By the time Cinder had explained herself to Emerald and washed off all the sticky remnants of rubber cement from her behind, the sun had already began to set. Amber rays slipping in through the veiled bathroom window, Cinder wrapped a towel around herself after drying her hair off. It was odd taking a shower at this time of day when everybody was still awake. Having to get dressed immediately after a hot shower was the worst feeling to her. That was the benefit of a late-night bathing. No one is ever around to see (or hear) you. Still, she'd rather sweat a bit in her dress than walk back to her room in only a towel; the last thing she wanted was a surprise wardrobe malfunction.

Dropping her towel, she picked up her dress and started to slip it over her head. As the fabric went over her face, she realized that the garment felt slightly lighter than usual.

Cinder pulled it the rest of the way down, then peered into her dress near her chest to look at the hidden pocket sewn in above her heart.

It was empty.

No, that can't be right. She looked again, pulling the pocket open a bit with her finger.

No diary.

She stood perfectly still, a statue seething with internal rage. Retracing her steps, she knew that there was only one place that it could be right now.

It couldn't be helped: Roman had been a good servant, but now it was time to let him go.

As in killing him.

Snatching the plunger propped against the toilet, she whacked the wooden handle on the sink, breaking off the rubber end and leaving a jagged, splintery tip in its place. She kicked the bathroom door open, leaving her heels behind as she stomped down the hall with intent to kill.

"Dear diary…"

Roman began mocking his boss' voice as he read another passage from the little black book to Neo. He stood in the center of the room like an orator as his one-woman audience sat at on the floor at the edge of her bed.

"I think I finally figured out why Zwei is so gosh darned cute," Roman continued, hamming up his performance with some extra words, "It's that juicy, irresistible tush of his! Oh, I just want to bite off his tubby little legs and eat him up! But that meanie Weiss keeps giving me awful looks when I try to pet him. Oh, I just wish we could kiss and make up!"

Neo applauded his reading as he took a bow.

"This is a lot more fun than I expected," Roman chuckled, skimming the diary's pages for another entry, "How about you read one, Buttercup? No one's around to hear you."

Her eyes springing open wide, Neo blushed and looked around nervously. She shook her head no, much to Roman's disappointment.

"Oh, come on. You have to use that voice of yours sometime. It'll go away for good if you don't." She gazed at the floor when he knelt down in front of her. "Look. I'm the only one here. There's nothing to worry about. I just want to hear you for once. It's been a while."

Pouting her lip, Neo snatched the book from Torchwick's hand.

"That's my girl. Now, there's a really good one near the beginning. Its not too long, so it should be perfect for you."

Finding the page, the little woman swallowed her anxiety and swapped places with Roman. Taking a deep breath, she opened her mouth and began to read.

And then Cinder kicked the door in.

It was the briefest of Mexican standoffs. Roman and Neo looked at Cinder with the makeshift weapon in her hand, then to the little black book. Letting her instincts take over, Neo flung the book at Roman and bolted past Cinder in a multi-colored blur. The diary in his lap, Roman smirked at his furious boss. "I'm guessing this is why you're here?"

"Give it to me," Cinder demanded, aiming the plunger handle at him menacingly, "Give it to me, and I'll make this quick and painless."

Now, let's be rational here," the conman replied, reaching under the bed behind him, "We're the only three who know what's in this book. Can't we just talk this out?"

"No."

As if she was fencing, Cinder thrust the handle at Roman's head. Ducking quickly, he pulled his safety locked Melodic Cudgel out from behind him and parried Cinder's strike. The young woman was not so easily stopped. She swung at him again, aiming for his legs. Torchwick hopped up, pulling his cane up and hooking her weapon on its curved end and pulling it from her hands. Unarmed, Cinder brought her leg up for a roundhouse kick but missed her mark. She spun around, and felt Melodic Cudgel hook around her neck.

"Cool your head, boss," Roman said with a satisfied grin, "Let's be calm here. I said I wanted to negotiate."

"Why should I?!"

"Well, whose idea was it on how to remove my hand from your backside? Oh wait: it was mine."

"You think because you did something for me, I have to do something for you?"

"Of course. That's how the world works, boss. You should know that yourself. That's how you told me you recruited Taurus, remember?"

Dammit. He had her beat. Cinder should have known better than to come in without a plan that wasn't any more than just beat him to death. "After this is all said and done, I'm going to kill you. I hope you know that."

"Oh-ho, we'll see about that. Now, go ahead and close that door so we can negotiate in private." He pointed to the hall, where a curious Sun was watching them from his room. He slammed his door shut the moment he was spotted. Cinder's eyes looked around the room for where her weapon had fallen, but the crime boss noticed her searching gaze. "No funny business, or I might let something slip, if you know what I mean."

Roman picked up the plunger handle to assure his advantageous position as Cinder closed the door. Putting it under his arm, he motioned for Cinder to sit down with his cane.

"Talk," Cinder said, folding her arms.

"You're in no position to order me around," Torchwick answered, "But I'll let it pass. I was going to talk anyways." He pointed over at one of his roommate's beds. "You know who sleeps there?"

Fall studied the pink mattress and its messy white sheets, taking note of the food crumbs and syrup stains. "Nora Valkyrie, I assume."

"I think you know where I'm going with this, don't you?"

Cinder closed her eyes, sighing internally. That bubbly girl was one of the most obnoxious people she had ever met. Her positivity was sickening. "I hope you don't expect me to babysit her or anything. Ren already keeps her busy enough."

"Not exactly," Roman grinned, grabbing a piece of paper from the floor and handing it to Cinder, "For the past couple days, Nora's been going on about this game she wants to play tomorrow. She needs at least 10 people for it, and she's been bugging me constantly to join. She only needs one more player for it, and it's going to be you."

"Super-Ultimate-Crazy-Fun-Dodgeball-Weekend-Extravaganza," Reading the crudely colored flyer's title, Cinder glared at Torchwick. "This is ridiculous."

"I know. Why do you think I'm not doing it?"

"So, if I do this you'll give me my book back? This is all I'll have to do?"

"Of course," Roman gave her that slimy criminal smile he was so well known for, "If you win the game, that is. But you're Cinder Fall. It should be no problem for someone like you, shouldn't it?"

Looking back at the title of Nora's game, Cinder began regretting not having made a digital diary on her laptop. Still, at least this kind of activity would let her release her fury on others.

And boy, did she have a shit-ton of that pent up inside her right now.