Although she loved drawing, she couldn't afford to waste any time when she could be doing her Exorcist duties. Sometimes she felt like a real workaholic. After a quick nap, she was strolling through the Dark Order HQ towards the command center. The command center was where all the techies were, each trying to keep the HQ running at its full potential. Waltzing in, she saw all of the workers buzzing around, all doing their job. Sometimes she wished she could just do a consecutive task for a while, actually assisting the HQ. She just felt like a pawn doing Komui's work.

She was surprised when she saw Suman, another high-class Exorcist talking to one of the techies. He seemed busy discussing some sort of anti-Akuma weapon upgrade to Johnny, Second in Command to the science division. She decided he was not to be bothered, but before she could leave, he realized her presence and started conversing.

"Mitsuko, what are you doing here?" he asked, without anger.

"I have nothing to do, so I was wondering if any help was needed." She said. Sometimes she thought she sounded so melancholy. She wished her voice were higher pitched.

"Is that so? Don't worry; the science division always takes care of their tasks as soon as they're ordered to." He answered with a smile. "Hey, if you're not doing anything, do you want to get some lunch?"

She found this request oddly flirtatious, and suddenly thought of Tykki Mykk. It wasn't like they were dating, but nonetheless, she thought they had something. Deciding it was nothing more but lunch, she accompanied him to the cafeteria.

Sitting at the table, Mitsuko's butterflies graciously skittered across the tables to the various pieces of bread she had laid out. Even though they ate the flesh of Akuma, they could still eat normal food and it would satiate them. Getting so used to just letting all of her butterflies out, she accidentally released the black one Tykki had given her.

"Hey, that one's different..." Suman muttered, stirring his soup.

"Ah...yes, it's, um...a new breed..." she lied. She quickly sucked it back into her hands, ignoring its annoyed flapping at having been dragged away from its meal.

"Hmm...cool." he said, clearly dismissing the situation. Mitsuko breathed a sigh of relief as she got up and took her mountain of dishes to the sinks. Saying goodbye to Suman, she left the cafeteria.

She thought she'd take a walk, but before she could go, she was stopped by Allen's group.

"Hey, Mitsuko, do you wanna go check out Gella? There's a festival going on." Lavi piped, his hammer hanging over his shoulder.

"Yeah, you've been stuck inside the Dark order for quite some time!" Lenalee said, grabbing her by the arm and leading her to the gates. "Come with us!"

Before she could even voice her displeasure with loud, noisy festivals, she was dragged onto a train and whisked off to the nearby town of Gella. The train ride wasn't very long. So short, they could have almost walked the distance to Gella. She noticed that Allen's group had a new companion with them, an Exorcist with startling black hair but for one single white strand.

"I haven't seen you before." Mitsuko said. "What's your name?" He seemed surprised for a moment, but eventually introduced himself.

"My name is Allistar Krory III..." he muttered. "I've only recently become an Exorcist."

"Well, welcome to the Dark Order." She said warmly. He smiled weakly, but he still looked uncomfortable.

The train screeched to a halt at the station of Gella. All the passengers filed out, each one chattering excitedly about the Festival of Neo. This festival was commonly used to praise the god of good fortune. There was an old legend that went back to before Exorcists even originated. It is said that the God Neo descended from the heavens, to grant people good fortune. A large statue of him took up most of the central square. Banners hung from the houses as people danced around the statue.

Mitsuko thought it looked so still, just silently watching the people worship the big, carved rock. As she was forced into the great throng of dancing people, she thought she saw a dark shape on one of the rooftops. As soon as she tried to focus on it, it seemed to disappear, as if it had never been there. Shaking her head in confusion, she walked alongside the group into the city.

The shops were all immaculately decorated with flowers and ribbons, each stall occupied by a jolly looking city resident. Lavi was laughing, and clapping his hands to the music, as Allen and Lenalee watched the dancing. A great fire had been built in the square, its glow illuminating the buildings like a miniature sun. Children linked ands and spun in circles as the braver of the men asked the ladies to dance. It truly did look like a party.

Looking around, she saw that she had been so interested by her surroundings that she had become lost from her group. Trying to pick a familiar face out of the hundreds of faces, she failed to do so, and decided to just enjoy the festival. Sitting on one of the tree trunks strewn around the square, she felt oddly out of place in her all decked-out Exorcist gear. Everyone was dressed so lightly, wearing skirts and T-Shirts, frilly pieces of red cloth hanging from their waste bands.

She felt confused as to why she even came to the festival, but was tapped on the shoulder rather roughly. Startled, she looked around to see a familiar, dark haired, top-hatted Tykki standing in front of her. His skin was the color of her own, his stars gone.

"Care to dance?" he asked with a smile.

"Oh, Tykki...did you follow me here?" she asked, standing up.

"Well, I just happened to be in the vicinity, and I saw that your train was headed for the festival, so I thought I'd join you." He answered gracefully. He held out his hand, and she took it without hesitation. Although she knew what he was capable of, she didn't feel frightened of him, or even weary.

He pulled her out to the cobblestone square, and began twirling her around like a professional.

"Where did you learn to dance so well?" she said, giggling slightly.

"I have to attend annual balls and dances with the Earl, so I guess I picked up some tips." He answered, a charming smile dotting his face. "He does love to dance."

"The Earl...how many Noahs are there?" she asked, avoiding a squealing child running by.

"Well, let's see...there's the Earl, myself, Road, Jasredo and Devitto, Skin, and Lulubelle. We've quite a small clan, although we are very powerful." He answered. "Although, I'd never hurt you, you know."

"I know." she said, as the song finished. The crowd began cheering for the players, a collection of people with flutes, lutes, and a whole bunch of other instruments.

The moonlight glistened off of his black hair, making it look shiny as if it were wet. He looked to be enjoying it, but he suddenly turned serious. "I have to go." He said.

"What? But you just got here..." she complained, as he let go of her hands.

"I know, but the Earl is calling me. Can't refuse the Earl." He said with a smile. "Till next time."

She could barely saw goodbye before he seemed to disintegrate into the air, floating away like dust in the wind. Feeling a little rejected, Mitsuko wandered through the crowd some more before she found her friends. They were busy convincing Krory that he didn't need some ancient mask from one of the stalls.

"But the man said it's over 100 years old!" he whined. "It must be valuable!"

"Kro-chan, it's a scam! Put it down!" Lavi growled, trying to wrench the mask from his hands.

Smiling at their squabbles, Mitsuko returned to the group and enjoy the rest of the festival.