Ah, back to that time of year again.

Happy November, everyone! If you are new to the TWGOK fandom, welcome!

With life getting busier by the day, finding time to work on stories like these has been quite the struggle. Don't worry though, I intend to finish this on schedule for once. Anything else on my story queue is off the table.

November 7th is Lune's birthday. Every so often I'll post single one-shots for TWGOK birthdays, but this year's Lune story is an exception. I've broken her segment into three chapters so I can have my fun.

And so begins my typical author's opening:

I apologize ahead of time for any mistakes, plot holes, or other imperfections you may find. I am only human and thus limited to the imperfection that is me.

This story is completely separate from any other stories I've written, past and present. It'll take place a few months after the end of TWGOK Season III (Megami-hen). That being said, there will likely be paradoxes or other details purposely left vague, and those will remain untouched unless I wind up using them later.

All of that aside, I present to you a quick piece I wrote up over the free time I had.

Happy Birthday, Lune!

-FrozenDeluxe *.*

"Always give a word or sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, or even a stranger, if in a lonely place."

-Tecumseh, Native American leader

Wednesday, November 7.

Summer had gone through its cycle, ending classes momentarily before soon presenting new ones. Now, autumn held its brisk winds over Maijima City, showering the sleepy city in blankets of red and orange leaves.

As the afternoon sun lit the quiet bakery, Lune gazed out the window and watched the people outside as they milled about their business.

So mundane, so repetitive. Kill off a few thousand humans and another crowd comes to replace them. Where was the excitement in all that? Everyone was as predictable as the lines painted on the streets beside them.

Lune sighed as she took a sip from a cup of coffee in front of her. Today hadn't really been any different from any other day. There wasn't anything wrong about that, but she did wish for some variety every now and then, especially after the fun that had gone down a few months ago.

Vintage's plan to gather the goddess hosts and kill them was a close one. They had pinpointed six hosts out of a whole crowd of schoolgirls and successfully captured five of those six, all thanks to the fruitful efforts of some raiment hacking and a foolish group of imbeciles working against them.

If not for New Hell's quick response and the meddling of a few humans, they would've actually succeeded, too.

All of that hope was gone now. Vintage had issued orders to lay low and cease major operations until Dokuro Skull's investigations died down. A large organization with shadows stretching across every corner of New Hell had shattered overnight, and Lune had essentially been left to fend for herself for the past few months.

Without an official buddy, Lune technically had no business on Earth, but paperwork had somehow surfaced detailing Lune as an independent overseer of other collector demons in the area. Lune had the freedom to wander this realm with little restraint, in theory.

Yet here she was, alone in a bakery, with only coffee and a French pastry keeping her company at the table.

It was lonely.

Wait, seriously? Lune was in disbelief herself. She processed that thought through her head again.

Lune was lonely.

She frowned at that revelation. When was the last time over the last few centuries that Lune had been able to relax like this? Why was it now that she felt this way after hundreds of years of working alone?

"Tch."

As they walked back home after another long day of school, Elsie hummed another Kanon song while Keima mercilessly conquered another virtual girl. It had only been a few minutes before Elsie could hear the high-pitched voice of another heroine declaring her undying love to Keima, just like the countless others before her and those still to come.

Keima continued his dating sim, but Elsie noticed his demeanor grow steadily darker. She looked at her Divine Brother with concern when he started muttering angrily under his breath.

"What's wrong?" Elsie looked over at Keima's console screen after a time.

Keima bitterly cursed as he sighed with frustration and pocketed his PFP. "Random-encounter events," he muttered as his paces stiffened.

When he noticed Elsie eying him with confusion, he scoffed and went into more detail.

"A random-encounter flag, as its name suggests, happens randomly, by chance," Keima explained. "Some events occur commonly, with a high encounter rate, while other flags are rare enough to become nothing more than myths, events that only a few lucky people will ever get to see."

Keima gritted his teeth as he fumed on, "but how am I supposed to conquer this heroine if she only appears with a one in two million encounter rate?"

Elsie could only watch as Keima struggled to keep a level expression.

They came to a stop at an intersection.

"You're going to Kanon's concert tonight?" Keima asked as he spotted a billboard advertising her newest album.

Elsie grinned excitedly as she fidgeted in place. "Yup! Kanon even gave me a few VIP passes!"

Keima sighed and took his PFP back out. "Don't get lost, bug demon," he called back as he crossed the street. He gave a small wave of his hand, then started back towards his house.

Elsie watched her Divine Brother disappear in the crowd of afternoon city-goers, waving as she saw him join the flow of people going home.

After a while she turned and started wandering to pass time until the concert hall's doors opened. Of course, she could go there early, but VIP passes let her cut the long lines, and there was no fun in waiting alone.

The other members of the 2-B Pencils had their own plans today, and Keima had his own reasons for avoiding a goddess host. Elsie had the day to herself, and she spent it walking the streets alone.

Elsie had barely turned the corner when she caught a whiff of something baking and smiled as she imagined what it could be. She looked around and spotted a bakery with baskets full of macaroons sitting on racks.

"Mmmmm," Elsie's eyes glowed as she mentally devoured the tiny pastries one-by-one, "I'll buy some of those!" With a burst of newfound energy, she rushed into the bakery to buy a basket.

The bakery had barely changed since Lune first came in. Customers had come and gone, but the atmosphere and conversations had generally stayed the same.

"I'm telling you, the girl at the ramen store was cuter than your bakery waifu!" a uniformed student retorted as he and his friends gathered in a circle debating on the cutest restaurant servers.

Older patrons in more professional attire kept to themselves, scrolling down their phones or flipping through packets of paper.

There were the curious passerby, those who came for the smells and stayed for the pastries themselves.

Lune caught one such schoolgirl staring at her curiously as she waited in line.

Probably wondering why she wore a lab coat in a place like this, Lune dismissed.

She took another sip of her extra-sweetened coffee before receding back into her thoughts.

But before Lune could notice and raise any objections, the schoolgirl from earlier had somehow managed to slide into the bench seat across from her and place down a fresh basket of macaroons.

"Hi!" the stranger greeted her, "I don't think I've seen you around before!"

Lune stared silently at the girl in front of her, who hummed a song as she happily bit into a pink macaroon. It was one thing to be alone, but another to be in the company of an ignorant person like this.

This girl's school uniform matched those of the others Lune had seen meandering the streets. That would probably explain the cheeriness that seemed to emanate from her very being.

"I don't see many demons around in this area," the girl continued casually, "I guess there aren't as many loose souls here as there used to be."

Lune's ears perked up at that. This girl was a demon? Who was this, exactly, and threat might she pose? Instinctively, she reached a hand into her coat pocket and gripped the handle of her reliable boxcutter.

And still, the demon girl continued to ramble on, oblivious to Lune's staring. "My name's Elucia de Lute Ima," she introduced herself, "but everyone calls me Elsie!" She held out a hand.

"I'm...Lune," Lune introduced herself curtly and gave a quick handshake. Her eyes tracked Elsie's every movement, waiting for a signal to attack.

Just how much did this demon know?

Under Lune's watchful gaze, Elsie cheerily bit into another macaroon. It was almost as if she didn't notice Lune tensing up with each passing moment.

"Mmmm..." she smiled as she reached out for another macaroon, "These are good! I wish we had these in Hell!"

Really, did this demon have any sense in her? Who in their right mind would even bring these subjects up with a random stranger?

Why did Elsie even bother to approach Lune? To her dismay, Lune couldn't read Elsie. Maybe there wasn't anything there to even look at, but the possibility still existed that she was just skilled at hiding her intentions.

Meanwhile, Elsie had materialized her raiment and used its search function to find macaroon recipes. She seemed deep in thought as she scrolled through pages of directions and measurements. Lune could even hear her quietly hum the tune of a Kanon song.

It was a perfect opportunity to finish her off, actually. One perfectly aimed stab and Elsie would never see what was coming, but it was best to not create any unnecessary casualties, especially with Vintage already in recess. Maybe she'd be able to get something out of her that would prove useful.

At the very least, this encounter wasn't boring.

"So," Elsie put her raiment away and reached for a (fifth) macaroon, "What brings you here?"

Nothing, really. Lune had been assigned to this area as a supervisor, but the decrease in loose souls meant lots of free time. Lately she had been roaming around looking for something to do.

"Oh..." Elsie's eyes shone with admiration as she heard Lune explain this.

Such a childish thing to do, Lune thought, to accept everything she had said without and doubts or questions. Given, all she had said so far was true…

But that would mean she just opened herself up to a total stranger, wouldn't it?

Tch.

Lune had unconsciously let go of her boxcutter too. This innocent demon had even managed to get her guard down, too. What was this?

Elsie plucked another macaroon from the basket and stared blankly at Lune as she munched on it. She seemed to be pondering something.

"You said you weren't doing anything today?" she asked Lune after a moment.

No, nothing today, but if Lune had to be honest even talking to someone else already made today a more interesting development than the weeks prior.

Elsie's face brightened as an idea came to her. "I know something we can do!" she proclaimed clearly to the entire floor of people. Realizing how loud she was, she shrank back to a corner and waved sheepishly back at the curious stares she got.

Finishing off the last macaroon, Elsie suddenly stood up and took hold of Lune's wrist.

That alone was enough to set Lune on edge, her free hand immediately racing to find the boxcutter in her coat pocket, but Elsie paid no mind to any of that.

"Come on," Elsie invited her new companion, "Let's go sightseeing!"

Lune could only follow as Elsie dragged her with the might of the train she was headed for.

-End Chapter 1

Expect an update within days of this posting (11/3/18)

9/3/18 - Initiation

9/6/18 - End chapter

11/3/18 - Final checks, publication