Is this even IC I don't even know... well, whatever. A frend asked me to write Gray Garden fics so I'm gonna post a whole buncha one-shots as I write them. No hate, please. xoxo

- Mira

"Where is she..." a small blonde angel muttered to herself, gazing around the mostly emptied classroom. All day she had been searching for her usually boisterous friend, a presence which had seemingly vanished from her side. It was a constant she quickly grew to miss. While it was true the demon could be irritating at times, Yosafire was indeed her most closest of friends. Not having the green and pink haired demon around felt wrong. A chink in her usual everyday life.

While it was entirely plausible the girl had come down with some sort of sickness, Froze had already checked at the demon's house (another part of her ritual- wake up, get dressed, eat, go to wake Yosafire up, try not to be late for school), but it was all to no avail. The other had not answered, and upon inspecting the home, the girl could not be found anywhere. It was all very suspicious and did nothing to ease the angel's worry.

Ever since the battle with Ivlis and the demons from another world, Yosafire had seemed a bit more on edge around her at times. One moment she would be laughing and fooling around, and the next she would stop and get a strange look upon her face. At the time, Froze had just chalked it up as being some sort of after effect of the battle with Ivlis (it seemed Yosafire had been the only one to regain consciousness and took the power hungry villain on her own), so she did not bother informing Lord Kcalb or Lady Etihw of the matter.

Lately, though, the demon had been getting worse. It was almost as though she were avoiding the twin-tailed angel, though for what reason Froze could not discern. It seemed to call culminate with today- Yosafire's disappearance was certainly an attempt to avoid her. The girl had not even showed up to school, opting to remain wherever it was she had fled to. It would be a lie to say Froze was not worried.

Standing up from her seat- the blonde had much trouble focusing on the lesson today, she would have to review later -the girl made her way over towards Rawberry's desk. As usual, Macarona stood in front of the pinkette's seat, discussing the bad eating habits her friend displayed. Perhaps one of the others would know where the wayward demon was.

Stopping in front of the two, Froze waited for the two to notice her before speaking up, "...Do either of you know where Yosafire is? I haven't been able to find her all day."

The more polite of the two, Macarona was quick to respond with a greeting, "Oh, hello, Froze," the friendly angel spoke. After listening to the other's question, she thought for a moment, "...No, I haven't seen her at all today. Don't you usually walk to school together?"

"Don't worry, she's probably just going out to gather some tasty bugs from the garden," Rawberry replied, seemingly unworried by her fellow demon's absence.

"When I went to get her this morning, she was gone. I don't know where she is, and she wasn't at school today….And I highly doubt she went to collect bugs, if anything, she would have gone to gather a disgustingly large amount of apples again," the blonde continued, easily waving away Rawberry's suggestion. If she was mentioning food, chances were the demon was hungry, and when Rawberry was hungry she had little else on her mind other than food.

"That's strange, I hope she's alright," Macarona worried, eyes downcast.

"Hmm, she's probably fine. More importantly, I'm hungry! Macarona, let's go collect some tasty worms!" the red-eyed demon shifted the topic, mind focused on her hunger at the moment.

"Rawberry, you really need to stop eating those things…" the angel shook her head, letting out a sigh. It was a fruitless effort and she knew it.

Deciding that the two had gotten too far off topic (a wise decision, once they got onto the topic of food chances were neither could get off of it while together), the blue-eyed girl shifted her attention to their other two friends. Dialo and Chelan were the more reliable pair of their friends, surely they would at least know what she could possibly do.

As she approached the two, Chelan was the first to notice her, giving her fellow blonde angel a warm smile. Nodding in response, Froze spoke up, "I was wondering if either of you knew where Yosafire is? I haven't seen her at all today," she questioned.

Chelan seemed to think for a moment before shaking her head sadly. She had not seen even a hint of the fire demon today, though she did hope Froze was able to find her soon. Dialo, on the other hand, had a verbal response, "...I haven't seen her at all today. If she comes by for apple pie later on, I'll be sure to inform her you are looking for her."

"I see, thank you," the gray-garbed girl replied, looking a bit worried for her friend. At least she had Dialo to inform her if Yosafire appeared at their home, but where was the demon?

Upon seeing Froze's troubled expression, the green-eyed angel seemed to say something in her silent way of speech. As was customary, Dialo worked as her translator, "Good idea," the red-haired girl responded to her friend, then turning to Froze, "Chelan says you should tell Lord Kcalb. He usually knows where the demons are, and if not, Lady Etihw will be willing to help you."

"...I guess I'll go do that. Thanks," the angel nodded to both of them, making her way out of the classroom immediately after. While the idea had come to mind, the girl had not wanted to trouble either of the leaders with such a small matter. Despite that, Froze was worried. A whole day without Yosafire was so fundamentally wrong, and seeing the other four together only made it worse.

Leaving the building at a quick speed, the blonde made her way towards Blancblack castle. Hopefully this was nothing too serious.

Kcalb and Etihw had been having another round of jabs at each other (though it was more of Kcalb trying to counter a smirking Etihw). Wodahs had just been about to separate the two when the doors opened up. The incident involving cake was all but forgotten upon the sight greeting them.

A very uncomfortable Froze stood, staring at the two with their forks poised over the same piece of cake. To someone coming in, it appeared as if the two had been sharing a slice of cake together. Staring at the two blankly for a moment, the girl quickly gave a bow before going to leave, "...I apologize for interrupting. Please, continue."

"No, wait, you've got it all wrong," Kcalb called back, looking distressed over the situation. As per usual, Etihw merely smirked at the trouble. He was so cute when he was troubled.

"So, what do you need, Froze?" Etihw cut in, having waited until the retreating angel had returned once more.

"It might be nothing, but I was told it would be best to inform you two- more specifically, Lord Kcalb," the blonde began, not wishing to waste their time.

"Oh? What is it?" the demon lord questioned, curiosity mixing with a bit of dread. Had something gone wrong? Was there trouble with a demon? Ah, he knew he should have kept a closer eye on Raspbel…

"It's Yosafire. I haven't seen her all day, and I'm worried. She wasn't at school, and she wasn't at home when I went to wake her up this morning. It didn't seem like she had even been home at all last night," the girl explained, frowning slightly. The more she said, the more obvious it became to her that something was wrong. Out of everyone in the Gray Garden, Yosafire was the least likely to suddenly disappear. Why had she not said something earlier?

"...Is that so," Kcalb muttered, lost in his thoughts. It was true, ever since the incident with Ivlis and his invasion that the fire demon had been a bit strange. Anyone could see it, she was a terrible actor. Had something happened? Ivlis hadn't done anything to her other than show her the past, had he? Normally that alone would worry him, but the younger demon had assured him she was unbothered by his past actions.

"..." Etihw stayed silent, smiling despite her own worry. This could only mean trouble, and Yosafire was a nice girl too. If something had happened, she wanted to make sure the girl was alright. Turning to Kcalb, she spoke, "...Well, you better go find her then," the black-haired woman said, keeping any traces of worry from her voice. Since Yosafire was technically one of Kcalb's, she would leave it to him to find her.

"...Alright. We'll settle this later," the white-haired man replied, gesturing towards the cake as he followed Froze out.

"You'd better hurry back, or I'll end up getting impatient and eating the cake without you," the goddess responded, encouraging the man in her own way.

"I don't think so," Wodahs stepped in, smacking the eggbeater in his hand.

"Ah, right, right," Etihw responded nervously, slowly moving away from the baked dessert.

Once the two were outside of the room, Etihw let her smile drop. Staring at the door, she frowned, "Hm…"

"So, when did you say you last saw her?" Kcalb asked, turning to Froze once the duo had made it outside of the castle (maybe they should rethink those stairs, or perhaps he should rethink that cake…).

"Yesterday at school. Usually she would come speak to me about not understanding the lesson, but yesterday she left in a hurry. I haven't seen her since, and she's been avoiding me lately," the blonde explained, thinking back to the day before.

"I see…" the man mumbled to himself, looking at the ground in thought. Raising his head once more, he continued, "I think it would be best if I searched on my own. From what you've said, Yosafire would be more likely to approach me if I were alone rather than with you."

"Understood," she gave a nod, "...but tell me if you find her. I want to know what's been wrong with her lately."

"I will," he gave a nod of his own, "I have a few ideas to where she may be."

"Alright, thank you. I'll be taking my leave now," the angel explained, giving the demon lord a bow before hurrying away. She would have to occupy her mind instead of worrying. Perhaps she could find some good reads in the library.

"...Since it's almost nighttime, I should begin looking," Kcalb mumbled to himself, making a list of all of the places Yosafire frequented.

After a few hours, he had turned up with nothing. By now it was completely dark, the full moon sitting high among the stars. The white-haired man was beginning to get worried. If the demon was not here, where could she have gone? She was not yet powerful enough to jump between universes, so she had to be here. At the same time, the world was so vast, Yosafire could be in any of the winding forests of large and desolate clearings.

Gazing up at the moon, the lord of demons frowned. Where could she be? Truthfully, Yosafire was nothing like any of his demons had ever been before. Dialos was similar to Lost, and Rawberry was even more akin to Cranber, but in terms of personality...Yosafire could not be more different from Yosaflame. It made him wonder about his old underling- why his reincarnation would be so vastly different from himself (though, in that case, Macarona and Froze were also anomalies), it was almost funny how Froze and Yosafire were. It was almost as if Froze were Yosaflame and Yosafire was a bubbly and much more tame version of Sherbet (minus the fighting to the death, of course). ...Though, thinking about the past only served to upset him.

As it always did, images of his underlings deaths, his time underground, and his humiliation penetrated his mind. Shaking his head, Kcalb turned his gaze to the moon once more. Where could Yosafire be-

Wait, the moon? That's right, Yosafire had said she liked to view the full moon from one of the cliffs by the flowers. Was she there, then? It was worth a look. Pushing memories of the past behind him (it was so dark and silent so long why how dare she how dare Etihw he hated her Hated Her what right did she have what right did she to Murder all of Them and Imprison him nonononononono-), the horned man made his way towards the field.

It did not take him very long to reach there, Kcalb had been by that tree during his thinking, and it was worth it. Standing there, facing the moon, was the elusive Yosafire. He had half-expected her to speak to him, but as he approached, the demon made no move to even glance at him. She stood perfectly still, face illuminated by the white light of the moon, and red eyes glued to its image.

The two stood in silence, Kcalb turning his gaze to the moon as well. It reminded the lord of the other time the two had met here. Though now was a completely different situation. After what seemed like an eternity, the girl turned to him and spoke up.

"Oh, Old man, when did you get here?" she asked, voice a bit off from her usual upbeat tone. It was almost more forced, if anything.

"...Yosafire, are you-" he started, only to be cut off by the girl.

"No, I'm fine. You're wondering why I've been avoiding Froze and everyone, right?" Yosafire questioned, already knowing the answer.

"...Yes. Did something happen?" Kcalb continued, unsure of where this conversation would go.

"...I guess you could say that," the girl replied, looking distraught. After a moment of frowning, she continued, "Lately I've been remembering a lot of stuff. A lot of bad stuff. I wanted some time to think about it, so I ran away. Probably a bad idea, though," she gave a nervous laugh.

"'Remembering'?" he repeated, eyes suddenly widening, "You don't mean-!"

"Yep. About the past- Cranber, Lost, Sherbet, Rigatona, and Ciel," she confirmed, nodding her head.

"...Does that mean that you...do you hate me, for letting you die?" he questioned bitterly, immediately pinpointing that as the reason she had run away.

"No! I told you before, but I don't care about your past. Old man, you're fine the way you are now, and I won't fault you for what happened before," the fire demon shook her head adamantly, crossing her arms. Pausing for a moment, she looked down, "...I'm just scared. In the past, Froze and I, ah- I mean, Sherbet and I, killed each other. I don't want to hurt Froze again, but sometimes I forget where I am and my memories get all mixed up."

"...It won't happen," Kcalb replied, trying to figure out exactly what he should say. Out of the two of them, Yosafire was much better with this sort of thing, "Just like you told me, the past doesn't matter right now. You're Yosafire, not Yosaflame. Sherbet and Yosaflame were always fighting each other, even out of battle, but you and Froze are friends. Even if you were to suddenly become Yosaflame, I doubt you would attack Froze. He would notice the differences between her and Sherbet," he explained, unsure if he were saying any consolation. It was true, though. Yosaflame had been very meticulous, and the only reason Sherbet and Yosaflame had killed each other was because of the war. If they lived in this time of peace, it was likely they would have been a more extreme version of Macarona and Rawberry.

"...I guess you're right. I was just worrying over nothing," the girl calmed down a bit, looking a bit distraught. Darn, she had made Froze and everyone worry for nothing. Flashing him her usual smile, she continued, "That means I can go see Froze again! Our friendship sworn in love can continue! Thanks, Old man!"

Giving her a nod, Kcalb turned his gaze towards the moon one more, "...It's no problem, don't worry about it."

Smiling at him, Yosafire gave a nod of her own before turning her eyes towards the moon as well.

"But, seriously? Yosaflame? His name was way too similar to mine! He stole it from me! So not cool."