Chapter 1 - From Good to Bad
A twinge at the corner of his eyebrow was what woke him. The pain wasn't ordinary, but it wasn't seldom either. It was going on to be just a thing he would have to get used to. Waking up every morning to a sharp pain just below his forehead. Ah, how awful...
He sat up, rubbing at his forehead with his index finger and thumb. How long ago had this started...? Ah, that's right. It almost felt too soon...
"I'm jealous!" The same boy who had always kept his emotions bottled up and his behind a mischievous smile suddenly started sobbing, wiping at his eyes frantically.
Of course, this gave him a shock. He had never known what it was like to see someone as important as his master cry. Let alone say he was jealous.
"I'm jealous! Pay attention to me more! Stop hanging out with him! I deserve you more!" The boy clenched at his blond bangs, unable to stop the tears from streaming down his face like a waterfall. It was just impossible.
Thinking back on the situation now, he had told his master that he would think about it, but he could've sworn it was some strange dream... However, it was troublesome how immature his master acted only a few weeks ago. He was technically twenty-five years and counting.
"...Haah..." So, today was the day that Gilbert Nightray would finally reply to his master. His wonderful master, Oz Vessalius.
"Haah?! Seaweed head?! What are you doing here?!" The utter bane of Gilbert's existence stood in front of him, the girl's chest puffed out like she was actually someone important.
"I could say the same to you, stupid rabbit!" Gilbert shot back, clenching his fists to restrain himself from doing anything he'd regret later. Not that he'd do much damage anyway. Of course, not to her at least.
The girl's name was Alice. However, she was a Chain. A Chain known as the B-Rabbit. A Chain feared by many other Chains because of the B-Rabbit's pure strength. No wisdom or strategy. Just pure brawn.
Alice crossed her arms and turned her head away. "Are you just gonna keep me waiting on an answer?! Hurry up and reply already! Or do I have to repeat it because all your stupid seaweed hair was in the way?" She gave a triumphant grin and narrowed her eyes. It seemed she wouldn't back down so easily.
"Haaah?!" Gilbert suddenly got irritated, and the pain shot back to his eyebrow. It wouldn't be easy to have him back off now either. "At least I don't have meat for brains!"
Alice flinched, drooling a bit just at the word 'meat.' Surely that was a bad thing...? "I have a servant! And you are a servant! Who's higher on the scale here?" She looked down at him as if she had won, which it was unclear as of now.
However, before Gilbert could shoot another comeback toward Alice, the two heard footsteps. They were light, but it was easy to tell who it was, just by that alone. Yes, it was Gilbert's master, and Alice's 'servant.' Oz Vessalius.
"Hi~! Did you guys wait long~?" Yes, his footsteps were definitely easy to set apart, for his were lighter and sounded more like a skip than a walk.
"Huh?" Alice tilted her head. "How long have we been here...?" She looked down, seeming a bit defeated as she tried her best to calculate whatever she could, even if she didn't know how to.
"Oh, I...guess the time flew by..." Gilbert smiled at his master, who returned the smile.
"That's a relief... Anyway, I called you both out here for a reason." Oz nodded, becoming serious. "I wanted to say..." He twitched slightly, as if what he wanted to say was hard to get out. "You guys...are my family~!"
The thought was easily dissolved as Oz flew at the both of them, hugging them both tightly. Alice struggled slightly, a bit confused at what was going on, but Gilbert just smiled.
"Me too," he muttered softly under his breath. Of course, he was would normally be referring to the entire Pandora staff, but this time it was exclusively Oz. And maybe—just maybe—Alice too.
"Haven't you noticed Gilbert's strange behavior lately?" A few staff members of Pandora had gathered together in a hallway, discussing Gilbert Nightray quietly under their breaths, as not to be heard. However, this meeting was nothing like the meetings of the Blue Rose Club, or even the Black Rose Club.
"I'm sure he's giving off a happier aura, can't you tell?" Another member nodded as he spoke, seeming confused.
"I wonder what's gotten into him...?"
"Probably something that has to do with Oz." One member sounded absolutely sure that that was the answer, and grinned.
A few other members nodded, chiming in with "Yeah," "I suppose..." and, "Absolutely!"
"See? It's most definitely the answer!" The same member pointed a finger in the air. "Now that it's resolved, let's get back to work before someone catches us off duty."
The group members nodded and quickly left the hallway in all different directions. They left no trace that they were there, except for their faint footprints.
Fwah, I'm so glad... Even though I was the one choosing in the end, it still feels great... Gilbert smiled happily as he walked down the hallway of Pandora, heading toward Oz's room. It wasn't strange for Oz to call Gilbert out recently, but Gilbert didn't mind in the least. In fact, he enjoyed being called out by his master.
"Oz?" Gilbert knocked gently on the door as he called his master's name. "I'm coming in." He pushed the door open slightly and walked in. "Haaaaahh?!"
"Ah?" A man looked up from his desk, his short brown hair a bit messy from all of the stress he'd been having recently. Ever since he had given him more and more documents to file, work had been harder. Not meaning that he didn't enjoy it, of course. He just...wanted some occasional free-time. "Did you hear that...?"
"Mmn. I did." A girl smiled down at the man as she handed him another document. "My apologies, Reim, but it seems that Break has given you more documents..."
Reim shook his head. "No need to apologies, Sharon. I'm alright." He smiled a bit awkwardly, not used to the gesture of happiness or friendship. It wasn't a first, exactly, but he definitely didn't want to have to smile like that again. "Anyway, what... What was that...?"
Sharon just giggled softly. "Oh, I don't think you have to worry. It's just them."
At that, Reim understood. Although, he wasn't absolutely used to this yet... "Oh...yes. Thank you." He nodded, and Sharon smiled as she left.
What a pain, Reim thought, shaking his head slightly.
"O-O-O-Oz?!" Gilbert faltered a bit, stumbling backward, face flushed a dark red. He definitely wasn't expecting that...
"Hmm~? What's wrong, Gil~?" Oz remained in his usual cheerful state, although...something was absolutely, horrifically, despicably, terribly off...
"O-O-Oz, y-you...?!" Oz's valet fumbled over his words, his fingers twitching as he tried desperately to physically grab them, even though he knew it wouldn't work at all.
"Haah~? You're overreacting..." Oz puffed out his cheeks slightly, looking annoyed. Sometimes, he looks like a little kid. Well, other than the fact that he looks fifteen all the time...
"I-I...?!" Gilbert couldn't find the right words still, and just continued to stutter out the beginnings of what seemed like different sentences.
"Jeez, Gil, you're so rude." Oz huffed, standing up and walking over to Gilbert, who frantically waved Oz away out of embarrassment.
"W-w-w-wait, n-n-n-no...!" Gilbert instinctively shouted out, making Oz flinch back.
"Ah," He muttered softly, smirking. "Gil," he said, his voice becoming stern, "this...is an order, okay...? Stay still."
Hyaaah...! Gilbert screamed internally, but didn't disobey his master. His face was a bright red as Oz shuffled his way to sit in the space between Gilbert's legs.
"See? It's not that bad~" Even though his face was cheerful, his tone had a subtle tone of sadness mixed in. He turned around so his back faced Gilbert, and leaned back against his chest. "Gil, you're warm..."
"U-u-uh...?" Gilbert didn't know how to reply, only managing a stuttered and confused word out. He had also automatically pulled his hands up away from Oz, as he didn't want to touch him while his master was dressed...like that.
Almost as if he had read Gilbert's mind, Oz mumbled, "Gil...? What's wrong?" He turned his head upward to look at his valet.
"Y-y-y-your c-c-clothes..." Gilbert weakly muttered the words out, but Oz didn't see what the problem with his clothes were.
"What's wrong with my clothes?" He asked, looking down at himself. Of course, it was strange to be wearing pajamas in the middle of the afternoon... Especially if they were girls' pajamas...
"T-t-they're s-s-s-see-through...!" Gilbert shouted at Oz without thinking, and Oz sat up, turning toward Gilbert with a serious look. However, he looked disappointed.
"Do...you not like it...?" Oz pursed his lips a bit, narrowing his eyes in thought.
Gilbert flinched back at the question. W-what type of a question is that?! He thought, frantically trying to avoid the question at all costs. "A-anyway, j-j-just g-go change..."
"Gil," Oz looked at Gilbert straight in the eyes. "Yes, or no?" He was dead serious. There was no possible way for Gilbert to avoid this now.
"...I-it's, u-um, w-well..." Gilbert turned his head to the side, blushing harshly. "...I-it's not t-t-t-that I d-d-don't l-like it..."
At that, Oz lit up. "Aw, Gil, you're so shy~!" He launched himself forward and wrapped his arms around Gilbert's neck, rubbing their cheeks together affectionately. Oz really was like a hamster in some aspects...
"Hey." Suddenly, a voice came from under Oz's bed. "Would you two be quiet? I'm trying to sleep..."
"...Hah...?" Oz and Gilbert both looked at Oz's bed blankly, their voices overlapping with confusion.
"Ugh, you two can't shut up, huh?" The owner of the voice crawled out from under the bed, revealing herself. She stretched her arms out above her head, yawning. "Haah... I'm leaving."
"A..." Oz turned his head to glance at Gil for a minute, who was pale with shock and embarrassment, before turning back to the voice's owner. "Alice?!"
"Huh? What?" Alice gave Oz a confused look before shrugging and heading to leave. "Whatever, you're too noisy."
Oz smiled wryly. "I-I'm suddenly feeling v-very worn out... I-I'm turning in f-for the day..." He slowly stood up and stiffly headed over to his bed, crawling under the blanket and curling up.
Gilbert, however, had already fainted a while before.
"Haaaaaahh?!" A loud scream emitted from Oz's room, and could be heard throughout Pandora Headquarters. The scream belonged to one of the staff who had come to inform Oz of a meeting with his uncle, Oscar, but he came to find...
"O-Oz?! G-Gilbert?!" The staff member twitched slightly out of fear and worry, trembling. He had absolutely no idea what he was supposed to do in this situation. Gilbert was sprawled out on the floor like a doll, as pale as a ghost, and Oz was huddled up in a ball under his blankets, visibly trembling. It was quite the sight for anyone.
But, in the end, they both somehow made it. And Alice was just as oblivious as ever. So, everything turned out okay. Well, almost everything...
"I...? I just...?" The same staff member who had found Oz and Gilbert shook his head rapidly, eyes wide. Apparently, he couldn't get the image of the two out of his head. He ended up taking a few days off to rest. And, apparently, he had also been caused a lot of stress because of it.
Well, it turns out everything did turn out fine in the end. Oh, and, Oz and Gilbert avoided each other for a while after the incident, which caused some staff confusion, but after a while, they returned to their usually happy states. All's well that end's well, isn't it...?