Her room:
Nightmare noticed that the door to Kagemi's room was a little open and he could hear voices inside as he entered to see what was going on. He was surprised to see Kagemi ordering his servants around to rearrange her room.
"Yeah, that's right. Put the bed over there so that I can look out of the window. It helps me sleep easier when I can look out at the night sky," Kagemi said, as three servants were moving the bed.
"It's always night here, Miss. Besides a few streaks of light in the sky that symbolizes morning," One of the female servants said.
"Good, then I can sleep forever if I want to. Make sure it's not too close to the window. Put the headboard on the adjacent wall so that my angle is good," Kagemi said, and then she turned towards the other servants moving a bookcase and a desk.
"Make sure the bookcase is on the right side with the desk on the left since my closet is in the middle," Kagemi said, and then she looked at the ground of the center space of the room where a blue round rug stood on the floor.
"You, standing there, is there a sofa I can put in the center here?" She asked a servant that was awaiting her command as if she was the master of the castle.
"Th-There should be, Miss. I'll look for it," the servant said, as she turned to see Nightmare and shrieked in surprise.
The others turned to see Nightmare, as well as Kagemi.
"Oh, hello there, Nightmare. I was just doing some redecorating. I haven't been able to do much rearranging in prison so I kind of borrowed your servants," Kagemi said, a smile on her face with one hand resting on her hip.
"Well you seem to be making yourself at home. And borrowed?" Nightmare asked.
"Yes, I'm sure I won't you know, order them around aaaall the time, ey dearies?" Kagemi said as she glanced towards the servants.
"Well I don't necessarily mind if you borrow two, but I need the others when I call them," Nightmare said as he looked towards them all and said,
"... Hurry up, and leave."
The servants began working at a much faster pace as they shuffled out of the room.
"Well weeell, they seem to know their place with you," Kagemi said, pretty impressed.
"Of course. I'm the master of this castle. Everyone knows to fear me," Nightmare said, a little smugly.
Kagemi walked closer to him and asked, "Should I fear you?"
Nightmare smirked and said, "Maybe you should or maybe you shouldn't. But remember your part of the bargain, Kagemi. It wouldn't be a good idea to take advantage of my generosity, would it?"
"Oh nooo. I wouldn't dream of it, sweety. You've been keeping your end of the deal so far, so I'll keep mine. It's only fair, right?" Kagemi said with an ambiguous smile that confused him a little.
So Nightmare picked her up from the waist with a tentacle to bring her closer to him.
"I'm serious, Kagemi. Don't test me or you will regret it. Trust me. I wouldn't want to harm that pretty face of yours," Nightmare said, as he stroked her cheek with his back hand.
"... You know, for a villain who's trying to threaten me, you're quite the flirt about it," Kagemi said, a more cheeky smile on her face.
He released her, upright, and turned away as he said, "Just remember what I said, woman!"
"Am I your woman?" Kagemi asked, testing something, as Nightmare felt a chill up his spine.
"… What are you talking about?" Nightmare turned to ask her, deepening his tone to hide his fluster at her question.
"I'm just saying, you wanted someone like you to bring you into Serentime, you broke me out of prison, you accepted to take care of me, and you've been pulling me close to you more times than one. I get the feeling you see me more than just a partner in crime. Maybe a partner for life?" Kagemi said, placing her hand under her chin.
"You're speaking nonsense. I don't have feelings for you in such a way, and I don't intend to! This is just business until you take me into Serentime, and if you don't give me the information I desire, then you're gone," Nightmare said, feeling agitated.
"You're going to kill me then?" Kagemi asked.
"Wha- NO! I mean, you're leaving my castle," Nightmare clarified.
"Why let me go? I know your plan, and I could tell Mettatime to stop you. Why trust me?" Kagemi asked.
"Oh, I know you won't say anything about it. You don't care what happens to others as long as you get your way and have your fill. That's what you are, just like me, or you wouldn't have agreed to help me into Serentime in the first place," Nightmare said.
"... Fair point. But are you certain? I'm not a pushover you know," Kagemi said, with a smirk.
"You know, I can retract my kindness," Nightmare said, smirking as his other tentacles began to move.
"You know, I can retract bringing you into Serentime," Kagemi said, still smirking.
"Then I'll throw you in my dungeon until you accept without any charge but freedom," Nightmare said, taking a step towards her.
"And how many watchers are willing to bring you into Serentime again?" Kagemi asked, with her arms crossed.
"And how many times have you broken out of prison again?" Nightmare asked.
"Three times," Kagemi replied.
"Wha-Really?" Nightmare asked, surprised.
"Yeah. I could have broken out anytime, but they offered me food so I agreed to stay, until I grow bored. No prison can hold me for long, not even yours," Kagemi said.
"Do you think I'd let you go so easily? Not only will I be after you, but they would too. You actually have much more freedom working for me than on the run," Nightmare said.
"I don't think I'd have as much trouble being on the run as you would chasing after me since you have no other watcher to help you," Kagemi said, her dark smirk clearly evident.
"Trust me, Kagemi. You wouldn't want me to chase you. You wouldn't get two steps outside of this castle without me catching you," Nightmare said, his arrogance starting to show.
"Oh? Then how about a bet? I escape from you and the castle, and you have to take care of me forever. But if you catch me, I will admit how great you are and follow the original deal without complaints. Alright?" Kagemi said.
"... How about if I catch you, you owe me a favor and you follow our original deal. Deal?" Nightmare said, as he offered his hand to her.
Kagemi took his hand and shook it, as she said, "When we let go, I get a five second head start, okay?"
"Fine by me," Nightmare said, and when they separated hands, Kagemi seemed to disappear from his sight.
He heard the door slam open, as Nightmare thought, 'Huh, that was quick, but she won't escape me…'
Kagemi ran as she doing parkour and acrobats to get through the castle, while Nightmare chased after her from the shadows. He almost caught her a few times, but Kagemi managed to escape by avoiding him right on time or by jumping through glass and appearing somewhere else. She made it to the front doors, but they were locked, as Nightmare was walking down the stairs that lead to the front double doors with a smirk and said,
"See? You won't be able to leave even if you tried."
"So you tried to corner me, ey?" Kagemi said with narrowed eyes.
"Heh. I guess you can't escape now, huh?" Nightmare said, as he kept walking towards her.
"Nah, I could," Kagemi said, as she started running towards Nightmare.
He was ready to grab her, but Kagemi threw a glass vase she took from next to the door at him, as he caught it. Kagemi jumped into the glass vase and seemed to disappear, until Nightmare looked up at the glass window above the door and saw Kagemi jump out from the other side as she winked and smiled at him. Kagemi jumped off the window edge to land on the ground, when she noticed from her shadow that she was about to land on, came forth Nightmare's tentacle. She screeched as the tentacle wrapped around her legs and pulled her into the darkness.
Kagemi was pulled through a shadow portal Nightmare had made with a dark space in front of the doors, as he wrapped another tentacle around her arms to keep her from trying to escape.
"Nightmare! I got out! I escaped your castle and got outside!" Kagemi said as she struggled.
"Nah. You didn't touch the ground, and I did mention that you wouldn't get two steps, and you didn't. So I win," Nightmare said, smirk growing.
"Grrr! You really are a sly one aren't you... Sigh. Fine. A deal's a deal. I'll get you into Serentime, and do you the favor," Kagemi said, agitated but calm.
"Hmph. Good. As I said, you can't escape me," Nightmare said, as he released her.
"Whatever, sweety. So, what is the favor?" Kagemi asked, a little annoyed.
"I'll think about it and let you know," Nightmare said, and started walking back up the stairs.
"You didn't even have a favor in mind?!" Kagemi asked.
"No. I just wanted you to owe me something. So be good, Kagemi, and I'm sure the favor won't be life threatening or painstaking," Nightmare said, and he could hear Kagemi grumble while following him, as he chuckled.
Kagemi settled into her new room, and Nightmare left her alone while he retreated to his own room to rest.
'... She could escape if she wanted to. I have to keep an eye on her. But even I have to admit, she's not a pushover,' Nightmare thought.
In Kagemi's room, she laid on her bed staring out the window with aggravation, but then she relaxed as she smiled and thought,
'At least I'm not in prison anymore. I have my own room, and I can bully the servants a bit too. But I think he needs a better way to do things besides using fear... Heh. I make it seem like I'm staying here permanently... but by the way he treats me, it's almost like he would... nah. We'll see what happens… I just hope my peeps are doing alright…'
Two days later:
Kagemi was eating her meal quick and with her hands, as Nightmare and the servants watched, still marveled by how much she could consume with such veracity.
"... Did that prison actually feed you?" Nightmare asked.
"Yeah it was okay to get by, but I need to eat a little more and I don't know when I'll eat again so I basically say, screw table manners," Kagemi said, and then she continued her feast.
"You don't have to be a ravaging beast here. I have plenty of food so you'll be able to eat," Nightmare said.
"I guess so, but I can't be too careful about it," Kagemi said, as she took a gulp of her drink.
"Were you left starving to death by any chance?" Nightmare asked.
"… When I left Serentime one day, I came across a peculiar world of deserts and canyons, and some woodlands scattered about. I was surveying the land when I realized I was being watched and confronted the sneak who was a corruption that seemed pleasant enough to talk to but was a vicious fighter, so we ended up duking it out until we got tired enough to call it even and she left. Before I could go, another corruption attacked me though I gave her a beating, but I ended up being too tired to leave and got stuck for almost two days before Mettatime found me. So yeah, I was starving for a while there," Kagemi replied, and she continued eating.
"That was a close call for you, huh? If Mettatime didn't save you..." Nightmare said.
"I'd be starving more, and probably dead if he didn't come. Who knows," Kagemi said, finally finishing her food.
"So that's why you eat like that," Nightmare said.
"That's one reason, but the other is because the prison didn't feed me a lot until I choked the hell out of the jerk that purposely didn't feed me dinner. She kept treating me like dirt with her insults and eating my food right in front of me. I waited for the perfect opportunity to grab her from behind since I unlocked my shackles. It was funny how terrified she was, but what do you expect when you treat people bad, especially a beast like me. I wasn't in jail for no reason," Kagemi said as she used her napkin to clean her hands and mouth elegantly.
"How annoying. Already left to starve once and yet again by an idiot doing their job poorly," Nightmare said, irritated at the thought.
"Yeah, it was rough, but it's not so bad compared to being trapped in a dark realm and that deserted world. But now that I think about it, I've been a prisoner for almost my whole life. Heh. Of course then I became a watcher as a thanks to Mettatime for the rescue," Kagemi said.
"…" Nightmare contemplated her story for a moment until she asked him,
"Sooo, how abour you, huh? How'd you come to be and all, hm?"
"Eh, it's nothing really special. Just me taking what was mine and taking out those idiots who dared to defy me and think lowly of me… as those idiots of the prison thought of you," Nightmare said, sitting back in his seat.
"Ah. So you were a prisoner of sorts too?" Kagemi asked.
"… Yeah. In more ways then one, but I broke out and wiped out anyone who stood in my way. Even kept that fool Dream away from me for a long time while he watched," Nightmare replied.
"Oooh. I heard he was in stone of some sort, right?" Kagemi asked and he nodded.
"Such a bad guy you are. Truly despicable. You must really hate him huh?" Kagemi asked, noticing that Nightmare grew quiet.
"… You could say I tolerate him. To cause greater suffering you need to crush positivity, and when it shines bright enough, crushing it is more satisfying and causes a greater despair from which there is no waking, so… yeah I tolerate him as annoying as he is," Nightmare said.
"As I hear a younger sibling may be," Kagemi said, taking a drink.
"Do you have an annoyance as I?" Nightmare asked.
"Nah, nah. She's not annoying like that, and we like hanging out… but recently I've been badder then usual and we haven't seen each other in a while with me being on the run and prison and all," Kagemi replied.
"I see. And who is your sibling?" Nightmare asked.
"Would it be a favor to tell you?" Kagemi asked with a smile.
"... Nice try, Kagemi, but no," Nightmare said with a smirk, and Kagemi sighed and also refused to answer his question.
Two more days later:
"Here we are," Nightmare said, as he and Kagemi stood outside of Serentime.
"Ahh Serentime. It's been a while," Kagemi said, as she started walking to the booth where the bear was with Nightmare.
"Hello, welcome to... Kagemi! Is that you? You actually got out of prison?" Mr. Bear said, surprised to see her.
"That's right, Mr. Bear. I got a break-out-of-jail-free-card. It was great," Kagemi said, as she looked towards Nightmare with a smirk.
"Oh, oooohh! Sir Nightmare, you have returned. Am I to assume that Kagemi is your watcher?" Mr. Bear asked.
"Yeah. So you're gonna open the gates or what?" Nightmare asked with a cheeky grin.
"Hmmm, well, as long as Kagemi is with you, then that's fine. Here are the wristbands, and a bag of coins. Have fun," Mr. Bear said, as Kagemi took the wristbands and coins.
"Thank you, Mr. Bear. Say hi to your family for me," Kagemi said, and he nodded.
"What are the wristbands for?" Nightmare asked, as Kagemi placed one on his left wrist.
"For getting inside, sweetheart," Kagemi replied as she put on her own wristband.
"Can you not call me that," Nightmare insisted.
"While I do like annoying you, it's a natural reaction, deary. What would you prefer I call you then?" Kagemi asked, as she raised their hands to the gates and they started to open.
"I don't mind 'Sir Nightmare,' but it wouldn't sound right coming from you. I'd prefer if you just said my name or something more prestigious that meets your standards," Nightmare said, as Kagemi was trying to decipher if he had just given her a compliment.
The gates opened, and together they entered Serentime, with Nightmare's eagerness to learn of this world on his mind, while Kagemi was happy to be back. The two climbed a hill that was tall enough to show a good amount of Serentime, even though it wasn't even a quarter of how big the world is.
"Finally, I can learn the secrets of this accursed world and plunge it into darkness..." Nightmare said, almost excitedly.
"Gasp! They got new rides! And even the food court was upgraded! I gotta see this!" Kagemi excitedly said, as she dragged Nightmare by his arm along.
"What are you doing, woman?! What just happened to you?! Don't drag me around like a child!" Nightmare said.
"Well I can't go more than fifty feet away from you or else the wristband will notify Mettatime and the other guardians, and trust me, you don't want to be swarmed by guardians, my prince," Kagemi said, as she continued tugging him along.
Nightmare felt his face heat up from what she called him, as he let her bring him to where she wanted to go.
But the food court wasn't the only place Kagemi wanted to go. She went on the new rides, even the scary ones, like if it was a leisurely walk in the park, as Nightmare waited for her to return to him outside of it. They went to the water fountains, walked along the sand of a beach, and even went on a small boat to an island comprised of trees growing from under water above the surface to form the false island.
Although Nightmare was agitated at first, he became more relaxed and was actually enjoying himself since he was kind of getting a tour of the land, though not to where he initially wanted to go. Kagemi was having a great time, although she calmed down a little from her earlier excitement so that she could bask in the beauty of this world.
Nightmare couldn't help but watch her and feel content to see her happy and other emotions. At first he ignored these feelings and brushed them aside, but being in Serentime forced him to consider them carefully. As he pondered further, one word clicked in his mind as he tried to suppress the thought of what it could be.
'It can't be... that's impossible. I don't care if she's the most evillest or not, I can't feel that way towards her! I don't care how freaking cute she is, I don't lo... I just called her cute... I'm a freaking moron! I can't even argue with myself properly... What-What did she do to me? Am I just like those idiots…?' Nightmare thought, as he stood leaning under a tree on a hill, while Kagemi was sitting on the grassy ground looking over Serentime.
"My prince, would you like to sit down here instead? I'm sure you're tired from standing and being cranky," Kagemi said, without turning towards him, and Nightmare rolled his eye and walked towards her.
"You know, woman, you've been pretty insistent on dragging me around. I came to scout and eventually take over, and you've been pulling me away from that. Seems like you're not holding up your end of the deal," Nightmare said as he sat next to her.
"Ahh, no. You're incorrect. I said that I will take you to Serentime, but I never said I would let you scout the place and take over. You wanted to do that," Kagemi said, a sly smirk on her face.
"Hmph. I suppose you're right. I wanted to get in and I wouldn't put you in jail," Nightmare said.
"Exactly, sweety pop," Kagemi said, as Nightmare gave her a short glare.
"But it feels like you're stopping me on purpose. I mean, you're not a good guy... girl," Nightmare said.
"True, but I am a guardian of this world after all," Kagemi said with a wink, as Nightmare's eye widened.
"So that's it... heh heh heh. You waited until we got here to tell me that too... You sly fox," Nightmare said, with a small smirk.
"Sorry dear, but this world isn't yours to take," Kagemi said, with a smile.
"... But you are," Nightmare said, as he looked at her with a widened smirk.
Kagemi felt her heartbeat increase as she turned towards him with her eyes widened.
"What does... that mean?" Kagemi asked, more seriousness in her tone.
"Remember the favor you owe me?" Nightmare asked with a smug smile.
"... Yes. What about it?" Kagemi asked.
"I've decided on what that favor is," Nightmare replied, as he reclined on his tentacles.
"What is it?" Kagemi asked, with furrowed eyebrows.
"Heh. You're pretty serious huh? Well, it's not something crazy or weird..." Nightmare said, and he turned towards her and added,
"I want you to be my girlfriend."
"WHAAT?!" Kagemi yelped in shock.
"Yeah. That's the favor. Be my girlfriend," Nightmare said.
"But, why? I thought you didn't want a relationship," Kagemi said, calming herself down.
"At first. But you've really grown on me, you know. I didn't think love could affect me this way without killing me, but you son-of-a-gun, you somehow got me Kagemi," Nightmare said, almost annoyed but sincere, as Kagemi was surprised by his confession.
"... Woah. Like, I didn't think you'd confess like that... I really wasn't ready for today," Kagemi said, a blush on her cheeks.
"So you'll be my girl or what?" Nightmare asked.
"Heehee. Sure thing, my prince," Kagemi said, as she smiled at him.
Nightmare smirked as he brought her closer to himself with a tentacle while she rested her head on his shoulder to relax.