It was one of those days where it was postcard perfect, it was one of those days where anyone who knew about it would want to be outside. Cloudless, the sky was a blue and open beckon with the bronze glow of sunlight washing the streets and emphasizing the casual birdsong. Crisp, cool autumn air rolled through the open windows along with a fiery-colored leaf or two. It didn't stop the car's interior from seeming particularly gloomy and stuffy even with the fresh air rolling in and out of the windows. It was quiet in there, maybe even a little bit too quiet.

Mahiru sat back in the cool gray seat, letting the wind do what it would with her short beige hair. It was refreshing to feel the wind against her face, refreshing to relax now that the teardrops had been found and the worst of the fiasco was over. The silence unsettled even her, unbreakable in its ways. She did the next best thing, glancing over at Mitsuru in a way she hoped was discreet. So much had changed, and yet so little- he didn't seem to notice her at all. Her dark aqua-haired hero had his chin resting on the palm of his hand while he stared blankly out the window. He had that bitter little frown she'd come to adore, one that couldn't help but make her smile the tiniest bit.

"Princess," A gentle, quiet voice called to her. "We're almost there." Mahiru had been caught off guard as she turned to face the speaker, flustered by her own thoughts. It had been Misoka, who seemed far more at ease than she.

"Oh, yes!" She chirped, smiling that warm smile that had helped to win over the Moonlight Bandits. Still there was something awkward about her response, causing her to looking down at her feet for what must have been the fourteenth time that car ride; not that she was counting. Misoka adjusted his glasses, and she had to wonder if he somehow knew how scared she was. She would be okay, she reminded herself, it would be okay.

"Mahiru, you know you don't have to do this." Purred a casual voice, one she recognized right away as Nozumo's. He'd been sitting next to her for the whole trip appearing as relaxed as he ever was, but she caught the subtle worry in his calmly reassuring smile. The blonde-haired, fair-eyed vampire had introduced her to the crew that had become her best friends and even her family. She slowly raised her eyes to meet his, wondering if he could feel how afraid she was right now- if any of them could.

"I..." She paused a moment, "I want to go." She lied, and she'd always been a bad liar. Having told herself this one a couple too many times, she sounded convincing, at least to her own ears. "I've always wanted to see the Moon Palace!" She spoke eagerly putting on a brave smile for all of them, and maybe herself, too.
"I haven't." Mitsuru snapped, not bothering to look away from his window. He was going with her even though he didn't want to, and this helped ease Mahiru just a little bit more. She'd have him by her side, and because of that she knew that she would one alright.

"You don't have to go, either." Slyly, Nozumo offered a particularly charming and photogenic smirk as he turned to get a good look at Mitsuru. "I'd be happy to go with the Princess."

The tengu had turned to face the vampire with a low growl building up from the back of his throat like a feral animal's, glowering against Nozumo's casual stare. "Yeah, well-"

"Hey! Hey, look!" Almost breaking the melancholy mood, a cheerful voice interrupted the unspoken war. The resident werewolf, Akira, was leaning half way out the third row window and enjoying the autumn air to its fullest. The piercings on his face didn't do anything to tone down his enthusiasm in those bright tawny eyes. "It's the shrine!"

Despite everything that had happened with Keiko, the shining boy was well on his way to mending. Despite his cheerful outburst and temporary break in mood, the atmosphere soured into something far more melancholy and far quieter than it had been before. Reality was creeping closer, and Mahiru felt its tug on her. Still, she managed to keep her head up, to catch the look of each of her dear friends and keep it. Her eyes were even softer than usual, tears threatening her as she looked at them and all the memories. "I'm going to miss you all." Her voice was soft, but it didn't break.

Mitsuru bristled visibly at this, grunting in a noncommittal way and looking back out the window twice as brooding as he had been before. There was a long moment of quiet, one that seemed to last for hours though it couldn't have been more than a couple of seconds. Nozumo was the ice-breaker, speaking on behalf of all of them. "We'll miss you, too, Princess."

The Emperor, Lord Shirogane, had really been very kind about the whole thing. He seemed genuinely pleased that she was coming to live in the palace for a month, maybe he'd even been hoping for it what with how cleanly it was arranged. No one knew how it was going to go, and there was the heavy but unspoken threat that everything could go wrong. Thankfully, she wouldn't be going alone- she had Mitsuru to go with her, and Oboro, too! The others had to keep watch over the nightclub, separating them into different worlds. The permanence of that became concrete as the car rolled to a stop in one awkward moment that Mahiru was glad to see pass.

"We'd better leave soon, Princess." Oboro's face was gentle, kind, just like his voice. He'd turned so that he could face them all from the passenger seat. He bowed his head in a gesture of respect to her, one that still managed to surprise her no matter how many times it happened. "I only ask that you do what you will; I'll be waiting for you."

"Uh..." At a loss for words, Mahiru drew back when she heard Oboro's door shut behind him.

This alone seemed to irritate Mitsuru, who opened his door coldly and calmly enough. He slammed it with just as much violence, something so typical of him Mahiru couldn't help but giggle a little bit- she couldn't help it! She was glad that he was going to go with her, glad that she still had him by her side. She wasn't so glad when she felt her door come sliding open, turning her head to look up at Mitsuru who had opened it for her. Wordlessly, he offered her his hand in a gesture that would normally have the other bandit's teasing him without reservation. Just as quietly, she slipped her hand into his and allowed herself to slide out of the car- or she almost did, at least. Something seemed to pull at her, causing her to pause and look back at the faces she was going to miss. Mitsuru, of course, gave them all a look that was meant to kill.

"You'll be fine." Purred Nozumo, looking up at her with that charming, unreadable little smile of his. That was the catalyst, the one that had Akira staring at her like a pitiful puppy and hanging half way over the seat. Childlike, maybe, but she could see the sacrifice behind those tawny eyes of his that had been so joyful a moment ago.

"Mahiru..." Akira whined, as emotional as Misoka was stoic. Misoka slowly turned his head, casting a serious glance to match his words.

"Tell the emperor and Auntie that I said hello." It was the most casual thing he had ever requested of her, and despite this he held up his calm dignity- something Akira sadly lacked as he wiped his nose on his sleeve.

Mahiru just beamed, "I will!" She managed to get her other foot out of the car, but it was hard to move. She didn't want to leave them, not at all, but her face was bright red from all the kindness and attention she was receiving. They were always all so kind to her, she had to say something. "It'll be great," she insisted even as Mitsuru pulled her awkwardly out of the car with a firm jerk. Stumbling to catch her balance, her next words surprised her. "I love you all!"

It was such a simple, complex thing to say. Baffled at her words, even Kasura turned to look at her from the driver's seat with a silent but rewarding smile. Akira whimpered pitifully, hanging over the seat like a rag doll for a moment before suddenly flinging himself half way out the window so that he very nearly invaded her private space. "We love you, too, Princess!" He called loudly, sincere as he'd ever been. Nozumo chuckled in good humor even as Misoka gave a quiet glance of disapproval to the werewolf. However, Akira wasn't going to be the only one who was catching dirty glances quite soon enough.

"I had no idea you felt so strongly," Purred Nozumo, exclusively acting as though it had been only him who had been told the words. He winked at her, but he had to have known it wasn't like that! She hadn't meant it like that, and it wasn't as though-

"Nozumo!" A chorus of voices scolded the vampire at once; poor Mahiru felt her face was already redder than a beat. Nozumo just gave another small chuckle. He leaned forward a little, taking her hand so that she turned to look at him. Unaffected, unabashed, he held her eyes with his own and allowed himself the luxury of scooting forward to get a good look at her one more time. He placed a hand on her cheek gently, smiling a sad smile. "I really will miss you, Princess." Nozumo spoke simply, but powerfully. Mitsuru gave Nozumo a look of such loathing that it might as well have been a death sentence. Mitsuru glared at Nozumo so that if looks could kill, he would be six feet under. Unforgiving of the affectionate little display, Mitsuru tugged on Mahiru's hand and pulled her closer to himself, leering at them all one last time before slamming the door shut.

Mahiru took a moment to steady herself, relying on Mitsuru for a moment while she caught her balance. She'd gone blissfully unaware of the tengu's protective action, though it was clear that he was sulking when he passed her a look not entirely dissimilar to the look he'd given Nozumo earlier. "You don't go around saying that so casually, damnit!" He hissed at her, grabbing her hand just a little bit tighter. He didn't let go, and even if Mahiru didn't understand what he meant, she was glad that he held her hand.

"It will be good for them to see you, Mahiru." Oboro spoke in that fatherly way of his, smoothing out the situation by his presence alone. It also drew her back to what was coming, to where she was going, and all the things that could happen.

"It'll be fine! It will be good to see the Emperor again." She responded, chipper as always. She knew it wasn't right to just call him Shirogane in the company of others, especially with someone who was as honorable as Oboro. She felt Mitsuru's hand slip away, watching as the two of them took their first steps away from the car. She looked over her shoulder as through the windows that had long since been rolled down. She waved, smiling, but it was still a little bit sad.

"C'mon, you dork." Half-scolded Mitsuru, cupping her head in his hand as he pulled her back, dragging her along a little at first up on to the shrine steps. Soon, she was gone.

The car felt empty, terribly empty. One by one, they each slipped into their own private grief, mourning over the temporary loss of their makeshift family and princess. Akira hung his face out the window and gave a quiet whine as he stared at the shrine, lonely even in spite of the brilliant trees and perfect weather. Nozumo looked over the nearly empty row of seats he had and allowed himself to fall back on them, his fair eyes half closed and glazed over in thought as he stared at the roof of the car. The only one who wasn't so obviously affected was Misoka, who looked out his closed window with only the vaguest hints of worry buried in his stoic expression.

"Well, that was interesting!" Laughed Katsura, trying to light up the dampened mood, shifting the car's gears back into drive. Lurching forward, moving on- like Oboro, she (or at least she was a she for now) aimed to help smooth things over.

"It would be better if we could send Koumouri-san." Nozumo replied flatly, thoughtfully as his eyes narrowed just the tiniest fraction.

"Oh, c'mon! She'll be fine; she has Mitsuru and Oboro with her!" Her audience was unimpressed; they were all such stubborn boys. She allowed herself a turn to sigh, exasperated. "We can check on things tonight," She saw Akira perk up just a fraction, while Misoka seemed to grow less tense. Score. "We can check on things tonight once we're back at Moonshine. I promised Oboro that I would, anyway."

"Really?!" Akira seemed to fill with life again, his brown eyes gleaming joyfully at the prospect of seeing them both. If he'd had a tail at the moment he'd be wagging it, the same way that his ears would have perked, but he could only stare at Katsura raptly from his seat.

"Really." Katsura assured shortly, amused with the little werewolf and pleased he was so capable at manipulating the atmosphere.

It was a long drive back home to Moonshine, but at least now they had something to look forward to. It'd be fine; after all, it was just going to be one month...