I'd like to say that I'm a rather unflappable person. There aren't a lot of things that can really shake someone who literally embodies truth, after all. But I'd be a liar if I said that my quick little meeting with Darian wasn't still weighing on my mind for some reason. I didn't really know why, really. It just kind of refused to leave me alone. Like a fly, or a mosquito.

It was enough that I kind of zoned out during Daria's history lesson when I really should have been working with my partner on our paper. It didn't help that outside of the occasional offhand comment she made about the Aspects of Destruction, the material was kind of dull. Not that my partner understood, as she just grumbled and complained about it.

Also could be because I forgot her name.

Regardless, it was enough that I barely even realized that the period had flown by and I was already on my way to the cafeteria. The usual hustle and bustle of annoyingly unmindful teenagers was somewhat alleviated by my larger body in comparison to most of the students here. I was a bit thin when I first woke up, on account of not eating anything for like a week or so while I was unconscious. But apparently my body decided to pack on weight to make up for it.

Thinking about it, it's probably a mixture of my massive appetite and the constant training that Darian's been having me do. The dude managed to find enchanted weights, which are actually kind of heavy if I put them at one of the higher settings. So while I wasn't exactly brolic or anything, I'm definitely more muscular than I had been before. It's an absolute cheat of a- ugh, oil on the skin! The hell is this feeling coming from?

Stopping myself before I rounded the corner to the main hallway, I leaned forward just in time to catch Ben leaving the student lounge.

"I'll be right back, Milly-Chan!"

"Don't take too long, Ben-Kun!"

Suppressing a gag at the weeb honorifics and Ben in general, I waited until he was far enough away before slinking out of the corner. From what I can remember of Milly, she seemed to be a rather simple girl. Probably a childhood friend of the snake, so it made sense that she was thirsting for him hard.

Too bad she was too blind to notice that she had mistaken poison for water.

Thankfully, I was ready to do my best to try and help her see the absolute lowlife that was her crush. While he may fabricate emotion and play with feelings, I am a genuine article.

I opened the door, stepping in and letting it close behind me. The room was rather small, filled with only a handful of chairs and a few small tables. There was a vending machine at the far left corner of the room, and sitting on a small couch next to it was the gal of the hour.

Modest. That was the first word that came to mind when I saw her. She wasn't really anything special to look at. She had braided straw blonde hair, brown eyes, fair skin, and average curves. She was a very forgettable person when judging going based off of appearance. Was that rude to say? Probably. But it was true.

Holding my backpack in my hand, I walked towards her. The clicking of my dress shoes against the floor was what alerted her to my presence, her eyes widening as a light dusting of pink appeared on her cheeks. Holding her hands in front of her chest, she managed to stutter out a greeting. "A-Adiel-San, hello!"

Dropping my bag onto a nearby table, I smiled gently at her. A rush of pride filled me as the pink on her cheeks darkened, though I pushed down the growing desire in favor of remaining personable. "Milly. Let me just say that it is an absolute pleasure to see you again."

There was an empty seat right next to her, just big enough that we'd be almost hip to hip. Making sure she was focused on me, I looked over towards the seat. "Do you mind if I sit next to you, Milly?"

Her finger toyed with the edge of her collar nervously, revealing the chain of a necklace underneath her uniform. "N-Not at all, Adiel-San. P-Please, go right ahead."

Carefully, I sat down in the seat next to her. Shifting slightly, I angled myself so that my side was against the back of the seat and my knees were almost touching hers. Placing my elbow on top of the couch, I rested my head on my fist. Idly, I noticed with a smirk her eyes darted down towards my neck before she blushed and looked away. "Now now, don't be shy. I'm sure you're well aware that I'm not exactly the most… modest of individuals."

She giggled, the nervousness from earlier still creeping through her voice even as she tried her best to relax. "Heh, y-yeah. You're a very… sinful man."

Oh? Well, isn't that a fascinating choice of word. I expected lustful, bad, even naughty. But sinful? It was an interesting choice of word with interesting connotations, especially the way she drawled it. "Sinful, you say? Are you religious?"

I must have hit the nail straight on the head, as her eyes gleamed and excitement draped itself over her mannerisms. "Why yes, yes I am! I'm a Creanite from the Church of Creation up in Lotharia. How did you know?"

Filing that under new information in my mind, I took note of the near instinctual displeasure that had shot down my spine. Not that I let said displeasure show, of course. "Educated guess. Not many people would use sinful as an adjective, unless they're religious."

Leaning just a little bit closer to her, I avoided looking her directly in the eyes and instead turned my gaze right at the bridge of her nose, and grinned. "So, what makes me so sinful in your eyes?"

The momentary confidence she had just a second before was gone, pink dashing across her cheeks once more. She lifted up her hand, placing it on my chest as if to push me away. But curiously, she didn't. "W-Well, you engage in premarital affairs for one. Lust is a sin, a destructive force on our immortal souls that must be condemned."

Her hand drifted to the right side of my chest, idly pushing against it in an almost inquisitive manner. "Y-You're also prideful, if the rumors are true. Pride is an insidious killer, slowly worming its way inside our hearts and corrupting our minds."

She sucked in a breath through her teeth, her hand clutching at my shirt as she tried to even out her breathing. "A-And, holy Crea, you inspire sins in others quite strongly. Y-Yes, your destructive influence on those around you encourages hedonistic pleasure and debauchery."

It was almost worrying how close to the mark she was, but her demeanor made whatever danger she could pose moot. Unlike my investigation with Juliet, she was very easy to read. A repressed religious girl who had an incredibly pent-up lust bulging beneath the surface, loosely wrapped up with her beliefs. She likely justified her lust by pushing them onto Ben, combining it with her preexisting relationship with him to create a massive crush on the snake. However, my unique presence was more than enough to shatter her composure and leave her teetering on the edge.

She was an easy bit of prey, this one. I probably wouldn't even need to make eye contact with her to have her hopping on my dick faster than you could say amen. But if I just wanted sex, I wouldn't be here in the first place. "Mmm, you've caught me red handed. Though I am curious now, do I inspire lust in you?"

I knew the answer. She knew the answer. We both knew that the other knew the answer. It was an open secret shared between us. A little spark of sin that she would take to the grave if she had to. But the nature of an open secret meant that neither party could admit it without it becoming an open fact.

And she must have known that, if the way she struggled to speak was any indication. It was in the way she fidgeted with my shirt, trying to both let go of it and hold on tighter. It was in the way she looked around the room for an escape, hoping one came to her because she couldn't do it herself. Her lust was poorly concealed, and even a blind man would be able to see it.

And so, I leaned away. "I won't pressure you for an answer. That would be quite rude of me to do. I will, however, ask that you think on it."

She blinked, her hand reaching towards me on instinct before she quickly pulled it back. Clearing her throat, Milly tried her best to recompose herself as she glared at me, though there was no true heat in her stare. "Y-You are a devil, Adiel-San."

I stood up from the couch, amused at the name. By all accounts, she was right. Her church centered around Creation, and I was an Aspect of Destruction. The sort of symbolic nature of it all was definitely arousing in a taboo sort of way, which was all the more reason to leave before I act on said arousal.

Though I did spare her one last look as I grabbed my bag, my eyes glowing slightly as I smirked. "Then I'll make sure to save a dance for you in the pale moonlight."

The only sounds in the room as I made my way to the exit were the clicking of my shoes against the floor and the uneven breaths of Milly.

Despite my intention of going towards the cafeteria immediately after talking with Milly, it wasn't even a minute before I ended up getting accosted by someone else. More specifically, my red headed history partner.

She had appeared out of nowhere, grabbing me by the arm and leading me away from the cafeteria and towards the second-floor library. It was a good thing I remembered to go along with her, otherwise she might have accidentally fell over trying to move me.

Following her lead through the library door, I gave the librarian a quick wave before allowing myself to be dragged towards a closed off section at the back of the library. There were a few tables surrounded by bookshelves on all but one side, though they were all empty.

"So, Ass- "

"My name is Ava Glass, not ass."

Raising an eyebrow, I let my eyes drift down her back and towards the swell of her hips. She had placed her backpack on the table closest to the corner, her hips idly swaying as she rummaged through it. "It's definitely not an inaccurate name though. Do you just squat all day on the weekends?"

An exasperated sigh escaped her, the slight sway of her hips stopping as she consciously tried her best to hide her A-Rank ass. Which combined with her large bust, gave her a classic bombshell look.

Curvy redheads man, gotta love 'em.

"Can you please stop checking me out so that we can get some work done on our paper?"

I shrugged, grabbing a chair and plopping myself on it as I crossed my right leg over the left one. "I can do both."

She pinched the bridge of her nose, shaking her head as she sat down. Her ponytail was done up tightly, fiery red hair pulled- huh. I'm getting a very strong sense of déjà vu right now, like a strong tingly sensation at the back of my head.

Whatever tangent she was going on about was swiftly ignored as I began to really look at her. This was really the first time we've properly interacted without me being completely distracted by something else, so I hadn't really noticed it before. But the tingling in my head was going strong, especially as I began to imagine what her facial structure would look like in a tight spandex mask.

Humming quietly to myself, I put the prices together in my mind. Lazily pointing a finger at her, I interrupted whatever spiel she was on. "Are you that cosplayer lady from last night? Cause you'd look just like her in a crimson spandex mask."

The cool, if slightly annoyed, expression on her face quickly shattered as she sputtered confusedly. A mixture of denials and befuddled exclamations escaped her lips as she tried to tell the worst lie I have ever seen. "Wh-What do you- there's no way- I can't possibly- how would you even- no?"

Yeah, that's definitely her. "Huh, I did not expect that."

Her eye twitched, confusion melting into frustration and a smidgen of panic as she quickly looked behind her and into the rest of the library. Luckily, no one ever goes to the library at this point in the period, so we were basically free from any potential eavesdroppers. Turning back to look at me, she straightened her back and squared her shoulders. "How did you find out?"

Well, I can't exactly say that a tingly sensation helped me piece the whole thing together, even if it is true. That would just make no sense. Though there are easier ways to explain it. "I'm quite literally impossible to lie to. A mask like that isn't enough to hide your identity, especially when you have such an easily identifiable feature, like your hair. It's a very nice fire red color."

There was a dumbfounded look spread across her face, almost as if I just told her that a flying pig rapped the answer to me. "That's impossible. There is no feasible way you were able to make that much of a logical leap, just because of my hair."

I really don't know what to tell her. I mean, that's exactly what happened. Crossing my arms, I decided to just let my more poetic Truth speak for me. "Lies are a very flimsy thing, by their nature. They can bend, twist, and stretch to hide any truth the liar wishes. That flexibility, however, means that lies are prone to tearing or breaking when it begins to conflict itself, or when a shred of truth is unintentionally shown."

Uncrossing my arms, I placed a finger on my chest. "I can sense lies, and can rip away their anonymity. And with a little more effort, I can rip a lie into nothing and have the truth they hid lay bare. All I need is just one shred of truth to destroy a lie, no matter how obscure that shred may be."

I may have left out the difficulty that comes with trying to tease the truth out of something with very little to go on. Hell, the only reason I was able to figure out her lie so quickly was because of how distinctive that particular shade of red hair was. It wasn't ginger, it was deeper than that. There was almost no trace of orange in her hair at all, just a bright burning red. I'd almost call it crimson, if it were a bit darker in color.

"I don't believe you."

Ava's sentiment was obvious in her body language, even without me having heard what she said. Her brow was tossed slightly, head cocked as she stared at me with plain doubt. Which was fine, since proving her wrong was easy as hell.

Holding up three fingers, I failed to suppress a smirk as I laid down my gambit. "Fine then. Why don't we play two truths and a lie? You tell me three things, and I'll have to tell you which one is a lie. I know nothing about you, so this should make things fair."

She was visibly doubtful about my idea, but relented to it, nonetheless. "Sure, we can play your game."

Her body shifted in its seat, stiffening slightly as she blanked her face. "My first dog was named Giblet, I haven't painted my nails since I was twelve, and- "

I held a hand up, interrupting her. "The nails one is a lie."

She blinked, mouth agape slightly as she quickly mentally digested my claim. "I-How? I wasn't even done yet?"

Giving her a very smug grin, I tapped the side of my head playfully. "I did say that I can sense lies. It's not my fault that you didn't believe me."

That may have been enough to convince her, but there was no such thing as overkill in my book. Leaning forward, I locked eyes with her. Almost immediately, she seemed to be stuck staring at them, unwilling to immediately turn away. It was a thrilling sensation, to have such power over another. "But I am quite curious, Ava. When was the last time you painted your nails?"

Her jaw worked itself, trying to both stop itself from talking and spill the beans at the same time. She had a decent amount of mental strength, but not nearly as much as Juliet. I tilted my head, enjoying the way her eyes turned to keep in contact with my own. "Oh dear, it seems your little lie is weighing you down. Let go of it. Tell me the truth you so desperately want to let free. It'll liberate you, trust me."

Her resistance was admirable, but it just wasn't enough to stop her mouth from running. "I-It was last Saturday. I was having a small tea party with some stuffed animals because it makes me feel like a fairy tale princess."

My lips tightened as I held in a laugh at the horror that filled her expression as she admitted her tea party secret. Which in of itself was absolutely hilarious. Though again, not as hilarious as the sudden death glare she gave me as I leaned back and broke eye contact with her. "If you so much as breathe a word of this to anyone, I will castrate you and stitch your penis to your tongue."

Even if I knew she couldn't actually hurt me, I couldn't help but wince at the mental image. Hands covering my crotch, I nervously chuckled my response. "Ha… you got it Ava, you got it."

She nodded, cheeks slightly flushed as she cleared her throat. Her eyes hardened, her face taking a more serious expression. "So… what do you plan to do now that you know that I'm the Crimson Ranger?"

Well… that was honestly a good question that I should have prepared for. "To be honest, I didn't plan this far ahead. I was just curious and wanted to make sure I was right."

Her eye twitched. "Y-You're kidding me. Are you telling me that you confronted a masked vigilante about their identity, with zero plan as to what you were going to do afterwards?"

"I'm a very go with the flow kind of guy."

Ava leaned her head in closer, brow furrowed as she tried to wrap her head around my methodology. "You go from sounding like a pervert, to being wise man all about truth, to then being an absolute idiot with no concept of consequences all within a few minutes."

Now she was just being insulting. "Would you rather me have some secret evil plan involving unmasking you during an orgy?"

I could see the headache forming inside her skull, especially when she groaned as her hands rubbed her temple. "Let's just start working on this paper."

Sounded like a plan to me.

The rest of the day passed by without much fanfare. I didn't get any opportunities to really talk with Emery, and by the time I could I had to leave for detention with Professor Citrine. I wasn't expecting it to be all that bad, since she was a generally nice woman. Strict with the rules, but nice. Sometimes she even gives me a few pointers after class on some of the runic configurations we've been doing.

That was probably why I wasn't all too annoyed with the detention, even as I sat down at the seat right in front of her desk. Dropping my backpack to the side, I drummed my fingers on the table. There was no way I could blame the professor for my detention, at least not honestly. It was kind of my fault for being late, even if I had a good reason for it.

Plus, she was hella hot. So, bonus.

Professor Citrine sat at her desk, a pen in hand as she graded papers. In a way, she reminded me of a reverse Daria. While Daria was seductive and lustful, Professor Citrine was more graceful. There wasn't the same taboo air about her that Daria had. She was almost visibly purer, in a sense. Her blonde hair was like spun gold, soft looking and shining with a gleam that almost seemed unnatural. Her skin, sun-kissed and smooth, was unblemished save for a single beauty mark to the side of plump lips.

Her eyes, a dark green, were gentle even as she graded papers. It was only the slight crow's feet around her eyes that even gave a hint towards her true age, which must have been around forty at most. She was just… perfect. A specimen of humanity that puts even the divine shame. Hm? Well now she was looking at me, her lips moving as she spoke. Damn, they were so full and kissable.

"-iel-San? Adiel-San! Are you ignoring me?"

Ah shit, she was talking to me. Blinking myself out of my sudden daze, I chuckled sheepishly. "Sorry Professor, I was distracted by how gorgeous you look."

She too blinked, a confused little expression ghosting her face before she laughed it off. It was a pleasant laugh, one that seemed to ease the anxieties of whomever heard it. "That's very kind of you, but I'm your teacher. Not only that, but I'm also married."

Ah, that silver band around her finger. The bane of my existence. Unlike Jolene, who seemed to almost date whatever schmuck she was with just so that she could cheat on him, Professor Citrine took her relationship seriously. Annoyingly so, but I wasn't going to push that boundary. "I know, I know. Still, while I may not be able to touch the art at a museum, I definitely enjoy appraising its beauty."

Another laugh escaped her, a sound which I committed to memory as soon as I could. Placing down the paper she was grading, Professor Citrine gave me a dazzling smile. "That was a bit corny, but not bad. If I were a younger girl, I'd fear that you'd have me eating out the palm of your hand."

Heh, she makes me out to be some sort of scoundrel. I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the table as I interlock my fingers. "You give yourself too little credit. You're a smart woman, and no doubt a willful one. If I tried anything like that, even with your younger self, I doubt I'd get very far."

Maybe I was laying it on a bit thick, but I really couldn't help it. She was hot, extraordinarily so, and it was almost natural to try and flirt with her, however poorly that flirtation might be. I was better at interrogating people for information with my powers than I was flirting.

Still, she seemed to enjoy it plenty. She raised her hand up, resting her head on her fist as she rolled her eyes. "My my, if only your rune-work was as good as your smooth talk."

Oof, that was a blow to my pride. I thought I was doing rather well with runes.

Professor Citrine lifted her head off her fist, placing her hands on the desk as she stood up. Her breasts bounced with the force of a hurricane despite her movement being rather short and slow. Her blouse struggled to contain the wonderful set of knockers jiggling around in there, stretching across her chest and creating a deep cleavage that was definitely never intended by design. Her skirt was similar in that it was probably meant to be loose and flowy, ending near her knees. Fortunately for the world, her thick thighs and cushiony ass filled the material as much as it could, lifting the garment up to her mid-thigh. I'm surprised the thing hasn't split in half with her every step, even as the fabric groaned with the movement of her legs as she walked towards my desk.

Taking the seat next to me, Professor Citrine placed down one of the papers I had given earlier that week. Spinning her pen in her hand, she began to point out some of the errors in my work. "Theory wise, your runes are exceptional. You managed to shorten the sharpness enchantment from forty pages, down the thirty-six. However, there are a few grammatical errors that take this A plus and drop it down to a B, maybe even B minus."

Her arm moved, pushing her breasts to the side as she began pointing near the top of the first page. "If this we're English, I'd have very few complaints with your work. But the enchanting lexicon works by different rules. You conjugated to the past tense a few times, but for writing enchantments you want to stick to the present tense almost exclusively, with only a few exceptions."

She tilted her head slightly, angling the paper towards me and unintentionally exposing her smooth neck to me. "You also used several conjunctions and other phrase connectors. The more complicated the statement, the less efficient it is. So simple sentences are often the best to use. You technically can use this as it is, but there are some enchantments that won't work with it. So, it's best to get into the habit early on before you end up making it a subconscious action."

I tried to focus on the paper itself, doing my best to absorb the information she was giving me. However, I couldn't help but notice a necklace halfway buried in her cleavage. It looked like a simple locket, probably with a picture inside of it. Not that my eyes suck to that long, as I soon made note of how it practically drowned in the warm flesh of her expansive chest.

"The same can be said with contractions, punctuation, and the occasional misspelled word. Outside of line breaks, you don't want any kind of punctuation in a statement. So instead of "it's" you would use "it is"."

The effort necessary for me to tear my eyes away from the down view of her blouse was monstrous, but I was able to focus my gaze onto the page just as she turned her head to look at me. "Later in the semester, I'll be going over how to make automatic commands within an enchantment, which brings down the forty-page sharpness enchant to a short ten pages. Less if you're particularly skilled in condensing commands and reducing phrase bloat."

Her lips quirked upwards, the corners of her mouth crinkling slightly as she did so. "But regardless, for someone with allegedly little experience with runes, you've done remarkably. You clearly have a natural talent for the art, more so than some professionals out there."

Yeah, I'm gonna lay the blame on my enhanced learning speed for that. Still, it technically was a part of me, so I suppose I can take the credit for it. "It's a fascinating subject, Professor. Way more than math or history, just don't tell Daria I said that."

She snorted, a decidedly unladylike sound that felt natural coming from her. Her eyes gleamed with clear amusement, her body leaning forward slightly in an almost subconscious manner. "You don't have to worry about a thing, Adiel-San. I won't tell your sister a thing. Besides, I don't talk to her much anyway. She's a very… present individual."

That was putting it lightly. Knowing Daria, I have no doubt in my mind that she definitely made several attempts to dive into the skirt of the blonde bombshell professor. "You don't need to explain a thing to me. I mean, I live with the woman."

She giggled, her grin wide and happy as she responded cheerfully. "I can't even imagine how- "

The metal earpiece on her earlobe vibrated, expanding outwards to form one of those weird holographic eye phone thingies. Her eyes glanced towards the screen, her smile dimming down as she read whatever it was that was on her screen. What was left of her previously joyful expression was forced, and rigid. Clearly, a front meant to stop me from noticing that anything was wrong. Something which most definitely did not work.

"Professor Citrine, are you alright?"

Her eyes darted away from the screen, a hand reaching up to her ear as she pressed the button on the side and collapsed the device back into its dormant state. A sound that may have been reminiscent of laughter pushed its way through her lips. It was a choppy laugh, one that had a definitive end and beginning as she repeated the same portion of it repeatedly. "It's nothing, Adiel-San. Now, why don't we get back to going over your paper, hm?"

Hearing her lie was like glass in the ear, shards of the stuff jiggling around inside my ear and scratching the inner workings of it. It wasn't just any lie, it was a harmful one. Not to me or anyone else, but to herself. I shifted in my chair, brow furrowing as I held back a frown. "Professor, we both know that's a lie. It seems like it's really bothering you, and I'm already here anyway. Please, don't hesitate to open up. I'll listen."

Even though I made sure to keep my eyes from locking with her own, I couldn't help the natural aura that surrounded me. My Honest Presence worked irregardless of my consent, and most people couldn't help but feel comforted or open around me. So, even as her eyes shined with hesitance, I knew she would give in. "You really are a dangerous one, Adiel-San. Alright, you win."

She took a deep breath in, her posture straightening as she lost whatever relaxed air surrounded her before. "My husband and I are… well, we're thinking about getting a divorce. We've been separated for a while, but I just got a message from him. We uh, we have to talk about whether or not we can fix things. Again."

The easygoing façade she had on earlier crumbled before my eyes. Suddenly, it was as if her age was catching up to her as she seemed to sink in on herself. She's been holding this in for a while, I can sense it.

Gently, I placed my hand on her shoulder. I didn't let it sit there, only leaving it on her long enough to give her shoulder a tender squeeze before I let go. "I see. If it's no trouble, may I ask why you two are considering it?"

She bit her lip, eyes downcast as she slowly nodded. "He was always a free spirit, wanting to explore the world when we were younger. But when we had Amethyst, our daughter, we decided to settle down. But now that she's older, and living on her own, he wants to go out and explore again. B-But, I don't think I want to. Everything I know and love is here, and I don't want to leave it."

A pause, her nose sniffling as she cleared her throat. "H-He said it was fine. That it was alright. B-But I know better. I can see him looking off into the distance, always frowning. I-I feel like I'm tying him down, forcing him to abandon his dream for me. A-And I think he feels that way too."

Shrinking in on herself, her eyes began to water. I tried to pat her back, something in order to comfort her, but I don't have much experience with crying women. So, the best I was able to do besides that was listen as she continued. "I-I couldn't stand it, I just couldn't! S-So I went with him on a trip to Halor, to try and get into traveling. But it didn't work, the trip went horribly! We j-just argued the whole time! And it wasn't even about his dreams, it was every little thing! W-We- I… "

She took a deep breath in, her jaw tightening as she forced the next words through. "We lost our romantic spark, and now all we can seem to do is go at each other's throats."

Tears were escaping her now, as what felt like a dreaded realization left her lips. I wasn't equipped to handle this. I can bring out truth, and I did that. But I can't control how that truth makes someone feel. I-I didn't think… I didn't know it would affect her like this.

I acted without thinking, doing the most comforting thing I could and giving Professor Citrine a hug. It was the only thing that even came to mind. I knew of sadness, knew of its effects on people and their lives. But I don't understand it. I've never felt it, never experienced it. But I understand happiness, and that was enough. "It sounds as if you've been holding this in for a long while. Too long."

Her breath was shaky, not at all helped by her continued sniffling. "By Crea, what's wrong with me? I'm crying about my love life while a student holds me. I-I shouldn't have told you any of that."

There was a slight humorous tone in her voice, but it was overshadowed by a self-loathing that infected her inflection of it all. In turn, I patted her back as I did what I did second best. Talk. "Maybe, but you weren't going to tell anyone this, were you? You were just gonna bottle it all up and keep on trucking."

I pulled away, leaving my hands on her shoulders as I gave her face a once over. There was a strange mixture of sadness, amusement, guilt, and tiredness that captured her expression, the barest hints of a bitter smile visible on her lips. "I was, and yet you somehow managed to get me to open up more than my therapist can."

A grin tugged at my lips, my shoulders relaxing at her calmer tone. "What can I say? I have a gift. And as your number one student, it's my responsibility to use that gift to help my favorite enchanting professor."

She chuckled, a quiet noise that had a bit more heart to it than her voice did previously. "Now who says you're number one student?"

I couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief as the air around us grew less serious. "Well, of course I am. I mean, I'm me. I should be everyone's number one."

She laughed again, only this time she didn't stop. She kept laughing, cackling even as whatever she found amusing about the situation finally caught up with her. It was a tired laugh, lacking the melodic sound of her earlier ones. This one came from the very back of her throat, traveling past her lips wildly and uncontrollably. It was a genuine laugh.

And I liked it a lot more than her other ones.

After Professor Citrine got herself together, she dismissed me from detention early. Though only after I made her promise to talk to someone at the very least about her marital issues. It didn't even have to be me, as long as she was able to find some kind of support from someone other than herself.

With that promise taken care of, I had immediately run out of the building hoping to find Emery somewhere. Not that I had any luck. She must've hitched a ride with Daria, or just managed to get to her apartment faster than we normally do when walking together.

Which was fine. I mean, maybe it would be better to give her a night to sleep on it. You know, so that she's less emotional than she would be otherwise. Resting on things like that was probably for the best anyway, especially since I'm not exactly the most sensitive person out there.

And I was perfectly fine with that plan all the way back to the apartment building. Was it a good plan? I dunno. Again, people aren't my strong suit unless it involves interrogating the truth from them and having sex. Neither of which I wanted to do with Emery since, you know, she's my friend.

I was perfectly fine with that plan, until I went to go to the building's elevator and passed by Emery's apartment.

The door to her apartment was slightly ajar, a worrying prospect in any situation. So of course, I went to check it out and make sure no one had broken in and that she was alright. That was when the smell hit me. It was bitter, rancid even. Its pungent stench made my eyes water as I forced my sense of smell to dull just to breathe properly.

At this point, I was concerned enough to forgo courtesy and just push the door fully open. Another wave of that foul bitterness hit my nose, though not as strong as it had been when my sense of smell wasn't being forcibly muted. The inside of her apartment was messier than usual, clothes littering the floor as well as some cans of a drink I couldn't recognize. The door to Emery's bedroom was wide open, something which I didn't even know could do that considering how against me ever seeing the inside of it she was.

And Emery herself, was on the couch wearing a shirt long enough to reach her mid-things, and possibly nothing else.

Her face was flush, an unnatural redness to her that worried me slightly. Was she sick? Did she have a fever? Considering she was lying down on the couch mumbling quietly to herself, that might be it.

Closing the door behind me, I took a deep breath in and stepped forward. The apology I had been putting together in my mind was already playing in my head, ready for me to say it to her. Bending over, I went to place my hand on her shoulder. "Hey, Emery I- "

And then she flipped around on her couch, grabbing my arm and pulling on it. Her intention was obviously to pull me down to her, but considering how impossible it was to force me to move, she ended up pulling herself up towards me.

"Darius! I'm so glad to seeee yous!"

Was… was she slurring her words right now? She's not even using English, she's speaking in Halorian. Her accent, something which I've narrowed down to an odd Italian one with French undertones, was more wobbly than usual. Like she was having trouble speaking.

What the hell was in those canned drinks? "Er, thanks? Are you okay?"

Her body started to slide off my arm, and it was only by shifting my posture to slide her back into my chest that she was able to avoid face planting back into the couch. Not that she noticed, as she was too busy slurring out her response to care. "Nooooo! I was, I was um… I was sooo worried you hated me!"

What? Hate her? She was a total cinnamon roll, who could hate her? "That's silly, Emery. I could never hate you. You're just way too cute to hate."

She giggled oddly, making it sound more like a dumb laugh than an actual giggle. "B-But you uh, you didn't talk to me after-after English! I thought that I, that I, ya know… made you hate me. But that's okay, that's okay. You know why?"

Shifting her limp body in my arms, I let more of her weight rest on my chest as I sat down on the couch. Her hands gripped at my school uniform, the sleeves of her forest green shirt rolled up as she pushed her large chest into me. She was clearly not in the right state of mind, which made apologizing to her kind of a moot point since she wouldn't really register or appreciate it. Still, I humored her. It was the least I could do. "No, I don't think I do. Do you wanna tell me?"

Her head bobbed up and down, her face rubbing against my chest as she was either unwilling or unable to use her neck to hold up her skull. Eventually, she managed to wriggle her way to resting her chin onto my collarbone, leaving our faces oddly close to one another. "I-If I don't wantcha to stop being my bestestest friend, I need to make you happies."

There was more wriggling on her point, though this time it was her lower body moving to try and rest on my lap. Her lips parted, a small pink tongue farting out between them as her warm, rancid breath hit my nose. I suppressed the sudden urge to cringe, instead choosing to ignore it in favor of listening to Emery.

"S-So, um… use me."

…What. "Yeah, uh, you're gonna have to explain that one."

She pointed, a usually cute expression that was ruined by the dazed and unfocused look in her eyes. "I don'ts want you to-to leave me all alone. You're my ooooonnnly friend, and I wants to keep that. I do anything, okay? You can use my body. I don't-I don't care. Just don't leave me. Don't leave me."

…Damn it Darius, you had one fucking job.

She tried to push her lips onto my own, rather clumsily as well since she missed and ended up sloppily sucking on my neck. Grabbing a hold of her waist and side, I gently pulled her away from me. Making it a point to not focus on the way her hands clutched at my shirt desperately and the sudden despair in her eyes as I rejected her, I resettled her in my lap. Though this time, holding her in a hug so that she wouldn't try and, well, sleep with me so that'd I'd still be her friend. Fuck. "Emery, Em, it's okay. It's okay. You don't need to sell yourself to me, alright? You don't need to do it for anyone. I'm your friend, from now till the day I die. You can't get rid of me, alright? I'm like a fungus growing on a tree. Stuck with you forever. So… So don't worry. Okay?"

I didn't hear anything from her, which made my stomach turn something fierce. Looking down to where her head rested on my chest, I sighed as I realized why she was so quiet. Her eyes were closed, mouth slightly open as drool began to escape her lips. Her hands were still clutching my clothes, but her legs were curled up to her chest. She was sleeping, and if the subtle shiver that went through her was anything to go by, she was curling up to me for warmth because she was cold.

Getting up from the couch, I carried Emery bridal style into her room. Stepping over one of her oddly shaped spinning tops, I shifted my grip on her to hold onto the sleeping young woman with one hand. Grabbing the end of one of the poorly made covers to her bed, I pulled them down and gently placed her into the bed.

Careful not to hit the dresser against the wall, I bent down and tucked her into bed. It was only around four in the afternoon, but whatever it was that she was doing, it was enough to really take the energy out of her.

Stepping out of the cramped room, I softly shut the door behind me and placed my face in my hands. This wasn't at all like it was supposed to go. I was going to apologize so well that she instantly forgave me, we were gonna hug it out, and then we'd go back to being friends. Simple, easy, by the books even. But this…

I dropped myself onto her couch, my head resting on the top of it as I stared up at the ceiling. Are people all like this? It seems like everyone I meet has some kind of flaw that's working against them. Jolene and her disregard for her relationship which I was admittedly not helping with, Citrine and her marital issues, Juliet and her self harm, and Emery with her low sense of self-worth.

Are people all so… messed up? Is this normal? Why? Everyone's lives seem so… great otherwise. Am I missing something? Am I just too young to understand it?

My lips pursed as I resisted the urge to frown. Maybe it's my fault. My powers, they bring out the truth in people no matter what. Even passively, people around me tend to be more truthful. Am I bringing out these buried feelings in people? Is… is it my fault they're unable to cope with their issues at their own pace?

But then, those things must have always been there. I can't create truth, I can only destroy lies. With that being the case, am I actually doing a good thing? Would they continue to ignore these problems that seem so deep rooted in their psyches? Is making them confront these challenges a good thing? Is it wrong to take the choice away from them? Or am I just doing what's best for them, even if it hurts at first?

I let out an irritated sigh, sitting up on the couch as I rested my forearms on my legs. Glancing down to my hand, I clenched it into a fist. I'm strong. I can bend steel into donuts without so much as breaking a sweat. I'm durable. I can take a bullet point blank without even flinching. I… I have power. I can banish falsehoods from people's minds, and weaken repressed emotions within people.

Maybe… maybe I was made for a purpose. People that are broken in one way or another, seem to find their way to me. Or maybe I find my way to them. Either way, it's like I'm being guided towards these people. So maybe, that's my purpose. Maybe my reason for existing is to help others with their own personal issues. It would make sense.

Glancing back up at Emery's door, I felt a strange resolve settle in my gut. Maybe I was out here to help others. These people, they're all human. They're not as strong, as durable, or as powerful as I am. Since that's the case, it's only natural that I'd be responsible for helping those weaker than I am. I can handle more than any human can, so helping shoulder their burdens until they can resolve them is the least I can.

My eyes wandered from her door, scouring the rest of the apartment. Getting up from the couch, I winced as I stepped on a half empty can. A dull liquid gushed out from the can, spilling all over the floor.

My first step, will be cleaning up Emery's apartment.

At this point, I'm sure you've all figured it out by now. But in case not, here's the clearest way I can say it:

Darius' powers don't work by affecting truth in literally any way. He can't touch truth, despite embodying it in a sense. Really, he's actually just the absence of lies. It's basically the same thing as truth, but it's an important distinction. Darius doesn't control truth, he controls lies. More specifically, he destroys them. That's why he's an Aspect of Destruction, obviously. He can't force people to tell him the truth, he can only remove their ability to lie. The end result is roughly the same, but the way he goes about it is important to understand his character. If he were an Aspect of Creation, and had power over truth, he'd be able to lie easily. He may not prefer it, but it'd be within his ability. That's because in that scenario, he's creating truth, not destroying lies. Hell, if anything his powers would work the opposite way. He's able to turn lies into truths within the minds of others. But that's not who Darius is. He destroys lies, and as such, can't lie without facing serious repercussions for it, possibly even death.

It's basically why his powers are so much more potent than Daria/Darian's had been when they were his age. Because his powers revolve around such a core ideal of his person (or his powers make up said ideal), it means that he's far more susceptible to the backlash of his own abilities than any other Aspect. The others can resist and control the impulses that come with their powers with only a bit of practice. Darius can't, because his abilities hold so much more power over him. He's literally physically unable to lie, like, come on!

This also means that he's almost constantly being exposed to the darker parts of people, the parts of them that they try to keep hidden. Which is probably a rather mentally taxing thing as time goes on, but what would I know?

As a sidenote, Emery's accent is a strange mix between Italian and French sound wise. I thought it fit with the way I was writing it, and it gives her a more definable character voice for when you're reading her dialogue. It also helps me sort of mentally sound out a few words in what her voice would be so that I can get a good feel for how they'd flow. Fun stuff.

Now onto my favorite part of theses endslates, the Review of the Chapter:

"After reading all nine current chapters, his personality reminds me of Lucifer from the show on Netflix. It's actually a breath of fresh air to not have to read about a shy, stuttering idiot every now and then. He's just the perfect amount of dickish/kind to be somewhat endearing."

That is kind of what I was going for, since its honestly just a very fun character to write. A main character has to be at the very least tolerable to read through, since you're gonna be seeing things from his perspective more often than not. I think the personality for Darius here is just right for the more lighthearted story I'm telling here. Let me tell you, it is so hard to resist going to my usual doom and gloom story telling. As a writer who does tragedy more often than comedy, its nice to work on something less dramatic.

This has been A Decent Hoonter, and I meant to have a porn segment this chapter, I swear.