The first thing that Mukuro remembered thinking was that his stomach was feeling strangely empty.

The second was: Oh...I'm here.

And the third: How the fuck did I get here?

This world was one that he never expected to see again.

Heaven.

Now he was a good twenty-three years in this world of Deva and Mukuro had to admit, however grudgingly, there truly was no world more pleasant than this one. There was something calming about the sweet air that relaxed every muscle. It was a strangely invigorating feeling. True, there was nothing in any of the worlds that could compare to the peacefulness and the serenity of Heaven, but it was lacking something. There was just a little something that prevented this world from becoming his ideal world. He felt restless. He thought it over.

Ah, of course.

That was it. It was missing the unique chaotic charm and terror that only he could cause. He nodded, affirming the assertion.

He had been complacent for far too long! He was going to take matters into—! Shiiiii!

He was interrupted by the whistling of the water heater that told him that the hot water was done and ready for tea. He sighed as he looked up at his empty teapot and then back at the water heater that was whistling relentlessly. He thought it over.

Yes. Terror it was. Tomorrow. Perhaps after a cup of sakurayu.

With that, he busied himself with preparing the tea.

Mukuro was not happy. He stalked along the trail that wound around the lush forests of Heaven, stomping and scowling at every animal he met along the way. He wanted to cause terror. He wanted to ruin the picturesque scenery of Heaven. He wanted to tear down this perfect world, dammit!

But he couldn't.

He cursed the sickeningly sweet and kind soul that was the side-effect of living in this world. He wasn't able to raise a hand against anyone without a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. He supposed this feeling was that stupid 'guilt' and a feeling of 'justice' that Knuckles always preached about in their previous life.

Well, fuck that.

"What are you doing here?"

Mukuro wanted nothing better to do than to lunge at the speaker of those cold words and strangle him dead.

Wait…What? Cold words? Cold words? Mukuro almost felt like jumping for joy. So he wasn't the only sane one in this world. That was something new. He turned around in what he thought was a threatening manner, putting on the best glare he had for a while. It failed miserably.

What he saw made him forget how to breathe for a second. The man in front of his eyes was practically Alaude's twin. They both had the same self-righteous sneer, the same blonde hair, the same smooth skin. The same piercing eyes.

When he finally found his voice again, he managed to choke out in a voice that was pitch higher than normal, "What does it matter to you?"

"What does it matter to me? You're on my property right now. Of course it matters to me," the Alaude look-alike curled his lip.

The two studied each other intently, searching for any weaknesses the other might have. Mukuro bent his knees and shifted his weight forward, ready to meet any attack Alaude, as Mukuro dubbed him, might make. Alaude moved his hand—

Mukuro rushed forward to meet the attack head on, but almost tripped over himself when Alaude just pulled a disgusted sneer and walked away instead of attacking. "What?" Mukuro stumbled before steadying himself. He looked up at Alaude, who yawned and stretched.

Alaude shrugged as he turned back to face Mukuro. He ran a hand through his silky, soft blond hair (Mukuro had to stop himself from staring), before nonchalantly replying with a smirk, "Eh, I'm not in the mood to fight. Besides…you don't look like you could harm a fly."

Mukuro's brain registered what he had said. He ground his teeth angrily. After all, he couldn't deny it. In this stupid, cursed world, he couldn't even hurt an insect without feeling some of that hideous 'guilt'. He hated the feeling so much. He just hoped that he wouldn't start spouting declarations of love to everything in sight, because for all he knew, that might just be the next thing the world provided him with.

Before he realized it, Alaude had retreated back into what Mukuro assumed was his home.

So, Mukuro did the first thing he thought of.

He followed Alaude home.

"What are you doing here?"

"Oh, nothing really," Mukuro looked around. He silently cursed whoever gave him the thought that following Alaude home was a good idea. He fingered a cabinet handle, feeling the smooth metal underneath his fingers. He opened it. Inside were little pots and boxes of tea. He reached for a ceramic pot with little purple birds. He took off the lid and sniffed it. "Nice collection."

"Hm," Alaude agreed.

He stared at Mukuro with those cold eyses of his, watching his every move. Mukuro felt unnerved by them. He replaced the tea. Alaude didn't say anything, but looked outside. Mukuro followed the other's gaze out the door.

"Sakura trees?"

There were pink petals floated up in a light pink tornado every time the wind blew. . Alaude wrinkled his nose in distaste. He looked away from the door. "Came with the house. If it was up to me, I wouldn't have something as weak as flowers in my house."

"If you know how to use them, it doesn't really matter, you know? Sakurayu's pretty good," Mukuro shrugged.

Alaude frowned. "Sakurayu?"

Mukuro smiled. "Tomorrow, boil some water. I'll be here at six."

Alaude didn't say anything, and Mukuro took that as agreement. Mukuro smiled to himself as left the building.

He had a date.

With a man whose name he didn't even know.

Mukuro raised his fist to knock on the door, all the while wondering what the hell he was doing. Why was he here, standing outside a strangers door with pickled sakura petals? Here, in front of a house that could house a serial killer or something (considering this was probably the reincarnation of Alaude, it wasn't really all that unlikely).

He walked straight in.

"Do you have the hot water?" Mukuro hummed as he entered the house without being invited in.

"It's in the pot."

Mukuro inwardly smirked at Alaude's slight show of enthusiasm of already boiling the water. He picked out two cups and a teapot from the cabinet he looked through yesterday. He poured several petals into the pot and filled it with hot water. Humming, he replaced the cap on the pot and let it steep.

He looked over at Alaude, who was preparing a dinner. "Ooh, that looks good. But…all meat?"

Alaude glared.

"It's not like you're going to stay for dinner, herbivore."

"What do you think about the tea?"

"Hn."

There was a chink of porcelain against metal as someone set down his fork.

"Glad you like it...and uh, this might sound a little awkward, but, uh, what's your name?"