Disclaimer: Black Cat is not my creation.

Chapter I : A Sick Joke

Sephiria fought the urge to crumple the perfumed piece of linen paper at the midst of reading it, then burn it, and leave it unfinished, assuming that the rest of it will just be another fancy and persistently convincing adornment of the sick, sick joke that was being played on her.

But she read it until the end, read it until the unmistakable signature inscribed at the bottom of the leaf. With as much composure as she can manage, Sephiria neatly folded the paper, slid it back in its little envelop, and gingerly placed it in a resealable plastic bag she drew from one of her drawers.

The sick joke, as she assumed, began with a single red rose left on her office desk. She checked but, oddly, there were no signs of forced entry in her office. Only a skilled Number could do that trick, she thought, and so she probed every one of her crew, which unfortunately only lead to no answer but further nuisance by their relentless teasing on her, seeing it as the only chance they got against their ever perfect captain. Good thing a cold, hard glare could right away dismiss the growing annoyance.

It didn't stop there, however. Soon, one rose became two, two became three, and from three, it immediately escalated to a huge bundle.

And it sure caused quite a fuss in the headquarters.

Everyone swore they know nothing about it. The cameras hardly came in handy. Heck, she almost beat the brains out of her comrades just to get an answer! And she couldn't believe that out of all the disturbing things she's seen in life, these petty packages successfully got into her nerves!

And, finally, no flower showed the next day. But there, at the top of her desk, prettily sits a little envelop that strongly emitted the scent of a rose, which she could plainly smell even from a distance. Belze warned her of the possible dangers of impulsively opening packages, especially those coming from unknown sender.

But something in her, both excited and furious, pushed her to pounce on the other end of the room, towards the envelop, with utter madness.

It was the only thing with a definite name recorded in it.

Yet things got even more confusing.

"What does it say?" said the voice behind her which she just ignored a while ago.

Sephiria let out a heavy sigh, and proceeded to walk around the desk to her swivel chair.

"I prefer not to talk about it." She replied, almost muttering to herself. She sat down the furniture with preserved grace, but the expression on her face totally betrayed her imposed demeanor.

Belze's ever frowning face crunched further at the distressed sight of his Captain. "Clearly, this commotion is keeping you up at night." He remarked. "I insist, Captain, that we should begin an all-out investigation."

But Sephiria put up her hand and shook her head. "That would be exaggerating. Plus, we wouldn't want this to get to the elders, do we?"

"Sephiria, let's face it, it's all over the headquarters now. I'm sure the Elders have already heard about it."

"Or have they?" Sephira said in a matter-of-factly tone.

For a moment, the older man once again saw the old, serene Sephiria. Of course, he thought. Sephiria wouldn't allow it. He watched as his Captain rose up from her reposing position and turned her back against him to look out the bullet-proof glass pane.

Surely, everything's a sick joke. Anyone could write the name of the former Eraser. But if it's not Creed, then who would have the motive to play this absurdity on her? If it IS him, then why would he do such?

She recalled all significant lines in the letter. The obscenity- and almost pornographic content- written in absolute courtesy, with her as the character, honestly put a deep tint on her cheeks, and seemed to have triggered subtle sparks at the pit of her lower abdomen.

Right away, she was taken a back at the reaction, and instantly brushed it off, feeling sheer disgust at herself. To think that she would engage in such activity…

But did these really happen?

Was her virginity really taken from her without even remembering, had all not been a prank?

The thought instantly drained the color from her face. She bit her lip, and was actually trying to hold back real tears, a reaction which also caused her a surprise.

Just how glad she is that Belze wasn't facing her to see the expression.

But it couldn't be true! Sure, she could barely remember much from last year's celebration after a few glass of drink, but she certainly recalled waking up in her flat like every other normal morning.

Just not how she got there, though.

Now, it's as if the contents became too suggestive, it filled the blank spaces of her memory. She could almost feel every sense stimulated in the letter. The enthralling moonlight, the scent of the see below the light house, the deep and smooth voice of Creed, the warmth of his fervent presence, and the strong, arousing taste of his luscious lips against her mou-

Stop! Sephiria snapped herself out of it before getting further more into her filthy thoughts. Seriously?! You're enjoying it now?! It's Creed-fucking-Diskenth we're talking about here! Are you out of your wits?! She secretly nagged herself.

In a split second, she recovered her composure, turned to Belze, who too snapped back into attention as if he himself was also having deep, deep thoughts.

"Resume to your usual duty, Number II." Captain Arks commanded. "Today shall be a normal day in the office. Finish what you can; no one is obligated for an over-time in the office. Department should be closed by 17:30."

Belze was astonished by the sudden change of behavior, but was assured right away that his Captain has finally come up with a plan.