IV. Darker Ones

"So..." Spencer exhaled, looking around the courtyard. "Where's the tutor?"

Meistrof let out a sigh. "Be patient, Spencer. Miss Leilah will be arriving soon. She informed me earlier that she may be late, due to some issue that suddenly came up involving her." The white-robed mage looked around quietly, avoiding eye contact with his apprentice.

Spencer paused, before speaking up again. "How did you run into her, anyway?"

Meistrof bit his lip, before glancing towards Spencer and making eye contact with him. "When Snowza was still in existence, all of us mages gathered together often to discuss about ways to try to prevent the evil she created to spread all over the land. Some even tried to journey to find the Loquat and destroy it-but those ones all died until Azuzu came along. Miss Leilah was among the gathering mages-not the ones that journeyed of course, otherwise she would already be dead, but she did have a good amount of information about Snowza, as Snowza did have the same type of specialized magic as she did-dark magic, besides ice magic of course."

"That's exactly correct, Meistrof." The two turned to see a young woman walk towards them, smiling slightly. Her irises were a dark maroon, glittering in the sunlight as long, blackish-brown curls framed her face. She wore a more elaborate choice of clothing than Meistrof did; a frilled variation of a dark lavender wrap dress. She smiled at Spencer, and the young apprentice couldn't help but shiver slightly as he shook her hand-it was so cold... "It's a pleasure to meet you, Spencer."

"Um, thank you." Spencer answered awkwardly, Looking up, he saw an older man walking towards them. He had the same maroon eyes as the woman, but his chocolate brown hair was straight, and barely touched his shoulders while Leilah's went inches past her shoulders. He wore simple clothing, but it was well-tailored for travel, rather than to look like a noblewoman.

Lailah turned towards the man to glare at him. "Erebus, greet them." She commanded coldly. Erebus merely looked towards Spencer and nodded, but when he turned towards Meistrof, who was giving him a small bow in respect, he extended his hand and grapsed a few strands of his long, blond hair. As Meistrof stood, he looked down to see Erebus pulling the strands close to his face, before kissing them. He let go, a small, coy grin playing on his face.

Spencer glanced at Meistrof's face. The light-specialized mage looked a bit surprised, maybe even embarrassed to be greeted in such a way. Lailah, however, was furious.

Lailah slapped him in the face, glaring at him even more. "Don't you dare touch Meistrof like that ever again!" She snapped, before turning towards Meistrof. "I apologize." She hissed through gritted teeth. "Erebus has never understood how to address anyone properly. The dog cannot be trained well, unfortunately."

Erebus looked almost hurt, but Spencer saw that he was trying his best not to show it and to keep a straight face instead. Meistrof said nothing as Spencer and Laila started their lesson. During the time, Spencer couldn't help but glance at both Meistrof and Erebus. Both men looked...almost sad. He understood why for Erebus, but why Meistrof?

Spencer did his best to shake off the sadness that was getting to him during the lesson. He needed to focus-he needed to learn how to use this dark magic properly.

An hour passed, and Meistrof had dismissed Spencer for the day. Laila had went up to her room, but Erebus had simply decided to go for a walk. At least, he would have if Meistrof hadn't stopped him.

"Erebus?"

The servant of Laila turned towards Meistrof, without saying a word. Meistrof took a deep breath, before speaking.

"I appreciate your greeting, but I would suggest that you try for something more formal, next time. I am no lady needing to be charmed by a gentleman. Understood, Erebus?"

Erebus looked down for a moment, before nodding once. What Meistrof did not expect him to do was to start speaking.

"Is that all?" Meistrof sensed something spark in Erebus' eyes-a wish for approval.

Meistrof nodded once. "Yes, I believe so." He managed to answer. "You may go." He turned away, but he felt a hand grab his wrist. He turned towards Erebus again. "What is it, Erebus?"

Erebus looked at him curiously, quietly. "...You don't remember me?" He asked, his expression turning towards disbelief. "Sylv, don't you-"

"How do you..." Meistrof interrupted, but them a memory washed over his mind.

The attack. The darkness. The blood. "MURDERER!"

"You saved me." Erebus whispered quietly, his maroon eyes boring into Meistrof's blue ones. "You saved me, and I want to repay the favour, or else I'll be forever indebted to you. And you know I hate being in debt in any way."

Meistrof shook his head. "Yes, I saved you." He shakily replied, taking a step back. "I saved you, and I know you want to pay me back."

"Then why don't you let me help you?" Erebus' hot breath made Meistrof want to do something-but what? "Let me in."

Meistrof shook his head, backing away entirely. "No, Erebus. This is my battle. Not yours. I don't want you to get hurt."

Erebus stepped back. "In this world, there are the ones of the light and the ones of the dark. We are the darker ones, and I believe that dark ones cannot survive alone."

Without a word, both men turned away from each other, walking away.

Zaira let out a slow breath as she stepped out from behind a pillar, and then glanced at the direction that Erebus had walked. She paused, glanced at the direction that Meistrof walked, and went after him.

Author note: Erebus and Laila are my OCs, therefore I own them.

I apologize for the long delay in updating any of the Yakitate! Japan fics lately, as life outside fanfiction has gotten much, much busier now. Hopefully this fic, the 'Carnie Collection' or 'Radioactive' will be updated soon. Thank you so much for your patience!