voting gauntlet too. It seemed so new and special, and I had tons of fun working together with everyone who participated. And, you know, the team I was supporting lost in the second round too, so I know exactly how you feel. I figured you could use a little bit of cheering up.”Oh. So that had been what Kiran meant. Alfonse’s face gradually reverted to its original colour as he thought over the words Kiran had said.“Thank you, Kiran. The fact that you’d do this for me means so much.” Yeah, that sounded about right. Calm and measured, like they were only friends. Because they were only friends.“Yeah, I know,” Kiran replied with a nod. “I’m uh. Gonna go help with the gauntlet a bit. I’ll be back?” It sounded much more like a question instead of a statement like Kiran had meant it to be.“Yes, of course,” Alfonse replied as Kiran stood up quickly, exiting the room at a lightning fast speed.Kiran thanked the gods for giving them a hood, it had so many uses. Hiding their face from everyone else proved to be such a blessing, especially when the summoner was blushing uncontrollably. The first time sounded so much like a confession, didn’t it? The hood had saved them from a rather embarrassing situation, for that they were thankful. Besides, Alfonse’s face had turned red, probably in anger, right? That elaboration had definitely been necessary.Dashing through the castle at a speed that certainly wasn’t safe, Kiran rounded a corner, only to run straight into someone. “Oh--” Instead of falling backwards, Kiran found themselves pulled into the chest of the person in front of them, “I’m sorry I-- Oh, Sharena?” “Yep, that’s me!” the princess exclaimed, letting the summoner go. “Going somewhere in a hurry? You might want to slow down, though, accidents aren’t fun.”“Ah, uh. I was just- I was-” Kiran stuttered, before sighing. “I’m sorry, Sharena. I just needed to get somewhere quickly, I’m sorry for running into you. If you’ll excuse me…”“Yes, of course! I’ll be hopping on my way, then~!” Sharena smiled before doing a cute bunny hop. “Oh, but do come visit me later if you get the chance~! I’d love to talk about these outfits with you, Kiran.” Kiran nodded before turning to head on their way. “Yeah, sure. I’ll come visit you and Alfonse later.” Oh, Alfonse… That brought another unseen blush to Kiran’s face as they began to walk a little faster. “I’ll be seeing you!” they called over their shoulder before all but sprinting away.“Hm, I wonder what that’s all about…” Sharena wondered aloud. Shaking the thought out of her head, she went to meet her brother.Opening the door to the waiting room, one that the heroes used for resting, Sharena spied her brother. Walking as quietly as she could, she snuck up behind him as he let out a huge sigh.“Maybe if…” An expression of hopeful melancholy settled on his face. He seemed deep in thought, but Sharena remained silent.After a minute or two of silence, she let out a loud “Boo!” to which Alfonse screamed in terror. Jumping out of his seat, he turned to face his sister. “Gods, Sharena, how many times have I asked you not to do that?”“I know I know, but it’s just too much fun to see your reaction~!” Sharena exclaimed while settling into the room, Alfonse returning to his chair as well. “Anyways, I saw Kiran earlier. They were running around like they were in a hurry. Would you know anything about that?”Alfonse seemed to be at a loss for words. “I- Uh. Well, I mean… That is to say…I saw Kiran, yes. But they were completely calm when I saw them, so does that mean…” he trailed off, leaving his thought unfinished. As Sharena stared at him, waiting for him to finish, his face gradually turned a deep shade of red. “Alfonse? Hello, Alfonse?” she called, waving a hand in front of his face, but to no avail.“Wait… What was that supposed to mean? Did you do something to Kiran?” she asked, shocking Alfonse out of his thoughts.“N-no! Of course not! I’d never-”“That doesn’t sound like you did nothing…” Sharena said, staring at her brother even harder. “What did you do then, hm?”“N-nothing! Nothing at all!” Alfonse exclaimed, shooting out of his chair and darting towards the door.“Hey! Don’t think you can avoid telling me by leaving!” she called after him even though he had already left.Sharena sighed before sitting down again. “There’s definitely something going on between the two of them, and I’m going to find out what it is!”