Disclaimer: Shamanic Princess doesn't belong to me and neither does the Phantom of the Opera. Just doing this for fun so please don't sue me. ^_^

Author's note: Yay, finally able to update this story! Sorry for the long delay and thanks for being patient. I'd like to thank all those that reviewed: Priestess Takiko, Shamanic Princess Tiara, Mina, Hellmaster Donut, and Thorny Rose. Thank you all for the kind and wonderful reviews, please keep it coming ^_^. Anyways, I'll stop babbling now and let you guys get on with the story. Enjoy!

Chapter 3

Leon fingered the cigar in his pocket as he headed out the opera house. Graham had left a case of them in Box 5 the other night as a reward for taking care of the phantom's personal Box. He suddenly frowned as he wondered how Graham will take to the changes Firmin and Moncharmin had implemented on Paris Opera these pass days. He shook his head, thinking that the managers were in for a surprise if they actually believe they were in control of the going ons in the opera house.

'Graham will always have the last word if he has anything to say about it,' he mused silently.

He was just pushing the main doors open when he heard someone bellow his name. Leon sighed and faced Firmin as the latter angrily marched towards the concierge.

"What is the meaning of this?!" spat out the manager, waving a letter at Leon's face.

"The meaning of what, Sir?" Leon asked in confusion.

Firmin did not bother to answer, but instead roughly grabbed Leon's arm and dragged him back to the managers' office. Once inside, Leon noticed that Moncharmin was also in a similar state as the other manager.

"What manner of joke are you trying to pull here?" Moncharmin asked. He snatched the letter from Firmin and shoved it into Leon's hands.

Leon read the note before facing both managers with a frown. "This is not a joke. It's a letter from the Phantom of the Opera. If you have any questions about his demands perhaps you should take it up with him. I'm sure Mr. Debienne and Mr. Poligny mentioned him."

"Aha!" Firmin exclaimed. "So you are in league with those pranksters. Well guess what? I didn't believe them then and I won't believe you now." To emphasize his statement, the man took the letter and ripped it into tiny pieces.

"Now that this is settled, I want you to make Box 5 available for rent," Moncharmin told Leon.

"But, Sir," Leon said nervously. "That's Gr-…, I mean the ghost's Box. No one's allowed to use it, but him."

"Are you aware that no one's been seen sitting in that Box night after night?" At Leon's silence the manager continued in a harder tone. "Look, I'm not going to indulge some imaginary phantom into reserving Box 5 for him or by giving him a percentage of the house's earnings."

Leon was aghast. "But, I can't go against the phantom's wishes!"

"Then we'll just have to find someone else who will," pointed out Firmin. "Have your things cleared out by tonight, Leon."

******

"They fired you?" Tiara asked her friend. She had just stepped out of her dressing room, when she saw the dejected concierge.

Leon nodded. "I can't believe they're not taking Graham seriously. This will not bode well for Paris Opera."

"I know what you mean. Specially since Graham's been a bit edgy lately." Tiara wondered if it was because of Kagetsu. Perhaps Graham had noticed how their new owner kept insisting on seeing her this pass few days. She had always declined for fear of Graham discovering her past with Kagetsu.

Leon saw the frown on the girl's face. "Is something wrong, Miss Tiara?"

"What?" she said quickly, breaking out of her thoughts. "No-no, everything's fine." She fingered the letter in her pocket for a second and decided to take the risk.

"Leon, would you do me a favor?"

"Of course," he said with a smile. "What would you have me do?"

Tiara looked to see that no one was around before discreetly handing the letter to her friend.

"Could you deliver this letter to Kagetsu?" she whispered. "Make sure no one sees it."

Leon nodded with understanding. When she said 'no one,' he knew she meant Graham.

******

"Your Grace, a letter arrived for you just now."

Kagetsu looked up from the papers he was reading and saw his butler by the door, holding an envelope.

"Who is it from?" he asked as he mentioned Nigel forward.

"I don't know, your Grace." Nigel said. "The young man who delivered it said that I was to have you read the letter immediately and instruct you to burn it afterwards. It was quite an odd request if you ask me."

Kagetsu gave the old man an amused look when the butler scratched his head and pondered at the instructions he had received. Confusion replacing Nigel's usually cool demeanor. The viscount's amusement quickly vanished as he became absorbed in the letter once he realized it was from Tiara. He read the note over and over just to make sure that he wasn't hallucinating the whole thing.

'I can't believe she actually wants to meet me. Finally,' he thought happily.

With a huge grin on his face, Kagetsu got up from behind his desk and threw the letter in the fire place.

"Can you ask Cook to delay supper for a couple of hours?" asked the young man, walking briskly out of the room. "I have to make some arrangements for a trip to Perros tomorrow."

******

It was late when Tiara finally stepped onto the train. She carefully placed her satchel on the top compartment of her private cabin. Turning back to close the door, she gave a small gasp when a shadowy figure slipped inside her cabin. Surprise quickly turned to anxiety when she recognized the mask that the man wore.

"Gr-Graham, what are you doing here?" she asked nervously.

"Where are you off to," he coldly asked in return.

Tiara steadied her voice as Graham moved closer. "I wanted to go visit my father's grave in Perros. Tomorrow's his death anniversary."

"Why didn't you tell me?" he said more softly. "You know I would have gladly accompanied you on the journey."

"I didn't want to inconvenience you."

Graham turned his face away from her. "Is it because of my …? People run away from me because I'm different. I thought you said you're not frightened anymore."

"Oh, Graham," Tiara reached up and gently guided his face back towards hers. Her eyes mirrored the sadness and compassion she felt for him. "Please don't start thinking that way again. If you would just give people a chance …"

"Other people don't matter!" he angrily interjected. He took a calming breath before taking hold of her hand. "Only you matter. My love, my angel."

Tiara could only smile weakly at Graham's declaration. Her heart bled for the dear, tortured man in front of her, but it also longed for the love of another.