Honestly, I'm annoyed. Meant to get this out yesterday but the weather decided to fuck my town over.
Electricity was completely out for hours.

Anyway, here you go!

When I returned to Ravel, I was half-expecting something but what I did come back to was beyond my expectations. Honestly it was scary, so scary I gave her my mobile number pretty damn quickly. It was scary simply because of the tear-filled expression she gave me, for some reason it filled me with fear and sadness.

It was troubling and it felt weird to be feeling that way towards a devil, even if she was one that I could pace even a small amount of trust in. The tear-filled expression, the red discolouring of her cheeks, the slight darkening of the parts underneath her eyes, the sense of being scared in her emotions, the feeling of hopelessness in her emotions. It was one of those times that I could actually curse myself for being a full-blooded Nekoshou.

I felt though that I would have been able to continue with not feeling so concerned for her if I didn't see the room itself. As a Nekoshou, I could feel emotions from anyone and everyone around me. I could even feel when lovers at school had had tiffs or fights, that sort of emotional downturn but it never affected me to the point that my stomach would turn but as of now, I know that it's because I never really saw it happen or the aftermath of it.

The moment I stepped out of the elevator to the floor that I was living on with Ravel I saw her, if only for the advanced sight that came with being a supernatural species. There she sat on the bed, pressed back into the pillows, her knees tucked up into her chest, the small plushy cat version of me resting in-between her arms as she stared at the glaring screen of the mobile phone she received when coming to the Human World. And it hurt me to see it, it shouldn't have but it did.

She was so far gone that she didn't even notice me walking towards her, still wearing the armour part of my Total Eclipse. Placing myself down on the bed beside her, I allowed my ears and tail to pop out before using my tail to poke her lightly in the cheek.

"G-Gin..."

Her tone was hushed and scared but with slight relief.

"I'm sorry that I worried you."

Arching the tip of my tail, I used it to rub Ravel's cheek lightly.

Allowing my armour to disappear, I moved up further onto the bed and sat right next to Ravel who allowed her body to finally relax and I could feel her head dropping down onto my shoulder. Taking my phone out from my pocket, I just held it out in front of Ravel for a split second before she snatched it from me and started to tap away at the screen.

"I shouldn't have banked on Asahi to give you my number."

Flash

A brief flash of light hits my eyes as my own phone is used against me. I watched as it was turned back around and a small squeal came from Ravel beside me. A flurry of taps and sounds later and my phone was back in my hand on the contacts pages showing Ravel's details along with the picture of us that she had just taken. I didn't know what to sigh at, the fact that that was the picture or at the fact that did such a couple-like thing to do. It only hammered in the fact that we were engaged, well it was something that I got myself into.

Taking a closer look at the picture I could see that it had one of those borders around it, that was the final straw to which I sighed at quickly.

'I should probably leave it though.'

"There. Now I can show-off to Rias-sama and that cat."

That doesn't sound good.

"Don't make too much of a commotion Ravel."

She giggled at that, she is definitely planning some sort of commotion. I'm getting a strange foreboding that the whole of the female portion of the student body will see this particular photo.

"You won't leave me right?"

"Huh?"

An eerie silence hit the room. Turning to look at Ravel, I could see the look of a desperate person in her eyes. Scared and fragile, completely volatile. Quick to shatter.

"We are engaged aren't we? Is there a need to ask that question?"

"You won't leave me right?"

The same exact tone. She won't differ from the current path unless I tell her what she wants to hear, it's not even a question that I can answer 100% truthfully. I don't know when I'm going to die, heck there is a huge chance I could do so against Kokabiel.

So what is it she wants? Reassurance in the current stance of things? Or is it that she doesn't want this to be one-sided, she wants a reciprocated relationship? The Rias thing, she knows herself how it all went. She was a part of it for longer than I was and she knows my stance on the devils.

Ahh, I see. I hadn't given her my number, she is questioning herself and what we 'have'. But how should I answer that?

'Just say what comes to you, Guardian. Take too long to calculate a response and it can come back to bite you.'

So I should be quick and direct. Better to be naive about it, I'm more likely to speak what's on my mind then. I understand.

"..Of course. I'm the one who spoke about the engagement first, no one had even brought it up. No need to doubt it."

It was still a calculated reply but at least it seemed to have had the right effect as I saw her mouth raise into a small smile in the edge of my vision.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Really."

By instinct alone, I felt my right arm come up and pull her body closer toward me by her shoulder. As I felt her shoulder touched mine a question sparked into life in my mind and it made me question how I was acting towards her of late and compared to the start.

'What is it that we 'have'?'

…

Waking up the next morning I found myself conflicted.

As I got the meals and drinks for the school day finished alongside the cooking of the breakfast while Ravel was still asleep I couldn't help but to continue to question what was going on. I felt different, after last night there was a change. But I feel like if I deny any possible thought that I can come up with as a reason I'd be wrong to do so. As a youkai, I believe I know what the feeling is but I'm unsure. I'm unsure on whether it's forced or it was a natural change.

'It's love, Guardian.'

'I know, Second Star.'

And that's why I'm so confused about it. Is it the work of the pieces, the slow integration due to me not hating her from the off or is it that I truly feel that way after seeing what I did last night. Was that the final straw to coming to a conclusion on how I truly felt about Ravel. But if so why that and why now? I know that they say that love is the most unexplained emotion, it's natural but completely random and different for each person.

My heart doesn't move when I see her, I didn't even get a complex feeling when I saw her sleeping face so why did I feel so bad and off last night?

"Gin..?"

Ba-dump

"..Yes Ravel?"

"..Is it morning already..?"

"It is. Now get up, breakfast is nearly ready."

I couldn't help but shake my head. My heart thumped from her calling my name, what's wrong with me.

…

After leaving our room with our bags in hand, I found that it was only us walking to school that Tuesday morning as both Asahi and Raynare were nowhere to be seen. Only a text from Asahi beforehand saying to go on without them both.

Walking alongside each other it made me think yet again. I felt completely edgy. Looking down as we walked, I couldn't stop myself from glancing towards her right hand.

'Just grab it.'

Second Star is against me too? Argh! Fine.

Turning my head to the right slightly, I grabbed a hold of Ravel's hand and we immediately came to a stop on the road to school. I could feel her gaze penetrating the back of my head.

"G-Gin?"

"S-Shut up. Your hand looked cold, no other reason for it."

Goddamn it I'm a tsundere.

Spurring myself back into motion, I took a step forward and started to pull Ravel before she was able to catch up with me.

Whisper, whispers, oh God the whispers. I should have thought about this, I'm not going to hear the end of it now. It was incessant, the fan girls and the perverts. I can only curse myself for the my stupidity and theirs.

"Gin-nya, why have thou forsaken me?!"

"Is Gin-sama blushing?"

"That bastard actually took one and it's the new girl! Curse you bishounen!"

Yeah well curse you too, you sack of shit.

"Holding hands with Gin-sama. Holding hands with Gin-sama..."

"Oi Maaya, don't pass out!"

Isn't that a little extreme?

"Gin-nya is straight?! But...How dare he?! Poor Asa-kun."

"Boo! Bring the Yaoi back!"

Wait, what?!

"No girls, stop." Thanks. "It's a love triangle. Gin-nya is confused right now."

I take that back you bitch.

"Buchou~~! We can see it! We can see it!"

I damn well hope you can't.

"You really are famous Gin."

She giggled … Ravel giggled at me. Damn you too then, damn you all for eternity. Sound the trumpet, the apocalypse must begin.

"What?! Ravel-chan! Nooo!"

Not you, not yet. I'm waiting for you to go full creep and curse me too. I wonder if the sales of books on black magic will increase after today. Better for me to try and think about that than whatever obscene things spew out from the mouths of these overly lively humans here.

Just keep walking. Just keep walking.

"Pheeew..."

I breathed a sigh of relief as we stepped into the entranceway for the shoe lockers, where the glares finally stopped as our hands departed from each other so Ravel could exchange her shoes. That reminds me, why do I get away with not wearing the indoor shoes? Do they let me be because I'm famous? Perhaps I should thank Azazel for that.

'Guardian, don't run your mind from the truth.'

Tch...I've been had.

"Wait for me at lunch Gin...Chuu."

I felt my body freeze as the soft touch of her lips pressed against my cheek.

"Hehehe...I can't wait to show that cat this picture."

Haaah...today is going to be way too lively for me.

Should I even bother to care? It's not like the humans here could cause me harm in anyway, well other than a severe headache but that's a typical occurrence because of Asahi.

This chapter huh?

It's a movement into how this story goes. It's basically set up through routes, much like a Light Novel to which you'll only see the good end.
The first story is the standard route, and this is the route where Gin is true to himself.
He does solely what's best for him from the start.

Now this chapter in itself is much bigger then any other chapter for me, even in the old story despite this chapter's short size.
It brings about a turmoil for Gin, firstly there is his emotions and how it affect him and secondly, it's who the target of his new emotions are.
In truth, he really has it all easy but that doesn't stop him from having it hard. If you understand that.

Ciao-nya.