Chapter 21: Yami kara dete, nitchū ni

(Out of the Darkness and Into the Sun)

The next day at school, we had a brief meeting in the club room.

"There is an issue we need to address," said Kyoya. He looked at Takashi and I. "You two are together now, so precautions need to be taken."

"We already know that we need to keep it a secret at school, Kyoya-senpai," I said, rolling my eyes. "We aren't stupid; we know that we'll lose customers if we go public right now."

Kyoya blinked in slight surprise. "Well then. That's settled."

"Yeah, moving on," I said, "are we doing a cosplay today? And if so, what is it?"

"Yes we are, and the theme is law enforcement," said Kyoya, fixing his glasses.

"So, police officers?" I asked.

"Yes."

I smiled. "Cool! Although, giving me handcuffs probably isn't a good idea . . ."

I grinned evilly, then left all of the assumptions in the air. Takashi blushed and Kyoya cleared his throat. "Noted . . . Moving on, our profits last week were . . ."

He went on and gave the weekly profit report to us. On the website, some of my now donated items were selling quite fast; almost as much as Tamaki's and Haruhi's items.

"It's probably because I'm famous outside of the club," I said, shrugging. "I've made it no secret that I'm Lady Luna. And anyone who sees any of my sketches and who knows my professional style will notice automatically."

He concluded his report and we departed for homeroom. Before we went out the door, though, Takashi gave me a lasting kiss that made me breathless.

"See you later," he whispered.

"Yeah," I breathed. "See you later . . ."

The day was just like any other. Alaina and Yasuchika had finished their project, so she would be coming back to club this afternoon. But since we didn't need any music today, she was just going to hang out in the spare room and compose some new songs. Once the afternoon hit and the final bell rang, I got up and stretched.

"Well then, let's go get suited up," I said, grabbing my bag. "I can't wait to see my police uniform! I hope it looks good!"

The four of us walked to the club room and I dove right into the changing room to check out my outfit. I unzipped the bag, then gaped.

". . . WHAT THE EVER LOVING FUCK?!"

I went back out and looked at the twins and Kyoya, my eyebrow twitching. "Which one of you guys picked the outfit?"

The twins grinned and I reached to throttle them. Takashi held the back of my shirt to stop me and I sent him a glare.

"Trust me, if you saw the outfit, you wouldn't want anyone else to see me in it," I said darkly.

He thought about that for a moment, then let me go. Just as I was about to chase after the twins, Kyoya spoke up.

"Sadly, though, that is the only cosplay we have for you," he said, fixing his glasses.

"Yeah, so either wear it or just strip down to your underwear," said the twins, making faces at me.

My eyebrow twitched and Takashi turned red. "No, because you two would enjoy that sight far too much; not that Takashi and Mitsukuni-senpai haven't seen that already."

Takashi turned even more red and avoided everyone's gaze. "Don't ask," he muttered.

I sighed, then grit my teeth. "Fine, I'll wear the damn cosplay. But You guys are SOOO gonna get it later . . ."

I went back into the changing room and stripped down, then put the outfit on with a grimace. I sighed, then figured that if I was gonna look like this, then I might as well make it look good.

I put my hair in a long braid that went over my left shoulder, then found some black ribbon and cut a length of it to make a simple black choker. I looked at my reflection in the mirror and groaned.

"I look like a whore . . ."

Even still, I sighed and stepped out into the main room. Tamaki gasped and turned bright pink, Haruhi's jaw dropped, the twins wolf-whistled, Kyoya almost dropped his notebook, Mitsukuni fell to the floor, and Takashi was so red it put a tomato to shame.

I looked at the floor. "I feel like a whore . . ."

The uniform the twins had gotten me was pretty much like one of those sexy female police officer uniform costumes you see in stores around Halloween. It even had the boots and fishnets and everything. The shirt had a built in under bust and made my boobs look a size bigger than they were, and the neckline of the shirt showed off my cleavage BIG TIME. The skirt was a little tight and went to my mid-thigh. The belt had a flashlight, fake gun, walkie talkie, and a baton attached to it.

I cracked my knuckles and glared at the twins. "If you ever pick an outfit out like this for me again, I will kill you both slowly, painfully, and using the most awful instruments I can find. Got it?"

They flinched and nodded, and I sighed, turning beet red in embarrassment.

"I look like a whore . . ." I moaned, flopping down onto the bed that was kept in there for when Mitsukuni needed a nap.

I wallowed in my self-pity and then sat up when I heard Alaina come in. I took the blankets and covered myself.

"Hey Schwester," I said.

". . . Why are you covering yourse-? . . . The twins put you in a sexy police outfit, didn't they?" she asked, her brow twitching.

I nodded and growled. "Damn hormonal assholes . . . and poor Takashi . . ."

She then nickered and came over to me. "He probably got turned on BIG TIME seeing you in that," she whispered, giggling.

I turned bright red and smacked her with a pillow. She blocked my hit and kept laughing. "Come on, let me see how bad it is," she coaxed.

I grimaced and got up. she gaped at me, then let out a low whistle.

"Okay, not to sound weird, but if you weren't my sister, and if I liked chicks, I'd get into your panties in a heartbeat," she admitted. "Just . . . whoah, holy shit . . . "

I groaned. "You're not helping . . ."

The boys came out of the changing room and Haruhi came out of the spare room, all in their uniforms. I looked at them and groaned again.

"Why am I the only one who looks like a two cent whore . . . ?"

"Because, the rest of us can't really fill out that outfit as well as you can," said the twins, snickering.

I saw Takashi send them a glare and the shut up. He sighed and came over to me, taking my hand. I could tell he was trying his best not to ogle me, and for that I was grateful.

"You'll be alright," he said reassuringly. He kissed my forehead and I couldn't help but relax.

"Okay . . ." I sighed. Then, I smiled a bit and brought him down to whisper, "Do you still want me to keep the outfit in case I ever need it for something else?"

I could feel his temperature increase and he coughed a bit. "U-uh . . . do whatever you want . . ."

I could make that statement so dirty, I thought to myself, but I won't because he's being really mature about this.

I giggled. "Okay."

We all stood around the front sofa and waited for someone to come while Alaina went into the spare room to begin working on her new piece. We waited for a few moments, and then the door opened.

"Welcome~," we said.

Then, we took a closer look and I blinked in surprise.

"My, what an unusually young guest we have," said Tamaki. He smiled at the little blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl. "Well, I'm glad you're here my little lost kitty cat."

The little girl blushed a bit, her wide eyes filled with wonder.

"Awww~! She's so cute~!" I cried, clasping my hands together.

"Little kitty cat, why have you come to see us today?" asked Tamaki, bending over a bit to be a little more on her level.

She blinked a couple of times, then pointed at us. "Reverse harem! This is a reverse harem!"

We all froze in shock. I gaped at her. How does a little girl who doesn't even look five know what a harem is?!

"That's funny, I must have some water still in my ear from swimming," said Tamaki, hitting the side of his head a little. His face was a bit pink.

"Hahaha, water in the ear, that's gotta be it!" chimed Hikaru.

"I'm sure we heard her wrong. There's no way this cute little girls said the words 'reverse harem'," said Kaoru. "Something's going on with our ears."

"There's debauchery here!" she said, pointing at us again.

What the fuck?! I exclaimed mentally.

She smiled and cheered. "Yay! There's debauchery here, isn't there?" She pointed to Kyoya, "You're the glasses character." Then to Mitsukuni and Takashi. "You're the boy lolita and the stoic type." Then to the twins. "Twincest." Then to Haruhi. "The bookworm."

She then turned her gaze to me and she gasped. "Hentai knight?"

Everyone choked and I gaped, collapsing onto the floor. "I've lost faith in all humanity . . . even this little girl thinks I look like a whore . . ."

She then looked at Tamaki, and he cringed. She looked at him in wonder, and then she teared up. "Big . . . brother?"

"Say what now?" I asked.

"My brother is blonde! You must be him!" she cried, launching herself up into his arms and smiling brightly.

Takashi helped me stand and we all looked at Tamaki in confusion.

"You never told us about this!" said Hikaru.

"Since when did you have a little sister?" asked Kaoru.

He looked at us, clearly not knowing what was going on. "What? I don't! I'm definitely an only child, at least as far as I know . . ."

"The more I look at it, the two of you do look alike," said Mitsukuni. "You are both blonde, after all!"

"What I want to know is if 'glasses character' is superior to 'big brother' . . ." said Kyoya, looking deep in thought.

"Does it really matter? I can't believe she called me 'bookworm'," said Haruhi, looking irate.

I glared at them. "At least you two didn't get called a porn star," I said darkly. "I mean, good lord . . . how does a little girl even know about sex at all?"

"E-excuse me, but do you want to tell me your name, little one?" asked Tamaki, smiling awkwardly.

"Kirimi!" she said cheerfully, hugging his neck.

". . . Fillet?" I murmured. "I kind of feel bad for her now . . ."

"Kirimi-chan, I think you have it all wrong," said Tamaki as he set her down. He crouched down so he was at her level and smiled apologetically. "I'm really sorry, but I don't have a younger sister."

She then got a bit red and teary-eyed. "Are you sure? You're blonde, just like me," she said, her voice cracking with emotion.

And of course, Tamaki was a sucker for anything cute and gave in, tearing up himself. "W-well, that is true . . ." He picked her up and spun her around. "I give in! As of this moment, I'm your new big brother~! You're so cute~!"

"I know you get carried away by emotion, but don't you think it's bad to make such empty promises?" asked Haruhi, looking less than impressed.

"Yeah, I mean, seriously," I said. "She might actually have a brother that comes here, you dolt. Now, I'm going to go change . . . My self-respect as a woman has been shattered like glass . . ."

I trudged to the changing room and got out of the offensive outfit, putting it back in the bag. I put the bag next to my stuff, though, so I could take it home and add it to the growing collection of cosplays I had. I went back out to see a shadow-like figure.

"Nekozawa-senpai?!" cried the twins, Haruhi, and Tamaki.

I looked at the boy and raised a brow as I went over to everyone. "Who?"

The figure then looked at me and smiled. "Oh. You're the American first year, Gwenivere Beilschmidt~ . . . Your hair really does look like blood . . . How lovely . . ."

I felt myself grin. "Yup; the color of freshly spilled blood. And it's au natural, too. But anyways, who the hell are you?" I asked bluntly.

"Ah, yes, forgive me Lady Gwenivere," he said. "I am Umehito Nekozawa, third year . . . Pleased to make your acquaintance . . ."

"Hmm . . . You practice magick, don't you?" I asked.

A maid and a butler that I hadn't noticed before gasped and gaped at me. "How did you know?" asked the maid.

I smiled mysteriously. "A practitioner of The Craft always recognizes another of their kind, you know . . ."

Nekozawa grinned and came closer to me. "My my, you're a powerful one . . ."

Tamaki pulled me away and placed me behind Takashi. "N-Nekozawa-senpai, why are you here, exactly?" he asked nervously.

The maid and the butler then explained about Nekozawa's and Kirimi's situation, and I gaped.

"You mean to tell me that this little girl is his sister?!" I asked. "Well damn . . . talk about polar opposites . . . But she does look like a little pixie~!" I added, grinning and going over to her. I knelt down and patted her head, causing her to smile and giggle.

"Kirimi . . . so this is where you've been hiding~," said Nekozawa, coming closer to her.

She then squealed and jumped up into Tamaki's arms. "Waaah! Brother, save me from the monster!" she cried.

"Don't be scared. I'd like to introduce you to someone," said Nekozawa, holding up a cat-like hand puppet. "This is Belzeneff. The Nekozawa family has worshiped cats for generations . . ."

"So, like the Egyptians did?" I asked.

"Yes, quite like that indeed," he said.

"You know, I get the feeling she's not scared of the puppet," said Haruhi bluntly. "Call me crazy, but I think it's you."

Nekozawa gasped a bit, then the twins came in with their two cents. "It's probably your clothes. We'll help you change, 'kay?"

They went to pull of Nekozawa's cloak and he held onto it tightly.

"Don't do that! It's far too bright! I might die!" he cried.

Mitsukuni then went and started closing the curtains. "I know! Why don't we just darken the room?"

Kirimi then started to cry and clung to Tamaki. "Waaah! Don't do that! I'm afraid of the dark!"

Tamaki tried to sooth her and calm her down and I sighed. I looked at Nekozawa. "Seems you're in quite a pickle, my friend. Has it always been like this?"

He nodded solemnly. "Yes, ever since she was born."

"It's a tragedy that these two siblings are such polar opposites," said the maid. "As such, they've become known as the Nekozawa family's Romeo and Juliet."

"Wouldn't that be incest?" I asked bluntly. "Cuz Romeo and Juliet diddly dun did the do . . . Their situation was totes different."

"Oh, I'm well aware of that," she said, smiling. "To be honest, it was something I came up with on the fly! Pretty impressive, huh?"

I decided it was best to keep quiet.

"We were sent to make sure our Little Miss Kirimi got home safely," said the butler, bowing.

"Is the rest of the family . . ." started Hikaru.

"As out of touch as you three?" finished Kaoru.

The maid's gaze sharpened. "How dare you say such a terrible thing! The Nekozawas are a distinguished family! They are the descendants of the Tokarev dynasty of Russia!"

"Wait, you mean Romanov, right?" asked Tamaki.

The maid continued on about how someone in the family every hundred years is born with the powers of darkness and yada yada. I zoned out soon after she started talking and I yawned.

"Yeah yeah, we get it. Umehito-senpai is pretty much the earthly incarnation of Erebus," I said. "Except not as awesome, cuz Erebus is a badass god."

Again, the maid ignored me. "Miss Kirimi ell in love with the handsome princely form of her brother in portraits," she said. "However, because of his condition, Master Umehito cannot go near his sister without being shrouded in black. Once she learned that her older brother was enrolled in a high school here, she decided to go looking for him. That's what brought her to your Host Club."

"We've tried to keep her comforted by reading her bedtime stories about princely characters like her brother, but we ran out of storybooks. So we recently decided to read her shoujo manga with prince-like characters in them. And I'm afraid she's become completely addicted~!"

"So that's how she knew all the different character types and all those words," said Haruhi.

My eyebrow twitched. "But how the hell did she know about hentai?! She called me a 'hentai knight' when she saw me . . ."

Nekozawa blushed and rubbed the back of his neck. "U-uhm, she may have broken into my room . . ."

I rolled my eyes. "Keep your porn where little hands can't reach them, you dolt!"

He cringed and nodded. Then Haruhi spoke up. "So, Kirimi-chan doesn't know that you're her real older brother, Nekozawa-senpai?" she asked.

He became stricken and laid down in a heap on the floor. I knelt down and patted his back, trying to comfort him. "There there, Umehito-senpai, there there . . ."

"Aw, that's so sad," said Mitsukuni, getting a bit teary and wiping his eyes. "No wonder Neko-chan is so upset . . ."

Said boy soon recovered and went over to a random dark altar that had appeared. "It's painful, but that's why, every evening, I offer prayers that Kirimi may one day come to embrace . . . the darkness . . ."

I sighed and patted his back. "While I commend you on your efforts, my dear senpai, I think you're going about it the wrong way."

"You should try and get accustomed to the light," said Hikaru.

"What are you trying to do to your sister?" asked Kaoru.

"Come along, Mistress Kirimi," said the butler.

"It's time to go home," said the maid.

Kirimi began to cry and clung to Tamaki. "Waah! I'm not going with you! I don't wanna go home! I wanna stay with my big brother!"

I saw Nekozawa stiffen, and I felt bad for him. "Senpai . . ."

"Don't worry about me, Lady Gwenivere," he said. "Suoh, all I want is for my sister to be happy . . ." He got up and started to run off, saying, "Make sure . . . she gets the love she deserves!"

"Nekozawa-senpai! Wait!" called Tamaki.

I frowned and looked at everyone. "I'll go and get him," I said. I gave Takashi a small smile. "I'll be right back, 'kay?"

He nodded, and I dashed out the door after Nekozawa. I finally caught up to him in front of a large window in the middle of the hall. I huffed, trying to catch my breath, and he turned around.

"Lady Gwenivere?" he asked, surprised. He came over to me and I steadied my breathing, straightening.

"U-Umehito-senpai," I said, my breath still a bit off. "You can't just give up like that, Bruder des Handwerk. You need to try and reach her, somehow, some way."

He slumped. "I've tried, I really have," he said, his voice subdued. "No matter what I do, she won't come near me . . ."

I patted his shoulder comfortingly. "I know you've tried that, Bruder. But you need to try and reach her on her level, not yours," I said. "Learn to get used to the Light."

He shuddered. "I don't know if I can, Lady Gwenivere . . ."

"Of course you can, silly!" I said, smiling a bit. "I have confidence in you. There's this thing that all we Beilschmidts are taught: Light and Darkness may be opposites, but we cannot have one without the other. No one can be submerged in true Darkness unless they live in the Light, and only those in true Darkness can find true Light."

"Kirimi is you true Light, Senpai," I said softly. "Just as you are her true darkness. Perhaps it is time that you finally accept your true Light and embrace it fully. Then perhaps, in time, she will be ready to submerge herself in her true Darkness, and accept all of you. Maybe then you will both be able to meet at a crossroads, just as the Sun and Moon meet every sunrise and sunset."

He looked at me, seeming to think over my words. "You are very wise, Lady Gwenivere."

I smiled a bit and shrugged. "I'm a Pisces; I blame that," I said. "And my mama taught me well from a young age to follow my instincts and to always listen to what my heart is telling me."

He smiled a bit. "I'd heard that the Beilschmidt family had strong energy, but I never realized how strong," he said thoughtfully. "Your aura pulsates in waves . . ."

I grinned. "I know," I said. "Now, come on. Are you ready to face the Sun, Childe of the Moon?"

He stood a bit straighter and gave me a steady look. "Yes, Lady Gwenivere of the Wolf Clan."

I took his forearm and he did the same to me, and we both grinned.

~ le time skip ~

Nekozawa's training with Renge began the very next day in one of the chemistry rooms, due to the fact that it had metal blinds that could completely darken a room. I had brought a few things of my own, and Alaina came as well. She had come out of that spare room yesterday after Nekozawa had left, wondering what all the commotion was about. Apparently, Kyoya had filled her in and she was on board to help out the poor Childe of Darkness.

"You got this, Senpai," she said, patting his head. "If my Schwester says you can do it, you can do it."

He gave her a wea smile. "Thank you, Lady Alaina . . . And may I just say, you look as lovely as a voodoo doll today . . ."

She chuckled. "Thank you, Senpai."

I grinned. "Hah! He said I looked a beautiful as a vampire queen this morning," I said, sticking my tongue out at her.

Takashi gave me a slightly worried look. "What?"

I chuckled and patted his head. "Don't worry, it's a top-notch compliment, believe me."

"Hm."

Nekozawa first started to try and act like a prince, but he botched it up each time by comparing the Kirimi dummy to odd things like a dark pixie, a huldra, and the last one was a cursed wax doll. Takashi was keeping track of all the rods he wasn't allowed to use by writing them on the board, and I had to chuckle at how full it was getting.

As Renge berated and scolded Nekozawa, I sighed. "She isn't really going about this the right way," I said. "I like her, but she's kind of . . . crazy as all hell."

Takashi bit back a grin. "She's only doing what she thinks will work."

"And look at how brilliant it's going," I said sarcastically. I sighed and looked at Alaina. We got up and went to Renge.

"Renge-senpai, may we take over from here?" asked Alaina.

"Yeah, uhm, we want to try something different," I said.

Renge huffed and sat. "Go ahead; I give up." She tossed me the flashlight. "For when he does something wrong."

I chuckled and put it down. "We won't need that, Renge."

We then sat Nekozawa down at the teacher's front desk and we both sat across from him. I took out the materials from my bag, laying them out on the table: red candle, blue candle, green candle, yellow candle, purple candle, white candle, black candle, lighter, Holy Water, mirror, and, finally, my great-grandpapa's pocket watch.

Tho others aside from Nekozawa looked at all of this with confused expressions.

"Gwen-chan, what's all that for?" asked Mitsukuni.

"Alaina and I are going to use methods that Umehito-senpai will respond to the most," I explained, setting up the candles in a circle. Going clockwise, at the top was the purple candle, then the red, white, yellow, green, black, and then the blue one. I placed the mirror in the middle and set the Holy Water aside.

"We're going to use a spell. A spell and a little bit of hypnotism," said Alaina, taking her pentacle out from under her shirt. I dd the same and lit the candles, starting with the yellow, then red, then blue, then green, then purple, white, and black.

I looked across the table at Nekozawa. "Now Senpai, we need you to clear your mind. Make it filled with nothing, like a deep abyss . . ." I said, my voice smooth and soothing.

He did so, keeping his eyes open. I could slowly see them begin to dim, then I smiled softly. "Good . . . Now gaze into the mirror . . ."

He did so, and I opened my pocket watch, letting the ticking noise fill the room. "Listen to the watch . . . you are beginning to drift in the darkness . . . It slowly gets a bit lighter, shifting into dim lighting . . . ."

He kept gazing into the mirror, his eyes unfocused and hazy. Alaina took the Holy Water and opened it, grabbing a glass and filling it halfway. She slowly placed it on the mirror slightly above his reflection and I continued.

"See the flickers of light . . . let them grow . . . let them grow to daylight . . ."

He began to shake a little and I hushed him. "Shhh . . . you are alright . . . you are safe . . . the light is warm, welcoming . . . it fills you with ease . . . making you relax . . ."

He slowly stopped shaking, and I smiled softly. "Now you are in the daylight . . . and Kirimi is there . . . smiling brightly as she runs around . . . playing with butterflies and pixies . . . Hear her laughter . . . . let it fill you with joy . . . ."

He then smiled and I motioned for Alaina to open the blinds. She went and did so slowly, letting the light grow steadily as I went on.

"The light is slowly becoming real . . . it is still warm, welcoming . . . filling you with ease and making you calm . . . you are now slowly coming out of the dream . . ."

He blinked his eyes slowly, becoming more alert. "You are thirsty . . . . so thirsty . . . drink the Holy Water . . . let the Light in it fill you, like the light in the dream . . ."

He straightened, his eyes still a bit hazy, and then lifted the glass to his lips, drinking the water down. I smiled, then held up the mirror so he could see himself.

"Now, say these words: out of the darkness, and into the light . . . . out of the darkness, and into the light . . . . out of the darkness, and into the light . . . ."

He repeated the words three times, becoming more and more alert each time. Finally, after her said it the last time, he was fully 'awake' from the 'dream'.He looked around and noticed that the room was completely lit, and I watched his face as he realized that the light didn't bother him.

The others gasped in shock. Alaina and I smiled.

"Now, Senpai, blow out the candles in the reverse order that Gwen lit them," said Alaina. "That will complete the spell."

He did so, then looked up at me with tears in his eyes. "Thank you . . . Thank you so much Lady Gwenivere . . ."

Alaina and I smiled a bit sadly. "You're welcome. But this spell . . . it only lasts for up to 48 hours. Us the time wisely; let Kirimi see you and get to know you. Show her who you normally are, and maybe she will understand. I won't make any promises."

Even still, he smiled brightly and came around the desk to hug me and Alaina in thanks. Then, Haruhi came running in.

"Hey, have you guys seen Kirimi-chan?!" she aked. "I left to use the bathroom, but when I came back she was gone!"

"Oh shit," I said.

Kaoru looked out the window. "Oh, there she is," he said. "She's in the courtyard."

"Yeah, but something is blocking her way," said Hikaru. Nekozawa and I went over and looked. I squinted, then sighed in relief.

"Oh, it's just a fat cat," I said. "That's a relief."

"Oh no," said Nekozawa. "This is bad."

"Why?" I asked. "Doesn't your family love cats?"

"They're revered by our family, it's true," he said, beginning to look panicked, "but Kirimi wouldn't participate in something like that, something as occult as befriending a stray cat. Kirimi is afraid of animals . . . and cats are the creatures she fears the most!"

I gaped and began to panic, too. "Oh shit!"

He opened the window and jumped out, much to the surprise of everyone present.

"Kirimi!" he yelled.

She looked over at him, then she seemed to recognize him. She smiled brightly and jumped into his arms.

"Big brother~!"

She clung to him and he hugged her tightly, seeming to shake with pent-up emotion.

"It's alright, Kirimi," I heard him say. "I promise it won't come anywhere near you, alright?"

He then took out Belzeneff, and it looked like he was playing with it with her. I squealed.

"Gah, the feels! I've caught the feels!" I said, looking around frantically, my eyes filled with tears. "Where are the god damn tissues? I'm having feels . . ."

Takashi held up the box and I took a couple, dabbing at my eyes. "Danke."

~ le time skip ~

Nekozawa didn't seem to be at school the next day; I figured that he was taking my advice and using his time wisely. Truthfully, I had only said it would last 48 hours because that's how long it would take for his mind and body to revert back to their original states.

When I told the others this after school in the club room, they looked at me with confused expressions.

"So it really wasn't a spell?" asked Haruhi.

I gave her a secretive smile. "I didn't say that, my dear," I said, sipping my tea. "The darkness in his soul is very powerful; while a spell like that may work completely for someone who is only afraid of the light, with him, it's different. His very spirit rejects the sun, so it won't take long for him to revert back."

I gave them all a wistful smile. "But hey, two days for him is like an eternity when it comes to something like this. I think he'll be alright. He has a loving little sister to look after him; she is all the Light he needs in his life."

They all smiled, and Takashi kissed my temple. All of a sudden, a knock sounded on the club doors. When they opened, Nekozawa's maid came in, carrying a large bouquet of black roses in a blood red vase.

She came over to me with a smile. "Master Umehito wanted you to have these as a show of thanks and appreciation for what you have done," she said. "He also said there were some surprises in the bottom of the vase, but to not take them out until the roses die."

I smiled warmly and took the bouquet from her. "Thank you. Is he spending time with the Little Pixie?"

She nodded. "Yes; he's teaching her how to plant a fairy circle."

"Aww . . . I remember when my grammie taught me that," I said, smiling wider. "Give them both my best regards, please?"

"Of course." She bowed and left.

I saw the others eyeing the roses carefully, and when Takashi looked at me, I saw jealousy in his eyes. I patted his arm.

"It's okay, mein lieber," I said. "Among those of us who practice The Craft, black roses are a sign of endearment, to show that we trust the other person completely. In some places, they are actually seen as a token of friendship and brotherhood. Nothing else, okay? Not like red roses," I added, chuckling.

He let out a sigh, then smiled.

Fifteen minutes later, he walked me out to my van. I saw Alaina waiting inside, but she tactfully turned her head in the other direction.

Takashi looked down at the roses in my hands with a small frown. "I don't like the fact that he gave you roses before I did . . ."

I smiled at him softly and opened my door to hand the roses to Alaina. She took them and set them on her lap, still looking away. I closed my door then turned to face him again.

"Liebling, it's alright," I said, gently stroking his jawline. "I don't care if you don't ever get me roses or anything like that. You already bought me jewelry. To me, the greatest gift you could ever give me is just . . . you. Your company, your feelings, your thoughts . . . Material goods mean nothing to me as long as I can still have you."

He smiled, then chuckled. "Alright . . . I'm sorry for getting jealous . . ."

I giggled. "Actually, I thought that it was kind of . . . hot. Seeing you get possessive a little was nice~ . . ."

I winked up at him ad he blushed, grinning. He then got a predatory look in his eyes and leaned down, putting an arm on either side of my head, effectively trapping me. I grinned.

"After all," I breathed, "you are the 'wild' type~ . . ."

He grinned and let out a low growl. "They said that I was 'wild' because I act on instinct," he breathed.

I decided to be cheeky. "And what are your instincts telling you now~?"

He smirked and his eyes darkened. "How about I show you?"

Before I could answer, he was kissing me deeply. I brought my arms up and put them around his neck, and he brought his hands down to grip my waist. I let out a low growl of my own, and it sounded almost wolf-like.

He pulled back and I blinked up at him, my mind hazy. "Did that answer your question?" he asked, grinning.

I nodded. "Mhmm . . . completely . . ."

He chuckled and gave me one last quick kiss. "I'll see you tomorrow, Gwenivere. Drive safely."

I smiled. "I will, don't worry."

~ P.o.V Change - the one who set off the bomb in ch. 10 ((yes, he's back)) ~

I growled low in my throat. I slid down from my perch in the tree and went back to my black car.

"Damn fucking bitch!" I muttered. "Seems she's turned into a little whore. Always knew she would."

I got into my car and started it up, grinning darkly. "Well, then. I guess it's time I put her in her place again . . . Maybe a little reminder of how useless and weak she is will set her straight . . ."

I laughed, knowing the perfect thing to do . . . .

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Dun dun DUN! Cliff-hanger~! (^w^) You may all now start to freak out and tableflip because of how mean I am *chuckle*

*waits for you all to stop freaking out*

Okay. Now, back to business.

I hope you all like this chapter and don't worry, I'll update soon, okie? *hugs n' kisses* ~ vampireXgirl13X