The afternoon was scorching, as usual. Most of the students at the DWMA sought shelter from the looming blaze, some wandered into to local restaurants and others who were lucky enough to live close by, scuttled home immediately.

Days like this were her favorite, her shoppe was a popular choice among many, and close to the school. She had replaced her usual ensemble of hot tea and warm pastries to ice cold drinks and sweet candies. With that subtle change, students simply poured in one after the other.

"Another bountiful day I see?" A voice stuck out from the mess of voices and she turned with a smile.

"More or less, I take it the bar is empty?" Her lips curled up in a small, mischievous smile, "Don't expect me to hire you for the afternoon Shido, just because your business is lacking i;m not going to babysit you" Her words teased him slightly, and she placed on manicured finger playfully on his nose.

Shido scrunched his nose and giggled, "What? I can't come say hi? I live here still anyways" He gently pushed the hair from his eyes as he cocked his head slightly, "Regardless can i have a drink? it is actually quite hot out" a nervous chuckle escaped his lips.

"Another to your exponential tab? Have it your way, you're lucky you're my weapon" She pulled her hair up into a bun, some light brown curls escaping the hold of the tie and framing her face. "lemonade or iced tea?" she asked quietly.

"Lemonade, add some cherries"

She hummed in agreement "good choice" and poured herself her own glass. "Byanca I'm taking a quick break! Cover me please!" Her voice echoed towards the kitchen.

"Alrighty!" a cheerful voice returned

The announcement of her break seemed to intrigue some customers, some wanting to buck up and say hello to her, of course being a high ranking meister most felt too intimidated.

"Lets go upstairs, i hate being watched" her hands patted flour off her apron before she hung it up behind the counter. Shido nodded in agreement.

"Allow me" he smiled, picking up both the drinks to carry.

"Thank you" her head nodded slightly in thanks. The duo shifted through the crowd of people and to the stairs that lead to the living quarters. Each step they took creaked, louder and louder as they slowly escaped the noise and clutter of the shoppe. she plucked the keys from her dress pocket and unlocked the door at the top of the stairs.

"We just gotta keep it down I think Crona is still asleep" she said softly, kicking off her heels and making her way over to the table. Her hand glided over the glass surface, wiping crumbs away before letting Shido set the drinks down.

"How is Crona anyways? I heard he's been more paranoid then usual?" Shido asked, wrapping his lips around a lone cherry.

Her features immediately darkened, "He's just been so skittish as of late, poor ting is tuckering himself out, says he feels watched and monitored or something like that" She swirled her glass idly as she spoke. "Even Ragnarok feels the same way, so it must be something...right?"

"Maybe" He began, "Do you think it has something to do with the recent disappearances of weapons and important artifacts? Maybe he saw something he shouldn't have, or maybe he's next?" Shido raised an eyebrow.

"No! Don't even say that! He's probably just feeling off about the new school year." She slumped in her chair, "He would have told me if he saw something off..."

"Maybe, maybe not." his voice was muffled from stuffing the cherries in his mouth, "You do dote on him too much, maybe he is keeping something from you"

She huffed and flicked a cherry stem at him "Oh shut up!"

"Latia...?"

She gasped, hearing that familiar soft voice call her name. She quickly turned in her chair, seeing Crona in the hallway. "What is it? Is something wrong?" Latia asked worriedly.

Crona shuffled his feet and stared at the floor "Ive got that funny feeling again...its alot worse this time, I'm alil scared" he admitted.

Latia immediately stood up, "I'll go check downstairs OK? I'm gonna make sure nobodies bad here" She turned to Shido, "Stay here please" She made quick work in slamming the rest of her drink and slipping back into her heels.

"Thank you...Latia..." Crona smiled softly.

She smiled back "Anytime"

The noise of the shoppe downstairs seemed to be a tad louder, the volume increasing as she made her way down the stairs. Her heels made a loud clack noise when she reached the bottom step, just loud enough to quiet the shoppe for just a moment. Her golden eyes scanned the whole slew of people in her shoppe, she looked for something different, anyone new? Her eyes caught hold of a head of bright red hair.

It couldn't be Spirit, he never comes in for the after class rush. She parted her way through the crowd, keeping her eyes on the lone table the stranger sat at.

"I've never seen you around here," She tapped her nails on the table, oozing authority. She waited for the stranger to lift their head so she could see their face.

"Er..uhmmm.." The voice was shaky and a tad girlish. He lifted his head, uncovering his nervous smile and smeared makeup. when they're eyes met he blushed deeply and covered his face with a gloved hand. Before he could speak again a loud noise from upstairs practically shook the whole shoppe.

"What in the?" Latia took he attention off the stranger, "Crona are you OK? Shido?"

This was the only time her shoppe felt this quiet.

Authors note: Suh dudes its been like 5-6 years lol, i keep getting people wanting more of this for whatever reason so here you fuckers go