Boo's Suspicion

When I woke up in the morning, Rui and the others were already out in the kitchen.

"Hey, guys. Hey Rui." I said, walking over to the counter to grab a fruit out of the bowl.

"Sky, just curious, do you know what time it is right now?" Belle asked me with a slight smile.

"Uh... looks like ten. I slept in a little bit, I know." I said, waving her off. Shike broke out into laughter and Rui followed the rhythm of the room as I was told that it was not 9 in the morning... it was 9 at night.

"Oh shit! Now my sleep schedule is all messed up! Did Illya sleep that long as well?" I asked everybody. I started to eat the fruit in my hands and was told that Illya was actually still sleeping...

"Well, since it's night. What did you guys do today? You obviously didn't find Rui's parents... so, do we have ourselves another A-Ranking member?" I asked while looking at Rui with a smile.

I didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable or threatened in any way, which was much tougher than I initially thought when I considered it. I was probably pretty threatening when I first woke up... at least I thought so.

"Well, our missions are done and we were told to just chill out at home until the next one comes up, so we've been sitting at home all day trying to remember where Rui's parents live. He said he couldn't remember anything from before, so we're pretty stuck right now." Shike explained.

"Is that idiot awake yet? Ah, there you are. Sky, can we talk outside?" Boo walked into our dorm and asked me. I agreed, but put on a shirt first and then met her on the outside of the door.

"Oh, I forgot, you're probably not embarrassed to see me without a shirt because you like Mitra. So, are you two together yet?" I asked Boo. She went red in the face and hit me in the shoulder. Even her playful punches hurt... unless she was trying to do that.

"Shut it! That's not what I'm here to talk to you about. It's about Illya. Where is she right now?" Boo asked me.

"She's inside, sleeping... why? What happened?" I asked Boo. I completely forgot that there was a weird encounter we all had with Mom the other day, so I assumed it would be about that.

Boo grabbed my wrist and pulled me out of the dorm, toward the center of the field where we once had our tournament on.

"Why are we so far? What's going on?!" I asked Boo. I was starting to get even more confused than I initially had been, but Boo looked dead serious about her topic.

"Something isn't right." She stated... and that was it.

"Really? I know something isn't right, we have to take care of Rui, and I want to try and help them figure out where his parents are." I explained it to Boo, but she seemed irritated with that answer.

"Your Mom pulled me aside this morning and told me to 'be careful', what does that mean to you?" Boo asked me.

"My Mom did? It sounds like she cares about you. I mean, after all, we are pretty good friends, Boo." I told her, but again, she shook her head in irritation.

"Listen. Does it not completely bug you that we had one big awkward interaction with Illya, and your Mom tells me to be careful? What is Illya's true motive? You would know her better than any of us... please, tell me you know something!" Boo demanded from me. This wasn't some prank, she was desperate for answers... but I truly knew nothing.

"I don't know anything, I'm sorry, that's my honest answer. I would tell you if I did... but you're right, something is off, isn't it? I can't think of anything." I told Boo. She seemed at least satisfied with that answer and then looked back toward the A-Ranking dorm.

"Something is rotten within that lady. She was never weird when you two were out in Rubeki territory?" Boo asked me.

"Hold it there, Boo. Illya's still my friend, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't blatantly insult her like that. She never did anything weird like that, no." I told her, standing my ground as Illya's best friend.

"If that's what you want to say, Sky. Listen. Your Mom put her strands in me. I feel... different. When Zach was killed, Miss Ali did it cleanly and left the body and debris behind. However, when she came back with you two, everything was cleaned up. Something isn't right here, and Miss Ali speculates that Illya is the center of it. I'm going to talk to her." Boo said to me.

"How would Illya be at the center of it?! You're not making any sense Boo! Maybe somebody saw the mess and cleaned it. There is no proof you have that Illya is at the center of this mess!" I yelled at her.

Boo put her hand on my collar and held me against a nearby wall next to the fountain, looking at me with those cold, pink eyes.

"You're giving me all the proof I need right now. I'm becoming more and more skeptical by the second. You know what... I won't talk to her. I'll do it tomorrow when you aren't next to her." Boo said, setting me down and turning around to walk back to the A-Dorms.

"Hey! We can solve this, maybe there is something going on, but it doesn't make any sense that Illya was at the center of it!" I yelled out to Boo.

Illya and I formed a bond that wouldn't break while I out in Rubeki territory with her. To think that she would simply be at the source of a problem wasn't enough for me. I trust her, just like I trust Shike and the others.

But Boo was planning something... could I even trust her?

I returned home, just as she did, and went right back to bed. Maybe I could sleep the night away if I tried hard enough.