"Sorry, I don't usually smoke. Tell me if it bothers you."
"No, no, it's fine..."
If we weren't in this situation, I'd say her reaction was favorable.
The mind splitting pain was pulling me from behind.
However, I just kept trudging forward, letting my burnt nerves deal with everything by themselves.
I think my legs were shaking a little but since she was only looking at my face, it was easy to hide it.
I took in another puff and kept it inside.
Her eyes displayed confusion at my actions.
'I have to be agile, I cant let her realize that I was slowly approaching her.'
Before long, I had covered half the distance.
'Ray, stop. If you go any further, she'll panic', Lianne quickly apprised me.
I stopped and exhaled.
This time I didn't break eye contact. It only took me one try to completely shut off all my physiological reactions and I made sure my eyes weren't watery.
With a small smile, I asked, " Will you tell me, what is the reason behind the sadness I see in your eyes? "
"I...", she was hesitating.
"I can assure you, there is no one else besides us on this rooftop. Also, albeit I look like this, I'd never share a young maiden's stories with anyone else."
I wasn't lying but no one would believe my words in such a situation.
"It is only my desire to be the sole person to know you on a deeper level."
Now I was just being cheesy.
If you think about it logically, this is exactly what the guys, the kind that every mother warn their daughters about, say. Knowing her on a deeper level? Yeah sure, but being the only person to know her like that? That's questionable.
'I trust what you're saying won't doom me, Lianne.'
'It won't, Ray. Keep melting her emotional barrier. You're almost there. Just a little more and she'll open up', Lianne offered me encouragement.
"I...actually, the reason is...I ..."
Looking at her patiently, I saw that she was struggling.
I quickly remembered what Lianne told me.
'The best way to close the emotional distance is to show her that you can be a reliable person for her.'
Yes, that's it.
She was still stuttering, so I took my turn early.
"You're being bullied by someone."
"!", she was shocked.
Was I correct? I took a long shot and it hit.
"Your dress, it's from Ishiyama high. You look young, probably 17. When I woke up, I saw a leather bag beside me. It's Arpeicio, right?"
She kept looking at me as I spoke.
"Beautiful bag.. Inside it, I saw a driver's license. The name was struck off with ink."
My eyes went down to her hand.
"I saw the same ink on your wrist."
She immediately removed her left hand from my vision.
I continued, "At first glance, it may seem that you wrote it, but when I thought about it, it didn't make sense. "
She looked at me nervously, most likely she was panic stricken.
"Someone has been tormenting your life recently. Seeing how you don't have any bruises or other signs of injury, I'd say the bullying started not too long ago."
She looked me up and down, as if she was scanning me for impurities.
"Are you one of them?", she asked me with a sudden flare of scorn .
One of who? I didn't know, and did I even have to?
"No, I have never heard about a girl called Enna before in my life. If you don't trust me, I'm ready to take a polygraph test."
"Polygraph?", she asked.
"Yeah you can use it to check if a person is lying."
"Weren't they outdated and replaced a decade ago?"
Damn, they were? I had no idea!
"Anyway, I'm not lying, you can test me anyway you want. "
Just don't ask me to kill myself.
She looked at me for a few more moments. Her expression remained stoic but I knew that she was scrutinizing every single one of my words inside her head.
"So, do you still doubt me?", I asked, hoping to somehow make up for my blunder.
She finally sighed and said, "You do look suspicious and given how you smoke, you're most likely a bad person."
That hurt my feelings. Even if this body isn't mine and I don't smoke, I can't say being called suspicious feels particularly good.
"But...", she continued, "your eyes seem gentle and pure."
'Target's mental sanity increased by 2 points. Her emotional health increased by 5 points.' Lianne informed me.
Enna continued, "You said your name was... Ray? You don't look like you're from around here."
"Yeah, I'm not. I'm actually from ..."
'Say Auspercia', Lianne quickly came to my rescue.
"Auspercia."
Enna looked surprised.
"Auspercia? That's... quite far. So you're a foreigner?"
"Yeah, I guess you could say that."
I smoked my cigarette calmly, not revealing the fact that I had no idea where the hell this Auspercia was.
Enna spoke again. She was speaking alot more than before.
"You did look different when I first saw you. Seeing how you talked about a polygraph, I guess you're in your late 20s or early 30s?"
"No! I may look old and ugly but I'm only 17!"
I am 17! I don't know about this body though.
'The body is 18', Lianne interjected.
"Oh I see, I'm sorry."
Enna lowered her head again.
I saw a faint smile on her face before it got covered with her velvety hair.
'Emotional health increased by 5 points.'
What the? Is it really that easy?
Enna kept speaking while keeping her head low, "I'm sorry. I have been having trouble in school. My father recently passed away...leaving me alone with my mother...
I.. I ..."
'Emotional health dropping again. Distract her Ray!'
"Enna!"
She looked up at me.
I flicked the cigarette away as she did.
Slowly, I walked up to her.
When I was just a foot away from the railing, I looked into her eyes.
She was now within my range, I could easily grab her if I wanted.
"It'll be alright. As long as you're alright."
I smiled at her.