Shurit looked to Ankh, to his almost timid, tear stained face. He was rather surprised that he'd ask him that, and wondered exactly what made him ask the question. "You want me to say here?" he asked, and Ankh nodded, his hands, oddly weak and shaky coming to rest on Shurit's shoulders. "I want you to stay with me. I can never apologize enough for what I did. Please… please let me continue to atone with my actions." he said, and Shurit was surprised. He could tell that Ankh felt horrible about what he did, and he wanted to make Shurit feel better about it.

"Please." he said, and Shurit thought it was really odd to see his strong friend in such a state. Quivering, tear stained and begging. He realized that he had to try and cheer Ankh up, if only so he didn't have to see him in such a sorry state anymore. He reached out and hugged Ankh, wrapping his lean arms around his friend, nuzzling his head into his chest. "Stop crying. I'll stay." he said, and he swore he heard another sob as Ankh hugged him back. The two were finally friends again, and Ankh couldn't be happier.

When the rest of the Kodomo family returned that night, they noticed that Wolfguard was still sleeping, resting downstairs. When they walked in the room, he perked up, looking to their hands to see if any of them were carrying bags of food, his twitching nose sniffing for things he couldn't see. "Where food?" he asked. Yuuki smiled as she walked over to him, handing him a plastic bag with a paper bag within, the Duel Spirit sitting up and bowing his head in thanks as his tail began to wag. "I'm going to bed, that was too much food." Milla said, grumbling to herself.

With a plastic container of dumplings in his hand, Wolfguard looked to the white haired Spellcaster. "Ankh back." he said, and the four of them turned to the Duel Spirit, before looking amongst each other. "He's got some timing." his father mused, something that the others all agreed with. "I hope him and Shurit didn't end up killing each other." Dharc said, and Milla grunted, walking up the stairs to the apartment.

When she opened the door, she heard the TV in the living room, playing reruns of some cop show or another, something she didn't pay much attention to in her time in the human world. She frowned, noticing that all of the lights were off and that the sink was empty of dishes. Ankh wasn't in his room either, his odd Black Magician clothing neatly folded at the foot of the bed. She walked over to the living room, looking to the couch and squinting her eyes in the bad lighting.

What she saw both upset and relieved her. She saw Ankh fast asleep, looking incredibly peaceful and recovering from exhaustion. She was relieved that he was okay and seemed happy and relaxed, and that nothing bad had happened to him in the time he spent away or when he got home. However, on the flip side, she wasn't the most pleased to see him cradling Shurit in his arms, the smaller male rather content looking in her mate's embrace. "I'll get you sooner or later you little fucker."

When the morning came, Hades found himself feeling incredible. He was well rested in a remodeled and clean room, even the air more enjoyable to breath. The day was young, and when he rose from his bed and stretched, he actually had a smile on his half sleeping face. It was like he was a new man, and he felt ready to take on the world. For now however, he needed to get himself ready. He knew that today he'd head to see Darius, the eccentric millionaire that he dueled what felt like ages ago.

He knew that Darius was the next target of the odd villain they'd ran into in the Broox, and he knew that if he could take this man out, that they'd be able to find and rescue Axel and Pierre unhindered. He cracked his back and neck, sighing as he scratched his head. "You look better than normal." he heard, looking to see Magician Gal looking at him with a brow raised. He smiled before nodding.

"I feel great. I have to admit it, Pops did a good job on the place." he said, and she chuckled. She had paid close attention to him last night while they were at dinner, the four of them going out like an actual family for the first time. Hades especially was incredibly happy, and his positivity rubbed off on his family members, herself included. They were all able to chatter and banter with each other without issue. It was incredible, because during the time that Hades spent away, the two people that created him could barely be bothered to say hello to each other, much less appear like a normal pair of parents.

She had to admit that Hades had an incredible sway on the people around him, as she could see the changes in not only his own parents, but in the friends he'd made as well. That Lars kid seemed much more confident, and the Okami girl was hopefully learning something from him. His presence wasn't all good however, as Hades' dominant and sometimes rude and toxic behavior led to that Philip child turning against them, becoming some kind of spy or informant for the man in red.

Hades was thinking the same thing almost, his thoughts immediately shifting to Philip's betrayal. He didn't understand what drove him over the edge, but he'd have to guess it was his incessant desire for attention. He received a lot because of his personality, but he must have felt like a supporting character, a background dancer, and he didn't like it. It was almost comical, and Hades knew that he was going to have to deal with him sooner or later. For now, all he had to do was get ready and go see Lars. He wanted to bring his trusted friend with him to meet Darius.

When Shurit awoke, he found himself rather comfortable. He was incredibly warm and felt like he could just remain in the same position all day and night. It was odd, because he normally fell asleep in a fetal position or sitting up. It was his mind trying to stay awake and rebel against his body's need for sleep. But now, it was the opposite. He had no desire to fight his body. He wanted to stay comfortable.

He closed his eyes, laying his head back down and inhaling. When he did, he began to hear a thumping noise, blinking when it vibrated his skull. He sat up, realizing that he was laying on Ankh's chest. He frowned, looking to the other male's sleeping face, the peaceful look across his features not what Shurit was expecting to see. He clenched his fists, realizing that what he should be doing is striking Ankh right now. All he had to do was grab his throat, squeeze with as much of an iron grip as he could muster. Maybe grab a frying pan.

Then, he had another thought. He thought back to before they had sat on the couch together to simply pass the time and watch what the humans called 'television'. He remembered Ankh breaking down in front of him and asking him to stay. He'd seen him crying, shaky and timid. He was nothing more than a scolded, saddened child, and Shurit realized that he had no desire to fight someone like that.

"Morning." he heard, breaking out of his thoughts to look at Ankh, who seemed rather drowsy as he slowly opened one eye. Shurit offered him a smile, something that he gladly accepted and reciprocated. "Looks like I woke up first. Guess I win again, huh?" he teased, and Ankh chuckled. "You fell asleep first, so I'd say we're even." he retorted, and Shurit sighed, remembering that his friend had always been quick witted.

"It looks like everyone's back." he noted, glancing about and noticing shoes by the door, something that Ankh nodded to. "I know. Hard not to hear those footsteps to be honest." he mused, chuckling to himself. Shurit sighed, laying against Ankh's chest, something that surprised him slightly. "You sure you wanna be cuddling with me?" he said, an odd tone in his voice that was somewhere between sad and hopeful. Shurit couldn't put his finger on it, but the tone was incredibly relaxing to him, as if he had Ankh wrapped around his finger, something that he actually mused over.

He chose to smile and nuzzle his head against Ankh's chest. "Why not? You might be a bastard, but you're a bastard with a comfortable chest." he mused, and Ankh chuckled. He could tell what Shurit was going for. He was playing on Ankh's emotions, his massive lapse of control that turned him into a timid, weak child. Sadly, if he thought that he had the half-breed outwitted, he was mistaken. Shurit might have been better than him at magick, but Ankh was always just a little bit smarter than his friend.

"We're going where?" Lars asked, sitting in his living room with Hades. The half breed sighed, scratching his head. He looked to the gloves he'd normally wear in the Broox. They were black and fingerless, leather things with a couple of dried blood stains on them, something he hoped the Lancasters never noticed. "We're heading across town to Darius' place. He's the mentally unstable millionaire who I dueled that used Slifer." he mused, and Lars blinked.

"The guy had an Egyptian God? Did you win?" he asked, and Hades rose a brow. "You doubt me?" he mused, and Lars shook his head. "Not at all! I'm just surprised you're so good. How did you get so good at dueling anyway?" he asked, and Hades blinked. He had never thought about it really. "Well… I guess it was just living in the Spirit World and the Broox to be honest. In the Broox, you had to be really smart to survive, and in the Spirit World, you had to make friends with and use the spirits to your advantage. I guess dueling is just both at once." he surmised.

He scratched his head at his own words, not surprised at the confused look he was getting from Lars. "It's kind of like… if I was a chef that had both experience in food service and farmed my own ingredients. I think… kinda." he guessed, unsure of himself in this instant. Lars blinked, shrugging it off as he nodded to his friend. "What are we hoping to find there?" he asked, and Hades threw his hands into the air. "Best bet is nothing. He was bluffing about attacking Darius and we have to keep hunting him. Worst case is he shows up in full force and I call Ankh or something." he said.

Lars nodded. He frowned as he glanced to the ground, running a finger through his bright hair. "What about Philip?" he asked, and Hades rose a brow. He knew that Lars took Philip's betrayal hard, but this didn't seem like the same hurt or concern that Okami had. This was different. Hades hummed.

"We might run into him." he said, and he looked down to Lars' fists, which were beginning to clench as the flesh of the knuckles turned a ghostly white. "If we see him…. Let me duel him." he said, and Hades hummed. He was surprised to hear that. It wasn't the most outlandish thing, sure, but Hades assumed that unless he was overwhelmed and needed to call on Ankh or his Father for backup, he'd be in this mostly alone. To hear that Lars wanted to deal with the turncoat was a pleasant surprise.

"What brought this on?" he asked, trying to hear out his friend's reasoning, as he was rather curious. Lars looked to him with his brow furrowed, a look in his eyes that was somewhere between angry and determined. Lars held up a single card, the Gear Gigant X that he received from Hades.

"I want to show him what he's doing wrong. I want to show him that not even selling his soul can make him a better duelist than me. And… I want to punish him for almost getting Okami killed. She might be a bitch sometimes, but she's still my friend. I won't let him get away with backstabbing my friend and me. He has to fall by my hand."