** Next Night **

Setsuna stared, taken aback at the sight of Selena.

The girl had . . . elf ears.

Apparently, she wasn't used to them, for she was tugging on the points of them while nervously glancing up at Setsuna. "What the Hell . . ." Setsuna started. "Did you do to Selena's ears . . .?"

The white-haired girl ducked her head, clearly embarrassed. She quickly covered them, trying to hide them from sight.

"This brat," Asuna growled, dropping Negi in front of Setsuna. "Decided to use magic on my 'niece' here."

Negi cowered, covering his head with his arms. "A- Asuna! Please don't hurt me . . . I was all Chamo's idea, I swear it!"

"And, why exactly would you follow his advice?" Asuna shouted, throwing her hands up into the air. "That pervert always leads you in the wrong direction!"

"It does look really cute, though . . ." Setsuna trailed off, tilting her head to the side. "What were you trying to do?"

Negi squeaked as Asuna punched him in the shoulder. "Ch- Chamo told me to try a spell and see if I can make her talk . . . and, as you can see . . . that didn't exactly happen."

"Like Hell it did!" Asuna growled. "Jeez, Negi . . . speaking of Chamo, where is he?"

~~~Chamo~~~ (Just 'cause he's awesome like that)

"But, Eva! You gotta help my bro out, or Asuna and or Setsuna may kill him and me!" Chamo pleaded.

"I said 'no'." Evangeline glared at him coldly. "You dug your way into this – dig yourself out."

'This is no good!' Chamo thought fearfully. 'If Setsuna sees Selena as she is, she'll have my head!'

Little did the ermine know, Setsuna already had . . .

"Please, Evangeline! You have to help us!" Chamo pleaded once more, only to receive another glare from the vampire. She rubbed her temple, huffing in frustration. "Go. To. Hell."

"I'm already there, leech." He muttered, scampering off to the right as she went to stomp on his tail.

"Get the hell over here now, you flea-bitten rat!" She demanded, blushing slightly from anger. "I am NOT a leech, rodent!"

"Fine, will you at least help me with this one question?" Chamo asked. "I've talked to Negi, but we've got nothing."

Sighing, Evangeline shook her head. "What is it, Chamo?"

"You know how Selena has magical energy in her?" The vampire nodded her head impatiently. "How do we tell what kind of magical blood? For example, Negi has wind magic in his blood. What does Selena have?"

**Setsuna** ~Later on same that night~~

"Come on, Selena . . . eat your leeks." Setsuna urged. "Pretty please?"

The white-haired girl wrinkled her nose, turning her face away from the plate, shaking her head in a 'No'. "They're good for you . . ." Setsuna continued, receiving another shake of the head from the young girl. "For me?"

Another shake of the head.

"Can I get you anything else, ma'am?" The waitress stood by the table, her notepad out and ready. Setsuna glanced at her, as if to say, 'one moment' , andthe woman shrugged, chewing on the end of the pencil. "take your time, honey."

"Come one, please Selena?" the swordsman tried once again. The silent girl responded by knocking the bowl away – causing it to fly into the waitress's apron. This was met with a loud squeak and the shattering of glass. The entire restaurant went silent for a moment, and then it returned to its talkative self.

The woman glanced from her apron to the girl, wide-eyed. Selena smiled sheepishly, her fern green eyes sparkling apologetically before signing,

My bad – I didn't mean to knock the food on you.

The woman shook her head. "Nah, it's alright, sweetheart. I'm guessing you just don't like leeks."

She then proceeded to pick up the pieces of glass and food. "How did you know what she said?" Setsuna asked, tilting her head curiously. "Well, honey, my Pa always told me to learn another language." She replied. "I figured signin' would be easy, since we ain't gotta say nothin'. Bless my poor heart, for boy, was it not."

She stood up, brushing herself off. "Yall just wait here, while I go get us a broom. By the way, Her ears make her look super adorable!"

With that said, she turned and walked away. Turning her attention to Selena, Setsuna noticed that she was quite interested in the unlit candle – she was staring at it like it was some kind of UFO or something related. "It's just a candle." Setsuna blinked. "What's wrong Selena?"

** Selena **

She didn't know what it was, but she felt drawn to the candle – like it was an ice cream or whatever. She didn't know why she hadn't noticed it before, but know it was all she could focus on . . . The sensation seemed to tug on her blood, body, and mind.

Slowly, she reached out towards the candle and just barely touched the wick of it. She immediately recoiled as she was met by the sudden heat of a flame. Shaking her hand, she quickly checked over it to make sure she had no burns. 'No . . . I'm fine.'She thought. 'Wait a minute . . .did . . . did I just . . .'

Her eyes widened in surprise as she looked up and confirmed her thoughts. The candle was lit, and Setsuna was staring at her, her eyes widened in shock as well. "S- Selena . . .?"

*** Just a quick glance over to see what Asuna / Negi / Chamo / Konoka are doing~ ***

"Thanks for Dinner, Konoka! It smells and looks great!" Negi exclaimed happily. "Much better than Asuna's cooking!"

"Yeah, so what?" Asuna grumbled, stabbing her fork at the homemade meal. "It's not my fault I can't cook a meal worth shi–"

"Asuna." Konoka warned. "No cursing."

Nodding, the red-head went ahead and started to eat as Konoka went back into the kitchen to get Negi a plate. "Hey Bro . . ." Chamo said thoughtfully, putting out his cigar. Looking at the ermine, Negi replied. "Yes, Chamo?"

Tapping his furry head thoughtfully, Chamo asked, "Did we ever tell Setsuna about Selena?"

***** Later that night *****

'H- how did I do that . . .?' Selena thought, dumbfounded. She stole a glance over at Setsuna, who looked half–dazed and half–shocked. ''Does it have something to do with me having magical energy or demonic energy in my blood . . .?'

Selena shook her head. It couldn't be that . . . could it . . .? But . . . it was the only explanation.

Selena froze. She could have sworn she just heard the scraping of shoes on sidewalk . . .

"Come on, Selena." Setsuna ushered, looking back at her. "We gotta get back before they lock us out."

There it was again. Looking up at Setsuna, she noticed how tired the swordsman looked. Was it really that late? Or was something worrying Setsuna the point to fatigue? Glancing around, Selena could have sworn she saw a flicker of movement somewhere in the shadows. Tilting her head curiously, she searched for any sign of movement.

Must have been her imagination.

Reaching out, Selena caught hold of Setsuna's hand. The swordsman looked a little surprised, but, other than that, she didn't say anything about the action. Smiling in relief, Selena couldn't help but feel a bit safer. There was something about the swordsman that just made her feel that way.

The girl tightened her hold on the swordsman's hand, stealing a glance at her. 'She's given so much up for everything and everyone in her life . . . yet . . . she believes it could all be for nothing. But . . . she doesn't care – as long as she can protect those she loves.' Selena frowned sadly. 'Her friends are her family, and she's willing to put her life on the line for them . . . even for me.'

Smiling, the girl looked up at the dark sky. 'She's really caring, isn't she? Just like a mother . . .'

Suddenly, something or someone tore her away from Setsuna and held her up in the air, by the collar of her jacket, behind the swordsman. Setsuna was quick to react, turning to see what had happened, her hand on the hilt of her sword.

"Well, well, well." A male voice hummed. "It's not everyday we see a mother and her daughter wandering the streets this late at night."

Selena's eyes widened in shock, freezing at the sound of his voice. 'Th – that voice . . .'

"Put her down." Setsuna growled, taking a threatening step forward. "Harm one hair on her head, and –"

"What?" He snickered. "You'll hurt me? A scrawny thing like you? Ha! I'd like to see–"

He cut off suddenly with a sound between a groan and a squeal as Setsuna kneed him in the groin area. The swordsman then causally took Selena from the man's grip just seconds before he fell to his knees from the pain.

"I told you to let her go." Setsuna sighed. "I guess some men just don't listen, do they?"

"Couldn't you have knocked me out or something?" The man groaned. "That would have been a lot less painful, ya' know!"

Ignoring him, Setsuna hugged Selena, murmuring, "Let's go home."

The man groaned again, glancing up at Selena. His eyes widened with shock as he stammered, "K- Kay'era?"

Selena blinked. 'Why did he call me by my mother's name . . .? Wait . . . he – he's the one who . . . who killed my family!'

** Pyro **

"Maybe threatening her like that wasn't the best way to get her to be mine . . ." He sighed, trailing off. Looking up at the night sky sadly, he sighed again. 'I loved her more than all the stars in the night sky. I still can't believe that she's gone . . . even after almost five hundred years.'

He could still hear her bubbly laughter in his mind, filled with joy and happiness. "I avenged her . . ." He mumbled. "But why do I still feel so empty inside . . .?"

Maybe it was because she was still gone. He never got why she had to die. She was a good woman! "She was mine . . ." He growled, standing up. "And you stole her from me!"

He glared up at the night sky, clutching his fists. "I demand that you give her back to me! I don't care if you're a god, a goddess, or an animal! I just want her back . . . please . . ."

Pyro flinched as a single raindrop hit his nose just before it instantly began pouring.

So much for telling the Heavens off.

Sinking to his knees, Pyro sighed. "It doesn't do very much good shouting to the sky."

He ran his fingers through his soaked, sandy blonde hair and sighed again. 'Maybe it's time I let my past go.' He thought. 'Maybe it's time to let Soren go.'

"No matter what, I'll still love you forever." He murmured, removing the mask from his bag. Taking one last look at it, he shook his head. "My days of a lone knight are forever over. Maybe one day I'll find the one person I will serve forevermore, but that day will have to wait. It is time left the past behind."

With that said, he tossed the mask away – watching as it caught fire. The spell was quite simple, really. The magic react not to the rain, but only continued to burn the mask into ash. "I should keep my clothes, though." He hummed. "I'll need them in future trouble . . . Maybe I should pay Konoka a visit. But first . . . I should apologize to Setsuna."

** Selena **

Selena let Setsuna dress her into a pair of pajamas, listening to the swordsman hum a song that she didn't recognize. 'That man . . .' Selena thought. 'He Killed my family . . .'

"School starts back up in a couple of days." Setsuna hummed, drawing Selena's attention. "You're seven, right? I'm going to ask the headmaster to put you in school along with us. Well, in elementary classes, of course."

The swordsman smiled, her hazel eyes shining with joy. "I'll finally be able to walk alongside Ms. Konoka again. She's always has the most interesting things to say, sometimes."

Selena laughed and signed,

You must really like Konoka, don't you? You speak of her quite fondly.

Setsuna blushed slightly, nodding. "Well, of course. I could tell you all kinds of things about her."

The swordsman picked Selena up and set her on the bed gently. "Like she's a wonderful cook. She once cooked me an entire basket full of cookies, cakes, pies, caramel, and chocolates for valentines day." The swordsman sweat-dropped as she sat in front of Selena. "But she forgot that I don't exactly like sweets . . . but, I still tried them all for her sake – and they were all delicious."

Setsuna laughed, shaking her head. "She's also really smart, but I will admit she can be quite a ditz at times. There was this one time I took half an hour to finish my Algebra homework. It took her five minutes. But then she had it mistaken for her scratch paper and threw it away . . . Then she realized she had already thrown away her scratch paper."

"Plus, she's the most beautiful girl I've seen in my life." The swordsman sighed. "I've known her almost my entire life now . . . and she's always gotten me to blush, laugh, or smile. Sometimes all three. Just being around her makes my heart skip a beat . . . I really do love her."

Selena sighed, forgetting all about her own worries. 'Setsuna really does love her, doesn't she? She could probably think up a whole lot more good things about Konoka.'

Setsuna shook her head. "Sorry. Well, bed-time." The ruffled Selena's hair and kissed her on the forehead gently. "Have a good night's sleep. I'll be back soon – promise."

** Setsuna **

Shutting the door behind her quietly, the swordsman sighed. "I can't believe I said all of that . . . What I said was the truth . . . but I've never told anyone how I felt about her . . ."

"Well, I, for one, am not surprised." someone sighed, causing Setsuna to jump in fright.

Today was just not her day, was it?

Turning, she was greeted with the sight of . . . of him. But . . . he wasn't wearing his mask. "You!" She growled, taking a step back. "What the hell are you doing here?!"

"W- wait!" He exclaimed, reaching a hand in her direction. "I swear, I haven't come to harm you or Konoka. I've come to apologize."

He lowered his gaze to the ground, biting his lower lip. "I- I don't want to hurt her anymore. I don't want her to suffer . . . I've seen her kindness, her care for others, plus she's really great company. I've come to ask for your forgiveness – not a fight. My actions were out of pure greed . . . not thought."

The swordsman shook her head. "Why should I believe you . . . ? For all I know, you could only be trying to get my guard down."

She took another step back, searching for the doorknob without looking. "Stay away from me. Stay away from Ms. Konoka. But, most of all, stay away from Selena." She growled, feeling her hand close around the metal. A look of confusion passed over his face as he titled his head. "Selena . . .?"

'Shit.' She cursed silently, wanting to face-palm at her sudden stupidity. 'I forgot, he doesn't know who Selena is.'

"Just go away." She growled. "I want nothing to do with you. Ever. Want to know the truth? I'm. Not. Interested."

"I'm not surprised." He sighed. "Please, I'm only asking for forgiveness. Nothing else."

Shaking her head, Setsuna clumsily opened her door and nearly fell through the entrance of the room. "I can't not until I know what your saying is completely true . . . but even then I might not be able to."

Shutting the door, she cut him off from saying anything else. 'I just don't want him to get to the two girls I care about the most . . .' Setsuna sighed. 'But . . . For some reason I fear he'll get to Selena more than Konoka . . .'

**End~ So, how'd you like the chapter guys? Well, if you enjoy this story here, please check out my other story: Photograph. And, please review if you like the chapter! Bye for now guys! **

~ Angel981