Luka, Len and Rin turned in the direction they heard the voice coming from. While the twins' expression was one of curiosity, hers was of distress. While their goal was indeed to locate Gakupo, and this encounter could be called a lucky coincidence, she would've preferred mentally preparing herself before meeting the creepy individual again.
"Ahhh, if it isn't the fair maiden from a short while ago, Miss Megurine Luka. I'm overjoyed to have the fortune to meet you again so soon," he greeted her, taking a bow. Well, that makes one of us, she made a comment to herself.
"If I may ask, who might your companions be?" he inquired, turning towards Rin and Len.
"Kagamine Rin, and my twin brother, Len. We're spellcasters," the girl took care of the introductions for the both of them. Even though he no longer had the wall of silence, all thanks to Miku, she was still the outgoing one who spoke to strangers more easily.
"Ah, I see; what a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Kamui Gakupo, of the same trade." Another bow accompanied his introduction. The twins eyed his uncommon attire strangely.
"What brings you to my home in such dire meteorological conditions?" he asked, looking over the visitors from head to toe.
"We've come to seek your aid, sir," Luka explained, already getting caught up in his pace and unintentionally switching to eloquent speech.
"Oh, how wonderful. It'd be to my utmost pleasure to be of assistance to you. Please, before you provide me with the details, come inside. It is far too chilly to discuss such crucial matters at the entrance," he said, ushering them deeper inside the cave with a hand gesture towards the shadows.
The three of them followed his lead in one row; the corridor of the cave was quite spacious. With a clap of his hands, two columns of small orbs of light illuminated their path. After a short walk, they reached the main chamber. It was a pentagonal room, simplistic in style, with a main color theme of purple and its many variants. In the middle was a proper campfire, encircled by boulders. Beside it was a metal pole, with a cauldron hanging on the protruding vertical limb, thus making it possible to position it above the fire when in use. Several large, globular objects made of a slightly bouncy material served as chairs. Two walls were lined with wooden cabinets. One contained various magical ingredients, judging from the numerous interesting instruments placed on the counter built into it. The sink placed on the flat surface of the other one led them to believe that it stored regular food items. Another, small corridor opened from the third wall, probably leading to his sleeping quarters. A bookshelf was hewn into the last wall, holding an immense amount of written documents.
"Please, make yourselves feel at home," he announced, beckoning towards the strange seats.
Urged by her curiosity that knows no boundaries, Rin was the first to dash forward and reserve a spot for herself. Plopping down on one of the chairs, she slowly sunk into its plush fabric, slightly rocking it in the process.
"Aaaahhh, this thing is so comfortable," she sighed contently, sprawling across it.
Hearing his sister's positive comment, Len sat down on the one to her right. He immediately pulled out the metal cage puzzle and continued to work on solving it. After a moment of hesitation, Luka occupied the one to her left. Once all of his guests were seated, Gakupo also sat down on a chair, across from them, on the other side of the fireplace. With a rod, he poked at the dwindling fire to breathe new life into it. Even though he's a powerful spellcaster, he doesn't use magic for every little thing, the huntress noted the respectable trait to herself.
"Do inform me, what is the nature of the matter you require my help with?" the man inquired, getting right down to the point.
"We found a counter-prophecy, and we've come to the understanding that we need the help of a powerful spellcaster, who, at the current time, would be you," Luka explained. "Give me a moment to find it."
She began rummaging through their belonging in search of the note, to no avail. It dawned upon her that it had stayed in Miku's pocket.
"Problem. We left it with Miku," she said to the twins, her voice trembling upon the mention of their lost companion. Half-following the conversation, Len perked his head up.
"No worries, I have it memorized," he announced and afterwards recited it to Gakupo. "The Amethyst refers to you, sir." He promptly returned to messing about with the puzzle.
"Yes, it's as clear as the azure sky on a summer day. I am required for unlocking the full potential of the Treasure," he enlightened them.
"That means you know what it is?" Rin wondered, a sliver of hope brightening her tone.
"Dear child, my knowledge is vast, yet not limitless. There are some legends even I am unsure of the truths hiding behind them. On the contrary, I'm certain that a relic of unknown origin must necessitate an immense amount of magical energy to activate, regardless of its actual form," he further explained.
Luka mentally groaned. He isn't implying that he's coming along, is he? She kept a straight face to hide her annoyance due to the idea. There was only so much time she was capable of spending in the vicinity of someone who had such a peculiar presence.
"Very well, I shall comply with your request and accompany you to the Aquamarine Lagoon. It is within my ability to open up the portal at the top of Quartz Point in order to arrive to our destination faster, once the blizzard has sufficiently subsided," he offered to the group.
Jade Forest wasn't the only place in Diavolco that bore magical properties, though it was the biggest example. The Diamond Peaks had a single place where magic manifested itself: the very tip of Quartz Point. It was a one-way portal that could transport you to anywhere in Diavolco. It proved to be most useful for hikers lost in the mountains, for it provided them with a simple method of finding their way back home. If, however, one had no actual need of using it, magical energy was required to operate it.
"That'd be great!" Rin exclaimed. "But first, we'll need to find our friend, who's gotten stuck outside somewhere."
"I see. It pains me to say that I am unable to help at the moment; meddling with the weather is a dangerous art, even for an individual of my capabilities," he said regretfully.
The discussion was interrupted by the grumbling of a stomach. The perpetrator was Len; the boy looked up from the puzzle, a pink tinge bringing color to his cheeks, which made Rin giggle.
"How rude of me to have not offered my guests something to eat," Gakupo apologized. "Allow me to find something to nourish yourselves with."
"Can Luka cook something for us? Her food's delicious!" Rin interjected as the man was getting up from his chair. The unanticipated praise made the woman laugh nervously.
"Certainly, if it does not pose too much trouble for her," he accepted the girl's proposition. She turned to look at her, with a combined expression of hopefulness and anticipation. Resistance was futile; Luka's lips curled into a kind, motherly smile.
"Of course, I don't mind throwing something together," she gave her consent to cooking dinner for them. She stood up and headed towards the cabinets.
"In that case, permit me to assist you, Miss Megurine," Gakupo offered, following her.
"That's fine, I have no trouble with finding my way around in an unknown kitchen," she declined his proposal.
With a swift movement, she threw open the doors to take a look at what she had to work with. A yelp of surprise left her mouth: it was entirely filled with eggplants, eggplants and more eggplants.
"Oh gosh, don't you have any normal food?" the question slipped out of her mouth in a slightly harsh way.
"I deeply regret that the contents of my cabinet have caused disappointment to the fair maiden. Nevertheless, I must object to the incredulous idea that eggplants are not considered 'normal' food," he combined the apology with a rebuke.
"I can admit to saying that eggplants themselves are normal. But a diet composed only of this one fruit? That's abnormal on any scale," the chef inside her spoke up, unmindful of his 'fair maiden' comment that she wouldn't have glided over in any other situation. "Though I suppose I'll just have to get creative with what I have at my disposal."
"Miss Megurine, even if my assistance is denied, may I remain to observe your creative process of preparing eggplants?" he requested from her, the enthusiasm clearly audible in his voice. No doubt about it, his life of solitude has made some of his screws go loose.
"As long as you won't interfere, sir," she gave her permission with a condition.
"I thank you from the bottom of my heart, Miss Megurine," he expressed his gratitude. "If it isn't to your discomfort, you may address me in a less formal manner, taking into consideration that we shall be comrades on the journey from this moment on."
"I see. Similarly, you can call me Luka instead of Miss Megurine," she complied with referring to each other on a first-name basis. "Now I'd prefer if you were to stay silent, so I can concentrate on making something edible out of all these eggplants."
Luka made everything she absolutely could with the limited variety of ingredients: mashed eggplants, grilled eggplants and fried eggplants, just to name a few. Gakupo's watchful and admiring gaze made her feel uneasy at first, but soon she was too caught up in the actual cooking to mind. The huntress even made an effort to stylishly arrange it on the clay plates he had provided her with.
Despite his hunger, Len was too absorbed in the puzzle to take a break to eat. For that reason, Rin took a seat beside him on the globular chair and alternated between feeding him bites and satisfying her own hunger.
"You are an angel sent from the clouds above to deliver eggplant delicacies unto the world," Gakupo announced after tasting her meal.
"Couldn't have said it better myself," the blonde girl added, grinning widely. Even Len took time to nod in approval of their observation.
All the praises coaxed a tiny blush onto Luka's cheeks. As she began eating her portion, she accepted that they were not just empty words. It's true that she was confident in her cooking skills, but even she didn't expect herself to be able to create something delicious by using only eggplants.
Having filled their empty stomachs, Rin nodded off to sleep beside Len. A short while later, cuddling her in his arms, the boy followed his sister's example and also fell asleep. A smile appeared on Luka's face as she observed them. It must be nice to be young and in love, she commented to herself. Intending to wash the dirty dishes, she picked up theirs and strode over to Gakupo to take his as well.
"I cannot agree to let the very hands that created a miracle of eggplants to waste themselves on cleaning filthy plates. As a token of my appreciation, allow me to do so in your place," he stated.
"Don't be silly; we're the guests in your home, it's only natural that I should clean up after ourselves," she reasoned.
"If such are your emotions pertaining to this issue, I propose a compromise. I shall wash the dishes and you may help by drying them," he suggested to her.
"I guess that's acceptable," she unwillingly agreed to the idea, pursing her lips.
Surprisingly, the process of working together wasn't as unpleasant as Luka thought it would be. She blinked twice, and the plates were already sparkly clean. He stayed true to their compromise and let her take care of drying them without his help. Having finished the task, they returned to the fireplace and took their seats.
"Do you have a spare blanket the twins could use? I don't want them catching a cold," she asked him.
"Certainly, I'll bring one at once," he replied, soon disappearing into the small corridor.
He shortly returned, carrying the warmest-looking duvets Luka had ever seen. She took it from his hands, their fingers briefly brushing each other during the exchange. The contact sent sparks scattering all over her body; she dismissed it as the effect of his magical energy. She bent over to carefully lay the blanket on the peacefully sleeping Kagamines. As she straightened up, she felt another duvet getting wrapped around her figure. The hold of Gakupo's strong arms only lasted for a short-lived moment. Grabbing the edges to keep the source of warmth in place, she turned to face him, wearing an expression of puzzlement.
"It would put me to shame if the discomfort of illness were to befall upon my Eggplant Goddess. I sincerely hope that you are not distressed from my actions," he explained himself, a hint of his newfound obsession for the woman apparent in his tone. Frankly, it completely freaked her out.
"Uhm, thank you, I guess. I'd prefer if you'd stick with just Luka, though," she told him, anxiously diverting her gaze from the spellcaster to the rocky floor.
"As you wish, Mi-, Egg-...Luka," he said, eventually stumbling upon the correct name, meriting a chuckle from her. He took a seat on the globular chair beside her. Gakupo's only human, too, she reminded herself. Well, mostly at least. Shortly afterwards, due to the cosiness of the blanket she had received, her eyelids drooped and she fell asleep.