Fandom The Gathering of Death Eater Children

[Hikari Chan]

...Huh…? Melody froze for a minute and wondered why she was not allowed to move. ...I was not done speaking...uhm is he writing down his response or what?... She was surprised when Reign showed her the sketch, he had done of her. Not that I mind that he draws me a portrait, but he could have asked me in a different way...he nearly gave me a scare...

She was too surprised to speak any word that she barely forgot to thank him for the sketch. It had been a sudden turn of event for her because she had brought up a different subject and then he suddenly drew a sketch for her. If he had not addressed the subject she had brought up, she would have thought that his sketch was his only response which would have confused her. But what confused her even more what was he told her next.

…No owls? no Patronus? Does he live on a different planet? But it does not make any sense... She thought, feeling even more confused. ...I have to address this scroll and it will find its way magically to Reign but owls and Patronus won't reach him...perhaps…perhaps he has magically blocked his place from receiving any owls or Patronus...

"Alright," She replied with a content smile, taking the scroll.

 

[Junko Natsumizaka]

You will understand later. Reign thought, once again grateful that Melody wasn't as inquisitive or talkative as Diana.

An obvious answer... Rosaleya thought.

"If we were residing in the parallel world that you speak of, I would feel honored to be your daughter." Jade suggested elegantly.

Rosaleya repeated this to Asmodeus, whose expression was unreadable, even after her reply.

 

[Hikari Chan]

"Before we part today, I'd like to take a walk here and then watch the sunset with you," Melody smiled, changing the subject. ...This park is so large enough that we will have time to explore it and enjoy watching, smelling and touching the different kind of flowers until the sunset…and it will feel so special, while doing these things before parting... She thought happily. ..since I have to get back to work next week and I won't have the time to see Reign that often, I'd like do special things with him before we part today....enjoying the flowers and the sunset...it feels so good when one have some same interests in common..

She packed down the empty dishes in the basket and placed the scroll carefully on the top and covered it with the cloth. She looked around so that no muggles were present while she minimized the basket into a tiny size to fit inside her right pocket.

 

[Junko Natsumizaka]

Reign nodded. "A lovely idea."

He stood from the picnic mat and leaned up against a nearby tree, leaving Melody to put the picnic items away. His mind wandered to what Alastair would have been doing instead.

"Please, my lady, stand here while I handle this. My lady shouldn't be doing such menial tasks, I insist!' Alastair insisted in an obsequious manner.

Aislynn did as she was told while blushing, trying to stand calmly under a nearby tree.

She may cook, bake, or clean for me. I may also cook, bake, or clean for her. We will do what we feel comfortable doing for each other, and neither one of us will insist on foolish things. I seek a self-respecting woman that views herself as my equal, not as my servant. In many ways, Diana's willingness to do as I please regardless of my request is the largest reason why I feel such discomfort in her presence. In fact, she still insists upon it, even offering her body to me on many occasions. I do not desire such things; I desire to fall in love with someone's personality, rather than lusting after their physical appearance. I do not want to be given things out of a blinding affection, and I will not do things in an obsequious manner like The King. Reign thought as he walked with Melody.

"Do you feel more tranquil viewing the sunrise, or sunset?" Reign asked as they watched the sun setting.

"I prefer sunrises; they are reminiscent of new beginnings."

 

[Hikari Chan]

"Well I feel tranquil at watching the both...." Melody replied. "Sunset marks the end of the day and I feel satisfied watching it after I have accomplished things during a day. And sunrise marks the beginning of the day, giving me the opportunity for living another day. What about you?"

"I prefer sunrises; they are reminiscent of new beginnings."

...hmm...a new beginning...I cannot but agree... She thought. ...Tomorrow will be a new beginning and soon within a couple of days I will meet those students who are taking their pre-exams. I feel a bit worried since they seem to be so troublesome according to the headmaster...well I shall not worry or think about it. Four troublesome students are nothing, when taking over an entire school.

Adela was sitting behind her desk, preparing the pre-exams. ...I just need to prepare one for each year class and make four copies of them...but I should I really do that…? She thought as she scanned the ones, she had prepared for the class one, two and three. ...Well, that's for the best...I do everything now and rest later... She thought, feeling more determined than ever.

 

[Junko Natsumizaka]

...and he finished by saying that the reason I have a problem moving or talking in dreams is because I find it difficult to express myself in real life. Rosaleya finished reflecting on her meeting with Asmodeus. She was taking a break from writing the specifics of another wish she wanted; a wish to fix her computer so that it could run without electricity, battery or network, just like Crystal said Aislynn fixed hers.

"That question was pleasant." Jade recalled Asmodeus's 'parallel world' question. "It would be fun to be related to him."

"Yes, it would be."

"It's dinner time. . . Why don't we go someplace nice." Jade suggested. "Maybe that new sushi place that we tried a little while ago?"

"That was nice sushi." Rosaleya agreed, standing from her desk chair.

"Oohhhh..." Jade peeked at Rosaleya's paper. "...You also specified that no one can go through your computer's web history except for you." he smiled slyly. "Excellent idea."

"Yes, that is for tomorrow." Rosaleya agreed. "I just have to go over the specifics one more time...but we'll do that when we get back."

"The best way to make sure that you don't forget anything." Jade praised her idea to write the details down.

Rosaleya changed quickly and said goodbye to Crystal and Leigh, leaving the store in less than ten minutes.

"So, we will walk to the sushi place, just like last time, right?" Jade offered his hand to Rosaleya so that they could hold hands discreetly.

"Yes, walking is really nice, especially when I'm not walking alone." Rosaleya smiled, looking up at the sky. The sushi place was on one of the higher floors of the building it was located in, so it had a nice view. If they hurried a bit, they would be able to catch the end of the sunset.

Halfway to the sushi place, they passed the park which they loved to frequent; the same park that they visited the day that they ate at the new sushi place for the first time.

"We can go there tomorrow" Jade said. "See, I told you that I will take you to all the nice places; you don't need anyone else." Jade assured her. "We still have only visited three of the places from the magazine, and we've had plenty of fun, with just the two of-"

"Hey, Rose!" Athena called, spotting Rosaleya from across the street. It looked like she had been leaving a convenience store with a moody expression, but now her face brightened as she crossed the street and hastened her pace to match Rosaleya's.

I'll just say no, to whatever she asks. Rosaleya thought. But then she'll make that sad expression again...

"Say it coldly!" Jade said in excitement. "I love that face she makes when she doesn't get what she wants!" he laughed.

That's mean... Rosaleya thought, already feeling bad about rejecting Athena....besides...she hasn't done anything bad, yet.

" 'Yet'. " Jade repeated with a distrusting look in his eyes.

"Hey, where are you going today?" Athena asked cheerfully.

"Tell her to get lost; don't even bother answering her." Jade suggested coldly with a sadistic expression.

"I was going to go out to eat today." Rosaleya replied out of guilt, although her cold expression and tone did not falter. "But I wanted to eat alone."

"That's understandable; there are times when I want to be alone, too." Athena replied, visibly grateful that Rosaleya hadn't immediately told her to leave.

"Really?" Jade replied in a sarcastic tone.

"So, after you eat, do you maybe want to go and buy some R18 manga with me? I found a store that sells them, so I thought that maybe you would want to-"

"No, thank you." Jade and Rosaleya replied coldly. "I read mine online and just erase my history. It's safer than having the books on-hand."

"But isn't it nicer to read real manga instead of online ones?"

"Both are fine, but one is more convenient."

"Okay, then...what about you join me for a picnic tomorrow at Windermere Lake? I would love the company. " Athena tried to put her arm around Rosaleya's shoulders, but Jade pulled it off harshly. "...And after that, I planned on visiting a demonic store that is having a sale on Anime figures and costumes. Don't you want to know what store that is?" she asked temptingly, not allowing her smile to falter.

"Just say 'no' and get on with it." Jade sighed. "Come on." he lost patience when Rosaleya hesitated, and took hold of her head, moving it so that she appeared to be shaking her head in reply. He put a hand over her mouth to prevent her from speaking.

"Oh...okay, then...Have a nice time." Athena replied quietly, visibly disappointed as she walked away.

Jade put his hands on Rosaleya's shoulders and led her quickly to the sushi place, so that it looked like she was coldly and promptly walking away. "You're welcome." he said as they went. "I'll make sure that you're not tempted by their offers; I promised, didn't I?"

"Yes..." Rosaleya replied quietly, feeling guilty about making Athena sad.

At the restaurant, Rosaleya chose to sit at the bar, where there was a conveyor belt with sushi on it.

"You've wanted to try this for quite a while." Jade said, standing next to her. "Last time we sat at a table, but this time we're trying the conveyor belt sushi. Hey, isn't that Stephan?" Jade said after taking a closer look at the other people surrounding them.

Rosaleya refrained from turning in the direction that Jade indicated to avoid drawing attention to herself.

"It is him...he's coming this way; he's spotted us!" Jade said dramatically. "Shall I trip him?" he offered sadistically, moving toward Stephan. "He'll spill the books that he's carrying."

"No!" Rosaleya whispered quickly.

"Fine...I'll take a step back." Jade laughed, adjusting his posture to indicate that he wouldn't be doing anything for a few minutes.

 

[Hikari Chan]

...Just year six and seven left and I will be done for tonight... Adela thought, feeling satisfied. She looked up and was surprised by the black fluttering wings outside her closed window. …Merlin's beard...are those bats?

She hurried up and rushed towards the window and opened it. It was only one bat that flew inside for a moment and dropped envelope on the floor before flying out. …It must be Vincent... She bent down and picked up the envelope, recognizing the handwriting. She almost forgot that she had to prepare the rest of the pre-exams. For every word she read in the letter, her heart beat raised with one beat at time. ...He wishes to see me now...but... She stood for a moment, as if time had stopped and she could only hear her heartbeats as she pondered what to do. ..oh…it is not Monday yet, I still have time to finish the rest of the pre-exams and I have been working so hard today, I deserve to take a rest and enjoy this evening..

"I hope I did not make you wait for too long.." ...I nearly took half an hour to prepare myself...and I hurried as fast as I could... Adela looked up at Vincent, who was leaning against a tall pillar ruin, the moonlight casting an alluring light over his left side, leaving the right side of him in a shadow. ...What is this feeling...my heart is beating to fast....is it because I have not seen him for a very long time that I have been missing him...

"I was only waiting for a couple of minutes..." He replied with an eerie smile, glinting on his fangs. "You could say twenty minutes..."

"Oh...I am sorr-"

"Why did you not send me a response?"

"Well, you do not use owls and you only wrote that you desired to see me..."

"But you can use both owls and bats, I am not right?"

"Bats…?" Adela looked dumbfounded at Vincent.

"You sent me a letter when I was in Transylvania."

"Ah I remember now. It was actually your great aunt who sent it for me."

Vincent looked taken aback.

"Did you have a great time in Transylvania?"

"Did you meet my great aunt?" ...good lord, no wonder why auntie was giving me suspicious looks this evening before I left...

"Yes, she is such a charming and nice lady." ...Why is he looking so nervous... Adela thought as her hand went up to the pin that was holding up her cloak. It was her favorite pin and it had gotten a bit loose because the pin was to short and the fabric was too thick. "Ouch..." She hurt herself on the pin and she looked surprised at the blood that trickled from her index finger. Before she had come to her senses, Vincent had taken hold of her hand, holding it closer to his face. Suddenly, before she could react, he had licked off the blood from her finger until it stopped bleeding.

"Such a sweet taste..." He said, still holding her hand. He pulled her into an embrace and whispered, his fangs dangerously close to her neck. "I have missed you a lot…" His breath tickled her, and she bit her lower lip so hard to resist from giggling. ...Do not laugh! It will throw of the mood and he will misunderstand...

"I have missed you more," She whispered back.

 

[Junko Natsumizaka]

"I haven't seen you since we went shopping for school supplies...But every time I tried to see you after that, I saw either one of them trying to approach you." Stephan explained. "So I didn't want to bother you. The last thing that I want is to be lumped together with them." his tone sounded annoyed, despite his cheerful gaze. It looked as if he only saw Rosaleya and no one else, and that he was genuinely happy to see her.

"Why did you want to see me? Is there something you need?" Rosaleya asked.

"I wanted to ask you some questions." he sat on the seat next to her, placing his journals on the bar in front of him "I won't bother you for too long like them. Don't worry." he smiled. "I wrote them down-" he opened one of his journals "-and there are only three of them."

"Okay. What did you want to ask?"

"First, are there any subjects that give you a hard time?" Stephan asked, reading from the journal.

"I don't have trouble with too many subjects..." she thought for a moment. "I have trouble with History, since I cannot remember dates very well, only the events." she sighed. "And I also have trouble with Care of Magical Creatures, since I really don't like animals very much. That's why I didn't take that subject. What subjects do you have trouble with?" I have been much better at all of the other hands-on subjects since I opened the box. He's been doing it for me, which is basically me doing it myself.

"Astronomy, and Herbology."

"My second question is; could we study together this year at Hogwarts? I thought that we could help each other with the subjects we are the worst at; Nova taught me some tricks for remembering dates in History." he said cheerfully. "Unless...they asked to study with you first?"

"No." Rosaleya replied. "And even if they did, I would turn them down."

"Hmm? Why?"

"Because...I can't trust things that are too good to be true." Rosaleya admitted. "That's why I've been turning down almost all of their requests."

"So, why haven't you turned down my request to study with you yet?" Stephan asked, visibly clueless.

"Because...unlike Penelope-"

Stephan sighed tiredly. "don't mention her-

"-you seem very well-mannered."

"Thank you." Stephan smiled. "So, do you want to study with me? No pressure." Not like them. I won't pressure or argue with her.

"Sure. What's your third question?"

"I'm sure that they're bothering you, asking you for so many things, right?"

Rosaleya didn't answer, avoiding Stephan's eyes while Jade laughed. Stephan took this as a 'yes'.

"I wanted to ask you if we could go to a park tomorrow together, and then maybe to lunch afterward. Can we go?"

He looks so cheerful, just like Touka, and he sounds eager, just like Kagetane. But unlike them, he's asking gently, in a way that says he doesn't want to pressure of bother me. He also looks sympathetic to my 'situation'. He's clearly imagining it to be more bothersome for me than it is, as if they're asking me so many times that I can barely read a page of manga without hearing 'tap tap tap' on my window. But...

"His intentions are easy to see." Jade commented in an approving tone. "Saying 'yes' is fine, here. Remember, your reason for saying 'no' to the other two is because you don't know their intentions."

"Yes. I would really like to go." Rosaleya replied with a happy smile. "Can we come back here tomorrow for lunch?"

"Sure." Stephan seemed overjoyed at her reply. Yes! Asmodeus was right! If I don't pressure her, she'll say yes right away, ninety-percent of the time! Nova's advice almost always works, but Asmodeus's advice is 100% accurate. Just as promised, he picked up his books and made to return to his original seat.

Jade took Stephan's books from him and put them back down on the bar.

"You can stay sitting here, if you want." Rosaleya offered, since she could tell that he wanted to, but didn't want to intrude on her like 'them'. "You're not bothering me." Thanks, Jade.

"I was joking about tripping him." Jade clarified. "You know that, don't you?"

"Yes!" Stephan couldn't help exclaiming happily, sitting back down next to Rosaleya. "Thank you!"

Rosaleya giggled quietly, finding his enthusiasm to be cute since she knew his intentions. She was able to enjoy her sushi with him, and chat lightly, without constantly guessing if he was going to try to betray her later or not.

Nova is raising him so well; Penelope is just going through a rebellious faze. That's what Asmodeus said; he also said that Stephan was an honest and trustworthy person. Mmm...this tastes good! She thought as her eyes watered from the wasabi, and her nose burned.

Stephan quickly grabbed a tissue and made to dab at Rosaleya's tears. Jade snatched the tissue away from him and continued doing it himself. Rosaleya giggled quietly as the stinging died down. Stephan was surprised.

"I thought that you had trouble with magic." he said in surprise. And that you were too embarrassed to ask for help with the hands-on subjects when I asked you just now.

"Oh...Asmodeus gave me some help with that." is all Rosaleya replied with.

"That's good." Stephan said, happy for her.

 

[Hikari Chan]

August 22nd

..I wonder what interesting activity Celeste has planned for us today... August thought as he prepared himself for a date with Celeste. ...Whatever we do, may it be silly and crazy rides at an amusement park or an exploration of a haunted place, I always enjoy being with her... He smiled to himself as he looked one last time in the mirror before leaving his office.

A couple of minutes later he had arrived at the same place in Knockturn Alley when they always used to meet. Whenever he used to arrive for their dates before, she used to be there waiting for him even if he was on time, because she always seemed to be there earlier than him. However, this time she was not there as he had expected. ...Perhaps I am to early today…? He thought, feeling surprised that she was nowhere to be seen.

 

[Junko Natsumizaka]

Celeste's brother showed up ten minutes late with an indifferent, bored look on his face, as if he couldn't care less about anything around him. He had his hands in his pockets, and was slouching slightly.

"Are you August Dolohov?" Dante asked, not bothering to change his bored tone or expression when addressing August.

"I'm Celeste's brother. I came to tell you that she's sick today, so she won't be able to see you for a while. She doesn't want any human visitors, so I guess you'll have to wait until the Halloween party to see her again. Don't worry, she's not dying, she's just very ill. Well, bye." he shrugged and turned to leave. Why should I put an effort in for just another human that she's going to throw away as soon as he shows his true colours, or fails Asmodeus's test? It doesn't really matter what he thinks of me at all, and I could care less about him. Until Celeste finds someone worthwhile, I won't be feeling anything except boredom towards them.

 

[Hikari Chan]

"Are you August Dolohov?"

"Yes…?" August looked around in surprise and was met by a young man who bare some likeness to Celeste.

"I'm Celeste's brother. I came to tell you that she's sick today, so she won't be able to see you for a while. She doesn't want any human visitors, so I guess you'll have to wait until the Halloween party to see her again. Don't worry, she's not dying, she's just very ill. Well, bye." he shrugged and turned to leave

"I am sorry to hear that. Please send her my regards and that I hope she will recover soon," August spoke to him, not caring if Dante already had turned his back and was leaving. There was a cold undertone in his voice which was directed towards Dante since the latter one had met him with such a boredom as if he did not care about anything. …What an insolence...tsk...he should show some more respect when speaking to someone, at least showing some respect when meeting someone he has never met before... August thought for himself, yet his face was calm and did not reveal the annoyance he felt towards Dante. "Farewell..." He turned on his heel and prepared himself to apparate away.

 

[Junko Natsumizaka]

"So he said 'I am sorry to hear that. Please send her my regards and that I hope she will recover soon' and I kept walking away." Dante finished for Celeste.

"But I told you to tell him that I made a mistake with my calendar. . . I thought that Nova's birthday was tomorrow, and not today, so I had to cancel our date, but you volunteered to tell him instead, so-"

Dante shrugged. "This way is fine, too. It doesn't really matter though, does it?" he made a face that said 'I don't care because August is likely to be on our blacklist soon just like the others'. "So, let's go. You're done getting ready now, and Nova's party will be starting in five minutes. I made sure that your cello was tuned for today, and that your music notes were right beside it. That song that you took the time to compose for him sounds so lovely." he smiled warmly.

He's like a completely different person now... Celeste thought, thinking of his bored behavior during her dates with August, or any other time that he visited the Human Realm alone. I suppose...I can see why he thinks that way...

"...so, what do you say?" Athena finished.

"No, thank you." Rosaleya said coldly.

"Awww...come on! Soon, you'll be really busy with homework, right? We won't have time to hang out, so-"

"Stephan came up with a wonderful idea that we could study together at his home in Hell, using Item Boxes for our school books or papers. That way, studying takes up barely any time in this realm. So, you really don't have to worry about me." Rosaleya interrupted coldly, yet with a polite expression. "Please, I would like to be alone right now." I have to get to Nova's birthday party; I'm so honored that he invited me. Rosaleya thought happily, using the thought of Nova's party to distract her from her guilt about rejecting Athena once again. Kagetane's given me some space, but Athena still hasn't stopped trying to offer me amazing things, every day since August first.

"...O...Okay. Bye, then." Athena replied in obvious disappointment.

She had barely finished speaking before Jade harshly closed Rosaleya's bedroom curtain again, blocking her view of Rosaleya.

That _ of a _ stole my idea! Athena thought, angrily jumping away from Rosaleya's fire escape. He stole my diary and took my idea! That's not fair! We agreed that cheating wasn't allowed! Well, if he wants to cheat, then that means that it's fair game for the rest of us once the word gets around. Athena thought, smirking as she came up with the perfect idea to sabotage Stephan's progress.

"...and it was such a surprise to find an invitation on my desk." Rosaleya finished. "The party was such fun."

She was having tea with Stephan at Antique after Nova's birthday party. Stephan was having blueberry tea, and Rosaleya was having Earl Grey.

Rosaleya took hold of her tea cup to take the first sip, but Jade gently put his hands atop hers to stop her. "It's laced with love potion." he whispered in her ear.

For a moment, everything around Rosaleya froze, and she didn't register Stephan's comical story about one of Nova's maids, which owed him a month's cleaning for a wish. He looks so innocent...and Asmodeus said that he's a good person...but is his crush on me that strong that he would give me love potion? What should I do? Should I demand an explanation? No, he would just act innocent...should I suddenly leave? But would he really do this? But then, who else would've done this, if this type of love potion makes you fall in love with the first person you see, and Stephan is right in front of me, no one else would have a reason to give it to me...

"I have a suggestion...." Jade began.

 

[Hikari Chan]

"Good to see you back to the office. It was sooner than I expected. I thought you were going to remain in Italy this entire month..."

"Ah no, I had already planned to be back around this time. My son's birthday is approaching and it is a tradition in the family to always gather on the birthdays, hehe..."

"Oh I see…" ...This reminds me of.....her birthday is in December...ah I still have plenty of time until then..

"What's the matter?"

"What?"

"You spaced off for a couple of minutes.."

"Oh it is nothing...I was just thinking about my daughter, by the way I have a couple of things to report for you.."

"Hmm...well what is it?"

"Hogwarts is starting with extra circular study group for students who have missed go to school. We got the list of the students who are joining this group and three of them could not be found in our register."

"Ah so that means that Hogwarts have attracted students from abroad. Well that's good news, isn't it? Anyway, anything of interest that have happened in the ministry?"

"No, everything has been as usual. And oh, before I forget, I need a couple of days off during the two first week of October. From first to 12th October-"

"That's more than a couple of days and you have not been working here for enough time to earn your vacation. I cannot give you so many days off. Perhaps one day or two..."

"It is actually related to work and I am not going to use these days for slacking or going on holidays. I need to transport dragons for a special event."

 

[Junko Natsumizaka]

"...why don't you pretend to drink it? Then, pretend to fall under the potion's effects. By his reaction, I will tell you if he meant it or not. There is no reason for him to act surprised if he's the one that gave it to you, right? Perhaps the reason that he volunteered to order for both of you isn't because he wanted to give you this." Jade said.

Rosaleya picked up the teacup, and pretended to drink a bit of it.

"Put your arms around him or something. Sit next to him." Jade suggested. "Change the look in your eyes to 'lovestruck'. "

Rosaleya suddenly put the cup down, and the surprise in Stephan's eyes only grew as she rose from her seat and sat next to him with a 'lovestruck' expression. She sat too close to him so that their sides were touching, and she clung to his arm. "Stephan..." she said in a breathy voice. How is this? Am I doing alright?

"Yes, you're doing fine."

"Ms. Fairbrook! What are you doing?" Stephan asked, blushing as he rose from his chair quickly with a nervous and confused expression. He was clearly tempted to return her affection, but was rejecting it because he knew that something wasn't right. "Why are you acting like this so suddenly?" he demanded, still blushing despite his serious gaze.

"Say something crazy and get closer to him." Jade directed.

"Do I need a reason, with someone like you?" Rosaleya asked in the same breathy voice, standing up and nearing him as if she was about to embrace him warmly.

"Stop it!" Stephan, without hesitation, grabbed her by the shoulders and held her at arm's length so that she didn't do anything else strange. His eyes quickly went from her strange expression to her teacup, and they widened slightly as if he realized the reason for her strangeness.

He let go of her and grabbed for her teacup, examining its contents closely, and smelling the liquid inside of it.

"Stay there for now, and explain what happened." Jade advised. He suggested a concise explanation, which Rosaleya relayed to Stephan at lightning-speed, returning to her normal expression and tone.

Stephan gave her his full attention, and embraced her after she finished. "I understand." he said, sounding relieved as he took a step back. "I was so worried for a moment there...I thought that you were an impostor, and I was worried about what had happened to the real you. I understand why you didn't just ask me if I had done that; we don't know each other that well, yet."

"I had a hard time disregarding Asmodeus's words about you. He said that you were..." she named four positive adjectives that Asmodeus had used, and added two more of her own "...so I knew that I had to think of another reason why there was love potion in my tea."

"I swear, I would never do that." Stephan said, visibly disgusted at the thought. "It's the same as wishing that you were in love with me. I would want your feelings for me to be real." he looked into her eyes genuinely, smiling.

"That's good." Rosaleya sighed. "But how are we going to figure out who did it?"

"First, how did you know that there was love potion in your tea?"

"You sensed it with your demon-senses!" Jade said dramatically. (Parodying Spider-Man's 'Spider-senses'.)

"I...it smelt strange." Rosaleya replied quietly.

Jade sighed at the fact that she hadn't taken his suggestion.

"I will ask Nova to help me find out who did this to you." Stephan promised. "I'll be right back. Please stay here and order another tea; I'll pay for it." he said as he left, literally running out of the bakery.

When Stephan returned a few minutes later, he had a deeply disappointed expression, and was slouching with his eyes to the floor.

Rosaleya abandoned her love-potion-free tea and neared him. "What happened?"

"Nova said that someone wished for him not to tell us anything. I can't believe it, why would he agree to something like that?"

"Maybe the person wished for that before they started doing strange things. A non-disclosure agreement between someone that appeared trustworthy in the beginning would seem innocent to Nova, wouldn't it?" Jade suggested for Rosaleya's reply.

Rosaleya repeated this to Stephan, who nodded slowly.

Jade rolled his eyes. "Well that was helpful." he said sarcastically.

"Why don't we sit down and continue our conversation?" Rosaleya suggested. "Your story sounded funny."

"Oh, okay!" Stephan said, immediately forgetting his disappointment at the thought of spending more time with Rosaleya. His posture changed to a confident, upbeat one as he returned to his seat "...as I was saying, Nova let me pick all of his outfits...the 'maid's', I mean." he laughed. "I made him dress up in all of these funny costumes while he cleaned."

"Like what?" Rosaleya smiled, surprised that Stephan was able to get over things quickly.

"It's better than dwelling on them for long amounts of time, I suppose." Jade commented. "But his recovery time seems shockingly short."

"He was there for a month, so I chose thirty different crazy costumes, because Nova told me to have fun with it and not to worry about going too far. If you don't know what any of these are, tell me so that I can explain it. The first one was a Guts Cosplay from Berserk , while he's wearing his Berserker Armor...."

Rosaleya laughed, imagining trying to clean in that sort of bulky Cosplay. Stephan was visibly surprised that she understood what he was saying.

"The second one was a Hisoka Morrow Cosplay, from-"

"-Oh, that must've been so funny! He had to wear all that makeup!" Rosaleya said through her laughter.

Again, Stephan was surprised.

"The next day was a Bonta kun Cosplay from-"

"-Full Metal Panic, Fumoffu? I can't believe that you came up with so many crazy ideas!" Rosaleya laughed. My my...he's watched this stuff! I didn't know that he liked-

"-And the next day I made him dress up as a Namahage, and the day after that was Korosensei from Assassination Classroom."

Rosaleya kept giggling and laughing throughout the rest of his story. She was both happy to hear that they had a common interest, and surprised to hear that he had actually gone through with all of his strange ideas.

Jade was standing near Rosaleya with a calm expression, only laughing one-eighth as much as Rosaleya.

"...and the last one was a Gundam Z Cosplay . The white one. I haven't actually watched any of the Gundam series yet, but I thought that that costume looked so bulky and difficult to work in."

"Thank you for telling me this story. I'm surprised that we've watched a lot of the same Anime...and that you like Anime at all. I didn't picture you to be the type to like that stuff."

"And I thought the same thing about you at first." Stephan replied.

 

[Hikari Chan]

August 24th

"Eli..." Lily looked up at her brother with a broad smile spread across her face before she embraced him and kissed him on his both cheeks. "Happy birthday..."

Elias smiled in return and let her hold him for as long as she wished until he got enough after what had been feeling like ten minutes. "Did you bake me a cake?" He teased her when he released himself from her hug.

"I have a surprise for you!" She avoided to answer his question and led him down to the breakfast room.

"Sure..." He smiled, already knowing about the surprise. It was the same as every year. He would be greeted by his parents and they would have a grand breakfast with various of small dishes and meals and round it off with his favorite cake. A vase with red roses from their garden always decorated the breakfast table at this event every year and it was not different this year. There was a gift box with gifts which his parents had bought for him when they had been on vacation abroad. He decided to open it later this evening.

"Ah, my gift for you is taking you out..." Lily announced to him after they had finished eating breakfast. She desired to give him the same treat he had given her on her birthday.

"Could you postpone it to tomorrow Saturday, please? My friends wish to celebrate my birthday and-

"Your friends? Is miss Pyrites going to be there? May I join you please!"

"I am sorry, but I am afraid she is not going to be there," He lied. "You will be bored since all my friends are men..."

"Then I pass," Lily crossed her arms with a disappointed look on her face.

He looked away, trying to avoid laughing out aloud. ...She thinks I am going to be busy all day, but the truth is that I am only seeing my friends for a couple of hours and Persephone is not expecting to see Lily, so she won't find out that I lied...

"Hey, are you dreaming?"

"What? Adela looked up with a startled look at Endewyne who had been standing over her and calling out her name and shaking her shoulders for nearly a couple of minutes.

"You were spacing out and you have been here in the court yard for a couple of days. You have barely eaten. What's bothering you?"

"Nothing, may I not daydream for once?" Adela looked away.

"What is that dream that is occupying your mind and makes you forget about your meals?"

"That's none of your business!" She snapped. "You are disturbing me, go away!"

Endewyne flinched at Adela's outburst but did not argue with her anymore and left. Faeryn was waiting outside the court yard.

"What's the matter with Adela?" Faeryn asked Endewyne.

"The matter? You should have seen the look in her eyes. She looks like a lovesick fool."

"She could not have possibly eloped with...with...that vampire."

"Whatever! There's nothing we can do about it. It is her choice and her life after all. But if that vampire hurts her, I won't hesitate a second to kill him. Let's go..."

"Wait...does that mean...there'll be another one like Monroe?"

"What? What do you mean?" Endewyne looked perplexed at Faeryn.

"Is Adela pregnant?"

"Merlin's beard, Faeryn! Hush lower your voice. And no, she is not, absolutely not. I just told you that she looked like a lovesick fool, no more or less. Besides we do not know if she has become closer to him or to Mulciber. And whatever her choice is, if I know her right, she won't do anything stupid before marriage."

"How can you be so sure? She was stupid enough to start seeing that vampire after the torture party. I am going to watch her close. If...if…if her...if she is bearing a child to a monster, I am going to be the one ending her life!"

Endewyne got speechless and watched Faeryn rushing away, leaving her alone in the hallway. ...If there's anyone who is stupid and stubborn here, then it is you Faeryn. Halflings are rare, but dhampirs are not the only ones. There are half humans and half giants, trolls and goblins. But still, this is bugging me...I am going to try to find out the truth before Faeryn does...

 

[Junko Natsumizaka]

"...just as we discussed. Your plan for Elias's birthday is similar to Lily's, where you left Lily alone on her birthday and invited her over the day afterward for a delicious surprise." Alastair finished.

"...Yes, I just have to check the ingredients list one more time...I'm preparing all of-" Luna read off of a list.

"-of his favorite meals, just like you told me the day that you found out what his favorite meals were. Once again, I offer you my assistance." he waited patiently for her reply.

"No, I don't require any." Luna sighed after checking the ingredients list for the third time. "I haven't forgotten anything, and I know how to make each of these meals...." she read from a different list "I've already purchased his favorite wine....and I've left an invitation for tomorrow's dinner on his pillow so that he reads it by tonight. Everything is fine." she sighed again.

Alastair smiled warmly and turned to leave. "Don't hesitate to call me if you need anything."

"Yes yess...cheesecake is his favorite cake...but his family must certainly have already known that and had it made for him." Nagini said. "So you're going to make all of his favorite desserts except for that one..."

"Yes. I hope that it isn't too much. Whatever we don't eat, Crystal loves to take lots of whatever I make and eat it at Rosaleya's apartment. And Raven also enjoys my cooking and baking. And there's always Aislynn, who loves sweets. I couldn't possibly make too much desserts." Luna laughed, feeling more relaxed now. "Everything will be fine."

"If you keep saying that, you'll curse it." Nagini joked.

Elias would find the invitation on his pillow when he got back from his outing with his friends. It gave a brief explanation of how Luna celebrated Lily's birthday, letting her spend the whole day with her family and friends and then inviting her over for a beautiful cake the next day. The last lines of the invitation were...

...but I suppose you already heard this from Lily.

I look forward to seeing you tomorrow.

~Luna

The envelope was black with embossed green letters addressing it to Elias Shadowwalker in elegant font. The parchment is also black but with white iridescent letters in Luna's elegant handwriting.

Rosaleya was at the park with Jade again, who was sitting on the monkey bars and singing like every other time they visited the park together.

"Hey, Rosaleya!" Athena, who had been walking by the park, decided to near Rosaleya after seeing her with a cheerful expression. "Do you mind if I sit next to you on the swings?"

"...no." Rosaleya replied with a cold tone after Jade shook his head in reply. "...I don't mind." Her eyes betrayed her, showing the guilt she felt at having rejected Athena so many times.

There was a three minute stretch of silence between them, as they both swung back and forth. Then, Athena let her swing stop gradually, "Do you mind stopping for just a minute?" she asked.

Rosaleya did so, calmly giving Athena her full attention.

"Here." Athena pulled a gift out of her blazer's inside pocket, holding it out for Rosaleya to take. "It's for you." she smiled. "I've been wanting to give this to you, and I thought that I would on our next outing, but you haven't said 'yes' since that first time."

Rosaleya hesitated to take it. Jade jumped off of the monkey bars and landed elegantly right next to Rosaleya, taking the gift from Athena and turning it this way and that, inspecting it. "It's safe." he said, handing it to Rosaleya. "There is no good reason to turn down a safe gift, is there?"

"W-what is this?" Rosaleya asked, promptly closing the box after opening it. "I can't do this....I'm sorry." she handed it back to Athena and stood up, creating a few feet of distance between them. "I feel bad about accepting your gifts...and I feel strange about accepting your invitations for fun activities...and I feel uncomfortable when you touch me or even look at me. I can't trust you...I'm sorry." Rosaleya said honestly, with her eyes to the ground.

"But why would you reject a gift like that?" Jade asked. "You're a demon after all, so why wouldn't you want to devour a perfectly good soul when you didn't even have to do any work to capture it? And it was a golden soul, too. Nova explained the soul-capturing process, and it takes a lot of effort."

"Why not?" Athena asked, visibly hurt. "Did I do anything wrong? Did I do anything to offend you? Just tell me what I'm doing wrong so that I can fix it." she said, nearing Rosaleya. "Come on, tell me. I promise that I won't get offended."

"You're not doing anything wrong..." Rosaleya took a step back "it's just that I can't trust something that's too good to be true." Rosaleya replied honestly. "I can't see any reason why you would want to be friends with someone like me."

"I just want to be friends with you; is it that hard to believe? And what do you mean, 'someone like you?' Are you part troll or something?"

"No...I'm..."

"You're what? If you don't tell me, then I'll never understand. Right now, you're making me feel like it's something that I'm doing. And if that's the case, all you have to do-" she took both of Rosaleya's hands in hers "-is tell me what I'm doing wrong."

 

[Hikari Chan]

Elias knocked on the front door. Once. Twice and trice. But no one opened. They had agreed that they would meet at Rockwood's new place. …Perhaps I started to take after Luna's habit and arrived to early... Elias thought when the door suddenly swung slightly open.

"Hello-" He began as soon as he set his foot in. But before he had finished his speech, a source of colorful lights burst out right in front of his face. He heard voices congratulating him loudly.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

It took him long to realize that he was covered in confetti. "What the bloody hell?" He brushed off the confetti, yet he was laughing because of the surprise which he had not been expecting.

"Ah sorry about it..." Persephone bit her lower lip, yet she could not help but giggling. She helped him to brush of the rest from his cloak.

"It is alright…it's alright..." Elias was still laughing.

Everyone else were already gathered around in the table in the hall room which had been cleared out for the birthday party. It felt as of the entire Hogwarts staff had gathered, because only the Dolohovs, Jugson, Travis, Gibbon, Wilkes and Flynn Pyrites were not present. There was a green birthday cake without candles. Instead of candles, sticks with sparkles were attached to the top of the cake. They had been enchanted to start sparkling as soon as Elias set his foot in and they would go on sparkling without going out until someone would magically turn them off.

Avery who had already started a pre-party by drinking before Elias arrived, stood up and started to sing. He was bad at singing and did not realize it because he had become soft because of drinking a couple of glasses and he sang with all his might. Everyone else could not help but laugh.

"Oh, my baby boy, I cannot believe you are 28 today, times runs so fast, I still remember you at your first day at Hogwarts!" Quinn half embraced Elias who stood awkwardly still. She was holding a glass of a fizzy drink in her other hand. ...Merlin's beard, whose idea was it to invite miss Quinn and miss Blake... He thought, feeling embarrassed that his past professor and head of house hugged him as if she was his mother and he had to endure another moment of a motherly hug when miss Blake embraced him.

Meanwhile Vivienne turned off the sparkling sticks.

"Why did you do that?" Persephone looked surprised at her as she was pouring up some drinks

"Why? It's time to eat cake, why else did I bake it for? Let's cake it for Elias!"

"Ah...hehehe of course...Elias have a drink!"

'...but I suppose you already heard this from Lily.

I look forward to seeing you tomorrow.

~Luna'

...Actually Lily wanted to spend a day with me tomorrow, treating me the same as I treated her on her birthday. It never crossed my mind that Luna would treat me the same for my birthday as she did for Lily...I hope she will be fine if we could postpone it to Sunday....

"Lily?" Elias called out as soon as he had left his bedroom. He knocked a couple of times on her door.

"Yes?" She looked surprised at her brother because they just had said good night to each other a few minutes ago.

"Lily, I am sorry about this very short notice, but could we possible postpone whatever you have planned for me to Sunday, please?"

"But you promised me that we would go out tomorrow!" She retorted.

"I understand, but we have to postpone it to Sunday because something come up...Luna-"

"…invited you to her place tomorrow? May I come please? Please?"

"…I am afraid you cannot come-"

"Why?! I did not join you today because you said only men would attend your birthday party. What reason do I have to stay home tomorrow?"

Elias sighed inwardly and took a deep breath before trying to explain to his sister why she could not join him tomorrow.

"Lily, please. Imagine it is your own birthday and you have a fiancé who would like to celebrate your birthday alone, just you and him. Your fiancé invites you to his place and it is only going to be you two...would you bring me or mother or father with you?"

"Of course, I would bring father and mother me, that would be the most appropriate way!" Lily replied to his astonishment. Her face was red as tomato as if the scenario Elias described for her was true.

"Even if it is about a romantic day with just you and him, do you think mother and father would like to come with you? Your fiancé would probably feel annoyed or mother and father would feel that they are bothering you two..."

"Eh?"

"You cannot join me tomorrow, Lily. Good night dear..."

 

[Junko Natsumizaka]

"I..." Rosaleya hesitated, looking from Athena's friendly eyes to Jade's bored ones.

"Just show her already and be done with it. Stop using all of these words to hide it, you don't mean half of the things that you're saying."

I can't do that! Rosaleya thought. "I'm sorry, but I can't." she pulled her hands away from Athena's, and turned to leave. "Please, just have fun by yourself. Don't worry about someone like-"

"Please!" Athena begged with tears in her eyes. She wasn't yelling, but speaking emotionally in a choked voice, on her hands and knees. "Please don't leave me alone!"

"What an interesting display." Jade commented mildly. "If only she would stay there and beg some more..." he had a sadistic look in his eyes.

Rosaleya turned around, eyes wide in surprise.

"..I'm terrible at making friends and I can't stand being alone! I hate it! I try to make friends and all I do is get everyone angry or annoyed because they think I'm weird! But please don't turn me down as well! I've finally found someone that has the same interests as me, and you're a demon! Do I need any more reasons to like you?"

I don't know what to do! If she's trying to play on my guilt then she's doing an amazing job. Rosaleya thought, staring in disbelief at Athena's dramatic display.

"She's probably lying." Jade rolled his eyes. "You should pretend to care, and act like you believe her. Just assume she will eventually betray you, so that you can skip the terrible feeling people usually get when they've been betrayed. Sometimes people in your life exist only as a temporary happiness. Enjoy yourself, and when she betrays you, I will make sure to break every bone in her body and cut out her tongue, gouge out her eyes and damage her ears, and then leave her in a place so isolated that no one will try to heal her as she endures a lonely and painful death. The same goes for Kagetane. But only if you start acting more like yourself, and for goodness sake please abandon this 'nervous schoolgirl' persona you've been using as of late!"

Rosaleya nodded to Jade, then beheld Athena for a moment longer before interrupting.

"...I know that you've visited places from that magazine without me, but you couldn't buy anything, right? I'll teach you how to get DC, and I want to be the one taking you to fun places. Please, just-"

"-It's okay." Rosaleya interrupted nonchalantly, wearing an emotionless expression. "Now that I know your motives, I can trust you." she shrugged, bending down to ruffle Athena's hair. "I was just worried before, because Mr. Mask is so suspicious, you know?"

"It's okay?" Athena asked incredulously, looking up at Rosaleya hopefully. Did I hear her wrong? Will she finally give me a chance? "Did I hear you incorrectly?" she sounded as if Rosaleya had acted a bit more warmly to her instead.

"You heard me just fine." Rosaleya stood up and turned away. "But I'm in the mood for something delicious right now, so I can't stay with you for long...Unless, of course, you can let me have that golden soul you offered me earlier?" she smiled innocently.

"Finally!" Jade sighed in relief. "I couldn't bare another second of that! Admit it, that you don't care if that golden soul came from a virtuous person or not! Admit it! You're happy to enjoy it regardless!"

"Of course you can still have it!" Athena replied, overjoyed at Rosaleya's choice. "Please, enjoy it." she handed the box to Rosaleya.

"Well?" Jade prompted eagerly as Rosaleya and Athena sat down on the nearest park bench. "Do you want me to word it nicely for you? Here, just repeat after me..."

Rosaleya did so. "I couldn't care less whether it was a good human or a bad one that was killed so that I could savor this." she pointed to the box containing the soul with an innocent smile. "I enjoyed my last soul, and I will continue to enjoy them over and over again. People die every day, in plane crashes, car accidents, alcohol or drug abuse, sickness and old age, et cetera...if I tried to empathize with every one of them, then it would be a waste of time. It's no different if the death happens right in front of me, or on the other side of the world. It's the same with all beings, really." she finished with a cold countenance and an apathetic voice. "Now now, you really don't want to be friends with me after hearing that, do y-"

"-You're so cool!" Athena put her arm around Rosaleya's shoulders, and although Jade promptly pushed it right back off again, she ignored it. "I'm so happy that I've found another thing in common with us! You know that DC is actually made from human souls, right?"

"Yes." Rosaleya and Jade replied nonchalantly. "I know, Eric told me."

"Then...you've been using it this whole time, so casually, without-"

"-Yup." Rosaleya said with an innocent smile. "We can't pretend to care anymore; it's become excruciating to keep up my childish persona."

"Yes, you're so much stronger than you look!" Jade laughed fearlessly.

"...'We'?" Athena asked uncertainly, blinking a few times. Did I hear wrong...?

"I can hear voices in my head, telling me to kill." Rosaleya said in an eerie voice.

"I haven't told you to kill anyone, yet!" Jade retorted jokingly.

"Just kidding!" she smiled innocently again.

Athena laughed. "Dark humor; nice! You got me for a second there!"

"Mmmmm.....this soul tasted so...ah, I can't think of a word to describe it. It's even better than the last one I had."

"You've had one before? Who gave it to you?"

"I had some of 'Edmund Dantes's 'soul ice cream'. It was tasty."

"What colour was it?" there was an obvious tone of jealousy in Athena's voice. She was jealous that the Masked Man had been the one to give Rosaleya her first soul.

"It was white."

"Argh, those are so hard to get!" He shared one with her? He must either really like her, which isn't realistic, or wants to toy with her so badly that he would give her something so difficult to get! White, silver, gold...have you tried a silver one, yet?"

"No." Rosaleya replied as Jade whispered something in Rosaleya's ear with a smirk. "I have a question about something else, though."

"What is it? You can ask me anything, " she put a hand to her heart "and I promise to answer you as honestly as-"

"-Can you summon your patronus for me, please?"

"What? Why?!" Athena seemed nervous for once.

"Because I'm so curious to see what type of animal your personality matches with. I'll show you mine, if you want-" Rosaleya focused and summoned her chameleon patronus.

"Because you can put personas on and take them off effortlessly like masks." Jade sang proudly. "This is an ability that you've ignored for quite some time now..." he sang quietly in a more melancholic voice.

"Wow, that's...I've never seen that one before." Athena tried to use flattery to distract Rosaleya. A few more sentences later, and Rosaleya interrupted again.

"-so, can you show me yours?"

"People usually make fun of mine, though..." Athena looked away, hugging herself in embarrassment.

"I won't make fun of you." Rosaleya said warmly. "Don't worry."

"Smooooooth." Jade complimented Rosaleya with a thumbs-up.

"Okay..."

"And now you'll have something to use against her; she seems so self-conscious about it, I wonder what it- oh, it's a rat?" Jade laughed heartily. "It fits perfectly!"

"What's wrong with that?" Rosaleya asked, as if she was completely oblivious to Athena's reasoning. "It doesn't look bad at all. How would I make fun of you for having that?"

"...Nevermind." Athena made it disappear again. "So-" she changed the subject almost immediately, inviting Rosaleya to go to a Cosplay event held tomorrow. "-do you want to go with me?"

"Sure." Rosaleya replied nonchalantly.

"...Can I ask...why your attitude has changed so much since August first? It's fine if you don't want to tell me."

"Tell her! She seems like the jealous type, so she'll be angry that Asmodeus gave you something so valuable and made you so happy when she can't do something like that." Jade suggested coolly.

"I wasn't feeling well for a long time, but now I'm feeling much better." Rosaleya replied.

Jade sighed at being ignored. "Well, I guess that isn't a lie..." he said under his breath.

"I'm happy to hear that." Athena smiled. She sounds like she doesn't want to say anything more...I won't push it. "So, I'll see you tomorrow, at...ten?"

"Sure."

"I'm going as Touka Kirishima, who are you going as?" Athena asked excitedly.

"You'll see tomorrow. Have a nice day." Rosaleya replied elegantly, standing up and walking away.

"I know who I'm going as!" Jade sang. "I'm going as Sephiroth!"

Luna sat outside the labyrinth, waiting to greet Elias. Alastair had insisted on styling her hair in an elegant braided bun earlier that day. She wore a long, fitted elegant black dress with a modest v-neck and long butterfly sleeves. Her brooch, a bit of the perfume that Elias had gifted to her, black flats, and a pair of long black gloves added to the charm of her attire.

Alastair had offered to fix the center of the labyrinth for the event, secretly planning to copy the style of Asmodeus's ballroom.

He doubled the room's usual size, and added a high ceiling with a painted scene of the sky at night, and many different coloured stars. Four different moons hung high above the dining table like chandeliers; one a bluish white, one pure white, one yellowish-white, and one that didn't look like the moon at all, but more like the planet Neptune. The floor was made of a black marble, enchanted to look like the waters of Venice at night; full of stars and all four moons reflected in it. The place was filled with many white orbs of light, hovering in all of the necessary places, providing plenty of light to see everything clearly. The walls were ornamented with paintings he had borrowed from Raven's carriage; beautiful light scenery, and dark scenery. He added instruments which played charming classical music by themselves, and tall candelabras burning long black candles, to the edges of the room. For the dining table itself, he chose to make it out of a smooth, dark and polished wood, and the chairs at either end were of the same material, yet still quite comfortable.

"Ah, that won't do..." he had said while setting everything up. The single chairs vanished and instead a large comfortable wooden bench appeared in the center of the table, with the tableware arranging itself accordingly so that Elias and Luna could sit side-by-side and enjoy the meal.

"Oh....and didn't she say that he loved the ocean?" he asked himself, putting a hand to his chin in thought. "Yes..."

The northernmost wall disappeared, and was replaced with an endless black ocean and clean sand leading out of the 'room'. He also added the illusion of the ocean's subtle salty scent for a bit more realism.

"This is a lovely setting, with the beauty of both an artificial indoor masterpiece, and natural outdoor scenery." he sighed. "I've done my best. Have a lovely night, Luna." he had said, kissing Luna on the cheek as she set the food she'd been preparing on the dining table.

All of Elias's favorite dishes, drinks and desserts had been arranged on the table: red, crystal, cherry blossom and moon wine. a variety of steaks and roasts, including roast beef, and Elias's favorite sides, including roasted potatoes, creamy rosemary sauce and mint leaves, and for dessert Luna had prepared apple, cinnamon and pumpkin pie, a large creme brule, and a large cheesecake were displayed. Alastair had selected her most elegant and beautiful tableware for the event.

"You just couldn't help yourself, could you?" Nagini said out loud to herself, eyeing the cheesecake. "You knew that his family or friends probably prepared it for him already, so he must be sick of it by now...but still, you made it..." she said as she slithered out of sight.

"Happy Birthday, Elias." she greeted with a soft, joyous expression the moment she saw him. "May I?" she elegantly asked permission to embrace him warmly, opening her arms.

Luna embraced him for a full two minutes with her eyes closed, and she lost track of time by the end of it so she couldn't tell how long she had been standing there with him. She quickly opened her eyes I lost track of time... "I shouldn't selfishly keep you here all night." she jested elegantly, taking a step back and offering her hand to him. "I can't wait to give you your surprise."

"Surprise." she sang softly in a mellow voice when they entered the labyrinth's center.

Fireworks will go off above the 'ocean' after the meal, their noise muffled by the distance between the happy couple and the water. At the finale, the number '28' will appear out of the fireworks; Elias's age, according to Luna's memory. After that, the words' Happy Birthday' will light the sky. Alastair thought, watching them through one of Raven's Spy Clouds, which she had agreed to lend to him after he had asked ever so politely.



"That was so much fun!" Athena laughed as they sat in a cafe after the Cosplay event. "Did you have as much fun as I did?"

Rosaleya and Athena were still wearing the Cosplays; the former had gone as Yuno Gasai from Mirai Nikki.

"Here comes Kagetane." Jade said.

Right when Rosaleya was going to reply to Athena's question, the Masked Man interrupted. "I would like to have a quick word with my princess, if you wouldn't mind?" he addressed Athena, not really asking as he offering his hand to Rosaleya at the same time.

'My princess?'Athena heard his words echo in her head, feeling more irritated each time she heard them. Rosaleya was about to reply to the Masked Man when Athena slapped his hand away. "Hey, why are you interrupting on my time with her? I didn't do that on your date with her at Silvery Serpents." Athena aimed her complaints solely at the Masked Man as if Rosaleya wasn't there. "Leave us alone and bother her later."

"I said that I wished to have a word with my princess." the Masked Man repeated, taking Rosaleya's wrist without permission and pulling her into a standing position, which caught her off balance and almost caused her to fall. Luckily, the Masked Man was quick, and used this as an opportunity to pull her close in an embrace under the guise of 'preventing her fall'.

Things were moving so fast that Rosaleya barely had time to speak before the Masked Man had vanished with her, to just outside the cafe, holding her by the wrist again.

Jade was watching from a distance with an interested expression. He was leaning up against the glass windows of the cafe, although he would spring into action the moment that Rosaleya was in any real danger or discomfort.

"Princess, the night is ever so lovely; I would love to have company on a walk. I've been working on a lovely piece of artwork as of late, and I would love to show it to you now that it's finally finished." the Masked Man explained elegantly as Athena rushed after them.

"We haven't finished our dinner, yet." Athena said before Rosaleya could reply. "Would you mind waiting a few extra minutes?"

"If that is that my princess wants, then I will wait until dawn for her."

"Say yes to both!" Jade advised. "I want to know."

Finally, there was a moment of silence for Rosaleya to speak. "I would love to see your artwork," she said genuinely to the Masked Man "but I would also love to finish my meal." she said to Athena. "So, if you wouldn't mind coming back in maybe...five minutes, so that we can go?" she returned her attention to the Masked Man, much to Athena's visible disappointment.

"Take as long as you need." the Masked Man jumped away, sounding satisfied.

"Don't you want any dessert?" Athena tried to tempt Rosaleya to stay with her longer.

"No, thank you. I already had ice cream earlier, remember?"

"Oh, yeah...I forgot." Athena remembered their lunch together before the event. I should have offered her dessert for dinner instead of lunch!

Five minutes later, Rosaleya left the cafe again and found the Masked Man waiting for her outside, coolly leaning up against the cafe windows. "I cannot wait to show you..." he sounded like he was smiling as he turned around and started walking.

Rosaleya followed him a few streets away from the demonic cafe that she had been visiting with Athena. Jade was walking while holding Rosaleya's hand. Finally, they reached an older-looking Muggle building that looked as if it hadn't been used for anything in years.

The Masked Man opened the door and stood aside, gesturing for her to enter.

"You want me to go in there?" Rosaleya asked reasonably with raised eyebrows.

"I can assure you, I wouldn't want to harm my fair princess."

"And I can assure you that we're not stupid enough to believe that!" Jade retorted, taking Rosaleya by the shoulders and promptly leading her away.

"Princess, please don't leave just yet." he appeared in front of them, and Jade stopped before they bumped into each other, turning to cross the street and then continue avoiding the Masked Man. "Just thinking of you brightens my day, and illuminates my night. Please don't leave just yet." he took hold of Rosaleya's hand and appeared inside the building with her. "I want you to see my artwork." he made a sweeping gesture. "What do you think, princess?" he put his arm around Rosaleya's shoulder.

On the walls of the old building were countless crosses, and on each one, a Muggle was crucified. The number reached beyond eighty, as all of the building's floors had been removed so that it was more like a hollow tower now, instead of a building. The humans were of varied age and race, the youngest being fifteen and the oldest being around eighty.

"Have you ever wanted to make artwork this beautiful with your own hands?" he asked in a sadistic tone. "Then take their souls and savor their taste?"

 

[Hikari Chan]

...Ah this is a definitely a different kind of setting and celebration in comparison to yesterday... Elias thought, feeling relieved that he was not greeted with another heart-attacking surprise again.

"Happy Birthday, Elias." Luna greeted with a soft, joyous expression the moment she saw him. "May I?" she elegantly asked permission to embrace him warmly, opening her arms.

"You don't need to ask me..." He smiled, spreading out his arms. ...She is so sweet...

"I shouldn't selfishly keep you here all night." she jested elegantly, taking a step back, after they had been hugging for two minutes, and offering her hand to him. "I can't wait to give you your surprise."

"You may keep me all the night if you wish," He chuckled and took her hand.

"Surprise." she sang softly in a mellow voice when they entered the labyrinth's center.

"Oh..." He looked around at the decorations. ...That view of the sea is so calming...and the lights from the candles and the soft music playing in the background...did she plan and prepare all this on her own... "...Thank you..." He smiled and embraced her in return. ...Even if Alastair has helped her or not just like he helped her to prepare for my little sister, it is still Luna's genius ideas...

 

[Junko Natsumizaka]

"Well?" the Masked Man asked after Rosaleya had been silent for a moment. Whatever you say will not stop me. I plan to kill until my heart is content anyways, but I am so curious as to what you think of this.

Rosaleya had been listening to Jade's suggestions on what to do, and now she had finally decided to take one of them.

The Masked Man took a few steps back to watch her carefully as she replied, to detect any lies.

"Can I think about it?" Rosaleya asked, her expression and posture portraying none of her thoughts on the matter. She asked in an innocent tone, as if he had asked her to lunch instead.

"Take as long as you need." he took another step back and elegantly gestured to the door, meaning that she was free to leave when she wished.

As she passed him, he spoke in a low, eerie tone. "And if someone happened to hear about this from...someone who was here tonight...the evidence may lead to that 'someone' instead, so I would advise caution in such a situation."

"Thank you." Rosaleya replied in the same innocent tone. "Goodnight."

The Masked Man tipped his hat to her in reply, and under his mask he was smiling an eerie smile.

As soon as they turned the corner, Jade whispered in Rosaleya's ear "Shall we make our escape?"

Rosaleya nodded.

"So, do you feel safe now?" Jade asked with a charming smile as they soared above the clouds. He was humming the main theme of Howl's Moving Castle. His grip was firm yet gentle, and Rosaleya didn't feel like she was going to be in danger of falling anytime soon.

"Yes...I didn't know that you could do this."

"It was a surprise." Jade winked.

"The cold wind up here is making me feel very calm..." Ah...I feel so safe in his arms, up here where it feels like nothing else exists except for us...and this cool wind is much better than air conditioning. "...I need to think about the Masked Man's question..."

"What is there to think about? You don't care about them, right?"

Rosaleya looked away in embarrassment. "I feel bad...about my answer..." she admitted.

"Don't feel bad. You're with me, so you shouldn't feel bad about anything. You don't have to lie to yourself. You've never been able to feel guilt about things like that, no matter who has told you, time and again, that it's wrong."

Rosaleya rested her head against Jade's chest, and took a long sigh, admiring the clouds flying by underneath them. "Who should I go to, to convince me that I'm supposed to feel bad about this? I know that it's wrong, but I've never been able to make myself feel remorse for things like this. Should I feel ashamed of my..." I said that I wanted to be more cold-hearted, but that was a lie...I've always been like this...I was just trying to lie to myself before...and for a while, I really believed that I was that nervous schoolgirl...at the Summer Feast...in the Headmaster's Office...at Silvery Serpents...but I became tired of pretending.

"If Crystal and Nova cannot convince you, try Asmodeus."

"I'll do that..." I have to try my hardest to convince myself that it's wrong...

"Yes, try your hardest to stop admiring Kagetane's art!" Jade translated. "Although beautiful, it comes from the darkness...." he said dramatically as they landed on Rosaleya's fire escape. "Good luck, but I think both of us know already that this isn't going to work." he put her down gently. "Since most demons that attain those souls usually have to wait until people die for 'moral reasons'. They wait by places where a disaster is foretold, like an aeroplane crash or a volcano erupting, or even a suicide, like Anteiku, and even then they have to deal with tons of disgusting dark souls-Oh, what's this?" he curiously opened a box that was next to him on the fire escape. "Oh..." he smirked sadistically as he showed the contents to Rosaleya, who looked away quickly in guilt. Argh, this is why I used that innocent 'nervous schoolgirl' persona in the first place! I wanted to hide this, from everyone, including myself.

Thirty souls: ten gold, ten silver, and ten white, were in small containers within the box. The assortment resembled a box of chocolates, and it was obvious who the sender was by the words 'For my princess' on the inside of the box's top in elegant handwriting.

"I find it humorous that you are filled with guilt, not at receiving them, but at the happiness you feel." the Masked Man said to himself in a low voice, jumping away discreetly after seeing Rosaleya's reaction. "How beautiful that you are struggling with such thoughts. It is my dearest wish to once again have a lovely princess who shares my taste in fine art...I hope that I have not guessed incorrectly in choosing you."

"I'm going to take a shower to calm myself down." Rosaleya said calmly, opening her window and entering her bedroom. "And then I'm going to talk to Crystal and Nova about morals. Tomorrow, I'll pay Asmodeus a visit."

"Yes yes, the night is still young." Jade replied boredly, closing the window behind them and sprawling on Rosaleya's bed. He stretched, yawned and closed his eyes.

"Do you actually need to sleep?"

"I require very little sleep, usually about an hour, and I usually take it as you sleep. Today, however, I feel exhausted." he replied drowsily.

I have to try hard to convince myself...I have to try hard to convince myself...I have to try hard to convince myself...I have to try hard to convince myself...I have to try hard to convince myself...I have to try hard to convince myself...I have to try hard to convince myself... Rosaleya thought it over and over again as she showered. She was still thinking it while she turned the taps, and while she dressed in her nightclothes. I'll ask them all without mentioning what happened. I'll just use theoretical situations...and I won't mention any names.

"In all honesty, you should thank my brother as well; I had nothing to do with the decorations, I only prepared the meal." Luna said once their embrace was over and they had taken their seats beside one another. "So, which wine would you like?"

She wasn't nervous at all, even though she was sitting so close to Elias.

She poured his wine of choice, then chose to pour herself just a bit, enough to taste it. She didn't plan to have a glass of wine, but she was curious to know what Elias's favorite beverages tasted like.

Next time he tastes the others, I will try a sip as well. Whether it is tonight, or later on.

They enjoyed their meal in silence, with comments on the meal's excellent taste being the exception.

When they had enjoyed their dinner and dessert, the fireworks started. As a large multicoloured 28 lit up the sky, followed by 'Happy Birthday, Elias!', Luna asked "May I?" while pointing to his lips.

Unlike last time during their cruise, Luna wasn't nervous during their kiss. She was able to enjoy it without any negative feelings; she just felt the same sort of happy serenity that she felt while she embraced Elias.

"I love you, Elias. Happy Birthday." she smiled warmly when their kiss ended.

Alastair sighed as he watched. "Why didn't it work the same way with Ms. Monroe and I? She has so many similarities to my ideal lady that I thought she would be the one...I thought that any day...any moment....I would suddenly fall in love with Ms. Monroe the way that Luna fell in love with Elias. So I repeated the steps that Luna went through with Elias; I courted her without feeling anything for her, I gradually realized how many good qualities Ms. Monroe possessed...I shared my history with her and she accepted it...and it was around that time that Luna started feeling for Elias, but still I felt nothing for her...Luna kissed Elias even though she did not enjoy it...and I did the same with her...they went on trips and vacations together, and so did we...Luna gave him countless gifts, and I did the same for..."

"It doesn't always work that way. Their case is a very rare scenario which almost never ends well." Raven replied. "When your mother used to tell you that you would get married and then fall in love, she was lying. Did you really think that Luna's case was proof of your mother's advice? Why do you even still listen to what she has taught you?"

"I try not to, but I thought that this was an exception to all of her strange rules. I still had some hope that I would fall in love with Ms. Monroe"

"You need to try harder."

"Don't try to lecture me." Alastair nearly snapped. "You have no idea what it was like, living with her every day-"

"-But that's over now, right? You should move on and try to-"

"-returning to the subject of Monroe, if Luna and Elias are able to get married and still be genuinely happy, I will most likely lose all hope on my relationship with 'my lady'. I will explain my foolish actions to her, and give her permission to never find it in her heart to forgive my cruelty." he said solemnly. "She probably only fell in love with me because of my Demonic Charm power. After all, who would fall in love with me?" he asked rhetorically, as if the answer was obvious.

I want to help him. I wish that I could free him from his mother's cruelty, even now. I've let go of my 'love' for him; I realize now that it was a side effect of his Demonic Charm power. It's worn off by now. I just want to act as a friend to him, and help him. I accidentally looked into his mind again; Asmodeus has been trying to offer his good advice to him on more than one occasion, but he won't listen. He finds it impossible to believe that anyone would fall in love with him for who he is, and that is the reason that he can't take anyone's advice concerning Aislynn.

 

[Hikari Chan]

"In all honesty, you should thank my brother as well; I had nothing to do with the decorations, I only prepared the meal." Luna said once their embrace was over and they had taken their seats beside one another. "So, which wine would you like?"

"Ah, I shall thank him as soon as I see him," Although this entire preparation was her idea.... "Moon wine, please..." ..I wonder why we are sitting like this....not that I mind to sit beside her and have her close, though I it feels odd when no one is sitting on front of me during a meal... Elias thought as he adjusted himself so that he was still sitting on the bench yet facing Luna.

...Cheese cake and creme brule and all of my favorite dishes...mmm this is the best evening in my life...I never thought about having cheese cake so soon again since the birthday breakfast...

Elias was surprised when the fireworks suddenly started as soon, he had finished eating. He had not been expecting fireworks and suddenly his age and name blew up in the sky.

"May I?" Luna asked, pointing to his lips.

"You don't have to ask..." He chuckled. ...I guess it will take time until she understands that she does not have to ask me...

"I love you, Elias. Happy Birthday." she smiled warmly when their kiss ended.

"I love you too, you're so sweet..." He smiled in return.

 

[Junko Natsumizaka]

Luna stared into Elias's eyes, admiring their colour for a few moments. "Would you join me for a stroll along that shore? I think it would be a nice ending to this night." she suggested.

"Is this acceptable to you?" Luna asked with a smile once they had reached the shore, taking his hand without his permission. She wanted to hold hands during the walk.

After they had finished their walk, Luna stopped and let go of his hand, embracing him without permission. "I hope that you have sweet dreams tonight." she said softly. "Good night, Elias."

Rosaleya fell onto her bed and stared at the ceiling with a tired look in her eyes.

"I told you that it wouldn't work." Jade laughed at her efforts.

She had spoken to Crystal and Nova last night, and Nova had come up with more reasons than Crystal for why killing innocents was wrong and should never be done.

Asmodeus came up with more ideas than both Nova and Crystal combined, and his reasons were much better than Nova's.

In the end, Rosaleya pretended to understand, and left after each conversation's conclusion.

"I thought that at least Asmodeus would've-"

"Argh, could you stop talking about that now? You're boring me to death!" Jade almost yelled in exasperation. " 'I feel guilty that I don't feel guilty! Someone please help me!' " Jade mimicked her in an annoying tone. "Cut it out, please! It's so sickening to watch." his expression was intensely irritated as well.

Rosaleya remained motionless, staring at the ceiling with a tired expression.

Tap tap tap.

"Ah, great, finally something to get your mind off of this stupidity." Jade sighed in relief, pulling back the curtain of the fire escape quickly as Rosaleya stood and straightened her clothes.

"Hi." Athena smiled. "Oh, are you feeling down?" she asked, switching to a concerned persona. "Do you want to go somewhere nice to talk about it over brunch? I have the perfect place for us to hang out. There's this cafe with really tasty foods, and it's in a Demonic area so you don't have to worry about dealing with silly humans."

Jade opened the window for Rosaleya, and closed it behind her after she stepped outside.

"She has another present." Jade commented. "Don't go complaining to me if it's another soul, I don't want to hear it." he pouted and turned away, crossing his arms. However, unlike his ranting inside, this display was delivered in a joking way.

"Sure." Rosaleya replied to Athena's offer.

Yes! "It's far away, so do you want me to help you jump there? I don't know if you have any experience jumping to far places, yet."

"I can handle jumping on my own. I'll follow you."

It wasn't that far away, so Jade did fine carrying Rosaleya there.

"You have a strange way of jumping." Athena commented once they landed in front of the cafe. Does your extension carry you or something?

"Is that a problem?" both Jade and Rosaleya asked calmly with raised eyebrows.

"I'm joking." Athena smiled. "After you." she held the door open for Rosaleya.

"So, what's bothering you?" she said after they had taken their seats.

"Tell her what's going on without telling her." Jade advised. "I'm going to return to your room and hang a note on your bedroom door, explaining that you went out to eat and will be back before two pm for your shift. I'll see you in a minute." he walked out the door just as some other customers were entering.

"Have you ever started an important project..." Rosaleya began "...not the type that you have to turn in for school, but the type that's only important to you...and then you try your hardest to complete it, but after a while you realize that all of your efforts were in vain, you wasted a bunch of time, and you feel even more hopeless than before...then you are caught halfway between giving up and eternally scorning yourself for trying in the first place?"

"Hmm...that's a very specific type of 'difficult project', but I think I understand what you mean. Yes, that's happened before." Athena nodded. Talking without talking...It's fine, I get it. I don't expect her to let me play therapist after we've known each other for less than a month. Even so, I think that I know what this is about. "When that happens to me, I start over completely after taking a long break. It usually turns out better when I've put it out of my mind for a bit, that way I can start over again with a fresh perspective and new energy. In other words, you just need to take a break. Schedule a re-start for your project on your calendar. Put it far away enough so that you forget about it, but close enough so that it doesn't lose its relevance."

"I'll try that." Rosaleya replied, intending to do so when she returned home.

"Is that what caused your weariness, or is there something else?" Athena asked smilingly, moving to put her arm around Rosaleya's shoulders, although Jade returned just in time to push it away before it even touched Rosaleya.

"Yes, that's all." Rosaleya replied. She opened her mouth to say more.

"Don't thank her." Jade closed her mouth immediately with his hands. "You said that you would do it, and that's enough. Besides, she told you not to thank or apologize to her, remember? I'm not letting you slip back into your old persona again. "

"So, if you order at least four items, you get to open this present." Athena slid the present in front of Rosaleya.

Rosaleya looked away from the present immediately, as if it might curse her if she laid eyes on it.

"What, do you think it's cursed or something?" Athena made a weird face. I'm confused...she opened the last one and enjoyed it, so why is she worried now?

"I'm not hungry for that right now. Maybe you could give it to me later."

"What? You haven't even opened it, yet, so at least do that before you reject it." Athena insisted reasonably. "Besides, it's not food."

But Jade hadn't listened to Athena's explanation, having rolled his eyes and opened the gift himself by the time she finished speaking. "Look, silly, it's only a manga." he laughed, thrusting it into Rosaleya's field of vision.

Rosaleya looked at the volume that Jade held in front of her, realizing that Athena hadn't been lying. The Princess is a Total Deviant? I haven't heard of that before.

"This is the first volume." Athena smiled. "I really like it, so I thought I would lend you mine for a bit. If you also like it, we can just use a multiplication charm, and I'll do the same for the other volumes. It makes me laugh, so if you can't cheer yourself up after a long day, try this. And don't let anyone catch you reading it." she advised.

"Hmm? Why not?" Rosaleya took the volume from Jade and examined it. It looks like a cute comedy...very innocent...oh, there's a description on the back.

Celeste Belfere has been engaged to the prince of a neighbouring kingdom since she was young. She doesn't remember his face... and after many years, she completely forgets about the arranged marriage. Instead, when she comes of age, she reveals her true colours: a dirty-minded, voyeuristic deviant. Will she be able to hold out for another year, marry the prince and establish peace between their kingdoms?

Athena closely watched as Rosaleya's expression turned from serious to amused. "Read the first few pages."

Athena watched Rosaleya's eyes move across the pages, and noticed her lips twitch upwards a few times in an effort to suppress laughter.

Jade laughed heartily as he read it over Rosaleya's shoulder.

"So, do you like it?"

Rosaleya bit her lip in reply, still trying to avoid laughing as Jade continued to laugh freely.

Athena snatched the book away from Rosaleya. "Then order five items and it's yours." she laughed.

"I thought that you said 'four' a minute ago?"

"The price has gone up." Athena smirked.

"I accept the terms of your agreement." Rosaleya replied in a serious tone for comical reasons. Meanwhile, Jade picked up the menu, scanning it quickly and efficiently.

"A double chocolate muffin, roasted chestnuts, green salad with pomegranate dressing and grilled chicken, iced strawberry tea, and water-" Jade advised at top-speed.

"-Oh, and water doesn't count." Athena added slyly.

"...make it two iced teas." Jade corrected himself.

"Okay." Rosaleya signaled for a waiter, and placed her order.

"I'll have a strawberry milkshake, a burger, a vanilla muffin, French fries, and curly fries...oh, and onion rings." Athena ordered.

Once the waiter had left, Athena handed Rosaleya the book again. "This is a Webtoon by the way, not a manga. But the author published some volumes, so it's nicer to read them like this."

"Oh, I didn't know that. I've read some Webtoons before."

"Do you have a favorite?"

"Well, I've only read a few, but so far my favorite is The Lady and her Butler. It's about this woman who has this flaky, irresponsible mother who's always getting a new boyfriend or husband and leeching off of them for money because she doesn't have any talents. The reason her mom does this is because of something in the main character's backstory that I can't reveal because of spoilers. Anyway, because her mother has this annoying habit of constantly changing lovers and also complaining to the main character about it, she decides to never fall in love with a man so that the same thing doesn't happen to her. She wants to be the complete opposite of her mother; a truly independent, hardworking woman that doesn't need a man for anything. Meanwhile..." Rosaleya explained the plot for a minute without revealing too much. "...so that's why I like it."

"Hmm...I'll try reading that. Oh, I just remembered something. The 'Pre Exams' are coming up, so I wanted to know if you needed any help?"

"No, I don't need any help with studying." Rosaleya replied without even considering it.

"I meant, do you want to sit next to each other so that you can copy my answers?" Athena offered. "Not only during the Pre-Exams, but also during the regular school year."

"No thank you." Rosaleya replied without hesitation.

"If you're worried that I'm going to blackmail you, or make it so that you get caught red-handed, I have no intention of-" Athena began honestly.

"-It's not that. I stopped worrying that you would betray me-" Rosaleya interrupted with an innocent smile.

"-Because we'll torture you to death if you do-." Jade sang in a deep, eerie tone.

"-but I really don't need any help." Rosaleya finished.

"Oh, okay." Athena smiled. I honestly didn't think of blackmailing her when I offered my help. I just wanted to help her if she had trouble...well, she may change her mind once she realizes how many classes she's signed up for and how much homework she has to deal with.

"Oh, Athena, please help me." Rosaleya pleaded nervously, taking both of Athena's hands in hers. "I haven't had any free time since we started school, and I'm behind on several assignments...Please let me take that offer that you gave me at the cafe on August 25th!"

"Sure." Athena replied kindly after pretending to hesitate for a full minute.

"Oh, thank you!" Rosaleya embraced her gratefully. "You're the best friend I've ever had! How can I repay you?"

"You don't have to do anything." Athena smiled in return.

Athena smiled to herself.

"I wonder what she's smiling about." Jade wondered out loud.

Stephan approached Rosaleya once she left the cafe with Athena. He was holding five schoolbooks in a neat stack, three quills and two inkwells on the topmost book, and walking carefully so that he didn't drop them.

After he and Rosaleya exchanged greetings, he explained his reasons for approaching her. "We're getting close to the date for the Pre-Exams and there are still a few things that I don't understand. Since we agreed to study together, I hope that you wouldn't mind if I interrupted you to go over some questions I had?"

"Oh, I see he's ignoring Athena quite bluntly." Jade commented.

He hadn't greeted Athena, or even looked her way, acting as if Rosaleya was the only one there.

"No, we just finished our early lunch." Rosaleya replied. "So I wouldn't mind at all."

Athena looked disappointed, but she said goodbye to Rosaleya without any arguments.

I don't have any reasons to get her to stay with me instead. Stephan chose the 'studying' excuse that I thought of first, and he's clearly going to be using it throughout the whole year. But he's wearing that innocent expression so well that it's annoying! Athena thought, wearing a moody expression as she jumped away. What can I do to get her to spend more time with me today? What can I give her...what does she need?

"Great." Stephan smiled cheerfully. "There's a nice Demonic park with lots of grass and walking paths and trees and water fountains. It's a great place to study."

I know just what she needs! Athena thought happily, finally getting an idea after contemplating the matter for an hour. Her unchanging, moody expression suddenly turned into a smile. She had been watching Stephan and Rosaleya study from a discreet distance within the park, and now she decided to get near them.

"...and those are all the questions I had. Thank you so much, Ms. Fairbrook." Stephan was saying.

Are you seriously pretending to be ignorant of a few subjects so that Rosaleya has to help you? You're pathetic. Athena thought, walking closer.

"You know, you don't have to call me Ms. Fairbrook. I would prefer that you didn't."

"Hmm?" It was visible that Stephan didn't understand why.

"As much as I like the idea of everyone calling me by my last name-" Rosaleya sounded slightly sarcastic before switching to a more honest tone "-it reminds me of my parents. I really don't like either of them, so if you could call me-"

"-Can I call you by anything other than your first name?" Stephan asked, blushing slightly.

"Like a nickname?"

"...Sure."

"What about 'Rose'? Nova calls me that-"

"-anything else?"

Rosaleya gave Jade a sideways glance for advice.

"I don't have any suggestions." Jade shrugged innocently.

"Hey, Rose!" Athena smiled. "I just realized that we're getting really close to September. And I thought...do you have pajamas that are suitable to wear in the girls' dorm?"

"I was going to wear the sleepwear that is provided for Hogwarts students."

"Well, you can do that, but you don't have to. Only the uniforms are mandatory." Athena replied. "So, back to my question; do you have nice sleepwear?"

"Stephan's blushing again." Jade commented.

"It's fine, I'll just wear the Hogwarts ones." Rosaleya replied without hesitation. "It's fine." ...I just sleep in a t-shirt and cotton pants. If it's cold, then I put on a sweater. I never thought that other options were suitable, mainly because the things that I want to wear...well, my Dad doesn't approve of them.

"Come with me. Try some nice stuff on, and if I can't help you find anything that you like in an hour, then I won't bother you about it again." Athena promised. "And, I'll pay for everything you buy."

"Try this on, too."

Rosaleya was trying one item on after another, because Athena kept tossing her items through the space between the fitting room door and the ceiling.

"Okay."

"It's been twenty minutes." Jade said, hanging up a nightgown. Jade caught the items from Athena and handed them to Rosaleya. While Rosaleya tried items on, Jade hung the clothes that she had already tried on back on their hangers so that they didn't make a mess for the store employees.

"Did that one work?" Athena asked through the door.

"No, it showed too much." Rosaleya replied honestly.

"What about the one before that?"

"I didn't like the colour. Can you please stop giving me nightgowns now?"

Athena's footsteps faded as she quickly returned to the shelves. She would be returning soon with more items.

Five minutes later...

"...I don't want anything with a print on it."

"Can't you wear that at home? You don't have to only wear these things at Hogwarts, you know. There will be the rest of your life...you know, the time when you won't be at Hogwarts?"

"Dad doesn't like Anime, so I can't get something with a ...print like this on it." I'm going to avoid admitting that this is so cool...

"Can I at least see you in it? I pictured it looking so cute on you. Besides, that character is really cool."

Rosaleya opened the fitting room door.

She was wearing a black T-shirt with a Hellsing Anime print:

And, a pair of plain black cotton pants with a pattern of red pentacles.

"You can't tell me that you don't like it, or don't want it. It's adorable, and it fits you perfectly."

"But I'll outgrow it before I get the chance to wear it."

"Why don't you move out and get your own apartment? You told me before that you can't display any of the posters or figures you got from Hell because he doesn't approve of them, and now you're telling me that you can't wear what you want? What's the use of living like that if you're not having any fun? Or, why don't you wish for Nova to-"

"-I'm not making any wishes to Nova about Dad unless I absolutely have to." Rosaleya interrupted with a firm tone. It felt terrible the day of my haircut. I want to keep Dad as real as possible, even if he's a jerk. Because the way that things feel when I make a wish about Dad...it just isn't a good feeling at all.

"Then what's your excuse about not moving out? You know that there are residential areas in this world that are strictly for demons, right?" A lot of them are in the demonic magazine you got. "Even if you're not pure-blooded, or if you were originally human and changed into a demon, you can still live there. You'll notice that there's no crime in those areas, and no litter, and the streets are cleaner. Oh, there are also lots of Demonic stores and stuff near the residential areas, so they're more like mini towns or cities."

"Is that where you live? In one of those areas?"

"Yes, because I spend more time here than in Hell."

"Why?" Jade asked. "Ask her."

"Why?" Rosaleya asked.

"So, you like them, right?" Athena ignored Rosaleya's question. "Buy them and move out after your year at Hogwarts. If you're having trouble getting enough DC to cover your rent, you can share my apartment; it's big enough for three people but I'm the only one living there."

Rosaleya gave Jade a sideways glance for advice.

"Ignore her offer, but agree to buy the sleepwear. You do love them, because they are adorable, the colour and material are correct, and so is the size."

"I want to buy these." Rosaleya replied "And a few more items like this. Can you find me two-piece sleepwear like this, preferably black, and with a nice print?"

"Gotcha." Athena gave Rosaleya a thumbs up and walked away to find similar items.

Thirty minutes later

"...and this makes ten pairs. I think that is perfect." Jade finished counting the sleepwear outfits they had so far. "This one looks adorable as well." he commented.

"Did you like that one?" Athena asked through the door.

"Yes." Rosaleya replied.

"Can I see it?...Oh, it's another cute one! So, what's your plan for all of these outfits?"

"Avoid talking about the apartment situation." Jade responded to Rosaleya's sideways glance. "Just revert to your 'Hogwarts sleepwear' plan."

"I'm going to wear the Hogwarts sleepwear for the next year."

"And what about these?" Athena gestured to the fitting room, meaning all of the outfits that Rosaleya liked.

"You need some time to think about it."

"I need some time to think about it." Rosaleya replied, and Jade closed the fitting room door.

"Okay, then. Hand me all of the ones that you liked, and I'll go pay for them while you change back into the clothes you were wearing before."

"Let me carry them for you." Athena insisted when Rosaleya tried to take the bag off of the counter. She picked it up before Rosaleya could, protectively holding it to her chest with both hands.

Jade rolled his eyes and easily took it from Athena. He winked as he carried it high in the air one second, and low the next, while Athena tried to grab for it like a child, missing every time.

Rosaleya giggled.

"Fine." Athena gave up, quickly looking for something else to distract Rosaleya "Hey, there's a store over there that sells-" she began, hoping that Rosaleya would stay with her for longer.

"-Princess?" the Masked Man interrupted, tapping Rosaleya on the shoulder. "May I have a word with you?" he offered her his arm so that they could walk together within the demonic mall.

"Oh, come on!" Athena growled. I just stole her from Stephan, who stole her from me, and now this guy is-

"Say yes, say yes!" Jade laughed. "I love that face that Athena makes. But put on your 'icy' persona, please!"

"Sure." Rosaleya replied, not touching the Masked Man's arm, but walking past him, assuming that he would walk beside her.

"I would like to inquire if you recall our game at Silvery Serpents in Knockturn?" he asked, walking beside her after quickly getting over his disappointment. Is she allergic to platonic physical contact?

"Yes, I do." Rosaleya replied nonchalantly.

"Where is he going with this?" Jade asked, interested.

"I gave you a choice between 'Truth or Dare'. For the 'Truth' question, I asked "What is the emotional significance of that signet ring?" he pointed to the ring which she wore every day without fail. "And you chose the 'Dare' instead. It was at that time that you permitted me to gift you an attire that I believed would bring out the colour of your eyes. I would like to give you that attire now."

"Okay." Rosaleya nodded, remembering.

"Here you are." he summoned it then handed it to Rosaleya. Jade took it and carried it for her.

"I'll open it later. It will be a nice surprise." Rosaleya explained.

"I would also like for you to accompany me into this store." he turned, entering a cosmetics store.

"Hmm?" Does he wear makeup or something?

"Tell me, do you find this aroma to be pleasant?" the Masked Man opened a bottle of body lotion and held it under Rosaleya's nose.

Jade took the bottle from the Masked Man and glanced at the description before holding it under Rosaleya's nose. "Vanilla scented body lotion. Non-greasy formula." he informed her as she took in the scent.

"Is it to your liking?" The Masked Man asked a second later.

"No." Rosaleya replied coldly. "However-"

The Masked Man promptly walked away, so Rosaleya didn't have time to finish her sentence.

"Switch to a 'bland and uninterested' persona." Jade suggested.

"And this one?" he returned a moment later with a different bottle, once again placing it under her nose after opening it.

Jade pushed it away.

"I don't need these-" Rosaleya began, using an uninterested persona as Jade suggested "so you don't have to-"

The Masked Man placed the bottle under her nose again. "If you don't like them, then tell me. You do not have to be polite. And if you reject them despite liking their scent, then I will have no idea what you truly desire. Then, I will have to send you one bottle of each scent. You can then proceed to dispose of all fifty bottles if you truly dislike the fragrances."

"That would be a waste." both Jade and Rosaleya replied blandly, and this time the latter pushed the bottle away.

"Yes, it would." the Masked Man replied simply. So you should use them. His tone expressed his thoughts.

Rosaleya turned around to leave. "Just don't send me anything. I don't need them." I'm still not able to decide how I feel about your friendship, or anything else. I took the gift because we agreed to it during the Truth or Dare game. But this wasn't in our agreement.

"In a past life, you told me that you hated perfume and wished that you could smell like freshly baked sweets all day long. Tell me that this is not true now, and I will abandon my intentions to gift you these lotions." he said, stepping in front of her and putting the bottle under her nose again.

"Cinnamon and brown sugar." Jade read from the bottle as Rosaleya took in the delicious scent. "It's the same brand as the other bottle, and also a non-greasy formula, which is convenient since you don't like greasy lotions. Listen, he's so eccentric that he will most likely send you all fifty bottles whether you want them or not. In this case, it would be better to only get the ones that you want, right?"

"Do you dislike the scent?"

"It...smells just like cinnamon rolls."

"Do you like cinnamon rolls?"

"Yes."

"Ah, I agree...they smell and taste so splendid." Jade swooned at the thought of cinnamon rolls.

The Masked Man walked away again, saying "Please stay here." as he went.

"And, this one?" he said a moment later.

"So in the end, we walked out with a bunch of bottles, but turned a bunch of them down as well. If you wear them, you will smell like freshly baked sweets. But what is even more surprising is that he knew about your desire to smell like that." Jade narrated as Rosaleya left the mall with the Masked Man.

He, just like Athena, had tried to insist on carrying Rosaleya's bags, but unlike Athena, he did not allow his disappointment to show when Jade insisted on carrying the bags instead.

Suddenly, the Masked Man got down on one knee and pulled a small box from his cloak.

"Show no mercy!" Jade ordered sadistically.

Rosaleya walked away mercilessly with an emotionless expression, completely unmoved by his actions.

"I think that these would look stunning on you." the Masked Man caught up with her, offering her a pair of silvery-white colour contacts. "I was only jesting with my prior position."

This is the colour of Celeste's eyes...how beautiful. Rosaleya thought, looking at the package. Her expression didn't change, explaining that she wouldn't care whether he was serious or not.

"In a past life, you told me that you found heterochromia to be such a beautiful quality."

"...Right." Jade rolled his eyes, taking the package from him "Sure."

"Wearing one at a time would look pretty." Rosaleya replied. How does he know that I also think heterochromia in the eyes is amazing? I don't keep a diary because I value my privacy.

"Have a lovely day, princess." he tipped his hat to her. "And if you are interested in a game later, I will be at Silvery Serpents again tonight from six to nine." he informed her, and turned away.

 

[Hikari Chan]

"That's a lovely idea," Elias smiled.

"Is this acceptable to you?" Luna asked with a smile once they had reached the shore, taking his hand without his permission. She wanted to hold hands during the walk.

"Of course, you don't need to ask me..." He bit his lower lip, to avoid laughing. ...What a coincidence...I was actually going to ask you if I could hold your hand...

After they had finished their walk, Luna stopped and let go of his hand, embracing him without permission. "I hope that you have sweet dreams tonight." she said softly. "Good night, Elias."

"And you as well..." He embraced her in return. "Thank you for this lovely evening...Good night and sweet dreams..."

...I am surprised that Elias asked me that we would eat anything I liked for his birthday... Lily thought as she started to eat the toppings of her pepperoni pizza. ...Then I could ask him if we could...

"…Let's go to the theatres after we finish eating, I would like to gift you a nice movie."

"No-" Elias replied to Lily's astonishment.

"But earlier today you said we could anything I preferred, so…"

"Still, it is my birthday," He smirked. "I would like a dessert after this meal. Your favorite dessert," He winked.

"Ahh alright, alright," She laughed.

"And then I would like to play mini golf and go to an opera…"

...Mini golf and opera…? Lily almost looked devastated.

"You don't mind, do you?" He looked at her with the sweetest and softest look in his eyes. "It is my birthday after all and it is not every day, I turn twenty-eight…"

"Eh no, I don't mind. It is your birthday after all..." She replied, smothering the devastated look from her face and smiled. ....Oh well...if he enjoys such activities....it is his birthday after all and I was expecting him to choose activities for today...I guess I got a bit disappointed after I got carried away with my thoughts that I would choose the activities because he let me choose the meals...

 

[Junko Natsumizaka]

"A casual, relaxed persona will suit you nicely tonight." Jade advised, as if he was giving a recommendation on what Rosaleya should wear. "And, that attire that he gifted to you." he added.

"It's a lovely suit." Rosaleya agreed, taking it out of her closet. Jade had reorganized her closet so that all of her clothes for outings hung neatly on their own hangers, and her casual, indoor clothes were folded neatly in her wardrobe. "My room's been so much nicer, so thank you."

"I live for you! In a past life, you told me that you preferred a tidy boudoir!" Jade replied, dramatically imitating the Masked Man with a sweeping gesture.

Rosaleya giggled.

"Good evening." the Masked Man sounded as if he was smiling as he spoke. She looks lovely in that suit. And, she's wearing one of the colour contacts from earlier. She looks so bewitching.

"Good evening." Rosaleya replied casually, sitting down opposite the Masked Man as Jade pulled out her chair for her.

"I chose the game last time." the Masked Man recalled aloud. "This time, it is your turn."

"Oh?" Jade jeered "What an honor! I applaud your kindness." he clapped sarcastically. "In all seriousness, why not pick the game that we are best at after asking if there is a prize for the winner. Oh, insist that you will only play if there is a prize!" he suggested seriously.

"Is there a prize for the winner?" Rosaleya asked calmly.

After that short pause, that is her response? How beautiful; she's even more like my princess than I thought. "If you like." he replied softly. "There are no limits to your request."

"Oh, I wonder what we should ask for?" Jade asked, rolling his eyes as he gestured to 'Edmund Dantes's mask. "I can't think of anything....it's as if my mind's gone blank from a lack of options."

His sarcasm is making this very entertaining. Rosaleya thought. "If I win, I want you to take off your mask-"

"-tonight! No loopholes!" Jade pointed an accusatory finger at the Masked Man.

"-tonight, as soon as our game ends, no loopholes." Rosaleya finished. "That mask." she pointed to it.

"Very well. And if I win?" his tone suggested that he wished to hear her rules for his prize.

"Nothing gross, harmful, embarrassing, or perverted." both Rosaleya and Jade replied blandly.

"That was common sense." the Masked Man replied in a genuine tone. "I meant, is there anything that you do not want me to know or do?"

"Your ring." Jade replied. "And..." he pointed to himself.

"You can't ask about this signet ring, or my extension."

"Very well. Then I have one condition for this game." the Masked Man paused.

"Well, get on with it. Your dramatic pause here doesn't look as cool as you think." Jade addressed the Masked Man after five seconds of silence.

"You have to send your extension away while we play."

"Why?" Rosaleya asked calmly.

"I'm not leaving! I ought to push your chair over for even suggesting it! " Jade spat. "May I?" he asked Rosaleya in a very polite tone with a pleading look in his eyes.

No "What are your reasons for this condition?"

"If anything, pretend to send me away, and I'll just stay here secretly." Jade insisted.

"You act differently when he is around."

"I prefer it that way." she replied elegantly.

"I'm not leaving you!" Jade embraced Rosaleya from behind her chair. "I agreed to protect you and help you and never leave your side....unless it's to do chores or-"

"Will you not send him away?"

"If you insist, then I will ask you to enjoy your night here in solitude." Rosaleya replied smoothly. Jade pulled out her seat and she stood from her place.

"I was only jesting." the Masked Man interjected. "I merely wished to see how important he was to you."

"He is the most important aspect of myself that I cannot lose." Rosaleya replied. "Without him, I quickly fall into a childish and overused persona that is neither genuine nor gratifying. To continue on that way would have been depressing."

"I like your elegant language and tone." Jade said sweetly. "You haven't used your 'elegant' persona in a while, either."

"I see." the Masked Man seemed to ponder her words for a moment. "Please, take your seat again."

"Can I please please please punish him for making a joke like that?" Jade begged. "Please?" he said again, begging exceptionally hard.

"Sure." Rosaleya replied to both Jade and the Masked Man simultaneously, re-taking her seat.

At the same time, the Masked Man's chair suddenly fell over, causing him to fall to the floor and hit his head on the floor, much to the amusement of a few nearby diners, who snickered quietly.

Jade wore a sadistic expression in sharp contrast to Rosaleya's emotionless one.

While the Masked Man took his seat again, Jade whispered suggestions in Rosaleya's ear.

"Shall we continue our game?" the Masked Man completely ignored what had just happened. "Have you decided, yet?" Did she...?

"Yes. Instead of one game, I would like to choose three. Whoever wins more will get the prize. Do you accept these terms?"

"Yes." he replied after slight hesitation.

"The games are Battleship, Stratego, and a Matching Game with cards."

"The first two require us to have hidden pieces. Would it be acceptable to send your extension away for those two?" the Masked Man asked reasonably, insinuating that Rosaleya would use Jade to cheat.

"How do we know that you won't just use yours to cheat?" Jade asked skeptically. "Or what about an accomplice?"

"What proof can you give me that you will do the same with yours?" Rosaleya asked. "Or that you don't have someone sitting behind me that is your friend, or that you paid to help you cheat?"

"There are also other ways that you could be cheating that don't involve the aforementioned methods." Jade added.

Rosaleya repeated this line.

"Very well, you may use your extension, if you allow me to cheat as well."

"I doubt that he can cheat better than we can." Jade replied proudly.

"Fine. So, your prize is?"

"You will allow me to touch you in a strictly platonic manner whenever I am in you presence, as opposed to your coldness thus far." Your coldness is painfully cruel.

"We won't lose, but , he can only do that for a week." Jade specified.

"Only for a week."

"A year." he bartered. "I believe that is equal to the removal of my mask, is it not?"

"One month." Rosaleya and Jade replied firmly.

The Masked Man summoned the games that Rosaleya had chosen, seemingly accepting Rosaleya's terms.

"He won at Battleship, but only because he went first and cheated from there. If you had gone first then you would've won." Jade recapped aloud. "We won at Stratego because regardless of the fact that he could see our pieces, we still executed a better strategy. And now...how will this end?"

In the end, the Masked Man and Rosaleya ended up getting the same score at the card matching game.

"We appear to have won the same amount of cards." the Masked Man said after they had both counted their cards.

"So, we tied?" Jade asked in disbelief. "Now what?"

"I have two options, so I will allow you to choose amongst them. First, we both lose, and play a different trio of games tomorrow for the same prizes and with the same conditions. Second, we both win and both enjoy our prizes. You do not have to answer tonight."

"Okay, a month of hand-holding and embraces is worth seeing his face." Jade stated logically. "Then, you can find out more about him if you know what he looks like. You can search the Demonic Records in Hell and find his picture, name, and other details, since Nova cannot offer you information on him."

"I choose the second option." Rosaleya replied calmly.

"Very well. Accompany me somewhere more private so that you may claim your prize." he stood from his seat and offered Rosaleya his arm. "Meanwhile, I will claim mine." he sounded as if he was smiling again.

"Where are you leading me?" Rosaleya asked with a skeptical tone, remembering his 'artwork' a few nights ago.

"The park you've been visiting often."

"Okay."

Outside the restaurant, the Masked Man pulled his arm away from Rosaleya. "Do you require assistance jumping there?"

"No, thank you."

Once they arrived at the park, the Masked Man asked "First, I wish to embrace you. Your opinion of me will change once I remove my mask, so I wish to share an embrace with you before that calamity."

"Calamity?" Jade rolled his eyes.

To the Masked Man's surprise, Rosaleya casually embraced the Masked Man without hesitation.

She is neither blushing nor nervous. She wears a cold and emotionless expression, as if she is embracing a statue. "May I ask, what is your opinion on me? Do you perceive me to be a charlatan, or a lecher?"

"I perceive you to be..." Rosaleya took a step back, thinking for a moment. "...alluringly eccentric."

"What a unique description." the Masked Man reached for his mask, removing it. "Just as you asked, I removed this mask, tonight."

"That's not fair!" Jade clenched his fists. "Can I hurt him now?"

Rosaleya thought for a moment. I can't believe we didn't see this coming.

 

[Hikari Chan]

Lily did not refrain from yawning aloud for almost every minute. ...Opera is so boring, going to Karaoke is much more fun...

Since Elias seemed that he did not hear her yawning and none of the guests seemed to hear her, she kept on yawning because she was so bored and she believed that the loud music and songs drowned her own voice. Little did she know that the guests besides, behind and in front of her were getting irritated because of her.

...At least playing mini golf was less boring than just sitting here and trying to listen to opera... She yawned for the hundred time and this time Elias pinched her arm gently.

"You are annoying the guests..." He whispered. "If you are tired, just close your eyes and sleep…I will wake you up when it is time to leave..."

...I am actually not sleepy... She thought for herself, however she closed her eyes in attempt of trying to sleep. But after ten minutes she still remained awake. ...I should endure this. It is Elias' birthday and he have been watching movies with me before, so I should endure this for his sake...but the activities I chose was much more fun than going to an opera....ugh I wish I could leave with the excuse that I need to go the ladies' room, but I am stuck in the middle of this row of seats. For how long I am going to sit here…?

"Did you enjoy it" Elias asked Lily cheerfully when they walked out from the Opera about one hour later. "It was such lovely music." His eyes were glowing of excitement.

"Mm...it was nice..." Lily looked away. ...It was so boring...I cannot believe that we are leaving this place...