For the first time in what seemed like ages, everything was settled.

They'd won, Valvatorez thought to himself, staring around his bare-bones study; they'd truly won. They'd defeated Nemo, they'd cured the source of the anomaly, and they'd even defeated the strongest Overlord in the universe not a day earlier. For the first time, Valvatorez felt satisfied; now, finally, these overbearing duties were over, and he could focus on his one true calling - that of a Prinny Instructor - with all his heart and soul. Who even knew how many Prinnies had slacked off in his absence? Yes, the whole world was back in place, and there was little left to do but -

"Mr. Vampire."

Valvatorez's long ears twitched at the familiar voice, and he turned from his desk; leaning in the doorway with her arms crossed stood an all-too-familiar angel. He felt himself involuntarily swallow - not because she made him nervous, no, but because her voice sounded downright cross. She wore an angry frown and narrowed eyes, too, an odd contrast with her pretty face. He cleared his throat.

"A-he-hem! Artina. Is something the matter?" he asked, his tone sounding unusually clipped.

"Why, yes, something is," Artina said, her eyes only narrowing further at Valvatorez's tone. She paused there, glaring as though she expected the vampire to press her; it made him more than a little uncomfortable, and he found himself crossing his own arms tightly as though imitating her.

"...Well, then, say it. I am always willing to help a comrade in need," he said finally, his tone still remarkably stiff and formal. "...But please, make it quick, I have several very important matters to attend to -"

"You called me an ally once, Mr. Vampire," Artina cut in harshly, and Valvatorez felt his heart sink guiltily (though he had no idea why). "You say that I'm your comrade, but...am I really?"

Valvatorez coughed sharply, for no real reason but intense and sudden discomfort - damn, my heartbeat's speeding up, I must not be eating enough sardines - "Well," he said, his face pulled in an uncomfortable line, "of - of course you're my comrade. Yes, despite your moneygrubbing tendencies, we have fought together, and that alone makes us comrades! That alone," he repeated unnecessarily. "Was that your question? Good, good, now get out, I have important matters to -"

"Yeah," Artina said suddenly, in a tone as though she were quoting it; here her expression turned really sour, like a mixture of anger and hurt. "All of your other comrades, after we beat Zetta, you spoke as though they truly meant something to you - and what am I, 'yeah'?"

"Oh." So that was it, then. Valvatorez frowned deeply and found himself suddenly unable to look Artina in the eye. "You - you - of course, you mean just as much to me as the others! I was - simply unable to remember at the time. Yes. Oopsie, my mistake, haha, what a silly demon I was being! Did you know sardines can help restore not only strength, but also mental capacity? Fascinating creatures, sardines, truly the power source of the greatest demons! Why, I could go on about sardines for hoooours! About their potency, their wide range of powers - you know, some people...just eat the meat, and that...is a waste, because...because..."

Valvatorez trailed off slowly, withering under Artina's completely disbelieving glare.

"Ahh, but, you're...probably not interested in sardines now, are you," he said weakly.

"Mr. Vampire, I just want to know why," Artina said, her tone almost pleading all of a sudden. "That - that really hurt, you know."

And it was the pain in Artina's tone that made Valvatorez truly deflate, feeling a pit of guilt in his chest all of a sudden. "...It was..." he began, tone uncertain. "It was...there were...too many people around, you understand?"

Artina blinked, her blue eyes focusing on Valvatorez; he didn't meet her stare, and in fact seemed to be firmly looking at the ground. "Too many people?"

"Yes. Too many," Valvatorez said shortly, clearly not willing to elaborate.

"...Mr. Vampire..." Artina began, a slow, sly smile starting to grow on her face. "Were you...too embarrassed?"

"No, there were just too many people, end of story!" Valvatorez snapped. His tone hardly phased Artina, though; her arms unfolded and her face began to light up in absolute delight.

"You're blushing, Mr. Vampire! You were too embarrassed to say how you felt about me?" she asked, and the teasing tone made it clear that she was implying a lot more with 'felt' than Valvatorez could ever feel comfortable with.

"N, no!" he stammered. "No! No, no, no, no, no! Stop it with this...complete nonsense!"

"What complete nonsense?" Artina asked, putting a hand to her chin innocently. "I haven't even said anything, and you look like you're about to pass out!"

"You know what complete nonsense! I can hear you thinking it! Don't try and fool me, angel!" Valvatorez near-yelled, his tone getting more and more panicked with each word. At the end, his mouth twisted into a frown, and he pointed very dramatically at Artina. "Here, I'll prove it! I'll prove that thought of yours isn't true! What I would have said, if nobody else had been there, was...'The purehearted and beautiful angel who fought against everything, in life and in death, for the greater good of the entire world...Artina!'"

The room fell silent for a moment after that; Artina seemed to be shocked by the passion of Valvatorez's words. The vampire himself was panting slightly, clearly a bit spent from his dramatic speech and his wild accompanying gesticulations.

"...Beautiful?"

"And that!" Valvatorez went on quickly, trying to ignore how hot his face felt or how fast his heart was beating. "Is how I feel about you! There, it's done! Have I answered your question yet?!"

Artina stared at the demon before her, eying him with a look of careful analysis that unnerved him; finally, she spoke, her words slow and careful. "...Yes, but...why haven't you said this before? Why are you so..." She trailed off for a moment, frowning in thought. "...scared of me...Mr. Vampire?"

Valvatorez's brow creased, and a feeling of sadness started to settle in his heart. He stared at Artina for a long time. "Ridiculous, I..." he started to say, but he took another look at Artina's hurt, pleading expression and found the words dying in his throat. At last, he cleared his throat, his mind made up about how to answer.

"...While a noble and proud demon knows no fear," he began, picking his words agonizingly slowly, "it could be said that I, Valvatorez...am healthily wary of you, Artina." Artina opened her mouth to speak, but Valvatorez cut her off with a wave of his hand and a stern (yet terribly uncomfortable) look. "I had no concept of aff - intense care for someone - care beyond camaraderie, I mean - until I met you, 400 years ago. Even in those three days, I grew respectful of your virtues, I grew fascinated by your strangeness, and I grew...at...tached to you," he coughed out awkwardly, suddenly very interested in the wall of his study. "...But I broke the promise. I let you die."

Artina's expression grew softer, her eyes creasing in sympathy. "Mr. Vampire..." she said, her tone horribly sad.

"No! None of this 'it wasn't your fault' business!" Valvatorez declared harshly, bringing his gaze back to Artina. "It was my promise. It was my error. And the incredible pain I felt at that moment and for so many years thereafter...it was unbearable. Never as a Tyrant had anything brought me so low. In a word, Artina, you are dangerous - how can I risk that kind of agony again?"

"...So that was why you were so cold to me," Artina said quietly, looking at Valvatorez with nothing but sympathy and guilt. "You're afraid...you're afraid of me dying again."

"I am not afraid!" Valvatorez near-shouted, sounding genuinely indignant. "I fear nothing! It's simply unwise to risk that sort of debilitating emotional injury again. How could I even fulfill my duties in that state? No, Artina, it - it is simple caution, and nothing more."

Artina noted his wavering, unsure tone at the end with a single raised eyebrow. "...It's okay to be afraid, Valvatorez," she near-whispered; Valvatorez jumped at her sudden use of his name and looked away hastily. "I'm...I'm afraid too. I'm not afraid of dying - even while I was dying, I didn't fear it. But...I'm afraid of hurting you again."

Valvatorez didn't speak for a long while; he simply studied Artina's face, her expression of complete guilt and shame. After a minute of this, his face set into hard determination. "...No," he said finally. "You will not die again. I will not let that happen. From this moment on, I promise -"

"No!" she said immediately, cutting Valvatorez off with a strong look. "No promises, Valvatorez. No more. The promises you've made to me have hurt you enough."

Valvatorez stared, clearly taken aback. "...But it was not my promises, it was my inability to fulfill them," he tried to argue, seeming miffed at the rejection.

"I don't care," Artina said, her tone getting forceful. "You will not suffer another broken promise because of me! I won't let you lose all your strength again. I won't. Defend me because you want to, not because you're bound by a promise."

Valvatorez stayed silent, pondering over that for a few moments; then, slowly and reluctantly, he nodded. "...Very well. I...rescind my offer of a promise."

At last, that seemed to make Artina smile, a terribly affectionate and genuine smile that made Valvatorez's heart start beating all-too-quickly again. "...Thank you. And I can defend myself now too, okay? I'm not a simple human working in a hospital."

"Right, of course. I would never underestimate a comrade like you, Artina," Valvatorez declared, trying to will away the foreign feelings suddenly creeping into his chest.

"Good!" she replied, smiling even more brightly. "Now, Mr. Vampire, since there's no need to be afraid...would you like to...hold hands?"

"H-h, h, hold hands?" Valvatorez stammered, looking at Artina as though she'd lost her mind. "I -" He'd opened his mouth to protest and refuse - he really had - but just then, Artina reached forward and took his hand in hers, effectively stopping any chance of speaking coherently. Instead, the two of them stood there, hands intertwined, Valvatorez's terribly lost expression meeting Artina's gentle and reassuring one.

"...Your hands..." They're warm. What a strange feeling it was - the warmth of another hand. Valvatorez stared down at their hands, as though perhaps then he'd be able to figure out this strange, pleasant ache in his heart or this nervousness in his chest; finally, he just looked up, frowning at Artina.

"...You really are an underhanded one, angel of avarice," he said, frowning in what was nearly a pout.

Artina just giggled, smiling happily but with just a hint of smugness in her features. "I have to be, Mr. Vampire, to warm the heart of someone as stubborn as you!"

"Y, you - you do not warm my heart, you -" At this point, it seemed pointless to argue, so he just sighed and looked away, cheeks burning. "...It's nice," he admitted finally. "Perhaps I can get used to this...'holding hands' thing."

Artina laughed again - when had her laugh sounded this nice, so joyous, so happy? "I appreciate it, Mr. Vampire. Maybe we should...do it more often?"

And as Valvatorez looked into those bright blue eyes and that smiling face, he didn't think he could ever refuse.