“Hey Yui, want to hear a joke?”

“No.”

“Okay then. You know, I’m kinda looking forward to meeting this merchant guy. We’ll be able to get food, water, and maybe even a place to stay.” He did a little half skip.

“Great, another night with you.” She rolled her eyes.

“Oh come on babe, isn’t it nice to have someone to sleep next to?”

“Can’t you just get a body pillow or something?”

“But it wouldn’t smell nearly as nice, or be as warm, or be a beautiful girl named Yui.”

“Whatever. How much longer to the merchant?”

“Based off what Joey said it’ll be a few hours. We should rehearse a dance number or something, make an impression when we meet him.” He moved to hold her hand but she pulled it away from him.

“A few hours ago you almost killed a man. How are you acting like nothing happened?”

“Well, I don’t worry about things that have already happened. And you know, can’t really unbash a skull.”

“You’re not that different from the robbers you killed.”

“Aren’t I nice to you?”

“You are, but only because you have a crush on me or something. And you’re certainly not nice to anyone else.”

“Why does it matter what I do to other people? You don’t even know anyone here so it’s not like I’m hurting your friends.”

“It matters because it shows who you are. God… you’re not even that nice to me. It’s like I’ve been kidnapped by one of those weird kids in class that’s obsessed with video games and anime and tries to hit on me just because I’m Japanese.”

“I mean I’ve always been interested in adventure games but JRPGs were never my thing.”

“Listen to yourself! You can’t take anything seriously! It’s all a big fucking joke to you. Haha, I murdered someone. Haha I stole all their food and water and now they’re going to die. Haha, I’m forcing Yui to degrade herself. Haha, I’m complete psycho and its funny.”

“Drop the bags. Now.” He stopped and glared at her.

“W-what are...” Her demeanor changed almost instantly. She quickly dropped her bags and faced him with fearful eyes.

“I thought we had a deal going here. I’d protect and provide for you and you’d give me companionship and affection. Instead what I’m getting from you is rejection and insults. I don’t know why you resent me killing your captors. They broke into my room with every intention of killing me. I just kept myself alive. And it wasn’t like they treated you well either. They kept you in rags that barely covered anything. You know what, I didn’t mind the view at all, but I knew you did. I gave you my own clothes so you could feel comfortable. When we only had enough scraps to eat for two days I made sure you had food before I had anything. Would they have done the same for you? And now you’re mad at me for taking those things from that Joey guy and his friends. Don’t you remember how that was going? They weren’t going to give us jack shit unless I whored you out. Would you rather have done that than watch some asshole get a face full of wood? Or would you rather me play at being virtuous and have us starve to death?”

“Andrew I...”

“If you hate me and how I treat you so much you’re free to leave. Just give me my bags and we can part ways. I’m sure you’ll have no trouble fending off marauders and gathering supplies by yourself.”

“No, please...”

“Please what?”

“Don’t leave me here all alone.”

“I’m sorry, I think you’ll have to be more clear.”

“I need you Andrew. I can’t survive without you. I-I swear I’ll cuddle with you and hold your hand and… maybe do other stuff. Just don’t leave me, please.”

“Alright great. Promise to cut out this ‘I hate you’ bullshit and I’ll keep you.”

“O-okay.” Andrew picked up the backpack and handed it back to her. She averted her eyes and received it. He sighed and started walking again.