chapter 7

Internally for George,

'Be careful, sire. She could be right; this could be part of an elaborate prank, or worse, she could have. . . a dark motive for all this.'

'I know, man. Why do you think I brought that thing you recommended? I know how to use it and I sharpened it before I left.'

"I guess it makes some sense." She heard him say "back home in La" which stuck out to her. Meaning he's not Japanese, but American. "You're from America then?" She asked, which he nodded to. "Born in Los Angeles, California. Hot, crowded, but a lot of fun. Especially the several trips to the Page Museum." He sighed happily at the last sentence, thinking back to several memories there. Yuuma decided to let him continue. Then his expression briefly went glum, flashing back to the night his life was changed forever: the storm, the crash, the waking up yelling at the hospital. He shook his head, "But those days and my dream of working at the Page Museum are over. Taken away by one tragic accident... and continuing that train of thought would ruin the date." He said, his voice back to normal.

"I don't think I'll push into it. Obviously it's personal to you." Yuuma said, respecting his privacy. He smiled, "Thanks."

Their food soon arrived. He smiled and while he would have dug in, he remembered that Japanese say something before they eat. He cupped his hands, closed his eyes, "Itadakimasu." Which he said slowly. Yuuma did the same thing,

"Itadakimasu." Then they both began to eat. George licked his chops before he drank his shake rapidly, no brain freeze at all. Once he had it half down, he switched to his CBS and ate it, taking big bites out of it, and eating it over the table. He also dips his cheese sticks in marinara sauce. The main thing about his table manners is while he was polite, he was eating as if this meal would be his last! Yuuma was taking her time, eating calmly as she did. She took a few sips of her iced tea and a few bites of her chicken salad. "Calm down or you'll choke."

George stopped eating and wiped his mouth and beard with a napkin. "You kidding? This is normal for me. I have the metabolism of a teenager. Need food to grow. I balance out my rapid eating with exercise since I walk to-and-from Kuoh academy and also do weekly workouts at my house." He commented. He then did a small burp. "Oh excuse me."

"First of all, you're excused." Yuuma stated, "Second, still doesn't mean you won't choke. Even the most fit guys can choke on food if they're not careful."

"Yeah I was originally eating a lot faster in the past... but that changed when I went to a Golden corral. You. Really. Don't Want. To Know." He lightly shuddered. Yuuma sighs,

"I can tell but at least slow down a little." He sighed,

"May as well for you, love." He said, last part accidentally coming out. Suddenly her face is a tomato red, "E-E-Excuse me?!" She stuttered. He froze up, "Gah!" He lightly smacks himself. "Sorry, it slipped out. I meant it as a compliment, not flirting with you." He said, with a faint blush of his own. She gulps, "J-Just think before you speak ok?!"

Yes ma'am." He said, very quickly with subtle fear in his tone.

Yuuma thinks internally, 'Oh man! I can't believe what I have to do! I thought he would be like every other man and stare at my assets like a pervert! But here is being polite and nice to me! Oh but the others would kill me if I didn't do my job...' she sighed internally. 'George, I'm sorry about this, but only if you didn't have that Sacred Gear, you and I could've actually been an item...'

Once they are done eating, George pays the bill and they left. She then took him to the park, not saying a word, and her mood had changed from cheerful and happy, to worried and saddened.

XXXXXXXXX

They arrived at the park late afternoon. George looked around the park, enjoying the scenery, before his attention towards Yuuma. He was no fool, and he most certainly noticed her mood shift. Something had upset her, and he hoped it wasn't because of him. Yuuma walks to the fountain and looks into the water, staring at her reflection for the past couple of minutes.

"Yuuma, you ok? If something's wrong, we can talk about." George asked, concerned for her. She took a deep breath and walks back to him. As he did, George felt his danger sense tingling, his right hand going for his weapon sheathed on his back pants pocket. She didn't notice.

"Honestly thinking about it right now, I don't think there's a way to talk about this… I'm sorry."

"Sorry? About what?" He asked, worried. 'Be ready. I can sense something wrong. Moment it goes wrong, ATTACK!' He saw a couple tears fall off her face. "This is going to hurt you just as much it's going to hurt me." All George said to that was, "Huh?"

Suddenly her clothes burst apart followed by 2 black wings forming from her shoulder blades as well as thin black leather straps formed as well, leaving zero to the imagination. She also grew a bit taller and looked a bit older.

"George, I'm sorry but I-" She was cut off from something she didn't expect: George looked up at her. Gone was the placid and concerned expression on his face. Now his eyes had gone bloodshot, nostrils flaring, teeth bared, arms clenching. It screamed one thing: Pure, unadulterated, rage! All that was running through his head was that 'sorry' she said. She gasps, "Geo-"

Without so much as a warning, he spear tackled her into the fountain, damaging her back and wings. She yelled in pain, "George. I-" He grabbed her neck with one arm and held her head underwater, strangling her. He then pulled out his weapon: a large Ka-Bar knife! He held it high before he stabbed her right arm over and over again, yells of anger and rage pouring from his vocal cords and her right arm went limp, drained of blood. Her screams of pain were muffled by the water and she struggled.