Eve opened her eyes to an awful headache and an even uglier patterned couch. She lunged forward, holding her head. Phone. Where was it? There was a fight too. All of those angry girls. It brought flashbacks to that high school fight. She locked eyes with Sloane, who was standing across the room.

"We're in my apartment," Sloane confirmed, sounding relaxed as she was packing clothes for her return trip to Nagoya. It was still dark outside. "You must've said some magic words to those officers because they literally let us off, no charges. You said you were Kana or Katana Shoda or something."

"Oh God, I am in so much trouble..."

"Why? What happened?"

"It's a long story, but the end result is my brother and father will skewer me for saying that." Eve said, touching the side of her head.

"Your nose is really red from that girl hitting you," Sloane noted, pointing at her own nose. "I'm heading back to Nagoya in, like, two hours. Trip takes a few hours, I go early. Let me drive you back to your apartment."

"I almost forgot that you were leaving."

"Um, no duh. I told you this, let me finish packing and I'll drive you back to your apartment."

"No, you don't have to-"

"No Eve, I insist. I wanted you to relax, then all of this happened." Sloane added, looking downcast. "Your phone is toast."

"That I did not know."

"I put it in a can of rice."

"Oh, you're so kind." Eve said, rolling her eyes. Not only was her phone dead, but it was probably covered in rice now. "I wasn't even drunk...I think it was the adrenaline from the fight that deterred me."

"No I was drinking, I know how to defend myself in a standard fight too," Sloane added, struggling to close one of her trunks. She still had clothes lying around her apartment, but she was trying to squeeze the trunk closed with its clasp-locks. "I know standard martial arts and all."

"Sure, you do."

"It's okay, you don't have to believe me," Sloane said with a shrug. "By any chance, are you related to Hiroshi Miroashi?"

"Why do you ask?" Eve countered.

"No wonder you were able to get off without charges, scot-free," Sloane noted, sounding slightly surprised. Bemused. "You're related to the East Tokyo Terror."

Eve rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Believe me, if Hiroshi was still alive, we would have stayed there. Hiroshi was not known for his kindness. Is this why you were interested in being my friend? Because I'm a Miroashi?"

"Relax Eve, I was just asking," Sloane answered with similar airiness, but Eve didn't look convinced. "No need to get all suspicious."

Eve had rose to her feet, crossing her arms. "Is your father really a lawyer?"

"No I wish. Wouldn't that be awesome?"

"What do your parents do for work?" Sloane asked. Eve narrowed her eyes. "If you wanna answer that one...suddenly, you're all pissy about family related questions."

"My mom was a secretary for my dad's business, but she didn't really enjoy that and she used to argue with his clients a lot, so she broke into houses to steal nice things on her down time. Then the police arrested her and said very kindly, Shoda-san, you're going to spend a few months in jail because you refuse to confess to your crimes but your husband will pay his new secretary extra to watch your kids, who will tell them their actual mother is on a very long trip or recovering from a very long surgery. Since you know about the East Tokyo Terror, I'm sure you can just search up, Ike Miroashi, then come across a gold mine of information." Eve said drily.

"Mom sounds embarrassing, Dad sounds neglectful."

"Nothing about my mother was ever embarrassing, not even that," Eve said with a glare. She didn't deny the latter half of what Sloane said. "I really need to leave; sorry I can't see you off today."

Sloane laughed. "Don't be. Take your phone and be careful out there."

"Wait, what happened?" Vivi asked, looking back at Demi. "Our spell was just nulled on its own."

Their book was slowly losing its glow, but Demi started looking around, worried. "I don't know, this has never happened before. And it happened in mid-air."

"I can't believe it, this is our strongest spell," Vivi announced. "I...this has never happened before."

"You weren't focusing all of your heart energy," Resh answered, lowering her hands. "You were focusing more on our reactions, and it's nice to be confident and all, but that proved to be your downfall."

Sundance frowned and Resh's comment led him to think about something. His burned hand. The battle with Ophelia too. He wanted to tell Eve about what happened - the magic show, the new mamodo team, Vivi and Demi - but he also didn't want to interrupt the battle because that wasn't right either.

"Got that on tape?" Phil asked, turning toward Kyo with his camera.

Kyo released a sigh. "Barely."

"You're a terrible cameraman..."

"Next time I'll set your camera on a rock and walk away, promise." Kyo deadpanned.

"No one, no one, has ever been able to cancel out our Finato Cometuga before," Vivi answered, still surprised, releasing a tired sigh as she leaned forward to breathe. Resh charged at her before she could continue talking, throwing a punch, a rapid melee of kicks, which Vivi struggled to block with one arm. A few of them connected and Vivi landed on the dirt, already tired from the spell. She returned to her feet but at a delay.

"Vivi!"

"Phil!"

"Got it!"

Resh headed in Demi's direction at Vivi's expense, but neither of whom seemed too worried. She saw Vivi's spellbook in Demi's hands. Resh had her eyes on the book. She turned back to look at Phil to gesture for a spell, but Demi seemed to be smiling, almost relaxed. "You know, that's not really nice," she said as Resh approached. "Sneak attacks are not fair at all, but being a magician, I tend to be prepared for the unexpected. Like moving from here-" Demi snapped her fingers and disappeared.

"-to here!" Demi trilled, appearing behind Vivi.

"What...what just happened?" Resh demanded, looking around in surprise.

Phil shrugged. "Don't ask me, I'm just as confused as you are."

"If you looked at my show's description on my website, I'm a magician and illusionist," Demi answered, looking insulted. "The show you watched today has street magic, which is basically condensed magic for kids."

"And you also use your partner's spells in your routine, but don't tell anyone..."

Demi tilted her head, still with that same insulted look. "I know how to do magic tricks, with or without Vivi's help, thank you very much."

"Sadly, we aren't fans of you like that, Demetria," Phil deadpanned.

"Hey, speak for yourself!" Fuuma shouted, also offended.

"Yeah, we're fans of Demetria the Magnificent!" Superbia agreed.

"Wait, where did Sundance go?" Fuuma asked, looking around.

"Our mamodo friends are dropping like flies," Demi said, noting their reaction from a distance. "Not so much confidence in our battle?"

"You can see why,"

"Let's put an end to this battle, I'm getting sick and tired of your games," Resh shouted, racing toward Vivi and Demi with her fists raised.

"I was about to file a missing person's report," he said, seething. He never shouted, but Eve unlocked the door and he was standing in the hallway like a concerned father. "Where were you? Do you realize what time it is? It's nearly three in the morning."

"I was out with a friend," she answered, kicking off her shoes. "Not that it should be your business, I don't prod you about your whereabouts."

"What friend?"

"Kazuya and his wife-"

"Don't lie, Eve," Sindri said, narrowing his eyes. "I know what you did."

"You don't know anything-"

"I know you used Mom's name," he continued, ignoring what she said. She moved to walk around him but he blocked the door with his arm. "You used Mom's name as a jail-free card, but the police called Dad and asked for verification about the actuality of Kanad Shoda still being arrested, considering our mother is dead. Dead-"

"Stop trying to make me feel guilty, Sindri. It's not going to work."

"You used to go to parties with the Enabling Oshiros. Are we going back to those days or something?"

"Oh, so you heard about that," Eve responded, crossing her arms. "Starting to believe the rumors, I see. What else have you heard?"

"It's all I have to follow, since my ungrateful sister doesn't tell me anything," Sindri continued. Even though he looked more like their mother, he did not retain the same warmth. "Caleb, this, what's next?"

"You used to break into cars and you're telling me this?" Eve retorted, rolling her eyes. "Get real before you call other people ungrateful."

"Dad wants to talk to you about this," Sindri admitted, still in his angry, annoying mood.

"Well, tell Dad that Eve said, 'No thanks.'"

"Eve, be serious."

"I'm dead serious," she answered. "We barely talk as it is and I like to keep it that way."

Sindri moved his arm and Eve was able to step around him. "Whatever happened between you guys is in the past now," he said, lowering his voice.

"Okay, Sindri, clearly you know nothing about what happened, and I won't be the one to share the details. Not only that, he was barely receptive toward me at the previous Christmas gathering, so there lies your answer to the current state of our relationship." Eve answered.

"That's because you brought Caleb," he answered, sounding resentful at Caleb's name, and before she could respond, he continued speaking, hastily. "And there isn't one, we're just memorializing our mother."

"Which you did just fine without me for years," Eve snapped, turning toward her doorway. "I hope you had food she liked, at least. She liked yudofu and namagashi."

"God, I know," Sindri confirmed, rolling his eyes. Eve mustered a smile, hand on the doorknob. "That yudofu was disgusting. She ate it without sauce."

"Just think about it, Eve," Sindri added when she didn't respond. She was becoming sour at the thought of finally knowing about a memorial dinner for their mother, years after the fact. Two weeks from now, it would be."

Eve nodded before returning to her room. Sundance was sitting on the bed with his sketchbook, quizzical. "Who's Ike?" he asked when she closed the door.

"My father, the devil incarnate," Eve admitted. Sundance had to smile at that one. "He's a bondsman and bounty hunter, owns a bunch of bails-bonds, mostly in America and the Philippines, so a lot of the calls he receives are from there. If he's not travelling to those locations, he's friends with a lot of people in law enforcement in Japan, so they consult with him over who should receive bail. He lives in the same house but it has been renovated, so it looks very new and has a lot of expensive appliances."

"You sound resentful..."

"It's not that, it's just...my father is not kind when he doesn't agree with your decisions. Like the Caleb thing, we didn't talk for months when he first found out. He likes to make people uncomfortable and call it honesty. He doesn't like tattoos and he is serious about Japanese customs. My mom wasn't like that though, she was a lot more subtle. She was so expressive and warm." Her eyes started watering. "She loved her birthday and we used to play shogi or Go together."

Eve had to stop herself. If she kept going, she would cry. Her mother's callused hands, her dark hair, and she asked Sindri for a photo. One photo. He didn't even want to give her one. He said, "Dad will notice her photos are gone, I don't know..." And she took one out of the frame during the Christmas dinner, but someone must've found out (maybe Ike), because Ike called her the day after Christmas and she thought he would apologize, but he said, "I was kind enough to open my home to you after what you did." And since then, they haven't spoken on the phone, unless he invited her to things (which was usually by text).

Then Caleb opened the door and looked her in the face, said, "If you don't stop crying, I'm going to throw you and your dead mother's photo out. You need to quit it." So she went to the public park and cried, and Caleb went back to drinking and Keigo, Kazuya's brother, sometimes invited both of them to social events because he wanted her to forget the pain of losing her mother, or the Oshiros brought over food because Caleb didn't know how to cook and she was too devastated to. (Her mother was born in September, so that was a month she had a hard time with.) Three weeks in what should've been the end of her sophomore year but instead she was following the Oshiros (and Nori, sometimes without Caleb) to different parties in East Tokyo. She stopped going with them after Keigo tattooed her wrist, but apparently she asked for him to include Japanese primroses in the design, because her mother liked them.

"Eve!"

"What?" she demanded. It was Sundance staring back at her, confused. She was clutching the table. Her knuckles were white, so she released her grip. The memories were having her frazzled. Caleb. Stealing the photo. Waking up with the tattoo and trying to scrub it away with hot water.

"Who would win?" Sundance asked, interested. Eve wanted to smile.

"Oh, I'm an ace at Go and chess. I hold many losses in Shogi, Mom took that game serious," Eve answered, sounding proud. She could feel her eyes watering again. This was the most she had spoken about her mother in a long time. "What happened - when she, you know...we weren't expecting it."

"It's okay to miss your mom," Sundance replied sagely. "I miss my mom too, but I didn't really know her. She left me too early, when I was in Makai, I used to close my eyes and tried to imagine what she would look like. People at The Refuge would make fun of me for that - they all came with siblings or some sort of family there, but it was just me and these painters. I used to eat their yellow paint."

"You never told me this," Eve confessed, glad they were finally talking about something unrelated to the Miroashi family.

"It's not a fun subject, Eve." Sundance answered. "Except the paint eating. I really like doing that and it recharges my energy."

"Any type of paint?"

"Yeah, pretty much. I'm not that good of a painter, which is ironic."

"Oh, you're lying to me about that one, Sundance."

"No, I swear," Sundance said with a laugh. "I tried to paint with them, but I'm not that good. Also, paint dries out fast."

"You told my brother about this too, I heard," Eve added. Sundance turned; eyes widened. "I'm not mad, you really scared him though. Not that it should matter, he overreacts a lot."

"Overreactions run in your family," Sundance answered.

"Miroashi trait."

"What happened to your hand? I thought that burn would've healed by now," Eve said, gesturing in his direction.

"I think my spells are beginning to affect me," Sundance replied. Eve recoiled in shock. "To be honest, soon after, I was granted my ability, I didn't have too much time to train in Makai...which is embarassing to admit. I didn't know how to cancel out the effects of my paint before, so if another mamodo threw me into it, that would really hurt. Maybe it is a new ability and I just wasn't meant to utilize it, like my original element."

"Don't say that, Sundance."

"I know I shouldn't..." Sundance looked down, closing his burned hand. "I didn't tell you, but when we were in Trakai Castle, I was able to free myself mentally from Ophelia's Primando spell. I was so scared, Eve, I was so scared. But there was light, I saw light and then it was gone."

"Maybe we need to channel those abilities again," Eve suggested. "In a safe, non-overwhelming type of way."

"There are some things I'm doubtful of, and this is one of them," Sundance answered, looking away. She had never really seen him doubtful before. "Like the Caleb-thing..."

"What Caleb thing?"

"After our battle, you held him," Sundance reminded. "Even during our battle, you didn't even tell me what was going on."

"I was making sure he was okay, Sundance. I'm sorry for not being transparent with you, but I wouldn't forget what he did."

"But-"

"Caleb was all I had, and sometimes, it's hard for me to let that go, I'll admit," she added, looking down. "He thought he was dying, he kept saying that. So I just held him, in case he actually did die, because I didn't know if he was going to or not. Like I said, it's not important anymore. Clearly, he's still alive and doesn't remember anything. We need to concentrate on your battle for king, which is more important, and then I need to study for my exam. Instead of blocking your mouth with your hands, why don't you fire it forward?"

Sundance looked down, grimly. "I don't know...I've thought of that, but my spells are acid based - if it's something I can't control, it could really hurt someone. My acid burns to the bone, and that can incapacitate anyone, especially a human like you or your brother."

"An ability like this wouldn't come into your life for no reason," Eve answered, raising her hands in a shrug. "We just need to harness it properly."

Sundance smiled, halfheartedly. "Maybe we could use a training session."

"I'm reluctant to agree, but yes."

"Although my spells are a bit low-tier, I would still be able to defeat anyone in a heartbeat."

"That sounds more like you, Sundance."

"Gigano Mirar!"

Demi and Vivi nodded at one another. A silent signal. "Rinonaina!"

A white-tipped baton landed in Vivi's hands and she pointed it at Resh's mirror, firing a sparkling beam. The mirror accepted the beam and sent it back at Vivi with lightning speed, which would've been impossible to dodge. Dust and smoke kicked up, creating a cloud, and Resh smiled back at Phil.

"Well," Kyo said. "I definitely didn't get that on camera."

"Remind me never to hire you for your videography..."

"Vivi, Vivi! Are you okay?" Demi shouted through the smoke, clutching the spellbook to her chest. Resh did not hear a response from Vivi.

Vivi returned to her feet, broke through the smoke, and lunged at Resh with a barrage of fists. She had intercepted the beam without a defense spell in order to defend her book and Demi, so she was bruised, burned, and had a large gash on the side of her head. Resh lunged at Vivi, delivering a kick that sent her to the ground. Vivi was stumbling to gain traction, looking in Demi's direction in anticipation of a spell. Many of her spells required distance and Resh launching in her direction for a physical fight wasn't giving Vivi a chance to release a hard-hitting attack.

"I'm f-fine, Demi," she finally answered, coughing into the dirt. "That's what we get for underestimating our opponents, I guess."

"And that was your greatest mistake!" Resh shouted, tackling Vivi. They scuffled in the dirt for a few minutes, and Vivi was not good at hand-to-hand combat as she was. She was blocking a lot of the kicks and punches, and struggling to do so, at times. Vivi bicycle-kicked Resh off, but Resh landed on her feet and bound into a run. Vivi and Demi also released more spells than them - so she could see the strain. Their fatigue. Not only that, Vivi and Demi were standing at a reasonable distance and that created a gap that Resh decided to take advantage of.

"Mirudo!"

Resh raised a mirror and shoved a hand through the reflective surface. Glass shards rained down in a harsh, sharp storm, cutting Vivi, even though she raised her arms to block the barrage from the spell. She saw Demi watching the scuffle in terror, so she decided to pounce in her direction. Whatever magic trick Demi had pulled, she wouldn't be able to pull a second time if her eyes were on Vivi and making sure she was alright.

"Ringda!"

A spinning pink ring was launched in her direction by Vivi. Her aim was off, so she missed by a couple of inches and Resh was left unhurt. She was closer to Demi now, and Demi met her gaze with wide-eyed terror. Resh raised her hands, anticipating a spell from Phil. She locked eyes with Demi, clutching Vivi's spellbook and lowered her hands, surprised by her reluctance. There were arms locked around her waist, flinging her backwards and Resh landed on her elbows. She could hear screaming, the call of her name. It must've been Phil. Being thrown at such an angle left her dizzy and had given her a scrape on her forearm, as she couldn't catch herself. Vivi slid in front of Demi, bleeding from several small cuts and panting heavily.

"Why did you stop?" Vivi asked, surprised. "You had the perfect opportunity to burn our book just now."

"Vivi, stop!" Demi shouted. "Why would you say that?"

"That's not who we are," Resh answered, after contemplating her response. She glanced at Phil, who was silent but listening. "We recently lost a good friend, Amera, in a selfish battle that we could've calculated better. For the rest of this battle, that will be our...or at least, my greatest regret in not being able to save my friend and watching her book fall to flames before my eyes. Even though those are the unfortunate consequences of this battle, I will do what I can to make sure my friends won't be defeated or fall victim to selfish hands."

"I get it, but as mamodo, we can't always do that," Vivi answered wisely. "Although those are ideal circumstances, this is a battle for king and not every battle could always be painless. If you were battling another opponent, they would've burned your book while you were talking. Hell, they would've burned mine because I had a blind spot and left Demi without a good defense."

Demi looked down, disappointed in herself. "I'm sorry, Vivi, I wouldn't have wanted you to lose the battle."

Resh thought back in horror to what Barrett told her at Trakai Castle, pressing her mouth in.

"I'm done with this. I am completely done with this." Barrett declared, huffing all the way. "You know what? I don't even wanna finish this battle. I'm so exhausted. I don't have time for this. This ain't even worth it anymore."

Resh opened her hands freely. "Let's not, then. Please. Fighting isn't the answer. If we end it here, it'll be declared a stalemate. I promise I won't say anything."

Barrett closed his eyes, lifted his hands to his knees, and begun coughing. When he reopened them, they were watery. "What are you, a fool? We are in a battle to become king. Fighting will almost always be a part of the lifestyle. Get real. As exhausted as I am, I know I'm deigned to finish this. This is life-or-death. We didn't come here to spread joy and plant flowers."

"But it isn't," she answered, helpless.

Phil frowned. "Resh, don't bother."

"You're living in a dream world." Barrett replied, shaking his head. "You have to understand. That's not how–"

"I know what you're gonna do. You're gonna try to convince me, otherwise. Life is worthy of me. Flowers are beautiful. Birds sing their golden tune. Well, it won't work. We aren't here for none of that sunshiny bullshit, which is what I just told you and what Lulubell spent her entire, waste of a battle trying to inform you. This is a battle. A tournament. Pay attention."

Maybe Vivi was right. She was always seeking a stalemate, a battle that has no winners. The battle for king had one winner, after all.

Resh glanced away. She had to admit, she still had trouble coming to terms with this truth.

"It's not your fault Amera is gone," Kyo answered at Resh's silence. He sounded downcast to admit this. "I was her partner, the reader of her spell book. I'm supposed to protect Amera and her book, at all costs, just as she did for us."

"Some things and actions could've prevented that, and you know, exactly what I'm talking about," Phil said, turning around to face Kyo.

"It's no use hanging onto the past, Phil," Kyo replied, but Phil scoffed and turned away.

"You're a terrible videographer but an amazing partner to Amera," Phil added, to Resh's glare. He shrugged. "What? He definitely sucks at videography."

"Phil, that's terrible to say."

Kyo laughed. "No worries, Resh. I'm not offended, Phil isn't wrong, but I stand by my word. It was my job to protect Amera's book, just as it's Phil and Demi's jobs to protect the books in their possession."

Demi and Vivi exchanged an unreadable glance. Vivi shrugged. "So what? You're saying our battle ends here?"

"Resh could've definitely burned your book, so if you want to keep going, be our guest." Phil said, raising his eyebrows.

Demi glanced in Vivi's direction. The toll of their bigger spells was noticeable in her face and gait. "Vivi, we have a magic show scheduled for tonight and two more in Osaka. I'm not exactly sure if I can keep up, I already gave my all with Finato Cometuga and it cancelled out, mid-air."

"Maybe it wasn't your all," Phil muttered. "If you have a spell cancelling on you, mid-air, that definitely needs to be looked into."

Demi cut her eyes in his direction. "Would you like to read her book, instead?"

Phil didn't respond and Resh was surprised by his lack of reactions. There was a bitter, angry tone, unlike her usual partner that enjoyed humor. She turned away, but they definitely needed to talk.

"I would be interested in battling you again in the future," Resh concluded. She approached Vivi and provided her hand. "I can't promise, I'll spare your book again."

Much to her surprise, Vivi declined her handshake. "I'm not exactly pleased with the outcome of this battle," she said. "I definitely don't like to be spared by my opponents either. In this battle, there are winners and losers, not stalemates or ties. I want to battle again in the future, but I want our battle to have a different outcome next time."

"Vivi," Demi repeated, urgently. "This battle is over, give it a rest."

Fuuma raised her hands. "Can we still come to your next magic show? Superbia and I are huge fans."

Demi winked in their direction. "Of course, but no autographs."

Superbia and Fuuma high-fived and shrieked happily at the response from Demi. At the same time, Phil closed Resh's spellbook. He didn't look downcast, but when Resh looked in his direction, he looked upset.

And from a short distance, Lilja and Viola watched the conclusion of the battle. "What a disappointing battle, that was," Lilja commented, raising her face in disdain. "I was hoping to see one book combust like a lit match. Such shame."

"It reminds me of the first battle we had with Eve and Sundance," Viola mentioned. "High stakes, all parties are very stubborn."

"Hmm," Lilja said, sounding apprehensive. "Don't be so kind, Viola. At least I was able to break a slight sweat, I never take pity when I see obvious potential in an opponent. Watching this battle was quite torturous, but I love to see discontentment oozing out of Phil's demeanor. I can't wait to see his emotional release, it's going to be such great entertainment."

"Lilja, I usually understand what you're saying," Viola said, deadpanning in her partner's direction. "But what are you talking about?"

Lilja walked away, laughing. "You will see, Viola. Just wait and see..."

Sundance opened his eyes in the middle of the night. He looked around, startled. He thought it was morning, but a glance outside the window proved otherwise. Eve was sleeping at the desk, near textbooks and his spellbook, and an open laptop emitting blue light. He wanted to check to see if Sindri was sleeping too, but if the Miroashi siblings were anything alike, which was light sleepers, he didn't want to wake them and Eve wouldn't be happy to be startled awake for no reason. He closed Eve's laptop, moved his pillow and blanket onto the floor, and fell back asleep.

"Ow!"

"Sundance! What did I tell you about doing that?!"

WHOA, 5000-word chapter. Have you been reading the sequel to Zatch Bell? I was definitely very excited (and inspired to continue RP) getting to keep up with the sequel and rewatching Zatch Bell as well. RP will be ten-years old in September, also crazy. And thank you for the new favorites/follows! What is wrong with Phil? Will Eve change her mind? Does she ever change her mind? What is Lilja looking forward to? Thank you for reading and stay tuned for more!