Just a quick notice to everyone that this is inspired by Duel Academy Aki's fourth heart event in Tag Force 4. I spun it off a little, but the basic plot of the event was used here.

'I've been hearing about what you've been doing around the school, and I've been meaning to come talk to you about it, but I suppose it would be best if we just meet up in secret instead. Show up at the duel arena tonight at eight. Don't tell anyone and come alone.'

That was the note that I found slid under my door bright and early in the morning. Given how nondescript it was, I couldn't even tell if it was directed for me. The letter included no sender either, so I had no idea who it was that I would be meeting. So why I actually considered showing up was a complete mystery. I suppose it may have been that I had nothing to do that Saturday, since Kaze was preoccupied with some reports they required him to do as a transfer. Though if that were the case, then the whole lot of time from here to eight was still much too long for my tastes.

I spent the next few minutes on the bed staring at the ceiling, mulling over how to spend my day, eventually deciding I could go to help Kaze with his reports. After all, if the Osiris couldn't find his way around town by himself, he'd probably run into some trouble with his reports.

After gathering up my duel disk and cards in case I ran into any trouble during the trip, I left on my way for the boy's dormitory. Along the way, I couldn't help but notice a girl, an Osiris like me, staring intently in my direction. Her short choppy hair was seemingly gray colored and her eyes were filled with spite and hatred. Once she noticed that I saw her, however, she quickly spun around and walked away.

Deciding to dismiss the event, I continued on my way to Kaze's room. It was at the end of the second floor's left hallway, which made things much easier to remember. I made a move to knock on the brunette's door, but when I did the door instantly swung open. It wasn't Kaze that had opened it though. It had been unlocked and opened this whole time.

He couldn't have possibly known I was coming, could he...?

Shoving the thought aside, I let myself in the room to see if Kaze was even there or if he had just forgotten to close the door in his departure.

The latter seemed to be the case as there was no sign of anyone in the room besides myself. I did notice that his laptop, or rather the one provided by the school, was missing from his desk, so he possibly went to the library to work on the reports in silence. In the place where his computer would be, however, was Kaze's phone.

As rude as it may have seemed, I walked over to the desk and picked up the phone. When I opened it up I found a new text message was waiting. Just as I was about to put the phone down, seeing how it was none of my business, I saw that the sender the same Rei Saotome from before. Curiosity got the best of me and I opened the message. 'It sounds like you've been having fun and have settled in over there. Don't go on too many adventures, though. I still need you for the next tag tournament, after all~ Speaking of the tag tournament, when you come back, there's something that I've been meaning to talk to you about.'

"Oh, hey Aki. Didn't know you were here," a voice spoke, causing me to nearly drop the phone before turning to face whoever it was. Standing in the doorway was Kaze, carrying his laptop under his arm, as I suspected. He didn't seem to mind that I had been snooping through his phone, seeing as how he leisurely walked over to where I was and placed the laptop down.

"You have a message," I quickly spoke to justify myself before Kaze changed his mind. He gave me a thanks, as if I was a secretary whose job was to be looking through his phone, before reclaiming the device and skimming the message. As he did, I found myself drifting back to this Saotome girl.

'When you come back, there's something I've been meaning to talk to you about.' That wouldn't mean... If those two were involved in anything like that, Kaze would have said so, wouldn't he? He had introduced her as a friend and nothing closer.

I decided to drop the idea there, since it was a foolish thing to begin with, before I looked back to Kaze who was just finishing what I took to be a response to the message. "Kaze... Why was your door open?" I questioned, deciding to change the topic.

"Hm? You... aren't supposed to be here?" Kaze questioned in return.

"There are students here who would steal stuff from you. You did receive a key, right? That's so you can lock and unlock the door," I said. Kaze just looked at me as if this was a foreign concept. Clearly, this was another difference between the main academy and ours... so I tried to explain to him the concept of home security and protecting your belongings, only for him to come back with that he didn't have anything to steal. Seeing how that didn't work, I tried to explain that someone like the Shadow Duelists that he faced could be hiding in here to ambush him, which he again responded with that they only used shadow duels and an ambush would be ineffective. I eventually relented, figuring there was no way to get it through his thick head. "Anyway, how are your reports coming along? I take it you went out to work on them," I said, changing the topic once more.

"Oh, I finished them a while ago. I decided to work on them at the card store to give Ms. Agatha some company," Kaze spoke leisurely. He seemed as if he was about to bring something up when he caught sight of something that I had nearly forgotten, "Aki, what's that in your hand?" I looked down at the aforementioned object, even though I should have remembered that I had it. I never did set down the note from this morning though, so obviously it was still with me. The note said to not tell anyone, but I wondered briefly if I should involve Kaze in this. On the other hand, I didn't even know if it was addressed to me or who it was from, so having some back up of sorts would help. That is, if I even went.

Deciding that showing the note would be easiest, I held it out for the brunette to read. He seemed a bit perplexed by it at first, as was I, but eventually he seemed to sort things out. "I think you should go," Kaze said briefly.

"But why? I figured I'd go on a whim, but do you think there's an actual reason why I should go?" I questioned the Osiris.

"Of course there's a reason. This person may be like us. They may be lost and alone and they're finally gaining the courage to talk to you," Kaze theorized. I tried to give it some thought, imagining the scenario that would result from this set up, but it didn't seem all too realistic to me. If there was another person like us, a 'witch', then we would certainly have heard about them by now. The other students would have been more than likely lumping us together or throwing insults about them our way.

Thinking back to the girl I saw when I left my room, I decided to look at this from another angle. Could she have been the one who had left the note? She was waiting outside the dorm, after all, which may have mean she had been waiting for me. I had also never met her before, which would fit the scenario the letter described. It could all just be some coincidence though. This entire note was a mystery and a sane person would probably ignore it. I guess that made Kaze and I insane, wouldn't it...? Then again, we never were entirely normal.

"If you want, I could come with you. Although, it says to come alone, so I guess I could hide unless you need me," Kaze began to mutter to himself. "Then again, if I hide, then it looks like we're ganging up on them if I come out... maybe it's-"

"Don't worry about all that. As long as you're there, none of that matters," I cut Kaze off before he could make the situation more complicated than it already was. Truth be told, knowing that he'd be there, whether it be in the shadows or right beside me, took a weight off of my shoulders. If Kaze's theory was right and this person was like us, than having another person they could talk to would help. If my theory was right, on the other hand, and this person was simply calling me out to egg me on, I'd still probably need his support. Seeing how he was able to defuse the situation in the cafeteria and the classroom quite well, it'd be the safest route.

While I never paid attention to it specifically, I could safely say the majority of the student body has made some act of malice towards me, whether it be the glares or the direct confrontations. All of this because of my powers that I never had purposely tried to use on them until they prompted me with the insults. I'd probably lash out, as I was accustomed to doing, and if Kaze wasn't there, there was no guaranteeing what I'd do.

"Alright then... now that we have that all figured out... let's go out and eat somewhere," Kaze suggested eagerly. I couldn't help but sigh. I should have been used to his random appetite by now…

"And I take it you want me to pick the place and take you there?" I questioned. The brunette Osiris let out a nervous chuckle, giving me all the answer that I needed. "You've been here for a little over a week. You should know your way around town by now," I scolded half halfheartedly.

"Oh, I already know my way around town," Kaze said, taking me by surprise. If he knew his way, then what did he need me for?

"Y-you do?" my response was delayed due to my shock, but I still managed to get the question out.

"Of course. I picked up a map from when we went out for ice cream, so I just use that to get around," Kaze continued innocently, not seeing the source of my panic.

"So then why do you need me to come with you?" I continued to question, this time being a little more blunt and straight to the point.

"Because I enjoy your company," Kaze smiled cheerfully. Just as I was about to come back that that wasn't a valid reason, his words sunk in and I felt a blush creep its way onto my face. I once again tried to form the words, but it resulted in the same failure. To avoid embarrassing myself even more by looking like a fish out of water, I simply nodded before beginning to leave the room, with Kaze quickly following after. Along the way he told me that he would treat me to whatever it was that I picked, but even so, I wasn't as much of a glutton as to pick the most expensive restaurant. With some input from Kaze, we decided on a restaurant of medium quality. It wasn't a fast food restaurant, nor was it one of those fancy restaurants where the rich went. As we arrived, we had no idea that a duo, consisting of a boy and a girl, was watching us the whole time.

It was 7:50 when Kaze and I arrived at the desolate duel arena. The lights were all off and the only way that we could see each other was from the small amount of light provided by the moon through the skylight. It certainly didn't fit the warm and fuzzy get together that Kaze had imagined with another misfit. Kaze whispered something to me, but I barely caught onto the words. Something about him going to hide I assumed, as his presence left from behind me.

It was somewhat unnerving to be left in this near-dark room alone, not knowing who awaited me. That was not enough to discourage me, however. If someone wanted to meet with me, regardless of the reason, I'd remain strong. It wasn't like there was any risk of real danger either, as it was clearly a student who wrote the note. That is, a student who must have known that there were security cameras here.

The seconds ticked by slowly and I eventually turned around to search for Kaze so that I would know where he was if need be. He wasn't very well hidden, seeing as how his head was poking out from the hallway leading to the arena. When he noticed that I was looking at him, he gave me a reassuring smile and a thumbs-up. That's when footsteps began to pierce the silence and the brunette quickly withdrew behind the corner. From what I could tell, it was only one pair of footsteps, but that said nothing about their intentions "So you've come... Ms. Aki Izayoi!" a voice called out. Suddenly the spotlights from the ceiling flashed on, momentarily blinding me as a pair directed their lights right at me. Once my eyes adjusted, I turned my attention forward where I saw the girl from earlier this morning standing in a spotlight of her own, wearing a cocky smirk.

"Are you the one who wanted to see me?" I asked evenly, trying to take after Kaze's approach. Act calm, or curt according to Kaze himself, and things might diffuse before they even start.

"Yup! Master of fighting, master of duels! The one who pretty much runs things here at Duel Academy! I'm sure you've heard of me, but by the slight chance that you haven't, my name is Ida," the Osiris before me gloated. Not to be judgmental, but saying you were the 'Master of Duels' in front of someone like an Obelisk wouldn't really be such a bright idea. Seeing how I was an Osiris as well, however, she probably felt no harm in the statement. All comments aside, it was pretty easy to confirm the doubts that I had about Ida's intentions, but I decided to play along regardless, at least for the meantime.

"What do you want?" I continued to question.

"I'm glad you asked! I've heard that you're walking around here like you own the place," Ida began to explain slowly, clearly going for the dramatic effect. I shot her a puzzled glance, mainly for the reason that that was a blatant lie. I didn't even belong here. How would I walk around like I owned it? If anything, the hypocrite that called me out here was the one doing that. "You can try to act innocent, but you can't fool me! I know you've roughed a bunch of students up! Personally, I think you have a lot of nerves doing that, especially on my watch."

"And just what do you want to do about me then?"

"Fight me in a duel, of course! I'll sort you out real good! Then I'll use the footage of me winning to show what a weakling you are!" Ida declared, sticking a triumphant fist in the air and grinning as she did. She eventually sobered up to reality and once again turned her focus on me. "People like you really make me mad, you know that?" Ida questioned suddenly.

"Really? Well, I guess we have something in common then," I smiled lightly. It was Ida's turn to look at me with a confused expression, but she did nothing beyond that. "I hate people like you who hurt people for fun," I began to explain.

"What?" Ida quickly interjected, but I decided to continue and ignore her.

"For me... I can't help it when I hurt people. No matter what I do, I can't stop hurting others, no matter how badly I don't want to... but you're just doing this for your own personal amusement and gain. You're trying to make yourself feel better by picking on someone who you think is weaker. Only I'm not weak at all, so I'll stop your little games," I said as I activated my duel disk, which left Ida silent for a moment.

"You...! Just quit talking trash! You cheated, so don't act so mighty!" Ida snapped, regaining her vigor.

"Cheated?" I asked. Our duel hadn't even started yet. How could I have even cheated? All we had been doing was talking and slinging insults. Unless she considered me trumping her argument cheating, I didn't see what I did wrong.

"Stop playing dumb! When I came here, I saw you and your little boyfriend waiting for me! You were planning on ambushing me! Well, the jokes on you! I have my friend dealing with your boyfriend right now!" Ida shouted. Before I could even comprehend what she said a roar echoed through the arena, one that I had come to learn. Brionac. Not just any Brionac, though. It was Kaze's, that's much I could tell as the temperature began to steadily drop. So Kaze was already in a duel with one of Ida's associates...?

I was about to turn back to Ida to inform her that Kaze was like me and could defeat whoever it was she had brought with her when I saw a red blur hitting the wall with a thud out of the corner of my eyes. Just as there was no doubt with Brionac, there was no doubt in my mind that the figure was Kaze. But if he was being thrown back like that in a duel... Did that mean that Ida was using a duelist with the power to materialize monsters as back up?

None of that mattered right now, though. All that mattered was that Kaze was in danger and I possibly was as well. Giving Ida no time to react, I began to make my way for Kaze. If worse came to worse, I figured, the two of us could team up against them for a tag duel. As I drew closer, I saw that the blow wasn't enough to cause any damage to the brunette, but it had knocked his hat off of his head and probably the wind out of him as well.

"Stay away!" Kaze's shout caused me to freeze almost instantly. It wasn't just the tone of his voice, but the very look in his eyes that stopped me. He had a sense of determination, but it also held a certain darkness that I couldn't quite explain. Kaze wasn't fighting whoever this was for justice or because he was forced to. It seemed more like he had to because of revenge. If anyone else had seen Kaze at this time, I'm sure they would have been frightened. I found myself calmed, however. His darkness was one I could relate to, regardless of the fact that mine was much more intense than his. That was comforting in itself, and since I knew Kaze's skills well, his determination meant that he wouldn't lose his duel. Speaking of duels, I couldn't lose mine either if Kaze was fighting his hardest.

I took a minute to clear my mind and compose myself before walking back up to the spotlight where Ida was waiting.

"You do realize that, since you had a friend, that means you were planning on ganging up on me as well, right?" I questioned the Osiris. Ida jumped as I pointed out another flaw in her plan. To cover up this shock, however, Ida quickly made a move to activate her duel disk.

"Enough stalling! Let's just start this duel off so you can leave with your tail between your legs!"

[Aki: 4000LP] [Ida: 4000LP]

"I'll take the first move! I'll start off by summoning Puppet Insect in attack mode!" Ida declared as a purple insect with blades on the first three pairs of legs appeared. [Puppet Insect: 1000 ATK] "With one card face down, I'll end my turn!"

"My turn then," I muttered as I took my draw. After looking over my cards and deciding on my means of attack, I began to make my move. "I'll summon Botanical Lio. Due to his effect, he gains 300 attack for each Plant monster on the field. This raises his attack to 1900," I explained to my opponent as the familiar lion appeared before me, its wooden feet spreading roots across the field. [Botanical Lio: 1600ATK - 1900ATK] When said roots cracked a bit of the duel field, I noticed Ida jump. She did a double take at the damage and rubbed her eyes, as if this were some illusion or dream she could awaken from. Clearly, this didn't work, but Ida put her brave front back up regardless, although she was noticeably less confident. "Botanical Lio! Attack Puppet Insect!" I ordered, to which my monster gave a roar before charging forward.

"I activate my trap, Reaction Armor! It destroys-" Ida started to counter with her card's effect while my monster descended towards hers, and eventually her once it was out of the way. Even though fear cut off the rest of her words, she had still managed to hit the button to activate her card's effect, so the suit of armor shot out of the ground, delivering a solid blow that destroyed my monster. "W-what was that…? That... that wasn't a hologram!" Ida shouted as she pointed an accusatory finger at me.

"You mean you challenged me without knowing about my powers? Well then, I'd give up if I were you," I suggested to my opponent. Ida took this as some form of gloating however and glared at me.

"I'll never give up! Are you done with your turn or what?" Ida asked impatiently.

"I'll set one card face down and then yes, you can take your turn," I said.

"Finally! Now I summon Darkness Gear - Imprisoning Flame by using his effect to summon him without a tribute!" Ida explained as the black zombie with blue flames erupting out of it appeared. It seemed to be a lion-like creature, but I didn't pay it any heed. [Darkness Gear - Imprisoning Flame: 2400ATK] "Now! Darkness Gear! Attack Aki directly!" the zombie let out a roar of acknowledgement before its flames jutted out even more violently than before. As it charged forward and brought its claws down towards me, however, I remained unfazed, much to Ida's irritation. [Aki: 1600LP] "Now, Puppet Insect-"

"Not so fast. I think it's time to activate my own Reactive Armor. This allows me to destroy your attacking monster," I said.

"Ha! Are you stupid? Why would you use that on my Puppet Insect? It has less attack points than my Darkness Gear!" Ida pointed out what seemed to be a foolish mistake. On the other hand, it was a brilliant plan in the making. As the piece of armor charged forward and met the insect, effectively destroying it, Ida's zombie was left alone on the field, and come her End Phase... her field would be wide open.

Eventually, Ida caught on to my plan and her eyes quickly widened. Even though she knew what was coming, she had no cards to stop it. "That... that ends my turn," Ida spoke hesitantly as she prepared herself for her monster's effect. There was a drawback to her monster being able to be summoned without a tribute: if it was the only remaining Zombie monster at the End Phase, Darkness Gear would be destroyed. Not only that, but it would inflict damage to Ida matching its attack. Clearly, she hadn't taken this into account when she summoned the monster. The zombie's flames began to heat up once more as they had when the monster had attacked me, but this time the buildup of flames eventually lead to an explosion, during which the flames hit Ida head on. [Ida: 1600LP] With that, Ida's field was now wide open for me to attack, as I had planned.

"To start things off, I'll summon Night-Rose Knight, but that's not all! By using his effect, I get to Special Summon a level four or lower Plant-type monster from my hand! I choose my Rose Witch!" I shouted as the familiar duo of the purple knight and the woman with a rose upon her head appeared before me. [Rose Witch: 1600ATK] [Night-Rose Knight: 1000ATK] Even though I hadn't finished my combo yet, Ida already knew what was going to happen. Let's just say it wasn't going to be good for her. "I'll tune my level three Night-Rose Knight with my level four Rose Witch! Chilling flames engulf the entire world. Pitch-dark flower, set into bloom! Synchro Summon! Appear now, Black Rose Dragon!"

With a loud roar that reverberated throughout the arena, my dragon appeared before me, its rose petals scattering wildly in the wind from its wings. Several of these petals ended over by Ida, scratching her cheeks. Surprisingly, my dragon ended up floating above the arena instead of crashing into it as it usually does.

"H-hold on...! Just what was-" Ida started to question me as her hand shot up to her left cheek, the one that sustained the most damage, while running it along one of the cuts. I decided to ignore her questions, however, and turned to my dragon.

"Black Rose Dragon! Destroy her with Black Rose Flare!" I ordered. My monster gave a roar once more before the signature flames started forming in its mouth. Ida quickly sensed the danger that she had been oblivious to before, and a panicked expression spread across her face. Without warning, she turned around and began to run away. That didn't stop my dragon, however, who let its attack fly several seconds later. Right before the flames hit her, a gust of ice came out of nowhere, negating my monster's attack in its physical form. [Ida: 0 LP]

That gust... I knew who it belonged to…

I slowly turned around and saw Kaze jogging over to my side with Brionac trailing behind him. Part of me wanted to ask him why he stopped me, but then the answer became apparent on its own. If I would have hit Ida directly, she probably wouldn't even be standing right now. Actually, she wasn't necessarily standing as it was, as she was on her knees gasping for breath after the near death experience. After she had recovered, she quickly got back to her feet and turned towards me, her breathing still erratic from the fear.

"Now I see why no one wanted to help me fight you! You're a monster! That's all you are!" Ida shouted. I opened my mouth to respond when the brunette beside me shot me a glance, which I took was questioning if I'd let him handle Ida, so I gave him a nod instead. With that, Kaze began making his way over to Ida, making sure that Brionac stayed behind. As he drew near, Ida quickly took a few steps back. "Stay back! You're friends with that monster! I bet you're just like her! You want to kill me, don't you?" Ida turned her accusations towards Kaze. He turned around to face his dragon and they had some sort of wordless conversation, as Brionac nodded after a few seconds.

'So this was the bond that Kaze had with his monsters,' I thought idly to myself. I couldn't say that I wasn't jealous.

The ice dragon slowly began to advance, much to Ida's dismay. "I said stay back! Didn't you hear me?" Ida's voice raised even more in her panic, but she didn't step back any further. Rather, she couldn't, as she stood at the edge of the duel arena.

"Please, just calm down. He won't hurt you," Kaze tried to soothe the panicked Osiris as his dragon continued its slow advance. Brionac stopped a few inches away from Ida, glancing down at her as he waited for what I assumed would be his next order. However, this probably wasn't the brightest move. Someone not familiar with duel spirits appearing as real things probably wouldn't like a dragon some feet taller than them staring down at them, regardless of how indifferent it looked.

"Stay away!" Ida repeated, a bit more firmly this time. Once again Kaze turned to Brionac who instantly understood whatever the glance meant. The dragon then lowered itself down so its head was next to Ida's right hand, which he prodded at gently with his nose. Ida quickly flinched from the touch and kept her eyes kept clenched shut afterwards, as if she had expected for her hand to be eaten or something similar to that.

At this point, I wasn't even sure what Kaze and Brionac were up to. I had just nearly killed her with a monster similar to Brionac, so the obvious thought was that pulling out his monster wouldn't accomplish anything beneficial.

"Pet him," Kaze urged suddenly. Ida's eyes quickly snapped open as she turned to him as if he were crazy.

"Y-you want me to what?" Ida asked. She quickly looked down at the dragon before her who was waiting patiently, not devouring her or whatever scene she had in her mind. I finally caught onto the point of Kaze's actions here. Brionac was much gentler than Black Rose Dragon was, whether it was from his owner's attitude or his own, and by letting Ida get comfortable with him, he could then convince her that we weren't all that bad. Solving that mystery opened up another one, however. Why would Kaze care whether she accepted us or not?

"Please, just trust me. He won't hurt you," Kaze said calmly as he stuck his own hand out and affectionately rubbed his dragon's head. The gray-haired girl just continued to look at him, clearly confused at Brionac's actions, or rather his lack of action. After waiting a few seconds and seeing that Ida was making no movement to follow his example, Kaze took his hand and now latched it onto Ida's wrist, causing her to flinch once more.

"W-what are you-" Ida started to protest when Kaze guided her hand over to Brionac's awaiting head. He held it there for a few seconds, letting her see that Brionac wouldn't hurt her, before letting go. Whether it was of acceptance or fear that moving would result in some form of punishment, I wasn't sure, but Ida kept her hand on the ice dragon's head after Kaze let go. She still looked a little panicked, so Kaze gave her a reassuring smile, but as soon as he did, the dream-like trance she was in disappeared rather quickly, as Ida ripped her hand away from the dragon without warning. It wasn't easy to see from where I was standing, but I could see the blush forming just fine. Ida then turned away and quickly made her escape. Kaze didn't attempt to stop her.

Once she had departed, Kaze took Brionac's card off of his duel disk, letting the monster disappear before he walked back over to me. It was then, when we were out of the heat of the moment, that I noticed a sharp red mark on Kaze's right cheek, barely in sight due to his hat, but still noticeable.

"Kaze, what hit you?" I questioned, although I suppose that I should have asked 'who'. Kaze quickly jumped, as if I wasn't supposed to know about the red mark. He quickly took a hold of his hat and pulled it down a little more before continuing.

"Nothing, nothing. Don't worry about it. My opponent had powers like yours and I got caught a little in the crossfire, but it's nothing too bad," Kaze laughed nervously. While I appreciated the concern of his lying, if he were going to try it, he could have made it more convincing. Even he knew that powers like mine left worse wounds than that. I decided to play along with his ploy, though, for I knew that when he was ready, he would tell me if it was important. If he didn't tell me, then it was something trivial that I shouldn't worry myself about. The forming lump required more immediate attention and after some persuading, I got Kaze to agree to visit the nurse and get an ice pack to reduce the swelling. While we probably would have been fine without taking such an action, it was better to be safe than sorry. After that, the two of us went our separate ways to rest for the night and prepare for the following day.

It didn't go unnoticed by either of us that Ida was suddenly sporting a hat identical to Kaze's the next day, although she styled it backwards.

Notes:

- I'm sorry for the somewhat long wait on this chapter. I had to go on a summer retreat, which took a whole week away from my writing, and I had meant to update before then, but I didn't finish the chapter. Hopefully that will be one of the longest waits there will be...

- Just to let you all know, the next chapter is going to be an extra chapter of sorts, which is basically going to be this chapter from Kaze's point of view, although it is going to start from where they are waiting for Ida to show up, since nothing of interest happens with him before them. So to all of you who are curious about Kaze's situation during this, I'll try and get the Extra up in a few days.

Reviews:

- Leon: A little bit of 'Dark Side' is put in here, but it's been fun toying with it in my mind. I'm not sure if it's going to be as dark as everyone hoped, however, though that might just be because I'm comparing it to Aki's. And as a fun trivia fact, I was going to have it be from looks at first, but then I decided that was a little too OOC, so I went with my other idea instead. I'm glad it still came out alright.

- XJustified: Thanks a lot. I've been trying to be more spoiler-free in my reviwers and working with others, so I hope no one minds when I'm extra vague with any of their plot related questions.

- XxSpec77xX: Without delving into too much spoiler-ish details, Rei is going to pop up momentarily in the next chapter (not the Extra, but actual chapter), although it will be briefly. Not much happens with her though.