(DxD Black) Ch. ???: Breakfast

*'C'mon, Zeji! Move, do something! React, please! So what if Julia-chan and Nina-chan are gone? You still got us!'*

*'You're not helping, Rei. Don't make him remember them! Hey, hey, Zenjirou~!'*

*'Brother who stays in mourning, when will be the time for you to move on? It has been a month already! Free yourself from the shackles of shame and regret! There's still your whole existence ahead of you for a single unfortunate event to ruin...'*

*'C'mon, bro! Get ahold of yourself! You're a man, aren't you?! Aren't you?!'*

*'...'*

*'Ah! Ah! It's no use! That fucking uncle Henry broke our brother! Next time he shows up, I am punching the living shit out of him!'*

*'Good luck going to Italy for that; Go-nee. Also, mind your words in front of our 7-years old bro and Futaba.'*

*'I'm just so... Angry! Are you seeing this?! He has been like that for an entire MONTH! I don't want a corpse as a brother!'*

*'You dare to compare the tragic protagonist that is our brother to a unfeeling abomination, sister of mine?! He might be empty now, but at least his hearts beats still, unlike yours!'*

*'Yeah, Akiyama-nee! What the hell!'*

*'Ah! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up you all! I'm doing my best, okay?! To give me some space! I want... I want... to talk to him...'*

*'...'*

*'Hey, Zenjirou.'*

*'...'*

*'I know you're sad about Julia and Nina. We all are, but please, come back to us. Let's play with that Getter Robo dad gave us and watch Ultraman. Please...'*

*'...'*

*'C'mon... Say something... Chuif, chuif... I'm your sister, Zenjirou. Seeing you like this... Makes me sad...'*

*'...'*

*'Say something...'*

*'...'*

*'It's useless, Gou-nee. Zenjirou is gone now. You're right about one thing: we have a corpse as a brother.'*

*'This is so... anti-poetic. Tragic; even.'*

*'Damn...'*

*'Zenjirou...'*

*'...'*

*'SAY SOMETHING, YOU IDIOT!'*

***\*PUNCH!\****

*' ' 'FUTABA!' ' '*

*'Shut up! So what if he's like that?! He's still our bro! I don't want a dead someone as a bro! That's not cool! And If he's broken... He'll just have to fix him, right?! Right?!'*

*'Sister of mine, your thought process has proven to me nonsensical.'*

*'Shut it! Stop saying hard stuff!'*

*'Ah, poor Zeji. Bet you didn't even feel that one, wrapped in your own melancholy. Your state is truly... An unfortunate result of unfortunate events. What should we do now, Gou-nee?'*

*'We tried everything. Not even a doctor can fix him. Our only choice is... Wait. Wait until we can see some reactions. One day, one day he'll have to react to something. Until then, we must keep trying...'*

*'And if not?'*

*'Then... Unfortunately, we'll have a zombie as a brother.'*

...

...

"Uh..." Ow~, why is my head spinning so much? I had a good night of sleep, yet I feel uneasily heavy. Events of the past night started to bundle on my head, so I bit my lips feeling the heat of shame spread all over my face. I sighed, and when I could finally open my eyes, I saw that I was lying on quite a big bed, covered by pure white sheets and wearing nothing but boxers; which were smelling quite good. This isn't my room, such an obvious state. I laid again on the soft pillows and grunted irritably. Damn it; one of those nights...

"Oh; you're already up. Quite surprising." I heard a voice aiming to me, so my eyes scanned around the area, only to divert the moment they laid on the figure of a semi-naked girl getting dressed. Ah! I forgot, this isn't my room! And it's already morning! Ugh! A sting of pain crossed my head, and combined with the nervous sweat, made me look a little worse than bad. I heard a soft hum. "Wasn't that a delightful, yet surprisingly innocent, reaction? Zenjirou-dono, no need to be shy when you already explore every corner of my being. I won't also mind you looking at me like that."

"D-Defrah-san! Stop trying to play with me!" I said, biting my lips and pointing at a random direction where I last saw the head-maid of the Allocer house. I heard a muffled giggle who seemed to mock me. After that, silence, just hearing the sound of folded cloth and hard heels touching the cold floor. I dunno why, but containing myself like that is kinda sad. I peeked a little from a little opening between my fingers, and could see Defrah-san's naked back and rear, soon pulling out a dark-blue maid robe and knotting the strips of her maid apron. She's really pretty. She was about to turn around, and for that, I closed the opening between my fingers and turned away, hoping she didn't see me. I'll be damned if she marks me as a pervert! "Seriously..."

"It's alright now, Zenjirou-dono. I'm completely dressed." She spoke, and giving a nervous laugh, I turned around and removed my hands from my face, just peeking from one of my eyes just so she doesn't grow too suspicious. I saw her giggle, and I opened both my eyes for her. There she was, completely dressed in a dark-blue maid uniform, her azure hair pulled in a clumsy ponytail with a frilly headgear and orange eyes shining at me with a calm yet intense stare. I blushed a little, and so did her. "Ara, Zenjirou-dono. Such intense, devouring stare, it makes me feel defenseless..."

"A-Ah! Sorry!" And again I turned around to avoid her image. Damnit! Great, now she'll think I'm a big pervert! I mean, I understand what we did, but now that I'm in control of myself, I have no excuse to talk to her about! After a few seconds complete silence, I turned back to her, and she was still laughing a little. Sigh, she's indeed one of those people who likes to torment others. A cold breeze blew on me, and I shivered a little, also remembering that I was semi-naked myself. I covered myself with the sheets once more. "Uuuuh... Defrah-san, my clothes..."

"There it go, Zenjirou-dono." I gasped when I saw her placing my pajamas on top of her bed, neatly folded and smelling fresh like they were out of the laundry. Wow, that's the Allocer maid efficiency in person! I uncovered one of my hands, the cold air outside still being a big issue, to pick my clothes back, and then got dressed under them, finally being able to push aside the blankets and stand up besides the bed to stretch myself. I yawned, and turned to Defrah-san. "But this colours me surprised, however. Since we stayed awake until late night, I thought you would awake much, much later, Zenjirou-dono."

"Don't worry, Defrah-san." I yawned once again, now buttoning up the collar of my pajamas. "I just had a dream... Or rather, a nightmare."

"Oh my, how unfortunate." She spoke, her hand on her lips indicating she was either giggling or mildly shocked by my words. She has shown so much of her personality last night(and a lot of other things more... DAMNIT!), I'm kinda divided which one is the right one. "If you don't mind me asking, what was about?"

"..."

"Zenjirou-dono...?"

"I... Don't remember. Not at all. Besides, for me, every dream is a nightmare." I sighed, holding my head a little as I tried, and failed; to remember. I remember that it was really weird, really bizarre, and involved my family. I don't know what it was, but thinking about it makes me anxious for some reason. That's what I don't like about dreams: they make me feel anxious, and thinking about them really pisses me off. I turned my stare back at her, and bit my lower lips. "Sorry for that. I think I have that habit of overthinking things..."

"As long it doesn't bring harm to others, it's okay to have habits, Zenjirou-dono." She spoke; and I was so into thoughts again I only noticed her hovering shadow over me when she hugged her arms around my neck, resting her wrists on the curve of my neck and locking her fingers on my nape. "I, as an example, wouldn't mind to be embraced until I fall asleep as you did. I guarantee that neither would Lavinia-sama or other members of your peerage. It's fine to be self-indulgent sometimes."

"..." I didn't say a word. Not the stock 'I don't have a harem', nor the typical 'I'm not like this', I just continued to stare at the pretty Defrah Leraje, with nothing yet everything in my mind. My face is almost on fire, and I couldn't do anything either. 'Being self-indulgent is fine once in a while'... I somehow don't mind this idea as much as I did before. "Was I... Was I a good lover, even for a night, Defrah-san?"

"..." A second. For a split-second, I saw the calm and playful Defrah-San wide her eyes and back a little in surprise, as I just said something... I dunno, lewd or strange. And I swear, even I am freaked out by what I just said. She calmed down an instant later, and smiled softly, bending her arms and approaching dangerously close to me. That scare was so sudden I couldn't react in time, and then she placed her lips on my own, but it wasn't a kiss. She just touched my lips with her own, then spoke, blowing her hot breath on my lips. "Zenjirou-dono, I know you'll make my mistress and the rest of your harem very happy."

For that, nothing. Defrah-san's words, for some reason; were too heavy for me. I dunno why, but my chest is heavy after those words. That was a compliment, yet I don't want her to ever say those words again. We separated lips yet again, and flashed again and flashed me an tired, serene but melancholic smile. I finally could move, so I blinked a few times, and reached one of my hands for her wrist on one of my shoulders. I gave it a light rub, my pathetic way to try to comfort her sadness; and shared stares with her. I dunno why, but there's something about her that really pisses me off. Or rather, there's something about her, and I can't do anything about it, and that pisses me off. When I came back to it, her hands were now holding my cheeks in place, while her thumbs were massaging my cheeks...

"Sharing your tears with me, I'm honoured, Zenjirou-dono..."

"Eh...?" I blinked, and my vision became clearer, while a hot stream ran down from it. Damn it, my eyes sting, I didn't even notice the tears. That's another problem in overthinking: I make a complete idiot out of myself! When she was done, we return in staring at each other without saying a word, my throat so dry even breathing was pain. I clenched my teeth. "Defrah-san..."

"I appreciate your kindness, I immensely do. However, please don't pity me." She said cutting me off, and really catching me off guard. So, it's that what I'm feeling? Pity? That's so pathetic, insulting even. Pitying someone else, that's really the worst I could feel about her. Before I could say anything, she pulled me closer to herself, touched foreheads with me, and hummed a song under her breath. I again reached my hand for her own on my face. "My body is the only thing holding me, yet I'm satisfied with my life. This is completely out of my control, so I can only be happy by the ends I can. But don't pity me, Zenjirou-dono. For living with Berolina, Lavinia-sama, and for meeting you, are prime exemples that I can find happiness like that. So don't pity someone as happy as me."

"..." So she can happy like this. That's actually very mature of her. She's not throwing her hands in the air and letting everything go to hell, just living her life, she's... Finding happiness even with all of that baggage. Now I feel like garbage, real garbage. I dunno if this is about me or how she handle things. "I'm sorry."

"Do not feel bad, Zenjirou-dono. I've said this before, your care for me makes me happy." She said, poking me in the nose and giggling under her breath, the atmosphere lifting around us and her warm smile making me give a satisfied and relief breath. "But please, keep in mind not everyone will give you such response. So don't pity others at random."

"I don't... Do that often." I said back. After that, silence; we both alone in this room, with nothing but heartbeats and breaths. Defrah-san... Is very smart and beautiful. I continued to caress the hand on my cheek with my thumb; and she laughed a little. This feeling of being so close to someone... It's good, it's nice. We're not lovers, yet this soothing sensation is making me feel great. It's like... She really loves me. But we're not lovers.

We're not lovers.

"Uh... Defrah-san. I hope I'm not... Making you waste your time as a maid. We should... We should probably get going..."

"We could do that... But could you... Give me one more moment as a lover?"

"..."

"..."

"Sure."

"Thank you."

**\*Chu~\***

Oh, crap. I hope this*one more moment* don't make us lose breakfast...

.

~~x~~

.

"Bitch."

"Filthy pig."

"Good-for-nothing psycho lesbian."

"Cursed horndog."

Ah! Zenjirou-san and Guan Yu-san are at it again. After waking up with Shoda-san, Tasha-san, Miyuu-san, Dai Liu-san and miss Liu Bei for breakfast, I decided to eat my last meal here in the underworld with all the tasty food Lavinia-san's servants and comrades do, but those two were already here fighting! Hiiih~, I thought Zenjirou-san said he would try to get along with Guan Yu-san! I-I mean! I'm not mad, and i should say sorry for thinking I was ordering him! I just want those two to stop fighting! But, but there's something odd now! I mean, I know Zenjirou-san is not a weird person, I'm sorry!, but there's something here...

"Lu Long, why is Guan Yu sitting on your lap?"

Miss Liu Bei said with everyone was ignoring the bickering between them, pointing at the odd hint I was thinking. For some reason, Guan Yu-san was sitting on the lap of Zenjirou-san, and while there were insulting each other, she had her arm hooked on his neck! U-uh~, did i miss something? I hope I didn't! Hearing that, both of them stopped with the bad words to look at the pink-haired sister of Dai Liu, blush and look away. Ah! So something happened!

"It's... It's not like that, Ryuubi-dono." Zenjirou-san said with a pout, adjusting his seat so that Guan Yu-san would sit more properly on his lap. Ah! He's blushing! "Kan'u is still a total bitch, but... We kinda solved our problems, and I came to the conclusion that she's... She's not that bad."

"Is that so?" Aria-san, headmistress Berolina-san's Queen, opened a smile and supported herself on the table, munching on pie. Miss Liu Bei hummed those same words under her breath with also a smile, now looking at Guan Yu-san.

"Positively." She said with a bitter face, clinging on Zenjirou-san's shirt with her hand. "Do not misunderstand us, Mistress Liu Bei. Lu Long does no have my blessings, but now I must admit is slightly misjudged his capabilities, and while I'm not majorly fathomed, to ignore such for petty pride is foolish indeed."

And they came back to eat breakfast. Eeeh, I don't understood much, but I could only sigh in relief, knowing the Zenjirou-san and Guan Yu-san are getting along. Everyone else was kinda scared by this, but at least Zenjirou-san kept his promise. Uh, I don't think I'm the only one noticing this, but where's Lavinia-san? I bit my cake and munched a little on it, but even so, I continued to search for her. Headmistress Berolina is also missing! Hiiih~, did something happen to them?!

"Oh~hoh? Getting along, you two?" Tasha-san now speaks, leaning on the table and blinking fast at Zenjirou-san and Guan Yu-san. Shoda-san and Yoko-san was right, she's really dangerous! The two blushed a little, which served as a cue for her. "Anything happen? Lewd stuff?"

"Tasha, not everything is sex!" Hiih~, he said it! Everybody laughed for his outburst, but only me and Daruma-san blushed for that! Zenjirou-san's very bold for that. "I said it already! We met yesterday, sorted things out, and now I see she's something more then a bitch!"

"Indeed, witch of flames!" Spat Guan Yu-san with a scary tone."The brass Dragon and I finished our pending quarrel yesterday; and out of respect, I'm allowing him to stay this close to me as a public announcement of our willing, although still-begrudging, alliance and partnership."

"Oh, really?" Tasha-san continued to insist. Her purple eyes were half-lit, so it was very hard for me to see if she were still bullying them or she was seriously curious about it. Tasha-san is so smart, she can hide her intentions pretty well! Zenjirou-san and Guan Yu-san were still blushing and pouting.

"What are you insinuating, witch? That's all that has to it!"

"Yeah! That's all! Nothing strange happened! We just... Solved our quarrel!"

"Indeed! We solved our quarrel..."

"Exactly!"

"In bed."

**\*PUNCH!\***

"You dumb general! What the fuck?!"

"If you'r going to hit me, HIT ME *HARDER*, HERETIC DRAGON!"

Hiiiih~, what's going on~?!

"So much noise in the morning! Shut up, you all!"

"Oh, hey Beroli- Whoa!" We all turned to the direction of the door, and Aria-san greeted the voice that belonged to headmistress Berolina. However, when she opened the door; we all gasped in horror: Her and Lavinia-san had heavy bags under their eyes, drowsy expressions, messed hairs and bruises all over! They look like zombies like that! Aria-san was the first to manifest herself, standing up to help Headmistress Berolina and, after Guan Yu got off his lap, Zenjirou-san following to help Lavinia-san sit on a chair. Headmistress used the back of her chair to support her body to finally sit, while Lavinia-san was helped by Zenjirou-san to sit on her seat next to him and Guan Yu-san. "Ara, ara; what in the world happened to you two? Fighting again in the middle of the night? That's so childish of you, Berolina."

"None of that, Aria." Headmistress Berolina said with a yawn, and without losing a second, Defrah-san used her super-maid powers to pour an entire cup of coffee to Berolina-san and drop two cubes of sugar. The older Allocer nodded and took a sip, sighing deeply. "It's just... Due to some inconveniences last night, me and Rina end up bonding a little at night. I taught her some things and before we knew it; the sun was rising. Isn't that right, Lavinia?"

"..." Lavinia-san said nothing, only nodded before dropping her face on the porridge in front of her, but not before shooting a nasty look at Zenjirou-san just after sitting back down; who tensed up quite a bit; and shot his eyes to the maid Defrah-san, who simply giggled under a hand in her mouth.

"See? See, Whiswain-chin? This is the start of a tragic love story. Open your eyes, see the drama." Tasha-san hooked my neck with her arm and said those words in my ear, like it's kind of dark Secret. I didn't understand much, but for some reason, Zenjirou-san tensed a lot for it. It's almost scary. Tasha-san drew with her pointer finger a heart between Lavinia-san and Zenjirou-san. Then she pointed at Defrah-san. "Sasamoto-chin likes women how one likes sheets. First neat, then messy... Then replaced with the maid."

"Eh? I don't get it." I really don't get it, but Zenjirou-san started to look at us with such a nasty look it's scary~! I bet is something lewd~!

"Pure, innocent, Whiswain-chin. Sasamoto-chin will be your whiskey."

"But I don't drink, Tasha-san."

"As in..."

"Tasha, you say something else to corrupt her, and I'll scream your name in a megaphone." Zenjirou-san said with a straight face, and when I turned to Tasha-san, she was blushing, and after mumbling something, she turned around with a pout and started to eat her cake. Ah! Zenjirou-san's powers are showing again!

"Well then; now that we have some peace, let us enjoy the rest of the meal in the underworld." Miss Liu Bei said with a smile, caressing the hair of her protégée out of control, and she didn't even notice much since she was biting Zenjirou-san's cheek; and blushing while he would bite her back. Then she turned to Berolina-san who was drinking a cup of coffee after another. "Master Berolina, are you taking the special transportation with us for our voyage back to the Human World?"

"Unfortunately no, Miss Ryuubi. I still have some work to do before going back to Kuoh. Aria will be there first though to organize my things." She yawned a little, now munching in a piece of bread while Aria-san gave us an thumb up. Now that notice now, Headmistress Nemesis is such a sophisticated lady! She beams so much class, yet she can be super scary too~! She eyed her tired pupils around. "Thanks for minding such matters. If it's for your leisure, you may take a day or two for rest. Taking care of such a troublesome bunch must be tiring."

Hiiih~, that was rude, headmistress Berolina~! I'm trying my beeeest~!

"Kyahahah! You say like I wouldn't be able to do such! As a good reminder, for the descendant on the Great General, who led millions to victory, a smaller group such as this, no matter how troublesome, would never bring me down!" Liu Bei inflated her already big chest with air saying those epic words, and I couldn't help but smile and clap a little, together with Aria-san, Daruma-san, Defrah-san, Miyuu-san and Tasha-san. The rest continues with theirs breakfast; including headmistress Berolina with a gulp of her tea.

"I see. Good to see I've hired such a competent educator... And a good secretary." Master Liu Bei nodded with a bright smile, while Aria-san hugged headmistress Berolina from behind to kiss her on the cheek. Wooow~, first I thought it was super lewd to have so much intimacy between people, but I think I just have to learn more about it on my own, like Zenjirou-san would say! I need... To become bolder and learn how to be like them!

"Good Morning, dears. Have you save some breakfast for me?" A groggy voice entered the room as a whisper for all of us, and from there, Lady Allocer entered wearing a white robe and puffy bunny sandals. Ah! So Lavinia-san's mother is not a morning person too. The three of them; they looked so defeated and tired, it was a little hard to distinguish them... Not much in Lavinia-san's case since her face was still in the porridge. Hiiih~, was that a snark~?! Lady Allocer patted Headmistress's head and helped Lavinia-san get up from her plate. "Oh my; look at this. Looks like someone has been awake for too long. Fighting again?"

"Seriously, mother? You know very well that me and Rina never fought like this." Headmistress hissed with her bright purple eyes, and Lady Allocer arched a mean eyebrow while clean Lavinia-san's face and passing her a spoon to properly ear her food. Ah! she cares~! Everything done, the elder Allocer picked a spoon for herself to start to eat her breakfast next to Aria-san.

"You never know. After all, you two are already big enough to trash this place in no time, something, I might add, am very proud of. My little babies who fought each other to death, I'm so proud." Hiiih~, Lady Allocer's smile is scary now, and Headmistress's scowl is even scarier! I jumped away next to Nadia-san and Jacob-san, as everybody suddenly backed away from the staring contest between the two, only Defrah-san was courageous enough to pour coffee at Lady Allocer. "Berolina, you're already a perfectly healthy adult. You need to take a joke or two as a mature woman."

"I'll learn to take a joke when you learn how to be funny; mother."

"..."

Oh!

.

**X~~ELSEWHERE...~~X**

"..."

"Marye? Honey, what's wrong?"

"I dunno. Maverick, ever felt a ting of satisfaction for no reason at all?"

"Sometimes, but I dismiss it as joy peak of overwork..."

"Uh... Huh... For some reason; I also want to give this palm to Nerio... Am I weird?"

"Did I marry a weird woman?"

"..."

"..."

"I hate your vagueness sometimes."

.

**X~~BACK HERE!~~X**

.

"But anyway, mother, is father going to join us for dinner?" Headmistress asked Lady Allocer, who was now sulking on her seat and munching the inexistent bowl of cereal, drooling milk with every spoon. That's... Sad, really sad. After the question, her eyes were again bright.

"Don't worry, your father is actually training with Evelyn and that Lilim girl. I gotta say, she's stronger than we anticipated." My body tensed the moment I heard the name 'Lilim'! Ah! They're talking about that little girl with... Very freaky aura, so scary! However, the one who tensed up the worst was Zenjirou-san! The crimson aura around him began to ooze too much, and he leaned on the table with grey eyes! Scary~! Lady Nerio must've notice too, she turned to him. "Oh-hoh? Would you like to manifest your opinion regarding as such, Zenjirou?"

"No... Not really." He sighed, and sulked inside his own chair. Ah, his aura is really unnerved, he do wants to say something with her, but for some reason, he doesn't want to. Everybody was a little confused by his little outburst, except Lady Allocer, smiling through and through. "I'm... I'm sorry."

"Don't be. My husband knows what he's doing, so you don't need to worry much. You'll have your opportunity to fight her in the time being." She smiled, and even with that he was still scowling. Guan Yu-san pinched one of his rosy cheeks, and with a sigh, he calmed down. Uhh~... I'm glad that they're getting along. but... But that's so sudden, it's kinda scary. Is this the infamous charm of the brass dragon? "By the way, is it me, or it was a very noisy night?"

**\*SPLASH!\***

"Ah!" And out of the sudden, Zenjirou-san's face kissed the porridge plate, splashing grains all over the place. "Oh my, someone please give him a clock. I think... Little Zenjirou needs something to better judge his sleeping habits."

Lady Allocer laughed a little. At least Zenjirou-san is resting and eating at the same time now...

Oh, was that another mental snark? I hope I can make Lavinia-san proud now!

.

~~x~~

.

Aaaand this is how the Allocer household will remember me for the next weeks, the porridge-faced... Virgin brass dragon. Damnit, why did my biological clock choose the worst moment to catch up with me?! Well, whatever, after another nap that almost drowned me in grains and milk, I was good to go and have a nice last talk within the Allocer mansion before going home. After that, sure yeah; we're back home the same way we came, through the Gremory express of the Dimensional Gap. It was truly an eventful weekend...

Not as eventful as my return; since not only my sisters jetted themselves onto me, they locked me in a Boston Crab-Camel crutch combo lock until my spine was like a reverse stapler! They asked about **Sally-chan**, who apparently showed up to say something about a girl she met, **Suruga-chan** or what's-her-face, they asked about Ginko-san and how she wanted to wash my back; which is kinda broken by the way. But the think which concerned me the most was they talked about a girl named **Alice**. At first; I didn't record that name, but after a few hits on the head and Yoko enlightening me a little; I finally remember who it was...

"The Hakuryuukou..." I said to no one, alone in my room since my sisters forbid anyone, including Yoko, to come near it for 'reasons'; something that probably happened when I was away. I looked at the ceiling, thinking again about that girl who is my eternal rival. She herself said 'no hard feelings', so why am I so worried about her? I'm the one who shown her where I live too! Worse, she ate ramen on my table, and there's stains everywhere! Damn her! But Yoko said she shooed her away, and since nothing happened, I'm relieved. Still... How uneasy.

**[IT IS NOT UNWISE TO STAY FOCUS AND THINK ABOUT YOUR ENEMIES, PARTNER. THAT LASS, HER PRESENCE IS OUTSTANDING, AND DEMEANOR UNPREDICTABLE. EVEN WITH THE GRANDSON OF THE MORNING STAR AS HER TUTOR, EVEN I CANNOT DISCERN HER BEHAVIOR AT ALL.]** The brass Dragon has a point. Not to mention, she's also in Kuoh, and she knows about the conference between the devils and vampires, which means she'll might ruin everything, including reaching Annie first. Damnit. But then I hammer myself with the same thing: I'm not alone in this. Everyone will be there, specially Kaichou and Desmond-sama, so I won't be the one carrying everything on his shoulders. But thinking about it again, I'm the one who should fight her. **[Ohohoh~, look who's thinking strategically again! Good for you, and with a great resolution as well! How nice!]**

"Shut up, Yagura." I said, rolling in my bed; completely alone. Jeez, what the hell, why do I miss someone by my side now? Being alone now sucks, and worst; my sisters won't let anyone enter for the time being. Even mom is kinda icky for some reason, but eh, Yoko probably did something to upset them. No worries; I'll talk to them during dinner to sort things out. Speaking of which sorting things out...

I picked my phone and saw a bunch of messages piled up. Apparently, no signal is strong enough to reach from the human world to the underworld, what a surprise, so when I reached the former, I was bombarded by several messages and calls, several from mother and the others. Part of the reason why she's kinda upset with it's because of those ignored messages, which I couldn't respond since I was too busy fighting for my life, helping my king reattach things with her affairs, sharing some experiences with my peerage, falling for my death, uncovering the death of the Grigori; torturing my Knight and sleeping with the maid, small stuff, no excuse to ignore them. I slid my fingers up and down to see some of them, many from mom; other from my sisters and, surprisingly, some from Reika. Huh, almost forgot how having a best bud feels like. However, the strangest message was the one of the lasts...

"What the... I don't remember texting myself." I wondered, seeing the small note with my own number on it, and an image icon with it. I slid my finger across the screen, and soon enough, I discovered that while it came from my phone, It wasn't me who sent it...

.

'*To: Zenjirou*

*From: Zenjirou*

*Zenjirou-dono,*

*Remember when I said for you to not hold yourself back? When you see yourself without anyone to 'cheer you up', you can always use those to help yourself in. A little treat for your hard work.*

*Love, ,Defrah Leraje.'*

...

...

I'm afraid to slide my finger around. I know she's referring to, which makes me even more fearful about things. But again, this is Defrah-san we're talking about, so this is a 50/50 situation. But I know she isn't the kind of person that would do that. Defrah-san isn't the kind of maid that would send me...

**\*SLIDE!\***

**\*VOOSH!\***

... **Candid shots** of herself!

And she did it, the absolute madwoman! There at least eighteen photos of her, all in compromising poses and outfits! Not only in her maid uniform and lingerie, but also some costumes like a cheerleader, a wet-shirt, a kimono and a bikini. Well, she's right about one thing: those are certainly a turn-on, for what's worth. O-Oh, man, I'm getting lightheaded, losing some gallons of blood from my nose alone and the rest going downwards. I sniffed my bloody nostrils; and looked away, only to peek into it again. Thank Goodness I have nerves of steel, otherwise... But I can't let these photos be here in my phone. Not just because... Not because I might lose in this mental struggle, but if my sisters or anyone of my peerage ever finds out about this; I'll be screwed for the rest of my eternity.

Okay, time to delete those... Except this one, this one is cute instead of hot... And this one, because it's aesthetic is very nice... And this one because reasons... And this one... And this one... Aaaaaand this one... I should keep them since, well, Defrah-san gave them to me and she went all the trouble to show her curves, and outfits, and breasts, soaked breasts, and butt... It'll be so disrespectful to just throw them away.

...

Who am I kidding? She's a gorgeous woman, and I would probably be a millionaire if I sell those back in Kuoh academy, the only thing holding me back being my neck on the line and jealousy. Jealousy for the maid.

**\*KNOCK-KNOCK!\***

"Y-Yes?! What is it?!" Faster than I could, I threw my phone away and turned to the door, where Yoko's head popped from the small opening on the frame. I made sure to hide everything from her, including my little... Awakening down there. Her golden eye scanned around for anything, and then landed on me, as she smiled. "Hey, Yoko. What's up?"

"Mother is calling us for dinner. You better hurry up." She said. I waved for her to shut the door which she complied, and once I was... Downwards again; I dusted my own clothes and stood up from the bed, yawning a little and pushing my little device under the bed so no one would see what I had on the screen. Out of the room, I went to the elevator(Still can't wrap my mind around this kind of thing!) and downwards for another meal with my family. I just hope there's food for everyone...

Besides, I might sleep alone tonight, but at least I'll get my time alone for... Reasons.

**[Yeah, reasons...]**

.

~~x~~

.

"Ichirou! Jirou! Saburou! Shirou! Gorou! Mukuro! Come down for dinner! Mama made her special hotpot!"

"Hi! I'm coming; mother!" I said as I turned off my video-game and tv and picked some pants to wear. Summer vacation is just around the corner, so I'm just doing what any semi-normal girl would: spend my time playing video-games in my room with just the casual necessary. However, tonight I'm not alone, and this kinda pisses me off. I turned around to look at the green-haired so-called-ninja playing with my PSvita and munching on my chips. "So... Uh, do you want something from downstairs; Annie-san? Maybe some juice, some more chips?"

"Nah, I can get it myself. I'm a ninja, after all." She winked her only golden eye, and gave me a thumbs up. I could only wave at her, and she blew me a kiss. She frowned soon after, and shrugged. "I'll be out to train too, so don't worry if I don't be here when you come back."

"Okay-su, so what you need to do, ninja." I said, putting up my pants and passing her another bag of chips. It has been almost a week since she's here, and while I can't complain with her being here, not even the maid saw her so Annie-san is a pretty skilled ninja; I'm starting to get impatient about this whole 'terrorist-attack' around this conference. "But, I think I need to ask, Annie-san: when it'll be this conference?"

**\*DOOOOON!\***

Out of a sudden, a massive lightning streak crossed and cut the dark skies of this cloudy night, and with it, a heavy rain started to pour outside. Soon enough, a true storm started, the incessant pour of heavy drops on my window; almost cutting through the glasses of it. Annie-san frowned even more, concentrating on the rain...

"Soon..." She smirked now, turning back to me. "Soon enough, Mukuro-dono. You and the others better start packing some things, the conference draws near..."

I sighed a heavy one also looking at the rain. It draws near; eh? For some reason, I feel excited...

.

~~x~~

.

"Well, that sure was something. Since Lord Desmond is as flamboyant as said, this can only mean the conference is right around the corner."

"**\*YAWN!\***, is that so, Morgy?"

"What an underwhelming reaction, Lisa. Aren't you excited about it? Fighting the ,Vampire Empire's strongest, plus your possible meeting with the Heretic Plague Dragon..."

"Well, kinda. This whole thing is exciting, but I'm actually worried about the Red Guy. Kinda remembering our deal; and thanks to his fox girlfriend, he'll probably die."

"Do you think he's gonna die?"

" 'You think he can live?"

"..."

"...?"

"We'll wait and see; Lisa. We'll wait and see."

"Tch, how... Boring."

Next; Temptation, Truth and Will.

Previous; A night with the enemy.