Chapter 3: What's "Love"?
“I see! So, these…Puyo, you called them? …pop when several of the same color are made to touch one another!”
“Yeah! And then, if you make them pop group after group, in a chain…”
“You acquire the power needed to fight a Puyo battle!”
“Exactly, Ally!”
We were teaching Ally about Puyo on the walk to our first “research spot.”
“Ally, have you never seen Puyo Puyo before? In Primp Town, they’re everywhere.”
Ally seemed a little bothered by my question. “Uhm…” she mumbled, looking away.
Oh that’s right, she might’ve just forgotten about it.
“Okay then, go ahead and try popping some right now!”
“Huh?”
I gathered some green Puyo from the roadside and pushed them into Ally’s hands.
“It’s fun!” I insisted. She looked confused, so I flashed her a peace sign to reassure her.
Whenever I’m popping Puyo, it’s all I can ever think about. It’s like my worries disappear along with the Puyo, with a big Puyo ☆ POP! That’s why I think that there’s nothing better to lift someone’s spirits than having them pop a couple Puyo for fun!
“Uhmm… So I have to line up four…?”
“Ah, about that…”
Though, I guess Puyo can be a bit confusing when you’re just starting out. I thought about giving Ally some pointers, but just as I pointed at some other Puyo by the roadside, trying to teach her how to chain…
“Here I go… Emission!”
Puyo! Puyon!
Ally let the Puyo she’d been holding crash into the roadside Puyo. Just like that, she made a chain!
“EHH?!”
“GUGU?!”
Arle, Ringo, and Carbuncle all together yelped in confusion. And then…
“Ally, am I seeing things, or did you just use a spell?” asked Arle.
“She didn’t just cast a spell, she whipped out a whole cut-in pose to go with it, too!” Ringo added.
They were totally right! How’d Ally know how to use magical energy? Nobody had told her about that yet!
“Uh-uhm… I just tried to imitate what I had witnessed you all do in the Puyo Battle earlier…”
She figured out how to cast her own spells just from watching us do it? That’s so awesome! Could it be that Ally has already Puyo battled before?
“This is very reassuring!” Ringo laughed, pumping her fist.
“Yeah!” Arle smiled too. “I think having Ally on our side the next time we take on Ouroboros is gonna be a huge help! Right, Carby?”
“Gugu! Gugu!” Carbuncle jumped up and down at Arle’s feet.
“Ehe… If I may be honest, I am not quite sure how I did it myself, but I am glad my performance brings you all joy.”
It seemed like drawing everyone’s attention made Ally a bit bashful.
“Uhm… So, where are we heading to next?” she asked as her eyes flitted around our surroundings restlessly.
I answered her. “Well, y’see, we’re looking for Klug!”
“Klug?”
“He’s my friend, and he’s suuuuuper smart! I was thinking that maybe he’d know something about this love stuff.”
As I said that, Ally’s eyes began to sparkle. “A scholar! That does sound very helpful, indeed!”
“Yeah, exactly!”
“How many fantastic friends you have, Amitie! It is simply impressive!!”
“Ehehe~”
Right, that was totally true! I’m surrounded by nothing but awesome people that I’m so psyched to call my friends! I might not be the most reliable girl around, but since I have friends that I can count on, things always turn out just fine for me~!
Thinking about that made me weirdly happy, and I started to scratch my cheek bashfully. As I did, Ally excitedly leaned toward me.
“So, what kind of person is this Klug?”
“What kind of person…?”
“I also wish to keep my eyes open for him!”
“Ah, I see~! Okay, okay, then…”
I recalled Klug’s face in my mind’s eye. Now, how do I describe him best…
“He wears a hat…and round glasses…”
“Mhm, mhm…”
“…his hair’s sharply parted…and he’s always carrying a book around with him…”
“How exceedingly scholarly of him!” Ally raised her voice excitedly again.
I continued. “And he can sound like a jerk from the way he talks… He’s always getting into fights with girls…”
“…Huh?”
“When he’s talking about all the stuff he knows, he gets super arrogant and huffy about it, going all ‘How can you not know this simple fact,’ and stuff…”
“Th-that sounds…significantly less fantastic than I thought…”
“Wait, it does?!”
I was kinda just rambling as it came to me. Did I say something weird about Klug?
Panicking a little, I tried to correct myself. “H-he’s really not a bad person!”
“Is that so…? I suppose I must’ve misunderstood the part where you called him a ‘jerk’ then?” Ally looked a little confused.
Uh, uhm?
“N-no, he really is kind of a jerk sometimes…”
“Then he must be less than pleasant to be around, correct?!”
“No, you’ve got it all wrong! He’s a jerk, but he’s the nice kind of jerk…”
“I never knew that there were jerks that could be considered ‘nice’…”
“Klug’s just not the same as your usual, run-of-the-mill jerk, y’know…”
“Then how would you define a ‘run-of-the-mill jerk,’ if I may ask?”
“Uhm, well…”
How’d we even get to this?! This was seriously starting to get embarrassing.
“Would you stop calling me a ‘jerk’ already?!”
Suddenly, we heard a voice from behind us.
“EEK?!” Ally and I both jumped in surprise.
When I realized what was happening, I saw Klug standing there, glaring at us with both his hands on his hips!
“Klug?! How did you get here?!”
“By walking, like a normal person. You two were so caught up in your babbling that you failed to notice that you walked right past me!”
“O-oh, really…?”
I looked to Arle and Ringo, who both nodded. Looks like I really did lose track of what’s around me while I was chatting with Ally!
Klug cleared his throat. “Far more importantly, what was all that about?! Are you really so incognizant of your own glaring shortcomings that you think it makes sense to introduce me to others as a ‘jerk’…?!”
“Cogs and ants? You mean the things that spin and crawl around?”
I didn’t have something like cogs or ants on me! At least I didn’t think I did.
“Incognizant! IN-COG-NI-ZANT!”
Now he was even angrier. Waah! What did I do, what did I say this time?!
Klug pushed his glasses up. “Well, I’ll just take it that you’re jealous of my intelligent eloquence. The fact that you can only perceive the materialization of intelligence before you as a sign of ‘being a jerk’ is rather pitiful.” Klug folded his arms and huffed arrogantly.
“Amazing… It is just as you said! A boy with a hat and glasses, and a truly jerkish demeanor! Your description was spot-on, Amitie! ” Ally breathed in awe, covering her mouth with one hand…
“HEY!” Klug immediately yelled.
Ally jumped a little. “Ah, I just… I’m so sorry!” she apologized.
Arle forced her way between them. “Guys, guys, let’s calm down, okay? So, what were you guys up to around here anyway, Klug?”
…Hm? Did she just say “you guys”? Was anyone else here…?
“Hey, Amitie.”
“Sig!”
When I took a closer look, there really were two more people behind Klug!
“Oho, what do we have here?★ Hey there, Ringo.”
“Maguro!”
Both of the boys behind Klug turned out to be familiar faces! The boy with the kinda monotone voice and pretty, sky blue hair was Sig.
“Whoa, Sig, I never see you hang out with those two!” I said. “Why are you here?”
“Dunno.” He simply shook his head.
“Uhm… You dunno…?”
“I was out…bug-catching and stuff. Passed by Glasses, somehow ended up following. Don’t really know why…”
“I see… A-ahaha.”
Yeah, that sounds about right. Sig is always spaced out like this. So spaced out that he never even seems worried about the fact that his left eye and arm just up and turned red one day!
The boy standing next to Sig shrugged. “I was talking ‘bout my kendama★” said Maguro.
Maguro is Ringo’s childhood friend. His bangs are long so that they cover his eyes, and he has a bit of a mysterious air about him. He’s interested in all sorts of things and seems to have lots and lots of hobbies.
“About your…kendama, you say…?” Ringo mumbled.
As if on cue, Klug pushed his glasses up again and answered. “I’ve been spending my time researching the mysterious power generated by Puyo battles. Though Maguro came from another world, he is still capable of Puyo battling in the same way we do. It seems that he uses that toy of his, the ‘kendama,’ to channel the energy and cast spells. I have never seen such a bizarre form of magic conduit before. This technique is simply fascinating. So I took the time to inquire about the intricate details of his…”
Gahh… Did Klug always have super complicated-sounding stuff like this on the brain?
“Wow, cool, sounds amazing~!” I said, and Klug raised an eyebrow.
“Oh sure, you’re well versed in this sort of thing?”
“Nooope, not one bit!” I answered honestly…
He stared at me. “Well, at least you are always sincere in your ignorance.”
“You think? Ehehe~”
“That wasn’t a compliment!”
“What, really?!”
“Ahahaha.” Sig laughed in his monotone voice.
“This isn’t funny, Sig!” Klug shouted, fuming.
“Excuse me…” Ally timidly interrupted, “We actually came to ask you something…”
O-oh, right!
“You have a question for me? What is it? I mean, considering the vastness of my knowledge, it is only natural that you would consult me…” Klug re-folded his arms and puffed, “hmph, hmph,” arrogantly.
Ally perked up and exclaimed, “We wanted to ask you what you know about love!”
“I see, love, is it? Of course I’ll be so kind as to… W-wait, WHAT?!”
Klug’s scream sounded very confused.
“Yes! You see, in order to return to my own world, I must use the power of love! Oh, scholar famed for his wisdom! Would you please bestow your love onto me?!”
“Wait a second…who even ARE you?!”
Klug wobbled backwards in the face of Ally’s super-charged energy.
“Amitie! Who in the world is this outlandish girl?! As the one who led her to me, I expect you to get her off my case!”
“Well, uhm, that’s easier said than done, though…”
Ally freaking out every time the word “love” is mentioned isn’t my fault, you know!
“Oh, please excuse my rudeness. I am called Ally!” She bowed deeply, which helped Klug chill out a bit.
“S-so you can talk like a normal person… G-good…”
“And now that we have introduced ourselves… Let us fall in love!”
“Ugh, not this again—!”
…Yep, totally understandable. That face Klug is making must’ve been how I looked when Ally came at me a while back. Geez, Ally really does this to everyone, huh… But we won’t get anywhere like this…
Right when I thought that, I heard Maguro speak up.
“Say, Ringo★ Uhm, how’d all of this come about, anyway?★” He turned the conversation to Ringo, who’d taken a step back as her eyes glazed over.
Ringo snapped back to reality. “HUH?! That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out! This whole equation of irrational variables has subtracted from my problem solving, right down into the negatives!”
Maguro lifted a finger. “But, y’know, if you don’t tell us what’s going on with Ally, I don’t think we’ll ever figure out where to even start with this conversation…★”
“You do have a point!” Ringo nodded furiously. “…But that doesn’t change the simple fact that I am entirely out of my depth here.” Her shoulders drooped.
There wasn’t anyone who could really explain what Ally’s whole deal was, was there…
“I’ve been getting that vibe… Just give it a shot★” Maguro seemed to have found some kind of starting point for us.
“Well then, yes, okay…”
Ringo coughed an “ahem” and began the story of how we met Ally. What she told him was pretty similar to how she had explained the situation to Ecolo earlier.
Then, she finished:
“It really is pretty striking how…fixated Ally is on love. But it’s not that we don’t sympathize with her, and well… We would like to help her. So, if any of you have any constructive ideas on how to proceed, please enlighten us at once!” Ringo concluded, surveying each boy’s reaction.
Ally bowed her head again. “My fate is in your reliable hands!”
“So that’s what’s up…sure★ I got what’s going on now★ Suppose we’ll help out…right, guys?★” Maguro shrugged and looked at Klug.
Klug made a troubled face, but he sighed and grumbled, “Well, if that’s the case, I suppose I can lend you my assistance,” while scratching his cheek.
Awesome! See, Ally? Klug is a lovable jerk!
“…That said. Love… Love, huh… What a complex topic,” Klug began, his eyebrows scrunched. “It is a simple word to use, but its definition is wide-reaching, from friendship to filial love…and it also encompasses, erm…r-romance, of course, along with a myriad of other possible subjects…”
“Mirror? What do mirrors have to do with this?” I wondered aloud, but…
“Amitie… I’m not even going to bother to correct you.” Klug glared at me.
Huh? Did I say something weird again?
“Uhm… What we wanted to know was, how to fall in love and share love with each other… I think?”
“Yeah, Amitie,” Arle agreed with a strained smile, “I think that’s about right.”
Klug groaned at that. “Sharing love… Loving each other… Y-you mean, like, just the state of having mutual affections, right…?”
“No? It’s more like, we’re looking for something people would do when they fall in love with each other! You know anything like that?”
Klug had been weirdly vague about everything ever since this topic had come up, so I had a hard time understanding most of what he said… That’s why I tried to ask him straight out, but…
“N-N-NO! I DON’T!” Klug yelled.
Ah, guess he doesn’t know then… What a bummer… Wait, why is Klug all red in the face now? …Wait, huh? Now I felt really embarrassed about this whole conversation…
Klug kept talking, quickly and in one breath, “The definition of ‘Loving each other’! An action that displays mutually held affections and expresses your personal grace towards the other party!”
“Grace? Who is Grace?”
And now it felt like he was just talking in circles. Yup, still not getting a single thing!
Klug kept fidgeting about, but still gave me a proper answer. “By grace, I mean… That you like something, and… Look, holding something in your ‘grace’ just means that you are happy when that something is around, all right?!"
Oh, was that all? Well, that wasn’t embarrassing at all then!
“So, when I’m hanging out with Sig and we’re having fun, I could say ‘Sig and I are sharing love right now,’ right?”
“Hm…?” Sig, who had been spacing out until now, tilted his head at my question. “You think so, Amitie…?”
Huh? I’d just said that as an example, but…Sig was staring at me now, and it was making me nervous! His beautiful red and blue eyes gazing straight in my direction caught me. …W-wait, was this a super-embarrassing topic after all?!
“I-I mean, I guess?! Probably! Uhm, well, eheheh, uhm, uhm, wanna fall in love with me, Sig?”
“Fall in love…? With Amitie…?”
“HALT! STOP, BOTH OF YOU!”
As I was rambling about aimlessly instead of giving Sig an answer, Klug came in between us, making a wall with his hands outstretched.
“Amitie! You really don’t know what you’re saying, do you?!” Klug shook his head.
HUH—?! But you already know that I don’t know! That’s why I asked!
“Uhm… Do you know what I’m saying, Klug?”
“W-well…”
Klug looked like he was panicking a bit. Maybe he was close to spilling the beans…?
“Then what about you? Like, which special peeps are getting your love, or like, are you giving your love to, or uhm—”
“I have no love to give to anyone!”
“HUH—?! But whyyyyy?!”
That’s such a sad thing to say!
“You spend a ton of time with me and Sig though! Do you really think we’re too boring for you to try falling in love with?!”
“Would you quit that…?!”
“…Ah, Amitie?★ I think you miiiight wanna stop talking right about now…★”
Maguro joined the conversation while Klug was busy holding his head in his hands.
“I’m starting to feel kinda bad for Klug…so★”
“Hwah?!”
Did I do something mean to Klug?! Oh boy, yeah, looking at Klug’s bright red face, this did kinda feel like my fault…
“I feel sorry for both of you. You’re both blushing like crazy…” Arle pointed out.
“Gugu…”
I did a double take. Waah! Now that she mentioned it, my cheeks really did feel kinda hot!
Ally clasped her hands tightly together in front of her chin and spoke, eyes sparkling, “Wonderful! What a passionate discussion about love! Amitie… Klug… You two are clearly in love!”
“NO—WE’RE—NOT!” Klug stamped his feet angrily.
Me? I couldn’t even think of anything to say anymore!
Paying no mind to our reactions, Ally continued. “I can feel the love just overflowing! Oh, if only I could share my love like that with someone too~!”
“Why won’t anyone listen to what I say?!” Klug slumped, his shoulders falling.
Uhm… I’m starting to feel kinda guilty for dragging him into this…
“Attention!” Ringo called, raising her hand suddenly. “As the situation has totally devolved into confusion and gone off on a tangent, I believe that it is time to round it up and summarize!”
R-right, it devolved, yeah! …Not that I know what “devolve” means.
“And with that, I give the word to Maguro! One summary, please!”
“Ehm, me…?★”
Forced into the spotlight, Maguro looked up in the air as he thought of what to say.
“Hm~m…★ Well, love is a word that means a lot of different things to a lot of different folks, so the best way to go about it is probably to go around asking as many people as possible…yeah★”
“Brilliant as always, Maguro!” Ringo nodded up and down. “You always know exactly what to say to inter-mediate any kind of social trainwreck in a tick!”
“Ringo…★ Thanks for the compliment, I guess?” Maguro replied, not seeming sure if there was anything to be proud of in that.
Ringo wore a serious expression. “Trust me, I’m being very genuine here… Just listening to this conversation from the sidelines rendered me motionless, you know…”
Urgh! I still really dunno how it happened, but sorry for making such a huge mess out of it all, Ringo!
“Alright, asking a bunch of people sounds like a good start. Ally, is that okay with you?” Arle asked.
“Of course!”
Arle clapped. “Then it’s settled!”
At her feet, Carbuncle jumped up and down. “Gu~gu!”
I rushed to thank Klug, Sig, and Maguro. “Ah, uhm, yeah! Thank you so much everyone! See ya later!”
But when I was done talking, I heard Sig’s low voice…
“Falling in love with Amitie… Would I…?” he was mumbling to himself, quietly.
Sig—! Have you been thinking about the answer to that question throughout that whole, huge fuss?! That’s so like him, taking the conversation at a whole different pace from everybody else, but, aaaaahh, I really don’t wanna think about this anymore now, pleaaase, Sig, just stop—!
And that’s how, just when I’d finally calmed down a little, all the probably super-embarrassing things I said came flooding right back to me, and my face went hot all over again.