A knock on the door disturbed Zero's slumber, which he was undeniably grateful for, and woke him from a dream. He was chasing Yuuki through the woods, but he couldn't catch up to her no matter how swiftly his legs moved. She was just too far to reach. Suddenly, a familiar voice startled him in the midst of his sprint. It was Kaasu! She was angry. He stopped dead in his tracks, eyes widened and heart pounding. She walked towards him and struck him violently across his cheek. Blood was seeping out from the cut inside his cheek. He didn't question her actions; he merely stood there, watching her. Kaasu stood her ground, but her face changed considerably. She went from being angry to being happy as she smiled with the grace of a queen. Her words were all he remembered:
"You don't need her anymore, Zero Kiryuu. You need you."
Zero pried his eyes open after more knocking shook the front door. He shifted out of the blankets and comforter, pressed his feet against the cold floor, and rubbed his temples to wake himself further. Standing to his feet, he lumbered out of his bedroom to the front door. He opened it and spotted a man and woman holding bouquets, one made of fruit and the other mostly flowers. Realization then kicked in: he ordered these items yesterday evening.
"Good afternoon, sir," the woman greeted, bowing. "Is a Kiryuu Zero residing here for the banquet?"
"I am he," Zero said, leaning on the door rail. "How much for the order?"
"Your total is 6,476 yen, Kiryuu-san," the woman answered.
"Please, come in," Zero invited, holding the door open.
The man and woman entered the hotel room and walked towards the dining area. Zero walked into his bedroom to retrieve his wallet and removed 7,000 yen from it. He walked to the woman and handed her the money. She asked the man for change as she wrote Zero's receipt. The man gave Zero 524 yen worth in change and placed the bouquets onto the dining table. Once he received his receipt, Zero escorted the couple out of the hotel room and waited for them to enter the hall where the elevator was located. He closed the door once they were out of his sight.
Kaien stepped out of his room moments later, yawning audibly and sniffing. He walked into the kitchen to fix some coffee until he noticed bright colors on the table. He wiped his eyes free of any blurry vision with the back of his hand and squinted at the bouquets. Kaien blinked then spoke.
"Anou," he started, rubbing his eyes some more, "whose bouquets?"
"Mine," Zero answered, walking towards the fruit arrangement.
"Well, that's awfully selfish," Kaien grumbled.
"I ordered them," Zero remarked, eating a strawberry.
"Eh?" Kaien chirped, staring at the flowers more than the fruit. "I didn't know you liked flowers."
"I don't," Zero said. "Those are for Nix-sensei."
"Oh, Yagari's friend?" Kaien asked, earning a nod from Zero. "Well, that's nice. Speaking of that beastly man, is he still asleep?"
"Which room did you take?" Zero asked, turning to Kaien for the first time.
"The one next to yours," Kaien answered, sipping his coffee.
Zero walked across the dining area to what would have been Toga's room, but he stopped before the door and didn't move. Kaien noticed this and raised an eyebrow. He said, "What's wrong?"
"He's not in there," Zero replied, eyebrow twitching.
"You've got to be kidding," Kaien said, growing angry.
"Morning, sleeping beauty," Kaasu said, eating the last bit of her pork.
"Mr. Yagari!" Ishka called, blushing.
Toga looked up from his dragging feet to see Kaasu and Ishka in the kitchen. Kaasu was dressed in a white strapless sundress and wedge heels. Fortunately, she was wearing a denim vest to block any pork sauce from dripping on her clothes. A napkin was placed on her lap also. Ishka wore a light blue top that crossed in the form of a tunic and left her stomach open. She had a long blue skirt on that covered her bare feet. Her blonde hair was in a high ponytail. Poor Toga just walked into the kitchen shirtless and only wearing a pair of jeans. If the women there weren't so polite, he would have walked straight into the lion's den.
"Your shirt's missing, Mr. Yagari," Ishka said, covering her mouth to giggle.
Toga stood before them, realizing something important. Ishka was in Kaasu's house! So, when Ishka was buying presents for her girlfriend, she meant she was buying things for Kaasu and that she and Kaasu were friends! The only thing Toga was missing from this puzzle is why Ishka was buying her presents. She said why she was doing it, but he couldn't remember the reason. Toga scratched his head, as if trying to wake his memory up, and folded his arms in thought. Kaasu pushed her plate to the side and dragged a sizable round box towards herself. She tugged on the ribbon and opened the lid to see the candies inside. Her face lit up immediately.
"Cerise au Chocolat!" Kaasu said, smiling brightly. "Thank you, Ishka!"
"That is only one gift, and you're already smiling!" Ishka said, laughing.
Toga tapped his forehead, trying his best to gather all of last night's events. He remembered finding Kaien buying shoes for Sayori, Ishka was in the shop with him buying a fur coat. He and Kaien argued about giving gifts to special people. Ishka said she was buying gifts for her girlfriend because... Toga gasped. Her birthday was a few weeks away is what she said! Kaasu's birthday was coming up!
"Your birthday!" Toga shouted, pointing at Kaasu. Kaasu squeaked in fear of the sudden outburst. "You never told me when your birthday was, you little nutball!"
"No one was supposed to know," Kaasu said, calmly. "I still don't know how she figured it out."
"I will never tell," Ishka said, smiling mischievously.
Toga's heart suddenly dropped. Why wasn't anyone supposed to know when her birthday was? He walked towards Kaasu and embraced her. Kaasu turned her head in confusion and looked into Toga's saddened face. Toga rested his chin onto her shoulder and sighed. So many things were hidden from him about the huntess in his arms. She crossed her arms to touch his elbows then furrowed her eyebrows. Something was wrong. Ishka began to worry as well until Toga spoke.
"Happy Birthday, Kaasu-chan."
Kaasu sighed in relief then brought her hand up to scratch Toga's head. She kissed his cheek then smiled and chuckled. She said, "Thank you, senpai."
"Do not be so sad, Mr. Yagari," Ishka reassured. "I did not know her birthday was soon either until last year."
"It's all fun and games until someone goes through my things without my permission. Then, it gets intense into a fight," Kaasu remarks, taking a cherry candy and eating it.
"You shouldn't leave anyone bored," Toga commented, stealing a candy. He released Kaasu and stood straight as he ate her candy. He then understood why she liked them so much. "It's not fair to keep someone locked up in your quarters without something to do."
"I agree," Ishka said, nodding. "Although now I am curious. Why do you keep your lingerie in a trunk instead of in your drawers or closet?"
"You went in my shit?" Kaasu shouted, angry and embarassed. Toga smirked then chuckled. "What are you laughing at, ya pervert?"
"Because you call your trunk of lingerie your shit," Toga answered, returning to the guest bedroom to put on a shirt.
Dylan Nagasaki had just finished his lunch with Kaasu's neighbor, Valerie Kibana, and they were waiting in a local restaurant in Section B for Ishka to return with Kaasu. Since it was her day-off until the tournament this evening, they planned to spend the day with her for her birthday. Valerie had a special surprise for Kaasu at her house, and she was beginning to grow impatient. Dylan looked up from his plate and noticed Valerie was watching the wall clock in the restaurant. He began to wonder why his beloved subordinate's captain, Yagari Toga, broke up with the woman before him. She was very beautiful: she had long red hair and eyelashes, green eyes, and perfect fair skin. Her body was quite curvatious, and she looked good in just about anything you could put her in. She was in fact like a sister to Kaasu; both were beautiful and mysterious women. There was the rumor that Valerie Kibana was a vampire huntess, but it was turned down by Valerie herself. He didn't really know what was going on with her. The most he knew was that she met Toga and Kaasu at about the same time; she met Kaasu first and Toga second. He knew for certain that she had feelings for Toga, and that Toga returned them, but why they separated was something else entirely. No one knows the reason.
Valerie pouted then sighed, knowing inwardly that watching time will not speed it up, but she couldn't stand the wait. She wanted to give Kaasu her present so badly! Well, Ishka and Dylan did, too, but they didn't count! Well, they do count, but not as much as she should. It took several weeks for Valerie's relationship with Kaasu to develop into friendship, and it only took a few minutes for her to develop feelings for Toga - when they were younger, of course. Everyone's in their thirties now; they're not in their twenties like they used to be anymore. Funny thing this age can be. You can be as old as dirt but look like you just came from prom if Father Time treated you kindly. Valerie herself was only 33, and Kaasu was going to be the same age as her in a few weeks. Bless the Russian opera dancer, Ishka Tehb, for sniffing through Kaasu's belongings to discover her birthday.
"Would you like to know a secret, Val?" Dylan asked, poking the remnants of his sandwich with a butterknife.
"What kind of a secret?" Valerie asked, tilting her head.
"Mr. Yagari is a superior in Corviere now," Dylan started, earning a small gasp from Valerie. "He was sighted yesterday."
"But I thought he was exiled from here," Valerie stated. "Doesn't that mean he can't step foot onto these grounds ever again?"
"Normally, that's what exilation means, but..." Dylan said, lowering her knife.
"But?" prompted Valerie.
"Two very important figures are missing to enforce those rules onto him," Dylan continued, laying his knife on the plate. "Captain Yagari was always a bold man, and he probably would have been here to argue that a superior can step foot on any ground that is inhabited by other superiors, Civil Code 23, Article II. However, with those two people gone, he can do as he pleases without a fight."
Valerie remained silent at this explanation. When did two people matter in this business to decide whether Toga could come to Aisu or not? Valerie opened her mouth to say something but hesitated. She couldn't argue against Toga because he had a right to be here, but she couldn't argue for Toga because by law he's not allowed to return to Aisu for anything.
She settled to say, "Strange business this association runs, but, now that you have told me that Toga is here, I have a proposal to make."
Dylan looked into her eyes quizically then asked, "What is it?"
"We should invite him and his party to join us," Valerie said, smiling.
"Okay, so first off, let's drop this bag of luggage off to his party," Kaasu said, pointing at the back of Toga's head.
"Yes, ma'am!" Ishka said, saluting.
Toga huffed at the women behind him plotting his death. After Toga got dressed, Kaasu and Ishka prepared to leave. Toga was not about to let Kaasu escape from him today, however, and persuaded both women to escort him to his hotel room. If he had remembered earlier that Kaasu mentioned she had a day-off, he would have brought her appreciation gift to her house. It was working in his favor, though. He would give the present he bought with Ishka's help to Kaasu at his hotel room and say it was for her birthday instead of appreciation for everything she's done for him. Suddenly, he stopped walking. It didn't feel right to him. He bought the gown to say thank you. He didn't know anything about her birthday.
"You alright, old man?" Kaasu joked, poking Toga in his side. "Stopping in the middle of nowhere isn't healthy."
Toga turned around and stared at Kaasu for some time. She looked back at him, confused again. They were adults, weren't they? He was a superior, and she was still an elite huntess. She did say she was fine with someone touching her if he had feelings for her, right? That was where the problem lay. He wasn't so sure if he had true feelings for Kaasu. The lust for her was still in effect, but the love he had when he was just a captain was diminished. He would have to rediscover the reasons in which he loved her. Toga continued walking without another word. Ishka and Kaasu looked at each other and followed Toga like little ducklings.
Ishka ran up the small set of stairs to Arc de Plaisir's Hotel & Suites front door and waved to Kaasu happily. She grabbed Toga's hand and ran up the steps in an adolescent glee. They entered the hotel's lobby and greeted some hunters from the north. Some of them turned their noses in a haughty and arrogant manner; others either nodded or responded to Ishka's greetings. Kaasu never greeted any of them. She had her fun last night in the pink gown. As sad as it sounds, none of the northern precincts acknowledged Kaasu as a huntess. In fact, to put it more bluntly, they hated her. The silent, beautiful women who were normally huntesses treated Kaasu quite unfairly, and the men were no different. For this, Kaasu ignored them and kept walking as Ishka or Toga spoke to the northern folk.
As Ishka was talking to a team of hunters, a gust of wind shot passed Kaasu's back and made her stop walking. She turned her head and saw Toga on the floor. A man was on top of him, raising his fist to strike him. The silver-haired man she met at the banquet stalked down the hallway in anger and relief. Relieved that Toga was okay, but angry for something else.
"Toga Alexander Yagari, I am going to shove my foot up your ass!" the man with straw-colored hair hissed.
"Alexander?" Kaasu questioned, whispering more or less to herself. She wasn't aware that Toga had a middle name.
"I want some of his ass unmarked, Cross-san. Be easy on the other half," the silver-haired man she knew as Zero said.
His comment made Kaasu blush a bit; it sounded suggestive in tone. If they were going to rape Toga, in front of the northern hunters was not a good place to do it. Zero looked into Kaasu's eyes and stopped walking instantly. Her words from his dream rung like a bell in his ears. She bowed in respect to him then stood straight again. The hunters around them were surprised at Kaasu's manners. Zero returned her bow then walked over to Kaien and pulled him off Toga.
He said, "There's people watching us."
"Eh?" Kaien chirped, looking into everyone's eyes as they stared him. He yanked Toga up to his face by the collar then said, "We'll take this upstairs."
"You are the most irresponsible superior I have ever met!" Kaien shouted.
Ishka, Kaasu and Zero watched as Toga received his lecture from Kaien. Cross was like a raving bull. He made sure Toga drunk every dripping word that spilled from Kaien's mouth. Toga didn't respond until the whole ordeal was done. The sooner Kaien finished, the sooner he could give Kaasu her present. Zero was in the same mindset. The bouquet of flowers was still in one piece, and he noticed Kaasu didn't sneeze from their presence so she wasn't allergic to flowers. It was just such a strange coincidence for Zero. First, he finally gets to meet Kaasu and she completely exceeded his expectations of her beauty; second, he thinks about her for the remainder of his night; third, he buys her a present; lastly, he dreams about her. To even be able to meet her again is a total shock.
Kaien frustratedly sighed and held his throbbing forehead with three fingers. He said, "God, I need a drink."
"You brought wine in from last night," Zero suggested.
"Yes, please," Kaien said.
Zero dug into the winery's velvety bag and pulled out the bottle of wine. He popped the cork open in seconds and placed the bottle down to dig in the cabinets for glasses. He retrieved a curved green glass and poured wine into it. Kaien took the glass from Zero after he returned with the beverage and drunk from it in one gulp.
"Better?" Zero asked, earning a nod from Kaien. Zero walked towards the dining table and picked up the bouquet of flowers. He turned around and handed them to Kaasu.
"Oh, thank you," Kaasu said, smiling at Zero. "You have my favorite flowers in this batch. How thoughtful of you!" Zero bowed then placed his hands in his pants pockets.
Toga arched both eyebrows in surprise. Considering the fact he just met Kaasu, he seemed to like her enough to buy her gifts. He looked into Zero's eyes and was suddenly in fear. He saw a completely different person in his eyes. Zero was smirking! It was like an eery laughter came from the ghostly smile. The main thing Toga was beginning to fear, however, was Zero's glowing eyes. It was a sinister leer that said something he never wanted to hear.
If you don't want this woman... I will take her...