Die: STUPID FANFICTION, NOT LETTING ME REPLY TO REVIEWS! *kicks computer*

Bastion: *sweatdrops*

Chazz: Die, are you okay?

Die: No, I can't reply to any reviews!

Jaden: Just do it here, we don't mind!

Die: Fine. *pouts* Thank you for the uklele, Sakura7865, I gave it to Atty as soon as I got it. Megami-kun, I'm glad you like this series so much, here is your chapter and a nice surprise...

Syrus: *looks vaguely happier* Neither Die nor Cali own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX.

Chapter Twelve: Holy Return

Branwen yawned, her wings stretching out behind her as she pulled her blue Obelisk jacket more tightly around her slender figure. She was the head of the girls' dorm, which allowed her to wear the jacket, but she often wore it open to reveal the normal girl's uniform beneath. At her side, Atticus was stumbling around sleepily, bumping into objects and cursing them out in an undertone, which brought a smile to her lips. At one such collision with a door, however, there was a scream and a banging on it. Atticus, eyes wide, asked, "What the hell was that?"

Zane walked by, pausing at the sound of the screaming. He inspected the door with emotionless curiosity, tensed shoulders the only give-away that he was uncomfortable being around Branwen. "Who's in there?"

She blinked, ruby eyes shining with confusion and a slight hurt. "I don't know," she replied. "Everyone's hit their heat by now I would assume?"

He ignored the hurt in her eyes, returning to the feeling he'd had when they had been courting. The feeling that she was always hiding something—and quite frankly, was rather bipolar. "As far as I know."

Suddenly, a rough shove came on her shoulders from behind her, causing her to cry out as she was pushed aside, Atticus scrambling to catch the small girl before she hit the ground again and bruised even more of her pale skin than what she already had. "Move, doll," a male snarled, dark feathers ruffling. "I heard they brought fresh meat in here last night, and I want to be the first to taste him."

Her eyes grew firm as she straightened herself, her own feathers bristling even from within Atticus's embrace. "You will do no such thing," she growled.

He snorted. "Like you're strong enough to stop me, girly."

"She may not be," Zane growled, grabbing the male's arm and yanking him back a few feet. "But I am."

The demon paled. "A-All right," he stuttered nervously. The boys' dorm didn't have an official leader, but Zane was certainly powerful enough to hold the position. "I-I'm gonna g-go…" He scuttled off then, likely to inform the others that whoever it was inside the room was not to be touched.

"Thank you," Branwen murmured feverantly, a smile touching her lips even if she didn't reach out to lay her hand on his arm like she wanted to.

He sighed. "I didn't do it for you."

"No," she agreed, "but I thank you anyway." She daintily strode out of Atticus's arms, putting a hand to the brass doorknob. "Shall we?"

"I wouldn't suggest it. If they're a new demon, well..." He frowned, "We all know what the first heat is like."

She chuckled. "I'll be fine. I have you and Atty here to protect me." With that, she opened the door, striding through and letting out a gasp. "Jaden!" she cried, running over to him and crouching down beside the perky brunet.

Zane's eyebrows rose. "Holy shit..."

"Oh Jaden," she whispered softly, a tender smile on her face as she stroked his chocolate hair, glad that he'd somehow managed to fall asleep even during his first heat.

The elder Truesdale let out a sharp breath. "We should go. I don't want to be here when he wakes up."

"Wait," she murmured, pulling a wing around and gently extracting one of her dark feathers. "I don't want him being bothered by anyone else." Pulling a slender silver chain from a pocket of her jacket, she carefully threaded the shaft of the feather onto the chain and then set it down on the sleeping boy's chest. "I'm not abandoning any of my friends, not even if they were lying to me."

What was left of the group had been divided. Cienna and Syrus sat back in their old seats while Bastion sat with Chazz and Zane. Cienna could feel the latter's gaze fall to her on more than one occasion, weighted and hard to carry, but there was also a kind of emptiness to it that worried her. His whole manner worried her, despite their positions. As Gabriel had said, she still loved him. She just didn't trust him. Her grip tightened around her pen, sketches of broken hearts and crying girls dug into the margins of her notes. "I hope he's ok..." she whispered to herself, throwing a look at Syrus. Poor, depressed Syrus. He looked like his whole world had been ripped away, which it might as well have been.

Branwen, in the back of the room, was extremely glad no one looked back at her, not even her best friend Atticus. Her hands were fisted tightly into her ribs, almost managing to draw blood despite the two layers of fabric between her nails and her pale skin, and her entire body was tense, including the wings she had folded tightly against her back. She wanted to see everyone in the room lying there on their desks, crimson staining their skin… No, no she didn't! Her shoulders hunched defensively, trying to keep out her inner demons as she tried to distract herself by absently making a note in her mind to bring Syrus in to talk to Jaden or a note or something to cheer up her little blue-haired friend.

Both girls fought their demons with vigor, forcing their thoughts away from harmful ones, not a simple task for either. That is, until Professor Banner made an announcement. "Attention please! Attention! Today, we will be beginning your dancing classes." The girls all exchanged excited words, the boys, ones of exasperation. "Oh, and one more notice. We will be getting a new student today, so please make him feel welcome when he arrives."

A slow smile started on Cienna's face. "It's about damn time Aster got here."

Branwen was frightened. She did not want to lose control of herself, not so close to other people… She raised her hand, biting her lip shyly as she waited to be called on. "Yes Miss Ravenwood?"

She lowered her gaze bashfully, a little ashamed that she had to ask. "Professor Banner, sir, can we do this after lunch? I need to go back to my dorm to change my shoes." For once, she was glad that she liked wearing the strappy black sandals with the inch-and-a-half heel on them, there was no way she'd really be expected to dance in them. As perhaps one of the few clumsy demons, she was likely to fall and hurt herself if she had to dance in those.

The man smiled kindly. "Of course, Miss Ravenwood. At that, if any of you feel the need to change for this lesson, it has been approved."

There was a collective whoop from everyone in class, followed by an instant storming to the door and out of it. Branwen reached out and tapped Atticus on the shoulder, leaning forward to whisper a request into his ear. "Go take Syrus back to see Jaden," she murmured softly. "It'll calm him down to see his friend's safe and sound." Before he could reply, however, she had left.

Cienna, against her own volition, went after Zane. She grabbed him by the arm, incidentally his bad one. "Zane? Can I talk to you for a minute? Please?"

He hissed in pain but made no movement to pull away, figuring he deserved every moment of pain and agony she saw fit to give him. His wings stiffened behind him with the surge, but he made a conscious effort to fold them against his back to make himself less threatening.

Immediately noticing the reaction, her eyebrows contracted. I didn't pull him that hard... She stared at his arm for a moment, pushing his sleeves up and eyeing the marks. Her words came out gentle but with an edge. "Zane. What did you do?"

"Punished myself," he answered, still putting up no resistance to her touch.

Her gaze leveled with his. "Zane... why?" She ran her fingers over the wounds gently, feather-light.

"Because I hurt you, tenshi."

She sighed. "Yeah. You did..." She ran her fingers over the wounds again, obviously holding back something. I don't want to see you hurt. I still love you. I just... don't trust you anymore...

"Come on, tenshi," he murmured softly, wishing that he could still call her his. "You should probably go get changed. I'm sure that if you left now, Atticus wouldn't mind taking you around to see Jaden." There. He'd dangled the metaphorical carrot in front of her in order to give her a means of escape even though he just wanted to wrap his wings around her and pull her close to him.

"Well, um..." She said quietly. "There's actually something I need to say... just to get it off my chest..."

"It's okay, tenshi," he murmured in reply. "You should go see Jaden. I'll still listen to you when you get back." He wasn't going to change clothes, not when he was perfectly fine to use the ones he had put on this morning. Plus, knowing Chazz, he'd want to go back and change, which meant he'd likely drag his little angel half-blood along with him.

"No." She said gently. "I need to say it now." She froze, dropping her grip on his arm. "This might be as hard for you to hear as it is for me to say..." She gulped. "But I still love you. I just... don't trust you."

His eyes widened in shock. He would have thought that she'd hate him for being weak enough to give in to his heat, but no, she still loved him. His eyes softened, and he tentatively reached out for her hand. He wanted to kiss her, but no, he had to take things slowly, earn back the trust he had lost in one stupid moment where he'd lost his self-control. "Aishiteru*, tenshi," he murmured softly, daring to hope that he'd be allowed to hold her hand.

Tentatively, she placed her hand in his. "Aishiteru." She whispered back, running her other hand over the cuts again. "Promise me you'll never do this again." She looked up at him, eyes serious, but also worried.

He bit his lip, looking down. "I can't promise you that, tenshi," he whispered softly. "I won't let myself hurt you again, and if I do, I need to know that I'll be punished for it."

She tilted his chin up slightly to meet her gaze, tears starting in her eyes at the pain in his. "Zane. I don't want this for you."

"I don't either," he murmured, unable to resist leaning forward to kiss away her tears. "But pain is always the best teacher, and if that's how I have to learn how not to lose control in front of you, then I'm willing to pay that price. Just please, don't cry for me, tenshi. I don't deserve your tears."

Her tears came faster. "Zane, please. It kills me to see you hurt."

He groaned, this time throwing caution to the wind and pulling her close to him, wrapping his wings around her. "Fine, tenshi, I promise."

She fisted her hands into the back of his shirt, pressing her face to him, greedily inhaling his scent. Tears still slid down her cheeks as she looked back up at him. "But do you mean it?"

His expression softened, his thumb brushing away some of the tears. "Yes, tenshi," he murmured softly. "I mean it."

She sighed, slowly brushing her own tears away. She pulled out of his embrace and grabbed his hand, her other hand tracing the wounds on his arm one final time before she brought his arm up to her face. She placed tentative kisses to the cuts, whispering softly, "Good."

Branwen nervously eyed the long drop down the stairs from the roof, her ruby eyes wide as she took in the length of the fall, clutching her books close to her chest. She knew that she had to throw herself down them, and she knew that it would hurt since the chemical demons had to turn pain into pleasure was absent from her, but she did not want to hurt someone due to her own carelessness. A breeze played with the fabric of her frilly red dress, blowing her dark hair out in front of her and making the strands dance before her.

The instant he saw her, Aster knew what she was doing. What the hell is she thinking? But that didn't matter, because she was about to throw herself down the stairs and he couldn't let that happen. He picked up his pace and grabbed her by the arm, gently pulling her away from the edge right as she was about to jump. "Hey," he said softly. "Don't."

"No," she whispered, struggling fiercely, dropping her books. "I have to, I have to, oh gods, I have to! People can't get hurt because of me, they can't!"

"No, shh." He soothed gently. "No one's going to get hurt. I'll keep you safe. I promise it'll be okay."

"I'm not worried about me," she spat, opening her midnight wings, small as they were, to try to push him away. "I just don't want someone else to get hurt because of my darker side!"

He shook his head. "Well don't throw yourself over the edge for it." He was quiet, gentle. "It would be a shame to see such a beautiful, sweet girl lost."

"I'm not beautiful or sweet," she murmured, all the fight leaving her. "I'm a monster, a horrible monster who hurts everyone around her without even knowing it."

He shook his head again, gently pulling her closer to him. "You are indeed beautiful. But I assure you, you will be all right. As will those around you."

She laughed softly and humorlessly, not quite finding it in her to fight him. "You know not of the curse I bear, do you?"

"I don't." He replied honestly. "But every curse can be broken."

"Not mine," she whispered forlornly, stepping out of his embrace and towards the stairs, not bothering to gather her books. "It is the curse of my family to weed out the weak by replacing it with the strong. I am weak, thus I will be replaced." She paused, her face turned from him, one hand on the railing. "And no one will mourn me when I am gone." And with that, she was gone, it being too late to bother trying to get out of dancing now.

Aster stared after her for a moment in blank shock before realizing he should probably get to class, himself. And so he set about finding the gym.

Chazz fluffed his wings out in the mirror, trying to make himself look bigger, but he sighed, letting the dark feathers droop. He and Bastion were close to the same height, but there was absolutely no way the teachers would let him lead instead of the angelic male. He was just too slight for that.

Bastion stepped up beside him. "Something bothering you?"

He shook his head, firming his jaw and folding his wings against his back. He did not want to tell the angel yet, and so he would pretend he was whole for just a little longer, be selfish for a spell before it all went away and he was left alone again.

"You're sure?" The angel asked softly, setting a hand on the demon's arm.

Chazz nimbly sidestepped the question, instead brusquely taking the other's hand. "Come on, Bastion," he growled, though it was obvious he didn't mean anything by it. "We have a class to get to."

Cienna grinned. Clad in a pair of boot-cut hip-huggers and an off-the-shoulder blouse, she felt much more like herself. Of course, being able to wear her high-heels may have had something to do with that. Syrus trailed depressedly behind her, not really giving a damn, and while that worried her, they were dancing. And she loved dancing.

In the gym, Branwen stood alone, her arms up as if wrapped around someone as she hummed a slow waltz, her ruby eyes closed as she slowly spun in a circle, her bare feet moving gracefully over the wood floor. She knew all the slow dances, the ballroom dances, and she was just performing one of her favorites the only way she knew without hurting someone. She was herself when she danced alone. So long as she was alone and had something to focus on, she was herself. Keeping time in her head so that she knew when to put her feet where along with humming the music she'd learned to kept her mind busy and occupied. An idle mind really was the devil's work for her.

Cienna approached the female demon. "Hey Branwen." The blonde offered a cheery smile.

The black-haired girl merely nodded in acknowledgement, continuing her dance.

Watching the other girl's steps curiously, her eyes twinkled with laughter. "That's quite the ballroom mix you're doing."

"It's all I was taught as a child," she answered simply, the frills of her red dress making her look almost like she was back in a stately mansion dancing with the guests to an upscale banquet.

"You're really good." Cienna replied. "And that dress looks really good on you." She spied Zane out of the corner of her eye, unsure of whether she wanted to go talk to him or stay where she was. She decided to stay for the moment, but if he chose to approach her she wouldn't protest.

"It's all a matter of timing and memorization," she stated with a touch of amusement in her voice. "Anyone could learn to dance as well as I could if they had enough time and practice, plus I had an excellent teacher." It also didn't hurt that I was whipped every time I made a misstep or forgot to keep time properly…

"Believe me I know how that goes. When I started off in ballet, I was the worst one because I couldn't keep the timing. By the end of the second month, I could keep time like nobody's business." She grinned. "But then, I was four..."

"By the time I was four, I was attending family functions. I was expected to keep quiet and out of the way, yet to show my face, act polite to everyone, and dance flawlessly with anyone who asked me." The monotone of her voice spoke of her acceptance of the fact, as though she considered it normal, which in fact she did. She did not know any other life than the servitude to her family. "By the time I was six, I was skilled in the art of painting and singing. By the time I was eight, I was taught how to mix poisons that worked without detection and how to use a sword. By the age of ten, I had surpassed my masters on the subjects."

Cienna froze. "Wow. That's a lot of pressure for a kid..." Thank God Father decided not to put me and Sylvia in the public eye... that would've been torture!

"It is no more and no less than what I deserved." She spun to a stop, frowning softly as her dress fabric attempted to tangle up her slender, pale legs. "No, that was not right," she murmured to herself. She had faltered for just a second, thinking about gentle blue eyes, and that had thrown her concentration off in a way she had not had to put up with since her seventh birthday party and her instructor, a year or two older, had asked her to feel the music rather than count it. "Now I must begin all over again."

Cienna offered a saddened smile, suddenly seeing something in Branwen that she hadn't before. She saw something that she'd come to find in most people of the art: pain through a home-based source. With a small sigh, she apologized. "I should probably go check on Syrus." She cast a look at the forlorn angel, who had stood a few feet away from his brother.

Branwen merely nodded. She was mad that Atticus had not brought the younger Truesdale to see Jaden, but she could do nothing about it, not when her anger would only result in her hurting him. She had to wait until her darkness was sleeping, then she could tell him. It was a waiting game she'd played all her life, and one she was well-used to.

With that, Cienna moved lithely towards the two Truesdales, stopping first at the younger's side. "Hey Syrus," she said gently. "How ya holding up?"

The blue-haired boy sniffled, his wings drooping. "I miss him," he whispered softly. He'd dropped a lot of his pristine feathers, making his wings look choppy and a lot smaller as the new feathers grew in.

"I know." She said softly, "But you'll see him sooner than you think."

"I can't even do magic anymore, Ci," he murmured. "I'll close my eyes and try really hard, but it's just like… I'm blocked."

"Oh Sweetheart..." She whispered, unsure of whether it was all right to hug him or not. "I'm so sorry."

He didn't answer her, trembling hard enough to shed a couple more feathers, but when his hands started to reach out for the growing down, Zane reached out and wrapped his hands around his younger brother's wrist. "Stop it, Syrus," he murmured softly, for once soothing towards the smaller. "Don't do that." Demons would rip their own feathers out for numerous stress-related reasons, but for an angel to do so, their emotions must have been not only extremely low but also haywire. "If you keep pulling them out, they'll take that much longer to grow back."

Cienna threw Zane a thankful look, wrapping a gentle arm around the shaking boy's shoulder. "It's all right, darling. I'll sneak you in to see him if you want."

"Yeah, but I want him now!"

"HAVE NO FEAR, JADENMAN IS HERE!"

Cienna looked up, grinning at the brunet. "Kiddo!" She cheered. "It's good to see you!"

"JADEN!" Syrus cried, throwing himself into the other's arms and practically bawling. His wings, battered as they were, came up to hold the other closer as he ignored the slight flares of pain from the action.

Cienna watched them with a grin as Jaden wrapped his wings around the smaller boy, holding him close and burying his face in the sky-blue hair. The blonde's hand reached out for Zane's. "They're so cute together..." She murmured.

The other brunet demon bounced between them, grinning wildly. "I know, right?" he chirped happily, completely ignorant of what he'd just interrupted.

"Atticus," Zane growled, wings bristling slightly, "if you don't chose who you want to stand next to in the next three seconds, I will personally make that choice for you."

"But I wanna stand next to both of you!" the Rhodes whined childishly.

"Move. Now." Zane's tone broached no arguments.

Cienna laughed softly, pulling the bouncing demon to her other side. She slid her hand back into Zane's, leaning against him slightly in apology for the other demon's interruption. She just barely ran her fingers over where the wounds in his arm were, whispering gently. "Calm down Zane." He relaxed, draping a wing around her shoulder.

From across the room, Branwen gave a bittersweet smile, still effortlessly following through the steps. She liked that everyone was happy, but yet, she hated that she was alone. Once again, soft blue eyes crossed her vision, causing her to stumble. She frowned, biting the inside of her cheek and instead twirling herself in a stunning display that covered up the fault to any save those who knew her intimately.

"Attention!" Professor Banner called. "We will be starting in five minutes! Find your partners!"

Cienna squeezed Zane's hand, smiling up at him. "Have you done ballroom before?" Meanwhile, Jaden gripped Syrus's wrist, giving him a content smile.

He smiled softly at her. "But of course. I was the one who taught Branwen."

Professor Banner glared at Branwen, who was still humming the waltz. "And that includes you, Miss Ravenwood. You must have a partner, no matter how well you may already know your footwork."

She ignored him, instead adding a bridge and twirling herself, lost in the movement of the counting she did in her head and the music she hummed of her own accord. So long as she stayed in this state, she could keep Jaden's heat firmly at bay and resist the urge to throttle poor Atticus for bringing the younger brunet here…

The room was abuzz with people pairing themselves up, guys pairing up with girls if they could and if not, with the other guys that would be least awkward to dance with. And right as everyone had been partnered—with the exception of Branwen, who had been counting on Atticus—and the music was beginning, another figure stepped into the room and cleared his throat. "Er, Professor Banner?"

The man turned towards the voice, prepared to huff at the student until he saw who it was. "Mister Phoenix. It's wonderful to see you."

"Likewise." The silveret replied. "Are there any partners left?"

Banner scanned the crowd of students, coming up empty until he laid eyes on Branwen. "Miss Ravenwood is still available." He pointed to her.

Aster couldn't help but note that the fates had a sense of humor. All the more proving, he saw Cienna smiling up at a teal-headed boy, completely ignorant of his arrival. And with that in mind, he made his way through the crowd and to Branwen's side. "Hello."

The soft voice startled her completely out of her waltz, her wings flying out in order to catch herself. Her ruby eyes were wide as she stared at the boy who had took up so much of her time today. "You," she whispered softly, unable to believe it. She had only rarely missed a step in her entire time as a proper child, and not only had she made a mistake twice today because of him, but she had also completely lost her rhythm and timing just by hearing his voice. Subconsciously, her fingers began digging into her palm, her mind telling her that she was to feel some sort of pain for such a mistake.

"Me." He replied with a small grin, offering his hand. "May I have this dance?"

Did he not know what he was doing to her, sauntering into her life and throwing her off so completely? Her nails drew blood and she hissed, wings flinching slightly as she pulled her hand up to examine the wounds. She knew she was being rude by ignoring him, but considering what chaos he was wrecking in her mind, not the mention to reek of holiness that he exuded, she felt justified in the action.

He waited patiently, hand still outstretched. "Miss Ravenwood?"

A shove from behind had her falling into his arms. She threw a glare over her shoulder, but a grinning Atticus had already waltzed away out of retaliation range, Alexis in tow. It was then that she realized something important. The darkness in her heart was quiet. Not the quiet it would get into when it was planning something but rather the quiet like it wasn't even there. She couldn't have done it herself, her own anger at Atticus would have fed the darkness, but the only new addition in her life was… Wide ruby eyes turned to meet the sapphire ones before her.

"Is that a yes?" He grinned.

"Yes," she murmured shyly, looking down at the leaking crimson on her hand. It felt so much more silent in her head now, but even with the lessened need for concentration, she still thought it unlikely she could manage to dance again, not when he was so close to her and disturbing her concentration.

He aligned their hands correctly, one of his falling to her waist and her hand, and offered a pleasant smile. "So, Miss Ravenwood, do you have a first name?"

"Branwen," she answered softly, surprised at how comforting his warmth was. "My name is Branwen." She hoped he kept talking, if only so she didn't feel so isolated. If he didn't, she would have to start counting aloud, something she hadn't done even in her learning days, just to break the deafening silence she was wrapped in.

The smile never left. "A beautiful name for a beautiful girl. Incredibly fitting."

She blushed, looking down. She had been told she was beautiful before, but those were just by males who wanted something from her. He, however, made her feel like he meant it. "Thank you. It means 'beautiful raven'."

The never-ending smile remained as they continued to walk through the steps of the dance. "Fitting as well," he noted, bringing his hand up from her waist to twirl a strand of her dark hair.

Her flush turned a little darker. "Thank you." She blinked then, cocking her head to one side. "You want to step left next, not right," she murmured softly, having seen how his muscles were tensing already in preparation of the movement. "That way, the spin carries less tension and is easier to accomplish." She wasn't being rude correcting him, she was just pointing out something Zane had taught her since it was always so dangerous for her to dance with her clumsiness. What surprised her, though, was how easily the dance came to her despite the fact that she wasn't even counting anymore...

*- Aishiteru means 'I love you'.

Atty: Yay, I'm helpful!

Aster: ... You made me a regular casanova.

Die: YEP!

Aster: ... Usually people neglect me...

Die: Yeah, but you're cute! *hugs him*

Atty: I WANT IN ON THE HUG TOO! *glomps Die and Aster*

Zane: ... Reviews will be rewarded with a slow dance with a character of your choice.

Atty: Aster, why aren't you hugging back?

Die: Yeah, Ashy, hug back!

Aster: Oh what the heck... *hugs them back*

Zane: *leaves before he gets roped into the insanity too*