Author's Note: MERRRRRY CHRISTMAS! -throws confetti- C'mere, you two! Gimme a hug! -hugs Alba and Ros-

Alba: Haha! Merry Christmas, Shima!

Ros: ...Yeah.

Shima: Merry Christmas indeed! And, as I promised, two shiny new chapters for you~! -throws more confetti- Thanks for all the follows/favs/reviews, guys! Now, lemme respond real quick:

loverofallanime: Thank you! Oh I see! That's actually really funny. What a coincidence, right? XD There's always a bad side...mweeheehee...just wait and see!

Please be sure to leave me more reviews, you wonderful people you~ I look forward to seeing what you think!

These next couple chapters are on the less serious side, but then everything goes downhill from there. -raises eyebrows- You'll just have to wait and see what happens to our heroes...Sorry they're so short, but you got two chapters in one day, so there's a nice bonus!

Guys guess WHAT? I know this doesn't apply to you at all, but I got a crapton of manga for Xmas! And a WII U! -screams loudly- AHHH I just wanna go to Gamestop and buy Mario Kart 8 and Smash Bros 4 and Sonic Boom right now. But all the stores are closed so I'll havta wait till tomorrow. Sigh.

Oh, here's another Xmas gift for you, some Albatross fanart made by me here: shimasteam2112

.deviantart.

com/

art/Merry-Christmas-from-Albatross-502547566 Just erase the spaces, okay?

Hope ya'll like that. Does it make up for the horrible things I'm going to put you through? :D

Okay, without further ado,

I own Senyuu.

...NAH, just kidding! Not even close -cries-

Let's begin, shall we?

Ros: Roll the chappy.

Alba: And begin!

Chapter 4

One Day More

"Alba, dear! Time for breakfast!"

Alba sprang up out of bed that bright morning. It was Wednesday, which meant that Ros would be returning in only two days.

Two more days, Alba thought excitedly as he pulled on his school uniform. Two more days, and then I'll be able to see him again.

He raced down the stairs, messenger bag slung over his shoulder, and wandered into the kitchen.

"Good morning, Mom!" He greeted with a smile. Alba's mother, a very simple woman, turned and blinked at him in surprise.

"Good morning, dear. You seem to be in a good mood today...why's that?" It seemed like her little boy had been very gloomy for the past few months. She'd heard the news that one of his friends moved away, and ever since then, he'd been so down. She was glad to see that he was much happier than usual.

Alba simply smiled at her. "It's a secret," he told her giddily, quickly finishing his breakfast.

Alba's mother watched in complete astonishment as her son ran out the door, humming to himself. A small grin settled on her face.

I'm glad he's doing better, she thought before returning to her work.

Alba walked into the classroom that morning, beaming. "Good morning, everyone!" He exclaimed.

Rchi looked up in surprise, jaw dropping at the sight of the normally sullen Alba, who was now humming a tune as he sat down and got out several notebooks to prepare for class.

"Alba...san?" She called out tentatively.

Teuffel raised his head from the book he was reading, face gaining an expression of pleasant shock.

"Hi, Rchi-chan!" Alba grinned at her.

Rchi slowly walked over to his desk, still unable to believe what she was seeing. "You seem...different. But in a good way, I mean! Um...what happened?"

Alba chuckled, eyes bright and determined. "It's a secret~ Maybe I'll tell you later."

Rchi stared at him for a moment before she finally smiled back at him. "Alright. I'm just glad to see that you're doing so well!"

Alba giggled and turned back to his desk before pulling out his phone and scrolling through the text messages from the night before.

Teuffel watched him from a distance, a somewhat thawed expression on his face.

He's doing better...oh, I'm so glad.

It was so nice to see that Alba had returned the person he used to be before...he...left. At the thought of him, Teuffel wrinkled his nose in distaste. He didn't particularly hate Ros, but he didn't like him, either. He was the cause of all of Alba's pain...Teuffel could never forgive him for that.

The truth was, Teuffel had been watching Alba for a long time. He really liked him, for some reason. The boy's light brown hair and sparkling eyes always caught his attention. Teuffel admired his strength and determination to see things through, his kindness and pure intentions towards everything around him, his endless optimism and good heart. It had been a while since he'd seen that Alba, due to Ros' disappearance, and now that the old Alba—the real Alba—had returned, he couldn't be happier.

He wanted to reach out to him, to tell him his feelings, but he wasn't sure how. Teuffel had always been a shy person, and speaking to new people always made him nervous. Even though people like Ares and Hime reached out to him (that and Ares practically forced him to become friends with her) he still had a hard time doing so himself.

He liked Alba...no, he really, really liked him. But how could he convey that to him when he couldn't even speak properly around him?

He wanted to replace Ros. He wanted to be the one to make Alba forget about him. He wanted Alba to pay attention to him, not the guy who couldn't even stay to support Alba. But he didn't know how...

How could he steal the heart of a person whose heart had already been stolen?

Alba skipped down the pathway to home, phone clutched in his grip. He'd texted Ros at lunch time, and the conversation went something like this:

Me: Hey!

Ros: Oh, hero. I was wondering when u were gonna start annoying me again

Me: HEY!

Me: Why are you so mean? I only said hi!

Ros: I can almost imagine u doing it.

Ros: So unmanly and hero-like, heh heh

Me: ;(

Ros: Don't be sad, hero. U can always fall down the stairs at school!

Me: YOU SADIST!

Ros: Lol

Ros: So what did u want anyway?

Me: Nothing. Just wanted to say hi.

Me: You're coming on Friday, right?

Ros: Yup

Ros: I'll b there around lunchtime

Me: ^_^ Okay

Ros: Whoa hero chill

Ros: Ur getting way 2 excited over this, it's kinda creepy.

Me: :p Whatever! I can feel however I want to feel!

Ros: Whoa, isn't that a line from that 1 shoujo manga? Wow hero, I didn't know u were into that stuff! How disgusting!

Me: What shoujo manga? I don't even read that kind of stuff!

Ros: Suuuuuree. But when I get there on Friday I'll look under ur mattress and find hordes of shoujo manga! Omg, r u a closet otaku hero?

Me: NO DAMMIT, I'M NOT!

Ros: Oooh ur cussing now? That's kinda hot

Me: 0\\\0 WHAT?!

Ros: Pfft ur so easy 2 tease hero.

Me: Meanie!

Ros: Ah I gtg again, class is starting soon

Me: Oh, me too...text you later tonight?

Ros: Ew don't make it sound like we're dating! And no I've got plans

Ros: Just text me Friday

Me: :-/ Okay

Ros: What, u can't even survive without me 4 a day? Pathetic.

Me: What?! I can too! Fine, just watch me! I won't text you until Friday!

Ros: It's a deal. No backing out now!

Me: AHH!

Me: YOU TRICKED ME!

Ros: That was the whole point duh

Ros: Bell's ringing, gtg

Me: Fine, bye.

Me: See you Friday?

Ros: Yep Friday

Even though he'd been tricked into not texting Ros for a day, he didn't mind. He could handle it just fine!

One more day...he thought, trembling with excitement. Just one more day...!

Shima: DAWWW, Teuffel's got a cruuuush!

Teuffel: …

Alba: -blushing-

Ros: -glaring at Teuffel with a passion-

Shima: Ros...are you JEALOUS?

Alba: 0\\\0 A-are you—

Ros: -punches him-

Alba: OUCH!

Shima: That wasn't very nice.

Ros: Don't make such an embarrassed face, Hero. It's disgusting.

Alba: -moaning in pain-

Teuffel: ! Are you okay, Alba?

Ros: …(I swear to god if you even THINK about touching him I will—)

Shima: Hahaha! Well, until next time, then!