Agemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu ~Omoi~

A/N: Yes, the very first fic of 2011 from yours truly. XD I was actually having some problems trying to figure out what to write, and then I heard for the first time the "Theme of Prontera" with voice, and just about flooded the room crying. Ragnarok Online was like, the first ever online game I played, something that changed my life forever. There were so many memories made, so many people I met, so many adventures I went on, but it had to end at one point. Hearing the "Theme of Prontera" brought everything back again, the nostalgia was overwhelming. So here it is. Sorry for the influence of "Yureka" in it. ^^; Korean manhwa that's somewhat the dream for all gamers, I'd probably die of happiness if Gameflier came up with a console like that for RO.

PS: The title is obviously in Japanese. Here's the translation: Happy New Year ~Memories~

And the song below:

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Agemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu ~Omoi~

MazdaKitsune

"Oenjengan joung nii-ipsuleul neu-kkotdon... Onu ja-geun suubsokae nuwo... Uldaga jam-ii deulmeon-neun... Noul manalsu issulka?"

The singing female voice that floated to her ears from the speakers so strategically placed around the city made her footsteps falter, then stop. Emerald eyes raised and looked up at the large screen mounted atop one of the large buildings, displaying a popular online game as the singer sang her song with all her heart. Ebony tresses got caught in the fingers of a passing breeze, and she lifted a hand to hold them away from her face, a small nostalgic smile crossing her lips. For a while, time stood still for her as she listened and watched like a single stone in a stream, other people walking and flowing by her like water. Ah... how long had it been? Almost six years, she reckoned, and so many things had changed within that amount of time. For one, games were not really played with computers any more, but for those who could afford it, virtual reality devices that could tap either into the player's conscious or subconscious mind.

Six years had passed, and all things had to come to an end. Six years, and she had already traded in her junior high uniform for the blazer of high school, and now, kept the blazer away in favour of more comfortable and fashionable for university students. Six years... and she wondered what had happened to... him.

The song ended, and she started walking again, letting herself drift with the flow of the hurrying crowd.

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"Things... were good between us, but... you know, eventually... everything has to come to an end."

On a ledge overlooking Payon forest, two figures stood together, silhouetted by the setting sun. One wore clothes that seemed to wrap around his body, a worn scarf loosely draped around his neck, weapons hidden in boots and belts, a pair of katars strapped behind his waist. The other was slender, obviously female, wore clothes made of durable cloth, hunting shorts with a fitting skirt over it, and a top that bared most of her midriff, complete with a hood. Though she wore fitting long gloves over the wide short sleeves, suggesting she handled animals often, perhaps of the aviation type.

For anyone who lived in this world, they would recognize the pair as an Assassin and a Huntress, individuals that were already powerful in their own ways. The young huntress gave a sigh as she tilted her head to view her companion from the side, hands clasped together in front of her. Unlike him, she had discarded her weapons; her bow and quiver of arrows lay carelessly off to the side, but she wasn't worried of being attacked by any stray monsters. They were both under the watchful eye of a falcon. "I hate changes," she mumbled under her breath. "I hate that things have to change."

"Sometimes changes are for the better, isn't it?" The male chuckled, feeling the warmth of the sun play on his face, and he sobered slightly. "Uso da. This is all a lie. It's made like reality, made to imitate reality, and players can live here as if it is reality, but this is all a lie. The environment isn't real. What you and I feel isn't real, but wired straight to our senses. Touch, taste, feel, hear, smell. A convincing world, don't you think?"

"It's called technology, Iruka." The Huntress gave a choked laugh, then fell silent. "But... can you say that what we have isn't real? That it's just as much a lie as this world is?"

Iruka's face was shadowed by his silver hair. "No, I can't. But in a way, we're just two strangers that met, aren't we? Ryorin."

Ryorin didn't answer. It had been a wonderful experience, from the day she had first set foot into the world of Ragnarok Online. She had been able to live a second life, start over from scratch, meet new people, embark on adventures and make new friends. In a way, she had gotten a whole lot stronger the longer she played. The character, this character that she had made and had grown into, she had worked so hard to build it up, to become as strong as she needed. Her thinking became sharper as she puzzled out quests, her reflexes faster, and there was always the fun of talking to other players, figuring out new quests and adventures that the game might throw their way. Then one day she had met Iruka, mostly out of accident. It was doing a player versus player event, and they had gone up against each other, after Ryorin so foolishly challenged him. Of course.... Iruka won. And after that, they bumped into each other while in the city of Prontera and stuck together in a party of two since they were headed in the same direction anyway; Morroc. It was a long journey by foot, mainly because she was always broke and had no zeny to use the Kafra's teleporting services, but they surprisingly made a good party, and grew close over their journey.

Then the world had come crashing down when Gravity announced that players would need to start paying in order to play the game. Ryorin couldn't afford spending money just so she could play, and neither could Iruka, and so they had decided to part ways. Today was their last day together, and they had mostly spent it reminiscing about the adventures they had; the stoic Assassin and the playful Huntress.

"Mm?" Iruka glanced to the side when he didn't get an answer from Ryorin and his eyes widened as he noticed tears rolling down the sides of her face, and he sighed, reaching out to pull her close so that her head leaned against his. "Baka yaro. Why are you crying for, you idiot?"

"No reason," Ryorin mumbled.

"Idiot." Iruka muttered under his breath. "We'll meet again, Ryorin. Someday. I'm sure of it. So stop crying, alright?" His arm dropped from her shoulder, and she gave a small giggle before straightening, swiping her hand across her eyes to wipe the tears away.

"There's something I've been meaning to ask you," she said as she sniffled, and she waited for the 'what', but only silence met her. "Iruka?"

He was gone.

Staring at the empty space where the Assassin had just been, the Huntress felt a fresh wave of tears hit, but she refused to let them fall, gathering her weapons to fasten them to her belt instead. Looking up, she let out a piercing whistle, and a falcon circled out of nowhere to alight on her shoulder. "It's just you and me for now, Baron," Ryorin murmured. "I never got to ask him what his real name was. So just you and me for now... until I'm gone."

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She had been kicked out of the game not long after that, her credit used up, and could only assume that the same had happened to him. She had tried other games after that as well, in the hopes of meeting Iruka again, but to no avail. The latest one she was playing, Perfect World, had an interesting concept and she was well on her way as a Venomancer, but nothing could take away her first love; Ragnarok Online. The memories sometimes made her ache inside, but from what she heard nowadays, it wasn't a fun game as it was from back then. The new classes and new lands were tempting enough to make her want to play again, but it was just too expensive.

Then came the bots. About half the players used bots to gain levels, items and zeny faster, and it just killed the mood for playing, especially since she herself had worked so hard to grow, it wasn't fair that those players took the easy way out by cheating in the game. There had been a free server, but the creators of the game had decided to raise the levels, making it extra harder to even gain a level, with restrictions on potions and items. She longed to get back into the game, but with all this.... she just couldn't. Besides, she was already in university. She had to focus on exams and other stuff.

"Onii-san, I'm heading out to the temple."

"Aa! Enjoy yourself, imouto!"

The black haired girl let out a sigh as she stepped out of her house and began her walk to the shrine, knowing that it was going to be super crowded since it was New Year's Eve. Throw away the old and usher in the new. Changes. There was always changes. Perhaps this new year would bring something new in for her. Clad in a kimono with a stylish fur coat to keep out the cold over her shoulders, she was there simply for tradition, and perhaps to pray for something, she didn't know what yet. Ah, and she wanted one of those amulets or arrows to bring home for luck. She was quite the superstitious person, and enjoyed collecting little trinkets like that.

As expected, the shrine was packed with people, and it was difficult trying to navigate through the crowd. Climbing up the stairs was hard, but she didn't quite mind, having her ears plugged with music playing on her Ipod to keep her entertained and her mind off the crowd. But at the rate they were going, she doubted that she was going to actually be able to make it to the top by midnight. Well, just as long as she got to offer her prayers, get her future read, buy an amulet and she'd be happy to go home and sleep. That was, until someone's shoulder bumped into her, almost causing her to tilt right into an elderly couple next to her.

"Watch it!"

"Sorry." A pair of hands caught her elbows to steady her. "Did I hurt you?"

Wait. That voice... it couldn't be. She turned her head to look up at the man who was still holding her, scrutinizing his amethyst eyes. "I... Iruka...?"

The male with messy black hair and amethyst eyes blinked before frowning, looking down at her. He hadn't heard that name since.... since he stopped playing Ragnarok Online, five years ago. And this girl who had just called him by that name.... he shifted through his memories to recall her name, and realization made his eyes widen. "Ryorin?"

"Oh my god. It.. it really is you."

Time stopped for a while, and the only thing she could hear was the music playing in her ears.

"Looking for your eyes... I believe in love... forever..."

Their moment was shattered with the tolling of the bells, a booming sound that resonated through the entire region, and they pulled away to look up at the sky as fireworks exploded in showers of colour. "Kirei na, kono hanabi," she said quietly, and he nodded.

"Aa."

"You know, all those years ago... I never got round to asking you for your name."

He looked down at her, surprised, then let out an amused snort. "Baka yaro. You already know my name. You just called me Iruka. My full name is Takasugi Iruka."

"Sou?" There was a moment of silence where she looked up at him. "Watashi wa Kanegawa Rin."

"You aren't crying again, aren't you?" Iruka looked down at her and clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth to see her emerald eyes swimming in tears. "Idiot. Didn't I say that we'd meet again someday? Women."

"You did. I'm sorry." Rin blinked the tears away and laughed. "You haven't changed one bit. Except for looks, of course."

"It's been five years. We were fifteen then, what did you expect?" He gave her an amused smile before wrapping his arms around her. "But you know what? I'm glad I found you. I was beginning to give up hope. Agemashite omedetou gozaimasu."

"Agemashite omedetou... Iruka. Arigatou."

Adam Lambert

A/N: Where, where will we stand? When all the lights go out, across these city streets. Where were you when all of the embers fell? I still remembered them covered in ash, covered in glass, covered in all of my friends. I still think of all the bombs they built.

Yes, people.

MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE is back!!! After hiding underground for years on end to produce their new album (which Frank in the site's blog posts said it was going to be epic AND IT REALLY IS EPIC!), they are back!!!!! November 22nd, yo! All you Killjoys out there, their new album is coming out on November 22nd! I'm getting that limited edition box no matter what it takes. I WANTZ RAY GUNZ!! >.<

Yeah, this Killjoy is retarded. ;P But ya can't expect me not to be with the excitement of seeing Gerard again rush through my veins. *sighs and melts into a pool of butter*

~Cyanide Purified. F' yo world!~

PS: Sometimes when you're sick, the voice of an angel is what you need to pull you back to the living. That angel of mine is Gerard Way. (Congratz on the new album, Gee and boys!)

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Adam Lambert

As she lay sick in bed, she couldn't, for the life of her, understand why she kept hearing Adam Lambert being played on the radio. Drabble, cause I'm still too sick to think.

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Adam Lambert

MazdaKitsune

There it went again. She sighed and stared at the wall, wishing she had the strength to just turn over and slam her hand on the "off" button, but she just couldn't. For weeks now, the radio had been playing Adam Lambert songs at least once every hour, and frankly, she was tired of it. It wasn't as if she didn't like his voice nor the singer himself, she had rooted for him throughout that entire American Idol season, but being subjected to song repetition over and over again could sometimes tire a person out. And cause boredom.

But if her brother were here, he'd say she was being hypocritical. After all, wasn't she the one that played songs from My Chemical Romance over and over and over and over without stopping, until he either destroyed the radio or complained to mom, which essentially, didn't help since she got that habit from her mother. But there was a difference between that and this. She played those songs or whatever songs repeatedly without stopping either because she loved them, or because of her mood. And talking about songs she loved, yes, she LOVED My Chemical Romance. More so than Adam Lambert.

And so just don't give up, I'm working it out. Please don't give in, I won't let you down. It messed me up, need a second to breathe. Just keep coming around.

Hey, whataya want from me?

She rolled her eyes. Yes, what do you want from me? Oh, this wasn't helping at all. No offence, but it really wasn't. Not that she had something against gay people, heck, she herself was bisexual and had friends who were gay. They were humans too, no problems there (Wasn't as if she hadn't discreetly checked out some hot mama's butt as she sat drinking coffee at Starbucks before), they deserved to be treated with respect and not as if they were the plague of mankind (Yeah, no one would think she liked pretty girls even if they looked at her twice). Though, this was completely off topic now. Ugh. She was going crazy with fever and Lambert.

Hearing the front door slam downstairs, she suspected her brother had swung by for a visit, and finally managed to gather her strength to turn around and slam her hand on the radio's "off" button. Silence filled the room, soon punctuated by voices wafting up from the ground floor of the shop. Her brother, stating he had gotten her a new My Chemical Romance cd as a get-well-gift, her mom's happy laughter, her father's smooth and soothing tones. Then footsteps, and the door opened, her brother's head popping in. "Hey, sis. What's up? Feel any better? Why is the radio off?"

"Cause of Adam Lambert is what," she managed to say with a weak grin. "Seriously, don't ask me any more questions. Just play that cd you have in your hands."

"MCR, coming right up."

~End

Kuala Lumpur

A/N: The only way this is going to work is if I blast Paradise Lost by Chihara Minori out loud, or if I listen to m.o.v.e. all day long. >.<>.>

PS: I MISS MY VIOLIN! D: It's made in China! Rrrraagghhh!!! (meaning that I need new fine tuners, need a smaller, new bridge and need to replace the strings. Totally. Violin on maintenance. I miss it already. T___T)

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Kuala Lumpur

Solene and Jade get caught in the traffic of KL, and a discussion comes up between two party animals. A few attractions at KL get summed up, mainly ghost hunting, but all in the span of a jam.

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Kuala Lumpur

MazdaKitsune

HOOOONNNKKKK!!!!!

"Shit!" Solene D'Cruz swore and slammed hard on the brakes, causing her silver Mazda Miata MX-5 to jerk forwards, almost unseating the woman next to her. "Damn wannabe bikers and their superman action stunts! Why, I oughta fudgin'-"

"Chill, girl." Unsettled by the element of surprise, Jade Trinity leaned back in her seat, pressing a hand to her chest to calm her pounding heart. Closing her emerald eyes and letting out a deep breath, she then tossed her top-knot braid over her shoulder and aimed a sheepish smile at the other woman. "You gotta know that the drivers in KL are maniacs. You stress and we probably won't make it back home alive."

"Well, so much for dancing," Solene muttered as her heart and temper got back under control, glaring daggers at the road in front of her. "Hard day at work and all I wanted was something refreshing. Like a couple of drinks, a wild dance to de-stress..."

"And you get distressed by wannabe bikers and road-rage instead." Jade shrugged and reached out to turn on the radio, flipping channels until she reached a chinese one that was playing 'Sorry Sorry' from Super Junior, a popular Korean boy band. "See? I told you it was better to take the bus... or train."

Solene gave a snort and looked down at herself. "Right. Take a bus or train in these clothes. I'm surprised at you, Jade. I never knew you wanted to get me raped."

"Hey! I never... well... I wasn't thinking that, but... you have a valid point. Sorry."

"No offence taken, blondie."

"Hey!"

The girls had gotten together after a busy day just to unwind at Euphoria, a new club located at Sunway Pyramid, a Girl's Night Out or GNO, one would say. Just ye normal night with a few glasses of champagne and the occasional cocktail (Strawberry Daiquiri for Jade, Bloody Mary for Solene please), dancing to favourite songs, and of course, the must for every GNO, complaining and gossiping. Jade had pulled up her hair into a top-knot, braided ponytail and had donned a light blue halter dress that went down to her knees and would have looked pretty formal, if not for the long boots and other black coloured jewellery that screamed "ROCK!" at first glance. Heck, she had feather earrings on her left ear, the only ear that was pierced. Yet for all her eccentric tastes in clothes and stuff, there was something about her that managed to pull the look off nicely. Solene being a bit on the wild side, had decided to throw on a strapless gold and black chiffon dress that barely, just barely, brushed the top of her knees. To top things off, she had encased her feet in stilettos and left her hair tousled and untied. Needless to say, men had been approaching her all night, but she had turned them all away.

"Perhaps I need to tone down the dressing a bit," she voiced that unspoken thought out. "Or bring a spare share of clothes to change into before I go home."

"Who wants to lug around a huge bag when you're clubbing?" Jade made a face. "I say go with the toning down idea. You give people ideas, Sol. And you already have a boyfriend. Don't you think he'd get jealous?"

"Hey, Eiji knows I'm wild. He can't completely control me," Solene said with a little sniff. "And he likes me the way I am. Sides, I don't flirt with other men. You saw how I turned them all away."

"That I did." Jade leaned her head back and flipped channels again, this time stopping at an english station that played 'Love the Way You Lie' from Eminem and Rihanna. "Gosh, I'm tired. When are we getting home, I wonder."

"When we get out of this road, that's what." Solene's mood turned foul again as she was forced to stop, tapping her hand against the steering wheel. "God dammit, a jam. It's always a jam here and a jam there! What's it with this place?"

"Dunno, you wanna move out to Japan one day?" Jade muttered and tilted her head to the side as the sound of honking cars reached her ears. "Get used to it, Sol. You wanted to drive, this is what you get. I'm happier off with taking the train and such, screw getting squashed by millions of people crammed into one cabin and risking my purse or phone getting stolen."

"You're just too lazy to drive. The trains are ALWAYS late." Solene rolled her sky-blue eyes.

"At least I get to places faster than you. Late or not, the train doesn't get stuck in traffic jams."

"Only if it breaks down. Which, happens to you at least once a year."

"Screw it, let's change the topic." Jade sat up straight again and gave another yawn before reaching behind her to pull a small pillow towards her. Arms hugging the fluffy cotton-filled cloth, she turned to Solene, who was now impatiently tapping her fingers against her scalp, elbow placed on the edge of the window so she could lean her head in her hand. "What are you planning to do for the rest of the week?"

"Dunno." Solene shrugged. "Shop, I guess. And party like there's no tomorrow. There's so many clubs to go to in KL. Oasis, Mist Club in Bangsar, Euphoria, Zouk-"

"Ooh, haven't been to that one in ages!"

"-The Palace Club at Sheraton, really like that one. And other stuff." Solene went on as if Jade hadn't interrupted her, then grinned at her friend. "The night is young if you wish it to be, and when the moon is on it's cycle, I come out to play. What bout you? Any plans for the nights? Or free mornings?"

"Actually, I am. I'm going Ghost Hunting with my team." Jade stated a matter-of-factly and Solene groaned. "Not ghosts again! Really, you need to get a life. I honestly doubt anyone would like you for chasing after ghosts!"

"......"

"Oh right, Dante. I forgot. Carry on."

Slightly miffed but not dwelling on it, Jade continued. "Anyway, we've got a few places to go to already. Maybe some are restricted areas, but I bet we could get past it. After all, as hunters we gotta be ready to break the rules." A feral grin appeared here, and the blue-eyes girl shook her head at her friend. Jade had been notorious for breaking rules and helping the Queen Bee get past them in High School. Seems like it became some kind of adrenaline inducing action, but whatever floated her boat. "Okay, so like... there's about half a dozen places that we want to visit, so it might take the entire week or something, depends on how tired, how fast or how scared we are. We originally wanted to visit Pudu Jail, but it got torn down and I'm still mad at them for doing it when it's supposed to be a heritage and treasure trove for Ghost Hunters like us and I digress. Anyway, Pudu Jail is out, so we're not going there any longer."

"Jade, you talk too much." Solene sighed, but leaned back in her seat with a smile as she turned down the volume on the radio to hear her friend better. At least the ride wasn't going to be boring.

"I know right?" Jade grinned. "Remember the old Highland Towers? I don't really believe that there's any ghosts there, but a lot of people died, so there's bound to be lots of negative energy floating around. I mean, think about the last and dying thoughts of those poor people! If you died with unrest, I'm sure you'd come back or linger around to-"

"Next location."

"Right. Next location is the Cheras Polyclinic. I'm looking forwards to this one because other hunters and people claim to see Shadow People in there, and you know how lights can play tricks on ones' eyes, right? I want to either find evidence of a haunting, or totally debunk the situation."

"Didn't you say you had a brush with a Shadow Figure in your own house before?" Solene questioned curiously. "And that you got so freaked, you ran all the way downstairs? Now you're looking forwards to this?"

"Well yeah, it did freak me," Jade admitted. "But after thinking about it, it wouldn't hurt to see it again. And get freaked again. But I'm a masochist, so I can take the continual heart attacks. Moving on, your boyfriend's cousin Kenji suggested Genting Highlands, but I'm saving that for the weekend. Been hearing stories about that place for so long, since I was in Primary School, so I'm actually eager to check it out. The last time I went there, I was just a little tyke. Don't remember much of it, so it'll be a cool holiday. Want to come along?"

"If I can persuade Eiji and Kenji to. Wait, Kenji wouldn't mind, he likes adventures. But getting Eiji to budge, especially running around cluelessly on a Ghost Hunt... that might be hard." Solene chuckled. Don't forget Victoria's Institution and Tunku Hill. That's one of the most haunted places we have here in KL. I shudder to even think about going to Victoria's Institution at night."

"Yeah, they're on my list too, but I'm thinking about cutting Tunku Hill out." Jade nodded thoughtfully. "Cause well, it's a shadowy kinda place, and to wander around there even in groups can be dangerous. You might never know if it's a ghost or a robber lurking round behind the trees. Anyway, the story was that some kids on bikes died there, so their spirits haunt the place, but that one I don't believe much. Victoria's Institution is much, much nicer to go to. Makes up for losing Pudu Jail, I'd say." She gave a satisfied smile.

"For some reason, you're getting me interested in this." Solene shook her head and leaned forwards in her seat. "I might just tag along for the heck of it. Hey, check out the cause of this jam."

"Inconsiderate drivers as usual?" Jade rolled her eyes but complied, and winced. "Ah, okay. So I was partially right. An accident and the drivers slowing down to actually get out of their cars to watch and causing a jam. Ain't that the biker kid you almost ran into a while back?"

"Now that you mention it, yeah." Solene eyed the blood and the wrecked motorcycle before clucking her tongue sadly at the car that had ran into him. "Poor car."

"There's a teen bleeding to death on the road and all you can say is poor car?" Jade couldn't help but grin as Solene drove off, now free of the jam's confines.

"Dudette, it's a Nissan. A Nissan 350z Fairlady. Kid got what was coming to him, racing in and out of traffic and showing off with his stunts. Wasn't the car driver's fault, but the biker's. I pity the guy who has to re-do his paintwork and replaced that cracked screen."

"Kid's ghost might come back to haunt you if you keep saying that."

"I don't believe in ghosts." Solene grinned back at her. "And yet, I'm thinking of joining you in your hunts. Something must be wrong with me."

"I need extra hands monitoring equipment and so," Jade said innocently.

"You so owe me a shopping trip. We're going to Mid-valley Megamall tomorrow for clothes." Solene declared, stepping on the accelerator.

Jade stuck out her tongue. "You can hardly get a parking space there! Let's go to Time's Square instead."

"Anywhere but that. I won't be able to pull you away from the arcade." Solene shook her head. "What about Pavillion?"

"I don't have the money........" The emerald-eyed girl whined.

"You're impossible," Solene grouched. "One Utama."

Jade brightened. "Yes, please! We can go catch a movie too!"

"Fine, fine... whatever."

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The Asian blond lounging on the couch while browsing through a magazine looked up as the door opened and Solene came in, looking tired but cheerful. "Hey, Sol. Welcome home. How was your night out?"

"Fine. Got scared half to death by a wannabe biker, caught in a jam, listened to Jade chatter, saw an accident, dropped her back home and finally came back myself. What bout you?" Solene kicked off her stilettos and went over to sit on the edge of the couch as Eiji Storm pushed himself up to press a kiss to her lips.

"Nothing much, ate Kenji's cooking, took a bath, then went through some mags." He shrugged. "Just the start of a good vacation. You got any plans for the week?"

"Actually, I do." Solene smiled innocently. "How would you like to experience the ghosts around Kuala Lumpur?"

~End(?)~

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Inspiring songs:

IMITATION BLACK - Vocaloid (Kamui Gakupo, Kaito & Kagamine Len)

Paradise Lost - Chihara Minori

Dirty - Nightmare

Sorry Sorry - Super Junior

Love the Way You Lie - Eminem feat. Rihanna

CHANCE! - UVERworld

Rage Your Dream - m.o.v.e.

NightmaRe - SNoW

Barack Obama

A/N: Um. I seriously have no idea what to write about him. And apparently, my muse agrees too. *eyes her muse that is currently drunk on honey and shakes head*

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Barack Obama

It's dark and raining outside, while inside it's just as dark and cold. With a power cut, you can't really do anything else except to try and complete school assignments. Problem is, Jade doesn't know squat about what she has to write, and unfortunately, Nero doesn't either. No pairing.

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Barack Obama

MazdaKitsune

DISCLAIMER: Everything written here is FICTION, except for Barack Obama and his details. I do not mean to offend anyone reading, nor am I writing any offensive things here. And btw, I do not own Devil May Cry. Capcom does, and if I did own DMC.... I'd either be married to Dante or Vergil by now, or I'd have a male harem to entertain myself which each night. ;)

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"This sucks."

"Tell me about it."

"This sucks."

"Would you please stop griping already?" Sky blue eyes lifted and looked in exasperation at the girl sitting across him at the table, a candle between them, watching her hit her forehead on the face of the table a few times, her pen discarded and thrown to the side, her page as empty as his. Nero scratched his head, ringed fingers going through strands of his silver hair, tapping the edge of his pen against the table, feeling very much like following suit and banging his head though against something harder. Something very much like a wall. "Ugh." The young 20 year old threw his hands up in the air and slumped back in his seat, sulking as he folded his arms. He wore loose jeans, thick boots, a navy-blue shirt that screamed, "EAT ME!!!" and a purple hoodie that was unzipped, hood pulled halfway up over his head. "This isn't helping at all."

"I don't wanna do this." And Jade wailed, following suit to lean back in her chair, letting her arms dangle off the sides, head tilted towards the ceiling. She herself was his age, and her dressing for the day included a red plaid skirt with a stylish black belt, gladiator shoes, a dark green studded corset top and a brown front-frilled jacket, her waist-long black hair left untied except for the front, which was pulled up and pinned to the top of her head to keep her side bangs from getting in the way. Emerald eyes glared at the paper in front of her, boring holes into the topic that she was supposed to be writing about.

Barack Obama.

"I can't do this!" She exclaimed, setting her hand down with a decisive air. "So call me lame, call me a heathen, call me an idiot for not watching and listening to news except for the stuff that screams "demons" so we can go earn our money, but I just don't know ANYTHING about Barack Obama."

Nero stared dully at her before letting out a sigh of his own. "I'm not your muse, Jadie. I just happened to get the same assignment you did. God, I wish Kyrie was here...."

Jade grinned at the mention of Kyrie's name and sat up straight, folding her legs up under her. "Credo kicked you out after that stunt you pulled. I don't think he's gonna let you near his sister again in a long, long time."

A glare was aimed at her, and she chuckled as Nero chucked an eraser in her direction with a sour look. "Look, it wasn't my fault, okay?! I was just trying to be nice and help her out with the housework for once! How was I to know that Credo would come home just as we had an accident?"

"Are you sure you didn't purposely splash lots of water on the floor so Kyrie would slip and you fall on top of her, pretending to be the hero?" Jade snickered, teasing. "My, such a romantic accident. The lady falls, and her man tries to save her, but ends up falling all the same. Being in such close proximity, the air heats up between them, as their bodies touch, and they blush before lips come closer together in a kiss...... until the moment is ruined when a very protective brother comes home to find his beloved sister in a very compromising position with her boyfriend. I wonder if you still have that boot mark on your behind." She burst into uproarious laughter, clutching at her sides and almost falling off the chair in her mirth.

"Shut up!!!" Nero whined, face turning red both with chagrin and outrage at the memory of it. "Just shut up already!!! Dudette!!!!" He sounded so hurt, embarrassed and wounded that Jade couldn't help but to quell her laughter, though she was still grinning, getting up to give him a tight hug from behind.

"Okay, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have made fun of you. I'll treat you to a strawberry sundae when Dante gets back and we all go out for dinner. Forgive me?"

Nero sighed, all traces of his angst gone as he tilted his head back and smiled, his eyes warming to a liquid blue as he squeezed her hand and lifted a hand to cup the back of her head so he could plant a kiss on her forehead. "How could I not? You're my best friend, and Dante would probably do a Credo and kick me out if I held anything against his girlfriend. All is forgiven, let's tackle this assignment together, alright?"

Jade beamed down at him before releasing him. "Done. Let's do this and get it over with. Write some crap or something, get a total F for it, and spend the day in detention." Sounding satisfied with her self-proclaimed fate, she returned to her chair and picked up her pen, determined to get her work done before Dante came home to her. Sure, juggling studies and her life as a demon huntress wasn't simple, but she had always wanted to experience a normal life, and so had Nero once he learned how to control his demonic arm, able to turn it back into it's Devil Bringer mode at will. It definitely had taken a while for him to get used to having two normal arms, and he still used his left hand to write and do stuff, but once Jade had suggested they both complete their studies since they never had a chance to, he agreed. Dante had pushed her on and supported her from behind, knowing her need to live like a normal 20 year old that studied and went to school and prom, bantering with friends and having fun like she was supposed to have. It was an added surprise that Lady too, had added her own support, no doubt remembering the days of uncaring fun she had before her father had betrayed her family and thrown her into the dark world of demons.

And so Jade and Nero both enrolled in school as students while Dante and Lady were only too happy to take up their share of demon slaying. Credo and Kyrie had moved out from the forsaken Fortuna, intending to start over and Nero was happy enough to stay with them... until the accident that caused him to be kicked out (for a while, Kyrie reassured. Credo's anger never lasted long, though everyone felt it would this time). It had been extremely hard at first, the two struggling to get through the first semester and phase of studies, nearly drowning them until another surprise presented itself. Vergil himself showed up at Lady's prompt, taking it upon himself to tutor the two younger hunters, inwardly pleased at their want of knowledge. He himself was a 'walking internet browser' as Jade would put it and was strict towards them, ensuring they learned as much as they could.

Unfortunately, none of the subjects that they learned involved any country's president.

"So, what do we know about Barack Obama?" Nero broke her reminiscing.

"That, uh... he's the first African American to become president of the United States?" Jade twirled her pen around her fingers, eyes focused on the flickering candle before her.

"And the 44th too." Nero jotted that down and resumed tapping his pen against the table for ideas.

In truth, they never would have started if it wasn't for the blackout. It had been raining outside, and the two of them were playing video games when the blackout happened. At first they thought it was the power box, but after Nero had gone into the kitchen to try to start it up again, it didn't work, so Jade had ventured into the cellar to check out the main electric supply, only to find that it wasn't just the shop, but the entire block's power had been cut. Groaning, the two young adults had tried to find something to pass the time, but after the laptop's battery had been burned up and the Ipod's power gone, they had been very bored. It was only then that Jade reluctantly suggested they light up a few candles and attempt to do a few assignments. At least time always went by faster when they were doing something they disliked.

They had completed one or two until they got to the essay about Barack Obama. That was when they hit a dead end of frustration.

"I wish I had the power back. I want Wikipedia," Jade complained, glaring at the small grains of facts that they had.

"There's gotta be some reference we can use, right?" Nero wondered, looking around, then made a face at Dante's collection of magazines strewn over his desk. "Well, we can't use those."

"Unless you decide to change the title to, "Women With Big Assets"." Jade grinned, then snapped her fingers. "Talking about magazines and references, I remember Vergil bringing back a stack of books and magazines saying they'd be good use to us. He stashed them in the attic if I remember."

Nero's eyes lighted up. "Seriously? Let's go check it out, then. We might find something of good use."

"Me? No way, I don't wanna go up there where it's filled with spiders. And it's dark," Jade protested, pretending to pout, giving him the puppy eyes. "I'll just leave that kind of adventure to a big, strong, guy like you."

"You just don't want to do the hard work, that's all." Nero rolled her eyes at her and stood, burying his hands in his pockets. "A girl that goes rushing into danger without a second thought scared of the dark and spiders. Hah. I bet that gives you "nightmares", huh?" He sarcastically threw at her before grabbing a candle and clomping up the stairs to the attic. "You owe me two sundaes!"

"No problem there!" Jade called back to him and grinned before speaking softly to herself. "Ain't my money, anyway. It's Dante's."

Ten minutes later, a highly excited and grinning Nero came rushing down the stairs, holding a Times magazine in his hand, cobwebs in his hair. "I got it!! Let's write!!'

____________________________________________________________________

"That was overly dramatic of you, brother," Vergil said as he walked back home through the rain with Dante. "There was no need for you to knock out the entire neighbourhood's power supply just so you could encourage Jade and Nero to do their homework."

"Well, what else could I do?" Dante grinned, looking pleased with himself. "The kid likes to procrastinate, and Jadie's addicted to games. I couldn't simply turn the power off in the shop, they'd just turn it back on. I didn't want to screw up the box either, lord knows how much I'd have to pay for it."

"So you very conveniently decided to lure a demon out to throw it into the main power lines and short circuit the neighbourhood?" Vergil raised an eyebrow.

"Well, had to make it seem like it was a demon slaying accident." Dante shrugged. "Wouldn't need to pay the damage expenses, then." He then shifted his gaze to his twin. "Don't tell me you weren't intending to encourage them either. I saw you bring back a whole stack of books to keep in the attic."

"Those were merely references," Vergil replied coolly. "Magazines and books with knowledge, not like those trash you read. With the internet nowadays, god knows if the youth these days know how to look for information through books and magazines themselves. I was just boosting their skills."

"Old-school style, eh?" The red-clad man laughed. "I remember your nose being buried in books and me copying off you. Ah, the good old days." Reaching the shop, she paused for a moment to see the flicker of candle lights within, then made his way up the steps and pushed the door open. "We're home!"

"Hey, old man. Vergil." Nero greeted, looking relaxed as he leaned back in his chair, setting his pen down and crossing his leg across the other. "Just in time, we're hungry."

"Dante! Vergil!" Jade squealed as she bounded out of her chair to fly into Vergil's arms first, giving him a tight hug. Vergil stumbled backwards slightly with her weight, uncertainty crossing his face for a moment before a fond look lightened his ice blue eyes to a glowing cerulean, a warm smile of affection briefly crossing his face as he patted her head. "Good evening, Jade. I suggest you don't come in contact with any of us, as we are soaked through and through, and you wouldn't want your garments to get wet."

She beamed up at him before bouncing over to Dante instead, who picked her up in his arms despite his wet clothing, swinging her around once before setting her back on her feet. "Hello there, babe. I trust you've been a good girl and finished your homework?"

"I did!" Jade pouted up at him, clinging to his side as his arm slid around her waist. "We were doing good until we got to an essay of Barack Obama, and oh my god... I thought I'd just commit suicide with my pen. Luckily I remembered Vergil bringing back some stuff that he said would be useful, and Nero upped and found a magazine which contained all the information we wanted!"

"Good girl. I'm proud of ya." Dante dropped a kiss to the top of her head, then winked at Vergil before grinning at Nero, who was setting the scattered assignments in order. "I'm proud of ya too, kid. C'mere and let me give you a reward."

"If it's a kiss, then I'll pass." Nero made a rude gesture at him and folded his arms. "But Jade promised me two sundaes."

"Two sundaes it is." Dante chuckled. "Verge, you up for the pizza parlour?"

"I don't see anything wrong in that."

"Let's go, then!" Jade insisted. "I'm hungry!"

Nero shook his head, and followed the trio out the door, glancing back at the completed work on the table. So much for getting and F and spending the day in detention. At least they had done something solid... or as solid as he hoped.

"Kid, you coming or what?"

"Yeah, yeah. Coming, old man." And out the door he walked, glad that the disliked assignment was finally over and he wouldn't have to face another.... for now.

Beethoven Virus

A/N: I know, it's been a long time since I updated. But meh. I've been having a seriously bad case of Writer's Block. Can't blame me now, can I? Tip: Let the vids load first, and when you see the title of the song hinted in BOLD, play the vid that has the same title. That way you can get a feel for what emotion the songs can bring.

Songs in this chapter:

Beethoven Virus/Sonata no.8 "Pathetique", 3rd Movement by Beethoven. (The song that Vergil hears Jade play the first time)


Ave Maria by Schubert (The song that Vergil tests Jade with in a piano/violin duet)


____________________________________________________________________

Complicated
MazdaKitsune
Chapter 2 - Beethoven Virus

Moving is such a bother....

Well-polished shoes clicked against the marble floor as the silver-haired man walked along the corridors with a very annoyed look on his face, books tucked under one arm. The first thing to do is to sue the Cretan that built this place, then the university for making their students look for their classes with all the building's winding corridors. Hence why Vergil was walking the new building on his own after the morning class, getting a feel for the place and taking note of where the different classes and faculties were. But much more than that, he wanted to avoid the girls that always seemed to stalk him and his brother, and of course, his ever so annoying brother. That, and he was irritated beyond degree. Just that morning, the lecturer had announced that a concert night was going to be held at their new building in lieu of the university's moving, along with some exhibitions and games. Of course, it was merely to promote the new premises, as well as do some fund-raising that will no doubt go into the..... never mind. Some things were better left unsaid.

But back to the original topic, Vergil had been picked to give a performance during the concert night, nominated by none other than Dante. The older brother had seethed and protested, but the younger had gone on to brag about how good Vergil was at playing various musical instruments, especially when it came to classical pieces. The effect of course, had been exactly as Dante had foreseen; fan-girls sighing and chatting in excited admiration, and Vergil had been picked to "play a pretty piece, no protests or questions." To which, the blue-clad twin had seethed and later on, had accidentally (deliberately, really. With a sadistic smirk on his lips) given his sibling a "nudge" over the edge of the mezzanine floor's balcony. The shrieks and swears from Dante as he clutched on to the railing, feet flailing like mad (to the horror of his female and some male fans in the Dante fan-club), attempting to pull himself up again, was like music to his ears.

Of course, the detention that the red twin received for allegedly "trying to impress the girls by jumping off the mezzanine" doubled the pleasure.

Now, though. Vergil only had one problem, and that was the performance. He was not like his brother, who enjoyed the attention day in and day out. No, he preferred sitting out of the spotlight and working in silence, rather than create a show for everyone to watch. Hence why he was in a foul mood. Playing during the concert was fine, but he knew that his fan-club would only increase and oh, how he longed to take the heads off those irritating airheads that followed him and tried flirting with him day by day. He had broken so many hearts already, not like he cared anyway, but all he requested was to complete his studies in peace and silence. He had no interest in females whatsoever, and detested even the thought of having to share his life with one of them. To him (with the exception of his mother and a few other women), females were a complete waste of time. Now Dante might beg to differ, especially with a random girl hanging off his arm each week, but he lived with what he stood by, and pointedly ignored any attempt made to capture his attention. Attention... attention? Wait.

His footsteps slowed, then stopped as he straightened and looked behind him. His attention had just been captured, and it wasn't by any group of girls, they were all too busy fawning over Dante back at the mezzanine. It had been..... there it was again. Vergil frowned and turned, closing his eyes as his sensitive hearing picked up on... a bow rubbing rapidly against strings. A violin was being played. And he, being one that had an ear for classical music, immediately recognized the song as the third movement from Beethoven's Sonata number 8, Pathetique. As if on it's own, his feet turned on it's own accord, following the source of the sound. This melody.... though it's not well played, nor even at a very skilled level.... it's amazing how it has a sense of.... dare... about it. Almost as if the person isn't afraid of anything, it makes my heart vibrate even with each rise and fall of the bow. Who is playing that...?

Vergil's feet finally stopped, and he opened his eyes, realizing he had been letting his feet guide him, walking based on hearing alone. He was standing outside the Annex, and the rapid playing of the violin had gotten stronger. Staring at the handle, he took but a second to contemplate before grasping it and pushing the door open silently. On the stage at the other end of the room where a baby-grand piano sat in a corner, a raven-haired girl stood playing a violin. She seemed vaguely familiar, and he struggled to remember who she was, before it dawned on him.

She was the girl he had bumped into the other day, the same girl that had been in his Business Communications class in the last semester.

(Flashback)

"Be careful." Vergil looked down at the shorter girl that had ran right into him, his ice-blue eyes accessing her. He didn't get the reaction he was expecting; no widening of eyes, no sudden gasp or squeal, no "Oh my GAWD, it's VERGIL~! I'm soooooo sorry~! Btw, you look really hot today~!" and a giggle. No, all he got was a "Dante...?" with a surprised look on her face. It took him by surprise that this girl wasn't like the others, but there were always exceptions.

"No." He sighed irritably and ran a hand through his hair to slick it back. "I am not to be confused with the fool of my brother, though it can't be helped since he used up my bottle of gel yesterday. My name is Vergil."

"Oh, um... sorry."

She brushed past him, and he noted the discarded file plus the scattered notes before turning his body slightly, in tandem with her so that his hand caught on to her elbow gently but firmly even as his knees bent so that he could pick up the file. "Hold on. Is this yours?" Her notes were colorful, and catchy to the eye, written in a neat, narrow hand. And then there was this picture of an angel, one with two ponytails that seemed to flare dramatically around her body, but only one wing. She wore a short dress that hugged her body and swirled around her legs, both without shoes as she hovered on some kind of pond as seen by the dramatic ripples rippling out from the tip of her toe and the distorted reflection done in soft shades. The one-winged angel held a feather or quill of some sort in her upraised hand while the other clutched a... book to her chest. Her face, though seen only from the side, was facing the sky, eyes closed with some sort of peaceful longing while feathers rained down around her. Not bad, if he did say so himself. Not much interested him, but this did, and he wondered what the inspiration behind her drawing was. "You're an artist?"

"No, it's just a hobby." He relinquished the file to the girl when she scampered back and started shoving everything inside, looking both embarrassed and sheepish. "I don't draw much, really don't have the talent to. But sometimes inspiration just hits me and I can't help but pick up the pencil."

"Nevertheless, it's a good drawing." Vergil raked his eye over her. No squealing, no fandom, not even one word about his good looks. Dante would have been disappointed, but all she did was just pique his interest a bit more. There was something different about this female, he could sense it. Yet he didn't know what. But by the time he had marked his attendance and exited the class, she was gone.

(End of Flashback)

Emerald eyes opened as the girl sensed his presence, then her irises met his, widening in surprise as shock registered on her face, blinking at him for a moment over the violin. Vergil merely stood there for a while before placing his books on one of the chairs before making his way up the stage to the piano. "Sonata no. 8, if I'm not wrong."

"I-It's actually a modernized rock version of it. Beethoven Virus, it's called," she said hurriedly, lowering her bow and violin. "I'm sorry, I know I'm probably not allowed to play in an empty class like this, but I-"

"Girl. What is your name?"

"Ehh?!"

"You heard me." Vergil sat down at the piano and opened the cover before placing a finger on one of the keys to test out the sound. A clear middle C rang out in the room and he nodded to himself before giving her a glare when she remained silent. "I'm sure you have a name."

"It's Jade. Jade Cross. Vergil... right?" She gave him a tilt of her head, and a slightly suspicious look, wondering what he was up to. "You were in my class last semester."

"Correct, considering we never even talked to each other face to face then, except for the time when you ran into me." Vergil stretched his hands, then placed his hands on the keys. "Ave Maria by Schubert. Do you know it?"

Jade nodded slowly, recalling the melody as she sifted through her memories. "Yeah. I played it on piano before, but never on-"

"It doesn't matter, you only need to remember how the melody goes. Play." Vergil began to play the accompaniment on the piano and Jade gave him a murderous glare that turned into one of wonder as she listened to his playing, then fitted the violin between her shoulder and chin and lifted her bow.

Ah... there it was again, Vergil thought to himself, closing his eyes so that he could concentrate better. Ave Maria's accompaniment was decidedly easy for someone like him, but he wanted to test this girl to see if she was a fluke or not. The first time he had heard her, he had heard the raw determination, the fierce dare of someone who had fire in them. But it was easy for someone to get caught up in the song, playing it just for the fun of it, or because the accompaniment set their heart pumping; playing on impulse. So he had purposely asked her to play a slower, haunting melody to see if she could bring out the emotions of the song. And she did. She was no professional, and he could detect mistakes in her playing, yet the melody carried a kind of gentle warmth in it, something that soothed the soul. Though something told him, she wasn't an original player of the String Instrument. Her passion lay elsewhere, he could tell. He cast his eyes to her approvingly as the song came to an end and he stood, walking over to her. "Let me see your hand."

Blinking, Jade did as she was told, and Vergil peered at her fingers closely before breaking contact. "You're actually a pianist, are you not? You have the fingers of one."

"Yeah." She flushed slightly red with embarrassment, then turned her sight to the piano instead. "But I got interested in violin recently and decided to try it out. After all, one's never too old to learn music, ne?" A wry smile was directed at him at the end of her sentence and he merely returned it with a cool look. "I have this really.... insufferable teacher. I had violin classes today, and decided to practice in one of the empty classrooms cause... well, cause my teacher kept complaining I wasn't good enough and-"

"You talk too much." Vergil cut her off again, shaking his head slightly with a frown. She and his brother could go well together. He didn't need to know the details of her class. Short and simple, straight to the point was enough. "Come to my house this weekend. I've been picked to perform for the concert night, and I need a partner. No... Rather, I need a diversion. You will be the lead performer in my place, while I play the accompaniment in the background. In other words, we will perform a duet, but the spotlight will be on you. No buts, just be at my house by 10am this Saturday. We have a music room where the acoustics are sufficient for both of us." Stopping by his books, he tore out a piece of paper from a notepad and wrote down his address before passing it to her.

"Wait a minute!" Jade protested as the paper was placed in her hand. "I-I didn't agree to any of this! I can't perform in front of a crowd! I just picked up the violin, and I'm not even good at it yet! And besides, I get stage fright!"

"The fact that you can play the rock version of Pathetique is proof of how good you can be when you're not thinking about it." Vergil replied in a clipped tone as he gathered his books and prepared to leave. "That version is even more complicated than the original."

"I just did it for fun!" Jade yelled at him, looking desperate but a pink tint had colored her cheeks. "I like to dance to the song, that's all!" But she got no answer. Sighing, she looked down at the address written, then raised an eyebrow. "Austere Saint's Street? That's just one neighborhood from mine. I live on Austere Saint's Curve."

"All the better. You can walk."

"You're unbelievable."

"So are you. Tell me, Miss Cross." Vergil stopped at the doors and turned around to face her again. "What got you interested in music in the first place? Not specifically the piano or the violin. Just music as a whole."

Jade stared at him for a bit, and then her gaze turned thoughtful. "It was... Beethoven, I suppose. You know those music boxes? I got one when I was a little girl as a present from my mom, and they had this tinkling Fur Elise playing each time I opened it. And I found it funny, cause in my elementary school, the older kids used to scare us with this song, saying stuff like, "The ghost of the school would come out at midnight and play this melody on the piano, slow and sad." I got scared, and mom told me it wasn't true, and that Fur Elise was composed by a famous composer named Ludwig van Beethoven, who was a deaf. It was a love song titled "For Elise". That's how I got interested. I began listening to his songs, and before I knew it, I was hooked."

"Beethoven, huh...? Funny... that's how I got interested in music too." Vergil finally returned the wry smile to her. "Not by the way you spoke of, but by listening to his songs."

"I suppose it's infectious." She smiled at him.

"Yes. It's a virus. Beethoven's virus." He turned back round and pushed the door open before walking out.

Promise You

A/N: Just a bit of comfort for myself. Since he's left... again. This time for good. I don't know, but I just need to comfort myself, and the strangest thing happened today. You guessed it, I was depressed, and I turned to manga as usual to placate myself. The manga I happened to be reading (and finishing) was Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro, right after the part where Genuine suicided by blowing herself up, and she asked Yako a question right before that. "You risk losing everything you hold dear. Knowing that, will you still press on?" And then in a chapter or two, Sasazuka was killed by XI and Sicks, and Honjou revealed that he had been the mole and killed himself in front of Yako.

I really felt Yako then, losing the people close to her. You know, that heavy weight that presses down on you? That feeling of depression, like everything's come crumbling down and you want to run away from it all, you can't move on? Yeah, I was feeling all that. And then.. the funniest thing happened. It was like a slap on the face. I know it was just a manga, but the words really got through to me. Neuro, looking all angry and disappointed, looked over his shoulder and said, "You're a coward." And after that was a chapter where Aya Asia came to offer Yako advise, and yet again, it made me realize something.

So yeah, sorry for the long Authoress's Note, but that's my reason for writing this for a bit of comfort. No copyright infringement intended, MTNN doesn't belong to me.
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Promise You
MazdaKitsune

"How long do you plan on staying like this? Slave, look at me when I'm talking to you."

The deep voice rang out across the room, sounding pretty much displeased. Emerald turned to meet emerald, except that the second pair of eyes were staring down at the girl lying on her bed from the shadows of her ceiling. Jade blinked, then cast her teary gaze aside, feeling worn out. "Go away, Neuro. I'm just not in the mood today."

A scowl adorned the face of the man on the ceiling, and with a casual flip, landed neatly on the floor of her bedroom, not a lapel of his navy blue suit out of place. He was tall, lean and had just the right amount of muscles to send any normal schoolgirl drooling, and his dual colored hair of blond with black bangs made him stand out in any crowd. But Nougami Neuro was far from being a normal human. He was one of the strongest demons around, coming to the human world in search of food; intriguing mysteries. He ran a detective agency with his pawn, Katsuragi Yako, and Jade Cross had met them (and had very unfortunately gotten involved) during a case where she, a huntress, had been mistakenly tagged as a murderer. Jade was somewhat like Godai, fiery and resilient, but Neuro had taken an interest in her.

Because there was always a scent of mystery that hung around her, and he didn't mean the strawberry scent that always got the louse's mind longing for Strawberry Fondue, etc.

The young girl of 20 was an intriguing mix of emotions, and Neuro treated her no differently than how he'd treat Godai and Yako, but Jade always endured his torture with a grin and some sassy words that made him want to rip her tongue out with one of his Demonic Tools to tame her. But where was the fun in that? Break her down too fast and he'd lose a source of entertainment. It was always refreshing to have at least one of his slaves stand up against him. Besides, everyone evolved differently. Whether it be by heaping more and more hardships on someone to build up courage and resilience, or giving someone responsibility.

But first, he needed to get past the maze of emotions and get to the core of her soul if he wanted to give her a faster boost of evolution. He tapped his chin thoughtfully as he glared at the girl in bed, running a list of what he could make of her. Childish and annoying stood out. Yet there were times she showed a bit of maturity, and she was a very good pawn on his chessboard. An open letter lay on her table, and he picked it up to read. That was it, then. The source behind her absence to the office and the reason behind the mystery of her tears.

"So he's not coming back, huh?" Neuro tossed the letter aside. "That's the reason why you're lying in a dark room without eating or sleeping? Humans... I'll never understand them."

"I don't expect you to," Jade mumbled, eyes staring listlessly at the ceiling. "You won't understand the pain of losing someone close to you. When you care so much about them, and you have to let them go one day. They know and you know it, that you've been let down, and as much as you try to smile and say "I'm fine", you'll never be fine inside." Her chin trembled as her eyes filled with tears. "If only we hadn't met! If only he had just said he was leaving and left it as that! If only he didn't say goodbye with all those sweet words directed at me! It hurts, it really does. It feels as if heavy weights have been piled up on my chest and I can't go on. I can't..."

"And you think it would have been much easier if he had just said goodbye without an explanation?" Before she knew it, Neuro was on top of her, gripping her wrists tightly as he pinned her down on the bed, all humor gone from his expression. Deep emerald glowed in the dimness, boring intensely into her. He was so close, she could see the glint of every sharp teeth, feel his breath on her cheek. And frightened, she tried to twist out of his grasp. "You think you would feel better if he simply said, "I'm leaving and I probably won't come back? You're nothing but a child."

"....." In open shock, Jade gazed up at him, ceasing her struggles. ".... what?"

"To wish you hadn't met him. To not appreciate the words he said, his explanation. To forget all the memories together. To cry and feel sorry for yourself, and throw a silent tantrum to show he was wrong. You are nothing but a child. A spoiled brat," Neuro growled, narrowing his eyes. "I never thought you would be such a coward."

Her fear of him was tempting. He could see it now, the helpless look on her face now that he had stripped away her many facades to the very bone, letting his words hit home. It was like a slap to her face, he knew. But he also knew that he couldn't treat her the same as he treated the louse. If he told her to leave, she would, and never look back. She needed a good whipping, to be steered in the correct direction and given a good dose of reality to grow up.

"I am not a child," Jade whispered, then glared at him fiercely. "I'm not a spoiled brat. I'm a grown woman."

"Then show me, without the tears. I forbid you to cry." Neuro gave her a little shake before he leaned down and captured her gasp and her lips.
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Pleasure so painful it made her scream. Pain so much like pleasure it made her want more. The wonders of what a simple kiss from a demon could do. But in the end, Jade lay trying to catch her breath beneath him, a heavy weight on her body, eyes swimming with tears. Neuro made no move to roll off her, but simply closed his eyes and spoke, "Cry. I give you the right to cry and weep for as long as you want to. Just this once, but no more."

"Neuro...." Jade's voice came out choked before a torrent of tears burst forth and she raised her voice in a keening wail as her body rocked and contorted against him with every sob. For once, she clung to the demon, hiding her face in his shoulder as she cried, pouring out everything. And he let her, simply looking off to the side with a disinterested look as he let the girl cling to him, crying until she ran out of tears. No, he would never understand her grief. The closest he could ever come to understanding it would probably the sense of loss when one of his powerful pawns. "Are you done?" he finally asked after her sobs had receded.

She nodded and Neuro gazed thoughtfully down at her. "Answer me one thing, slave. Did he leave you a fond memory in that letter?"

"Aa... he said I was like a ray of sunlight to him..."

"Then you're not reading between the lines, you worm. He knows he's let you down, he's worried you might do something, but at the same time he knows that it's alright if it's you. If it's you, there's no problem. No matter what trial there is, you'll surely climb over it, is what he knows." A rare smile graced the demon's face as he placed a finger right between her breasts. "There will always be a heavy weight here, but be glad you are still alive and able to do what you want to do. Believe that he will return, hold on to that belief, and one day he will. And during this span of time, while you wait, become a shining light that will guide him back to yourself. He left you with sweet words and memories, and he has apologized while indirectly thanking you. Cherish those, and use it to support yourself. Evolve, worm. And become a glowing butterfly that will tell him where to find you next time."

Jade gazed in wonder up at him as he lifted himself off her and stood, straightening his clothes. "Neuro...." she asked, pushing herself up to look at him. "Why are you saying this to me? Why even try to cheer me up?"

Glancing over his shoulder, Neuro simply answered. "Because humans are my food source. And your race has the ability to evolve magnificently and produce even more succulent mysteries that appeal to my appetite. Evolve, Jade Cross. And let me see what you'll become."

As he left through the window, Jade sighed to herself, holding up one hand to her chest. Like Neuro said, there was a heavy weight there, one that she'd have to get used to. It wasn't easy losing someone close. And it wasn't easy to follow his instructions either. But then again, if the butterfly didn't have a hard time squeezing out of it's cocoon, then it wouldn't have the strength to spread it's wings, wouldn't it? She needed the strength. Neuro's words had given her a newfound confidence, and she promised herself... she would become a shining light, a beacon so that wherever she may be, the man she care for would be able to find her. It was a promise.

Complicated

A/N: Another AU fic. Yes, people. I'm sure you have to be sick of it by now. Buuut.... well, unfortunately I need to get my head out of this.

Especially since I managed to get my hand on a Devil May Cry 4 Artbook... which btw, contains more DMC3 than 4, urrgh. Now, I don't really know if I should feature Nero in this, since he's a good few years younger than Dante, and I'm using the DMC3 ver. of Dante in this AU. (University life, ppl! I wanna throw myself off a roof! XD)

Life is only bearable when you either smash up some innocent, unsuspecting stuff, or you have good ole Dante around to put the fun and sex in your life. XD

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Complicated

Imagine school life, work and a shit-load of assignments out to get you. Combine that with love and some demons, and what do you get? A very complicated life indeed. AU DanteXOC

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Complicated

MazdaKitsune

Chapter 1- Encounter

"It's a super hot day today....."

The girl with the red dress-shirt and jeans complained to herself as she slung her dark blue bag over her shoulder, on which the Netherlands flag was displayed on one side. A red file rested in her arm as she made her way to the food-mall in front of the University, emerald eyes squinting in the bright sunlight. A small frown rested on her lips as she laboriously walked out into the sun to avoid the throng of students crowding the corridor, flipping out a pink cell-phone and speed dialling a number. Yes, it was a very hot day, and Jade wasn't feeling so happy as she trudged to the mall with the only intention of getting herself a bottle of chilled water.

"Hello?" A female voice answered after the third ring.

"Hey, Aylen? It's Jade. I feel really stupid for asking this, but... where's our class supposed to be again?"

"Tutorial Room 12."

"That... would be at Block B, wouldn't it?"

"Did the holidays mess with your sense of direction again?" Aylen asked mildly, but there was a hint of teasing in her voice. "Yes, it's in Block B."

"Right, I'll see you in a few. Thanks." Jade sighed and stowed her phone away in her jeans pocket before letting out a soft cough. That's it, no more walking around in the sun for me.... Just the day before, she had been helping out a friend deliver brochures advertising some new product (with a special discount and mystery gift, if you're one of the lucky 50 that call this number now! And insert cheesy voice and smile here) under the scorching hot sun for two whole hours just to cover their territory. The pay wasn't much, but it had been her friend, and she felt obliged to help him.

Besides, she needed the exercise anyway. She was getting a bit fat around the edges.......

She coughed again as she made it into the cool confines of the mall and headed straight for the convenience store to grab a chilled bottle of water the fridge. The mall wasn't a large shopping mall with posh shoe stores, and chic boutiques. It was a mini food mall, with lots of cafes on the ground floor, catering to the students and lecturers of the University plus the workers from nearby offices. Whoever decided to build that food-mall was a definite genius, and was probably going to be a millionaire in a few years time; the food was really quite pricey. It did have a cellphone shop, a computer store, a cyber cafe and a hair saloon on the ground floor as well, the first and second floors were reserved for the University's Hospitality and Tourism Faculty.

"That'll be one dollar, please." The girl at the counter said with a cheery smile on her face.

Shit. This wasn't good. Jade only had a fifty dollar note in her purse. "Um... hold on for a sec..." Hurriedly unzipping her bag, she felt around for her coin pouch and began fumbling around inside it for some coins. A tickle had started in her throat, and she was desperate to just open the bottle and take a gulp of water.

"Don't bother, I have an extra dollar to spare."

An arm reached out over her and she looked up at the male who had just spoken.... and paid for her water. Cerulean eyes looked down at her, and she vaguely recognized the silver hair was just as attention catching as the male's roguishly handsome looks. A smile broke out on his face and he handed her the cold bottle, winking slightly. "It's a hot day out there. You'd better start drinking the cold water before it turns warm."

"Thanks," Jade said slowly, placing the coin pouch back into her bag and zipping it up before taking the bottle from him. "I'll pay you back once I break down this fifty dollar note."

"Nah, it's fine." The male followed her out of the shop and leaned against the glass, shoving a hand in his pocket. He wore a red tank top and black khaki pants, colours that were as eye catching as the red dress-shirt she wore. "You're Jade, right? I remember you from the orientation week. You're the only girl that wasn't afraid to jump right in and have fun with the seniors. But you had straight hair back then."

He reached out, grasped a lock of her ebony hair, and she flushed slightly red, lowering the bottle that she was drinking from. "Yeah, I got into the Korean hairstyles after watching a few dramas... You're Dante, aren't you? You and your twin brought your dad to argue out the fact that your natural hair colour is white."

"Hey, hey. It's silver, babe. Not white. There's a difference there." Dante grinned from his 6' height, something that Jade lamented as she looked up at him, only being 5'3''. God, he was so much taller than her..... "That hairstyle looks good on you. Gives off a whole innocence vibe."

"I'm far from innocent." Jade snorted, but she couldn't help grinning back at him. "I suppose I should be getting to class. God knows how much time I've already wasted out here."

"Could I get your number before you go?" Dante joked, and was given a shove on his shoulder that nearly made him lose his balance.

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The class seemed almost empty when Jade entered, her eyes settling on the golden-haired sitting at the table with a laptop open in front of her. "Hey, Aylen."

"Hey, Jade." Aylen replied, almond-shaped hazel eyes looking up and resting calmly on the shorter girl. "Class got cancelled. Come on, don't give me that shocked face," she protested when she received a shocked look and a dropped jaw. "I've already had five to ten people give me the exact same expression when they walked in. There's a list back there, go write down your name so our lecturer knows you at least turned up for class."

"It's not like I skip class all the time," Jade whined as she dropped down in a chair beside Aylen. "Why did I even wake up for today? English was cancelled in the morning, but at least the lecturer emailed us. Now I come all the way here just to find out that Business Comm. is off to? I should have just stayed in bed."

"Jaaaddiiieee!" Hands landed on her sides and she gave a squeal before shooting up and turning round to glare at the mischievous blond that had given her a tickle shock.

"Sorina!"

"Hey you!" Sorina giggled and hugged her before promptly taking the chair that her friend had shot out of. "I missed you, you know that? Holidays just wasn't the same without you!"

"I know, sorry. I was busy working and all." Jade reached over and plucked a blue pen from behind Sorina's ear and wandered over to the table right behind them to write down her name and matrix card number on the list. A slightly plump boy sighed in patient exasperation, his table having become something akin to an autograph booth, and she gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry, Ed. Anyway, Aylen.... that assignment you were talking about? I have my part in my file. I don't really know how to elaborate much on it, but I did my best."

"Don't worry about it. You did your part, I'll take care of the rest." Aylen reached out for the file, but Sorina was faster. The blonde flipped through the printed out notes, her eyelined eyes widening slightly. "Whoa, girl. That's much more than me. You sure you did this yourself?"

"What do you think? Three pages, that's all I could deliver. Take it or leave it." Jade scooped up her bag with a sigh, holding out her hand to receive her file. "There's nothing for me to do here, I'm going to the cyber cafe. What about you?"

"Can't. Gotta wait for my brother," Sorina placed the file in Jade's hand with a sigh, making a face. "It's crazy trying to live with my older brother sometimes. He thinks his my bodyguard or something."

"At least it's better than a brother who constantly tries to pretend you don't exist." Aylen closed her laptop with a 'click', an air of finality about her. "I'm just waiting for the day where he chases me out of the house." Picking up her sling bag and putting the laptop away, she walked off, giving a wave without looking back. "I'm heading home."

"And I'm out of here. The cyber world awaits." Jade grinned and sidestepped a lunge from Sorina, hurrying out of there before she could be persuaded to keep the girl company. Unfortunately for her, she didn't see where she was going and ran smack into someone, dropping the file she was carrying.

"Be careful." A familiar voice rumbled and she looked up into a familiar visage of cerulean eyes and silver hair. But the easy-going warmth and mischief was missing, leaving only a cool, calculative look. That and the clothes had changed to black slacks and a neatly tucked-in blue shirt. The top two buttons were open, giving her a glimpse of a chain and rather large ruby pendant, something she remembered Dante wearing as well.

"Dante...?"

"No." He sighed irritably and ran a hand through his hair to slick it back. "I am not to be confused with the fool of my brother, though it can't be helped since he used up my bottle of gel yesterday. My name is Vergil."

"Oh, um... sorry." Jade dipped her head slightly in sheepish apology and brushed by him to get to the lifts, but Vergil stopped her again.

"Hold on. Is this yours?" He had gone down on his knees to pick up her forgotten file. His cool eyes swept over the colourful notes in her neat handwriting, then stopped and lingered over a drawing of a young angel she had placed in front of everything. "You're an artist?"

"No, it's just a hobby." Jade hurried back and took her file from him, haphazardly pushing everything back inside while murmuring a "thanks". Damn, she'd have to rearrange everything again when she got back home. "I don't draw much, really don't have the talent to. But sometimes inspiration just hits me and I can't help but pick up the pencil."

"Nevertheless, it's a good drawing. Tell me, this is the Business Communication class, isn't it?" Vergil stood, regarding the female that stood before him. Slightly short for her age, lean body suggested she ran often and had poor eating habits, not at all that pretty, but easy on the eyes. Her gaze suggested intelligence and a good memory, but her posture hinted a bit of laziness. A very interesting girl.

"Yeah, but the lecturer cancelled, and no one knew." Jade shrugged. "Anyway, there's a list for the attending students to write their names down on so they knows who came today and who didn't."

"Thank you." And without a another word, Vergil entered the classroom, leaving her alone. Blinking at his back, the girl shrugged before leaving to head to the mall. Ten minutes later and she plonked her bag down on the comfy seat at the back of the Cyber Cafe, listening briefly to the shouts of Counter Strike and Dota players before opening her own online game.

Her Perfect World awaited, and her Were Fox smiled at her.

The Reality

A/N: Snow shipping. This is NOT a SnowXOC fic. I understand full well that Snow is in love with Serah and will ALWAYS be in love with her. But we all know his hero-complex, don't we? :3 He's everyone's hero, always will be.

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The Reality

He didn't love her, and she accepted that. But Jade could not ignore her reality, not when it was staring her in her face.

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The Reality

MazdaKitsune

"The reality of it all is," Jade Cross puffed as she crossed a stack of crystals and wobbled precariously on the edge of a small chasm before Snow Villers held out his hand to help her jump over. "That I love you and I can't do anything about it. Oops!"

She stumbled, and Snow chuckled as he caught her around her small waist and easily lifted the lighter girl over the small hole that her foot had gotten caught in and swung her onto his back, continuing on as if she weighed nothing.

"The reality of it all it," Jade continued complaining in a matter-of-fact tone while linking her arms around his neck so she wouldn't fall off. "That I know you'll never be able to return those feelings to me because you love Serah, and she's all you've ever been mentioning since the start of our mission."

Snow simply smiled, but kept his silence as he pushed on forwards to cross the Lake of Crystals. It was cruel and cold of him not to respond to her words, but what she said was true, and he was used to her constant chatter. She had a fun, easy-going personality just like Vanille, but she was a frank person, the type to speak her mind regardless of person or place. To answer her was to invoke an argument; the best was to just keep quiet and let her prattle on till she ran out of steam.

"The reality of it all is that whatever I do, I'll never be able to escape the fate of being an I'Cie, and that I'm either going to end up as a Cie Corpse, or face the same fate as Serah; becoming immortalized in crystal."

Lightning sent her a little disapproving frown from the front where she was leading, the name and fate of her sister catching her attention. Vanille gave a nervous little titter, Hope's gaze darting back and forth between Lightning and Jade. Everyone knew of their inescapable fate; death. Death in the form of turning into a monster, or turning into a crystal. Serah Farron, the sister of Lightning Farron, had managed to complete her Focus, her mission, and had subsequently turned into a statue of crystal, beautiful and immortalized in every shard. Snow's eyes were downcast, filled with frustration and sadness. "Jade," he began, but she cut him off, having finally garnered an answer.

"The reality of it all is," she closed her eyes. "That I don't know what my Focus is, not even now, and I'm scared because I don't want to. I don't want to die."

Neither of them wanted to. "Jade-"

"The reality of it all is that more arrows are appearing on my Mark, and I'm running out of time."

"Jade." Snow stopped walking, his voice firm so she wouldn't be able to interrupt him again. "We'll pull through this. I promise you that. I won't let anything happen to you, I'll protect you."

Jade blinked at him, then chuckled softly. "You have a hero complex, you know that?" Always rushing into danger first to draw it to yourself so we others have a chance to escape. But Snow... you can't protect everyone. Sometimes death is a necessary, a sacrifice."

"I'll avoid that if I have to," Snow answered vehemently. "I won't let anyone die, not even you. Besides... you're always not far behind when I go rushing into danger like you said."

"That's because I'm a Song Sorceress," she sniffed. "My powers specialize in supporting, healing and buffing. If it wasn't for me and my shielding, you would be a goner by now."

Snow laughed and began walking again, hoisting her higher on his back. "You forgot, I'm a hero. Hero's don't die, no matter the situation. I'll always turn up to save the day in the end."

Jade giggled at that, hugging him a bit more tighter. "The reality of it all is, that's the reason why I fell in love with you in the first place," she whispered.

Snow smiled, looking on ahead. "I'll always protect you, Jade."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

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"The reality of it all is," Jade whispered as she began to crystallize, eyes swimming with tears, but shinning with contentment and life. Her hand was still stretched out, clasped in the disbelieving Snow's, but even then, the power of the Fal' Cie's "reward" began pulling it back towards himself to form the pose of a noble statue. "That I lied. I knew what my Focus was from the start. It was to protect you, Snow Villers... until the time comes when you need me no longer."

"Jade..." All Snow could do was hold her hand until it was dragged away from him, sorrow in his eyes. Behind him, Vanille let out a little sob, Hope reaching up to put a hand on her shoulder. The two women had been particularly close with their cheerfulness and optimism, the sunshine of the group, and Vanille was sad to see her end her mission now, right before the final stage.

"Thank you for everything, Snow..." Jade smiled at him, though the blue glow was already creeping up her neck, turning her face eerily transparent. "The reality of it all is, I'm not scared, not any more. Thank you for being with me till the end..."

Her voice trailed off into a melodious tinkle, and her body arched as she raised her face to the sun. For a while, she could still feel the warmth of the sunlight on her face, and she smiled, letting her tears flow. She was content that she was able to protect the most important person to her until the end. All that mattered was that Snow was safe, and it was up to him now to fulfil the rest of his mission and get back to Serah safely. They would all be without her protection, but she trusted them enough to not get themselves killed before their Focus was over.

There was a strange feeling of floating, peculiar tranquillity that stole over her, and suddenly, Jade realized it wasn't scary at all. It was just like falling asleep, but for how long, she didn't know. Her skin hardened, and in a blue flash of light, it was all over. And she was yet another beautiful statue carved intricately out of crystal itself, a monument of a heroine or a Goddess long forgotten by men.

Yet another victim of the Fal' Cie.

Lightning turned away and began pushing on again, but under her impassive face was a heavy heart of frustration, rage and sorrow. "Come on. There's nothing we can do for Jade now. Her Focus is complete."

One by one, they turned and followed, but Snow lingered behind, gazing up at Jade's softly glowing crystal. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I'm sorry I can't return your love, but I'll keep my promise. I'll find that Fal' Cie and destroy it so you and Serah can be freed and safe. Just wait and see, Jade."

And with that, the self-proclaimed hero turned and strode away briskly to catch up with the rest of the group, leaving the crystal statue behind.

The Truth Beneath The Rose

A/N: Vampire Knight. Yes. I know. The title is from Within Temptation's album: 'The Heart Of Everything'. I won't make this long, I'm tired and I have college to go to tomorrow, but the idea played around in my head after an RP with Kaien, and one of my resolutions for 2010 was to make sure this blog didn't die. XD Seriously, my postings got lesser and lesser as the years went by. Let's try to change that this year.
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The Truth Beneath The Rose
For the life of her, Ruka couldn't figure out why Kaname had allowed a huntress-turned-vampire to enroll in the Night Class, and she intended to get her answers, once and for all. Slight ZeroxOC if you squint.
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The Truth Beneath The Rose
MazdaKitsune

She was down there. Without even looking, Souen Ruka knew that their recent addition to the Night Class was lounging on the sofa in the common room, drinking a cup of tea. Her nose wrinkled delicately with dislike as she elegantly swept down the stairs, sweeping her long and wavy blond hair over her shoulder. Her roommate, Toya Rima was on the second couch, eating Pocky, but Ruka knew that Rima could care less for the other girl silently keeping her company.

"Souen-san." The shorter black haired girl with emerald eyes greeted politely, going as far as to stand and offer Ruka her seat, but the taller vampire declined with a wave of her hand.

"Don't bother yourself, Kamaitachi. I can sit with Rima." Ruka said, almost coldly as she joined Rima, the younger and decidedly even more blond girl saying nothing but rolling her blue eyes in their direction. Few things ever caught Rima's attention, unless it was Kaname-sama's orders, modeling, or suspected boyfriend Shiki Senri. She and him were so much alike; they were models and one of the youngest students for the Night Class, seemed to lack interest in things around them, had and spoke in a deadpan expression, and sometimes even seemed to read each others' minds, speaking together in a coordinated fashion.

Kamaitachi Ryorin nodded and sat down again, resuming the sipping of her tea quietly. She stared at nothing in particular, emerald eyes gazing at the closed double doors as though trying to memorize their shape and pattern, and Ruka wrinkled her nose further before turning away. For the life of her.... she would NEVER understand WHY Kaname-sama had allowed her into their class. Ryorin was no noble, and she certainly wasn't a vampire to begin with either. No, Ryorin was like that damned Kiryuu Zero, a Level D that would gradually fall to a Level E.

Kamaitachi Ryorin had been a young huntress from a different school, sent to work at the Hunter's Association as an intern. It was there that she had met Cross Kaien, and after accidentally stumbling on a secret meeting meant to assassinate him, was bitten by a Pureblood Vampire. She didn't remember much about the incident, her memory hazy and distant after she had come to, weak and cold from loss of blood, but Kaien had saved her and brought her back to Cross Academy. Ryorin knew that she wasn't human anymore, and battling the rising vampire instincts inside her, agreed to enroll as a student in the Academy's Night Class, under the watchful eye of Kuran Kaname, the most powerful Pureblood. So to say Ruka was NOT happy when Kaname gave Ryorin his pure and precious blood to stave off insanity would be misleading; she was furious. She was certain things would end up like Zero, who had totally no respect for Kaname whatsoever. She didn't see the point in helping a turned human, especially when eventually the bloodlust would drive them insane.

Perhaps she was just hoping that when the time came, she would be able to kill Ryorin off herself.

But the girl in particular was sitting so comfortably on the sofa, drinking tea as if she belonged and was one of them, so utterly relaxed and unaware that Ruka felt like throttling her. But a noble wouldn't do such an unsightly thing as that, so instead, she sniffed with disdain and leaned back against the sofa, crossing her arms and legs.

"Why are you here?"

"Hmm?" Ryorin turned round to face her, then shrugged after contemplating the question. "Because I enrolled here, I guess."

"No, I mean... why are you, a human turned vampire, even sitting and sleeping among us nobles?" Ruka's brown eyes settled on her unblinkingly. "You are an outcast from your people, and the rest of the vampires look down on you. Do you even understand the criticisms you get? The situation you're in?"

Ryorin's face was a careful blank mask like Rima's as she finished off her tea slowly. "Yes... I understand. I know that one day I'll loose my mind to madness and be killed either by the Association, or by you. I also know that the rest of the Night Class are rather wary and hostile of me because I don't belong, but right now, I don't belong to the human race either. Chairman Cross was kind enough to let me in, and Kaname-sama gave me his blood to help slow the process of deteriorating down. But I guess that if I let these facts bog me down, I wouldn't be sitting here and drinking tea as if nothing had happened. To me, life is what I make it, and though I'm no longer human, I'll still try to make the best out of it so it won't pull me down."

"Kiryuu-kun should take a leaf out of her book...." Rima muttered in her deadpan voice as she chomped on her Pocky. "At least Ryorin isn't suicidal or depressed."

"Kaname-sama gave you his blood." Ruka stated, and anger flashed through her eyes. "Just like he gave Kiryuu Zero. But he only did that to ensure protection for Cross Yuuki, making him a pawn. But there's no guarantee that you won't turn around and betray Kaname-sama."

"Kaname-sama saved my life." Ryorin said quietly. "I'm already resigned to the fate of being a vampire, and no matter what others may think, I won't bite the hand that feeds me..... no pun intended there. Perhaps I'm just a piece on his chess board as Zero-kun is, or perhaps he did it only out of a favor of Chairman Cross, but his blood runs in me, and I myself will forever be indebted and loyal to Kaname-sama." She pressed a hand to her heart. "I know you're extremely close and loyal to him, Souen-san... and I'm sorry if my taking of his blood has offended you in any way. I don't expect you to understand, nor do I expect the Night Class to stop criticizing me, but I live my life the way I want it to be." Standing as she heard the chatter of the male vampires coming down the stairs, she straightened the red ribbon she had used to tie the upper layer of her hair together. "And the way I want my life to be now is to be as normal as it can, albeit with some slight changes. I do not wish to be close to Kaname-sama, nor to even try, but I will offer him my undying loyalty and faithfulness. And he will be the one to end me when I wilt away."

A fast and painless death that only Kaname could offer with his powers. Ruka realized her intentions now; Ryorin was once human, and when she fell to the status of a Level E, she didn't want to hurt anyone, and being in a place where nobles and a Pureblood lived together.... she would have a fast death before she even placed a foot outside the Moon Dorm. Perhaps she should have just killed herself, but despair wasn't a part of her, and Ruka could understand that. No one wanted to die, even a suicidal person would wish for life at the very last minute. Ryorin had decided to live as a vampire, and Kaname's kindness was to allow her to continue having a normal life by giving her his blood, and being Death when the time came. She was brave, braver than Ruka could ever be, and the noble found newfound respect for that.

Ruka sighed and got up from the sofa as Aidou Hanabusa's voice filled the room with merry chatter. "Ryorin." She called, and threw a book at the girl with blurring speed. "You forgot your textbook."

Ryorin turned around and easily caught the book in her hand without any problem. "Thank you... Ruka." A cheerful smile curved her lips.

The Moon Dorm's doors opened for the vampires to walk out into the sunset, and a minute later, so did the gates. Walking past the screaming fangirls (plus one fanboy) and a flustered Prefect Yuuki, emerald eyes met empty lavender.

Zero turned from the girl who had suffered the same fate as he, calling her a 'betrayer' in his mind. He had decided to remain human as long as he could, but she had defected so easily to Kuran's side. Still, he couldn't deny that she too had chosen life over death, although in a way very opposite to his. Just like he and Yuuki, they were different, night and day. Yet, he had no desire to hate her, not when he understood what she had to go through.

Ryorin walked on beside Ruka, inclining her head when Kaname turned once, murmuring a respectful, "Kaname-sama" under her breath. He was her king now, offering both life and death, and she was his pawn.

Yet another pawn in a chess game, just like her. Ruka let out a breath, surprised that the feeling of hostility was gone. Now, Ryorin was just another vampire, with feelings to consider and a life to lead. Perhaps... a possible ally and friend. She knew the truth now, and had made her peace. Life must go on.