Cupid's Invitation

Virginia sighed. She was kind for a Demon, her being of the Cleric tier might have helped that, and somewhat shy when it came to matters of the heart. Now, the young Savior was dealing with a moral dilemma. She had been feeling different towards her Shinobi friend, Jet, for some time now. However, Virginia didn't know what the heck that feeling was. For all her sensitivity, most emotions were still as foreign to her as that of any other Demon. That left her only one person she could ask for advice.

So one day, after the Healers' Meeting, the young Savior cornered Flonne. The little Angel was extremely understanding about matters of the heart and knew more about emotions than anybody else in the castle, and perhaps the entire Netherworld. Flonne was more than happy to talk and make friends.

"I'm having a problem," admitted Virginia, "You'd be the best person to talk to here since you understand people. Recently, I've begun feeling strangely when I'm around Jet; you know, the ax wielding Shinobi on Lord Laharl's front lines. I don't know what it means and thought you might…"

"This is wonderful! Ginny, I think you might be in love. That means, Demons can have love in their hearts. I've proven my point now, Laharl will have to believe me," Flonne called out. And she would have carried on for a long time had Virginia not intervened. The only drawback about asking Flonne for anything was that she was incredibly hyper and did not know how or when to keep her voice down.

The embarrassed Savior informed Flonne, "I don't even understand what love is so I don't know if it's the same feeling that I'm having. So can you please clarify exactly what you'd refer to as 'love' so I might understand where you're going with this?" She sighed; dealing with Flonne was a chore.

This statement caused the young Angel Trainee to giggle. So used to people knowing what love was and how to express it, she tended to be mystified by the Demons' unwillingness to accept it. Even Laharl seemed to know about love, despite his utter hatred of anything relating to it. "Well, it's when you really care about someone. You want to be around them a lot and are pained when apart. If that person is in trouble you want to rush to their side and protect them from all harm. They're the only one you want to be live with as husband and wife, the one who you want to have a family with. It's so obvious when you look into their eyes, you can see a clear future of happiness and tranquility with that person."

"I think you set the bar a little high," Virginia admitted, "Most of that poetic stuff is really hard to understand; I am a Demon after all. What I'm talking about is the fact that my stomach seems to go weak whenever Jet is around, I have trouble conversing with him and not getting tongue tied, and I can't seem to get my mind off of him. Are those physical ailments sure signs of someone who is in love as well?"

"Yup, those are signals that you might be in love. They do signify other things too when alone, but there are just too many of the signs for it to be a mere coincidence. I'm sorry, I forgot I wasn't talking to other Angels when I gave you my response. You are most definitely in love with Jet from the way you're talking. And now…I'll help you get together so I might prove that Demons can love just as well as humans and Angels can!" exclaimed Flonne, fire surrounding her body as if she was a Great Wyrm.

Virginia muttered, "I shouldn't have asked Flonne, she always makes mountains out of molehills."

S...S

An hour later, in the kitchen, the young Angel Trainee was piling as many Netherworld varieties of sweets she could get her hands on into her Savior friend's arms. Virginia felt like she was lifting one of Laharl's pet Dragons after the two hundredth box. Despite her claims that Jet did not seem to like the taste of chocolate, Flonne insisted it was the best way to handle the situation. After all, no man or woman could resist the sweet taste of candies coming from the one that loved them most in the universe.

Ginny sighed. 'But Jet's a Demon; he thinks differently than anyone you ever met before.'

"Since you said Jet comes into the kitchen every day at three thirty for a snack, that's our time to strike," Flonne announced, "We're going to set up these candies and give him a choice. Then, slip a note inside his pocket while he's pondering what to eat. That'll get him to head for Stage Two later tonight."

At that moment, the two girls heard footsteps. In walked an incredibly irate young Shinobi. Jet had just come from a spying mission and was frustrated. As usual, he'd been forced to take his hyperactive younger sister along for the ride. Jessica had given him and Leila an earful over every little thing she saw in the loudest voice possible. Several times, their quarry had nearly sensed their presence due to her loud mouth. Luckily, before they could, Jet had tossed both his Durandal and Leila's Cosmic Blade like they were Prinnies; the shots killed the enemies before they could do any harm to the team.

"Of all the sisters I could have been given…it had to be Jessica the Rambunctious Ronin. Even her ascent to the Shogun status hasn't stopped her from being a major pain in my ass. One of these days, that little Demoness is going to be the death of me," he muttered as he walked to the counter.

Virginia inquired, "Hey Jet, would you be interested in buying a box of chocolate? You see, we're trying to raise money for Lord Laharl's war effort by selling this stuff. Only 1,000 HL for these special boxes; they're better than the stuff you get at Rosenqueen cuz they're from a special order catalogue that specializes in Netherworld candies." She gestured towards the table packed with goodies and smiled.

He made the worst mistake possible given the time and place; Jet looked up and directly stared into those luscious red orbs that were her eyes. This made him feel funny, like he couldn't resist her if he tried. "Ok, I'll do it! But the food better be worth it because that's expensive for even fancy candies."

"You won't regret this purchase Jet!" Virginia exclaimed, "Besides, all proceeds go directly to our war chest so that Lord Laharl can better outfit his soldiers. Who knows, maybe he'll be able to afford an Apocalypse for you on the Black Market; he is getting tired of our endless games in the Item World looking for new items. I'm hoping for an Omniscient Staff from the Black Market and so I'm helping with the candy sale. He might just put those who not only do a good job up top, but those who wish to help him get the cash for supplies." That answer seemed reasonable so he bent over to look at the candy.

At the same time, Flonne was slipping something into his pocket. It was a piece of paper with a message about meeting a certain someone for an important training session at 9:00 that night. Since Jet was known for his love of training, she was sure he'd take the bait and come without question.

"See Virginia, I told you it would work," Flonne commented after the Shinobi was well out of earshot. Just then, she sweatdropped as she saw Jessica coming by with Emily and Lyla. Hyper-queen thought they really were having a fundraiser and had rushed by to purchase a ton of candy with her savings. The other girls just wanted a piece each because they enjoyed sweets now and then.

Virginia nearly popped a vein, but held her temper in check. She told them, "Sure, it's 1,000 HL for each box of candy. Enjoy your purchases." The girls paid for their candy, 1,000 each for Lyla and Emily while Jessica spent about 17,000 on hers, and left. The Savior and the Angel hastily cleaned up the candy, which had come from their own private stashes, and rushed off to get rid of the money.

Flonne looked over to her ally. "Well, I say we really donate the profits to Laharl's war chest. Nobody can pin a scam on us. Even if Jessica or the others talk to someone else about it, we can just take out more of the candy. After all, it's only 800 HL a box in the catalog we brought it from."

Liking that idea, Virginia went over to Laharl and told him about making him some quick cash for the war effort. Since Laharl was as greedy as greedy could get, he didn't bother to even ask his lead healer about how she came about making 4,000 HL in a single day. He simply thanked her gruffly and left to deposit it into the cache he'd set aside for paying his vassals and buying supplies. A relieved Virginia returned to her room so that Flonne could help her to get ready for that evening. She decided against wearing her usual clothes and needed help finding a dress. So they went through her entire closet, looking for something that would look good on a young Savior looking for a boyfriend.

S...S

That night, Virginia stood on the edge of the training grounds in a long violet gown. Her hair had been treated so that it flowed in wavy arcs around her head. Blush and eyeliner had been applied as well, and she carried a small black rose in her left hand. The girl was nervous, but hanging in there well.

In the arena, there were two Bastets wrestling with one another. One was Jessica's pet, and perpetual partner in crime, Frisky. They'd met during the Maderas debacle and had hit it off without much difficulty. The second was Hikari, Virginia's long standing companion. Her meeting had been many years ago when they were both children and had been playing outside. It hadn't been hard to ask the two KitKats to allow Jet to fight them. The plan was to beat him down by a double time attack and then have Virginia show out of nowhere to heal him. To make sure Jet didn't get suspicious, Flonne had asked for Etna's help in allowing and overseeing the duel; telling her it was important practice for future battles. Laharl's second in command hadn't noticed a certain Savior waiting around in a beautiful ball gown.

When Jet came downstairs, the devilish vassal smirked. "Well, looks like you're on time. I needed some help in training the KitKats because Laharl wants them to work as a team. Personally, I think he's just trying to send them off to one corner of the field so he doesn't have to deal with their sexy bodies. Since Virginia and Jessica aren't always free at the same time, I'm directing this training session. Now, charge girls!" Jet brandished his ax as a duo of hyperactive KitKats rushed him from the front.

Swinging the Durandal in a crescent arc, Jet struck out at Frisky. But Hikari took the opportunity to jump, coming around to Jet's back. She slammed him with a Delta Kick and tossed him into the middle of the floor. Then, as he was getting up, he got hit with Frisky's Mystic Blast. Jet tried to stand, but then both Bastets were on him at once and pulled off a double Fists of Fury. The young Ninja fell to the ground in a dizzy stupor, while Etna checked the list she had been given by Flonne before the event.

"Love Freak was right," muttered Etna, "Two KitKats can take down our top Ninja. He didn't even dodge them; possibly because of the Marksmen she stuffed in the Lucifer Forces. Well, now to give my report to the Prince." She walked out, leaving poor Jet unconscious on the floor of the training hall.

'Now for my part!' thought Virginia as she watched the KitKats follow Etna. The Savior knelt on the floor next to Jet, cradled him in her arms, and began to cast Omega Heal. She looked down upon his face as his crimson eyes fluttered open and a similar color began to creep across his face. In fact, she could feel her own face getting hot just looking at him. This must have been another part of Love that she'd forgotten to ask Flonne to clarify. It made her feel funny inside, but it was good just the same.

Jet sputtered out, "What the Hell happened? I was beaten up by a team of Bastets! Usually, I dodge attacks of people like that. Plus, when have Etna and Laharl been all about teamwork? And why are you in that frilly crap instead of your Savior's dress? I could see you being assigned the role of healer, but this makes no sense!" He tried to get up, but felt his back still wasn't up to it. Instead, the Shinobi collapsed into Virginia's arms once more, and his blush began to deepen if it was possible to do so.

Virginia stroked his hair out of his sweat soaked face. "I'm here because I care about you Jet! You…that is to say…I feel strange when I'm with you. My stomach is in knots, I can't look you in the eye, I stutter if it's anything other than battle related, and I think about you even when you're not here. Flonne said it means that I must love you; I have to take her word for it because no one else had an answer."

'That's just how I get when I'm around her!' Jet yelled at himself, 'Is it true that this is what that Angel Trainee calls "Love?" I don't understand…what can I tell this girl now? I want to know how I really feel, but I don't want to be seen as a softie by the others in the unit. Jessica would tease me to no end, Gallows would laugh at me and then pull some stupid stunt, and Vincent would bring out his "Big Brother" routine and threaten me if I hurt Virginia in any way. Damn it! I don't know what to do about this now!'

"If you're too embarrassed, then you don't have to say it. Your face is enough to show me how you feel; Flonne explained all that to me as well and a healer always has to know how to read when a patient is holding in their pain and injuries. I'm sure you'll eventually be able to admit the truth to me. Until that time, I'll be waiting for your answer," Virginia told him. Then, she left to return to her room.

S...S

Flonne found the Demoness in her room about an hour later. Virginia had taken off her fancy gown and was back in her Savior's dress. There was a peaceful smile about her face as she thought of her feelings for Jet. But when she told Flonne what had happened, the young Angel was clearly shocked.

She exclaimed, "Why did you just give up! He was there, you knew his face reflected his true feelings, and you were ready as you'd ever be. But you just returned to your room without a second thought and left him to ponder what you were talking about." Confusion set in on her brain; back in Celestia people were able to express their emotions freely and would never pass up an opportunity.

Virginia simply smiled back at her. "Just telling him how I felt was good enough for now. I'm going to be living a long life and can wait until he's ready. Patience is a virtue my friend; that's what my mother used to tell me. One day, Jet will be ready to talk about his feelings with me and we can be together. Until that day comes, I'm content with being his friend and caring for him in whatever way that I can. After all, you yourself told me that love always stands the tests of both time and distance."

'I think Virginia has taught me something today as well,' thought Flonne, 'Love can be expressed in more ways than one and can be accepted in different forms. Once Jet understands, then he'll be ready to love Virginia. She's strong to wait for that time, and I must emulate her strength in waiting to make Laharl understand what Love really is. I know that if I keep working hard, I can show him what he's been missing out on, and help him to find some insight into his own heart.' Then, she left for her own bedroom.

Teefa's Last Words.

I want to wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day and tell you that I've finally finished this chapter. It took a long time because I had schoolwork and kept coming home exhausted. It also is up a day late cuz I left it on the wrong computer. Anyway, I wanted a sweet little romantic story that would teach not only the vassals involved, but Flonne would learn something too. One of my favorite things about Disgaea was the fact that she learned from her experiences in the Netherworld while Laharl and Etna learned what it meant to care for other people.