"Paperwork!" Xellos cheerily exclaimed. Instantly all the tension in the room melted away as everyone turned, staring dumbstruck at the purple-haired victim.

"What…what's wrong with you?" Michiru croaked out, her eyebrow raised with a look of confusion and disgust on her face.

Zelgadis was already groaning and hiding his face with his hand as Xellos turned to the tanuki girl, a finger raised, a move that almost seemed to be on instinct as he spoke "Now that…is very rude, Kagemori-san. Are we not doing the paperwork that Tsukauchi-san asked us?"

Michiru's eye twitched slightly as she struggled with a response to the technically true statement. Zelgadis stole away Michiru's chance to counter when he sarcastically asked, starting to get off the floor "And you're all sure I can't kill him?"

"Yeah, no one is killing anyone, and we're clearly done with paperwork for now." Jun cut in, stepping forward with his tray and setting it on the table. "I thought that by now, the four of you may well be pretty hungry considering everything you've been through. It's not much of a meal I admit but it should tide you over."

The other officer followed suit and brought his tray to the table as well. Each tray had two covered white bowls on them which Jun proceeded to place on the table in front of each of the four chairs as Naomasa got up with the collected paperwork. Steping back, the former hero smiled before adding "Please, sit. I'm sure your nerves will calm with a little food in your stomach."

With everything going on, Michiru hadn't really given much thought to eating up till now but with the smell of whatever Sanada-san was offering entering her nostrils, the urge hit her hard. Without a second thought, the tanuki girl practically jumped back into her chair and asked, "So what's on the menu?!"

Handing the hungry young woman a pair of chop sticks, Jun removed the domed top of the bowl, revealing its steaming hot contents "Nothing fancy, just katsudon."

A ravenous smile spread across Michiru's face as she snapped her simple wooden chop sticks apart "It looks great, thank you Sanada-san!" Just as she was about to dig in though she paused, realizing no one else had sat at the table yet. Looking around, and feeling suddenly self-conscious Michiru asked "What's wrong? Aren't any of you hungry?"

Zelgadis had a sour look on his face as he stood with his arms crossed, appearing to be arguing with himself. At Michiru's prompting he finally sighed as he stepped forward, sticking his hand out to take Jun's offered chopsticks. As he sat down diagonally from Michiru, the rock-encrusted man muttered "It couldn't hurt I suppose."

Emeralda, who had helped Xellos to his feet, was now more pensive, seeming to have completely switched from the cool, determined girl who rushed to defend the purple-haired mazuku. The green-haired girl stood unmoving and expressionless as Michiru sat down. The tanuki girl's guilt-ridden question brought a look of reluctance to Emeralda's face, however. Zelgadis walking past her and sitting took Emeralda off guard and she stared at the group gathering at the table as the blue-skinned man prepared to eat as well.

Emeralda jumped when Xellos patted her on the shoulder as he too made his way over to the table. Sitting down next to Michiru, Zelgadis narrowed his eyes at the loathsome purple-haired Xellos but said nothing. Looking over at Jun, the mazuku waved as he asked, "I don't suppose I could trouble you for some tea?"

Jun motioned for the other officer to head back out to get the tea they had already planned to serve, offering a nod to Xellos. Emeralda still looked uncertain but when she realized none of the other three had begun eating yet and were actually waiting for her, she blushed and slowly made her way across from Michiru and sat down, the two strands of her scarf piling up on the floor to either side of her as she sat.

With that, Michiru declared with a smile "LETS EAT!" and tore into her bowl of rice and pork cutlets. Zelgadis, despite his initial reluctance, didn't hold back either, eating with gusto. Emeralda watched the two eating with the unusual utensils and decided not to embarrass herself trying to use the wooden sticks, instead shifting one of her fingers into a fork and quietly started to eat as well. Xellos contented himself with the tea he was offered, not touching the meal. Jun patiently waited, leaning against the wall by the door as the four ate or drank, not a word being exchanged between anyone.

(X)

With four bowls of katsudon consumed (a minor staring contest between Zelgadis and Michiru decided who got Xellos' bowl, which was won thanks to Michiru's sudden changing into a weird lizard Zelgadis had never seen before and flicking him in the face with her tongue). Jun stepped forward to break the bad news he hoped might be softened by full stomachs.

"I'm glad most of you got a good meal, I trust it was adequate?" Jun asked. The satisfied look on everyone's faces told him all he needed to know however, so he pressed forward "I did tell you all that you were here for processing and that is true. Normally, we get lighters in and out and then you get to go to the dorm we have for new lighters on the campus of our nation's premier hero school, U.A."

By this point everyone at the table had focused their attention on the speaker, questioning looks appearing on Michiru and Zelgadis' faces. By now, it was clear who were the open books in this odd group of misfits and Jun had begun looking to these two first as he spoke to gauge how he was being received. Emeralda seemed to be naturally quiet on top of trying to hide her feelings where Xellos was just a brick wall with that smile of his.

Jun continued "It is from there that you four will live and decide your future in our world. For tonight, though, I'm afraid you'll have to stay here."

Michiru shot straight up out of her chair "What does that mean? Are you saying we're going to have to spend the night in jail?"

Jun motioned for the tanuki girl to calm herself as he responded "Because there are four of you, it's going to take longer to install all the security in each room and even though I argued against it, it was decided it would be best for you to stay here tonight. You will have to sleep in cells tonight, I'm sorry."

The mood in the room had clearly darkened, as Jun knew it would. He didn't like it but at this point, it was all he could do. Before anyone could speak up, Jun hastened to add "You won't be locked in, of course but you will be monitored."

Expecting an angry reaction, or any reaction at all, Jun found himself greeted with silence, much to his surprise. Each of his four new charges looked to be taking in this newest development and before long, the former hero felt compelled to follow up "Your thoughts everyone? "

Zelgadis then stood up, stretching and yawning at the same time before speaking "Is it ideal? No, but its been a weird, long day and I'm ready for some quiet time alone, so where are we headed?"

Guilt played on Jun's features as he averted his eyes when Zelgadis turned to look at him. The chimera didn't like that reaction one bit "We are getting our own cells, aren't we?"

"You saw how busy it was back there" Jun tried to start, still looking away from Zelgadis. Pausing a moment, Jun gathered himself before meeting the rock encrusted man in the eye once more and said, "Two cells were all they could spare, I'm afraid. Tomorrow you will have your own rooms going forward, of that I assure you. For tonight, it will have to do."

Glancing back at the three still seated at the table before looking back at Jun, Zelgadis asked, sure he wasn't going to like the answer "Who is staying with who then?"

Crossing his arms, a light smile passing his lips, Jun answered "I thought you four could figure that out. I can pick if you insist but I thought after your little tussle earlier, this might be better."

Before Zelgadis could object, Michiru raised her hand and declared "We'll take care of it, Sanada-san! We'll let you know what we decide."

Zelgadis twisted around to look at the tanuki girl, a andry look again on his face. Still, the chimera said nothing as Jun turned to exit the room, saying "Excellent, I thought I could trust you all to handle it. I'll be back in a few minutes, and we can head over."

With that, the silver-haired older man left, leaving the four lighters alone together for the first time since the aftermath of the battle with Terra.

Xellos, never one to let an awkward moment go to waste, chimed in "So, who wants to be my roomie?"

The silence that followed was almost enough to break even a heartless mazuku. Almost.

(X)

In the discussions that followed, Zelgadis made it very clear he wasn't going to spend a night in the same room as Xellos, to no one's surprise. That had only left Michiru and Emeralda as options to stay with the mazuku. The option of staying with the quiet tan girl eliminated, Michiru was having a hard time bringing herself to voluntarily stay with the chatty odd man after her experience on the way to the station in the police car.

Michiru was surprised when Emeralda had solved her internal debate by offering to be Xellos' roommate. That surprise had given way to relief, which in turn quickly turned to guilt at subjecting the apparently shy girl to the long night of questions she imagined. When Michiru had pulled Emeralda aside to warn her and to apologize, Emeralda simply told her it was ok and not to worry about it. Michiru had pressed, but Emeralda took Jun's return to change the subject by asking for a new sketch pad and pencil, ending Michiru's attempt to soften the experience and assuage her own guilt.

So it was that the two groups were taken to the minimum-security holding cells in the back of the station. Their cells were adjoining, simple affairs with beige walls and a door that featured a barred and glass window at eye level as the only way in or out. Each cell had two simple cots to sleep on and a small camera in a domed mount hung from the ceiling. Jun explained that their door would be closed but not locked and an officer would be on duty down the hall at all times if they needed anything. Bidding them all a good night, Jun excused himself after promising to return for them in the morning. Michiru couldn't help but wonder just how much sleep she would actually get.

(X)

The answer, perhaps predictably, was very little. Zelgadis had almost nothing to say to Michiru as the two took their cots, an air of hostility hanging over the chimera. With lights out and nothing but the darkness and a dour chimera to keep her company, Michiru was left with her thoughts again. She had been pretty good at keeping herself occupied throughout this strangest of days with everything going on, but now? This was what she had been dreading. Michiru cursed herself for not rooming with Xellos. She may not have been able to sleep but at least the tanuki girl wouldn't be stuck thinking of home.

Sitting up and pulling her knees to her chest, Michiru started to really consider that she was never going home again. At least when she had changed into a beastman, she could stay in the safe confines of her house, where her parents could tell her everything was ok and that they still loved her. Thinking back, her parents had been so understanding, doing all they could while letting her try to decide for herself what to do when she had changed.

It had been just as much about the guilt Michiru felt at being such a burden to her parents as it was looking for a place to be herself and safe that she had sought out Anima City to begin with. Michiru's thoughts back then had begun to be consumed by what would happen to her parents if she had been discovered to now be a beastman. That thought had been, more than anything that drove the tanuki girl to run away, because she'd be damned if she let anything happen to her parents because of her.

Michiru had been truly looking forward to getting to see her parents again. To let them truly know she was ok and happy. She had wanted to introduce them to Shirou and the mayor and her hapless baseball team and so many others. She wanted her and Nazuna be a bridge between humans and beastman. She wanted to keep solving crimes with that mean old wolf…but…it was all gone now, her life stripped away from her a second time. This time replaced with a world of superpowers and magic and neither her parents nor her friends were there to provide Michiru with the time and support to figure things out.

Michiru glanced over at Zelgadis and saw he was resting on his side, facing the wall opposite of her, his hood drawn up over his head, possibly asleep. Good, then the light shouldn't bother him. Pulling out her cell phone, Michiru opened her gallery and started looking through her collection of memories since the Nirvasyl incident. Scrolling through, Michiru reflected on how serious Shirou always looked, never once posing for a shot, sometimes actively trying to block the picture from even being taken. The tanuki girl let out a soft chuckle at a shot that was mostly just Shirou's hand, leaving only his bird, Kuro on his shoulder in the corner of the frame.

There was a series of shots of Michiru and Nazuna before one of the former's concerts, the one by the docks if she remembered correctly. Michiru had pushed for a concert nearer to the poorest part of town, to make it easier on those like her bear teammates to attend.

So engrossed in drawing comfort in her memories, Michiru failed to notice that Zelgadis had, in fact, noticed her still awake and had been staring at her for a few minutes. Soon he spoke, his head propped up by his hand and his tone inquisitive. "Hey, what is that thing, by the way? I saw Sanada-san and the detective with one."

So startled by the question, Michiru lost her grip on the phone, comically juggling it several times before finally securing it, a blush on her face as she fumbled to turn it off. Embarrassed, the tanuki girl sent a glare across the room as she replied "Oh, done giving me the stink eye are you? If you must know, it's called a cell phone. It lets you call other people, take photos, play games, go on the internet and a bunch of other cool stuff."

Zelgadis couldn't help but note the irony of the first part of his cellmate's statement as she glared at him. Still, all his abrasiveness aside, Zelgadis was one blessed with curiosity, always ready and willing to learn. If he was going to be kept up by some damn eerie blue light, he would at least like to know what was producing it. Sadly, Michiru's answer had been less than effective at this at the chimera drily replied "Yeah, I have no idea what you just said. What the hell is a phone?"

Michiru shook her head, her eyes narrowing "Oh no, I'm not answering any more questions until I get one from you. What was up with the death stares you kept giving me when we were getting our photos taken?"

That caught the chimera off guard, and it showed on his face, his eyes wide with surprise before they narrowed again. Sitting up, Zelgadis exclaimed, softer than normal knowing it was the middle of the night, "That's none of your business! You don't like the look I give you, too bad. You're just going to have to suck it up."

Michiru had to wonder how this asshole could be so unbelievably arrogant and stubborn. Swinging her legs over the edge of the cot to face the rock-encrusted man, Michiru responded, clearly annoyed by the brush off, "Excuse me? Didn't you hear what Sanada-san said earlier? We're going to be living together, and I don't know about you, but I'd like to be on good terms with the people I live with if I can!"

"Hey, its not like I choose to be here! I didn't choose to be stuck with you all!" Zelgadis countered, his voice raising more than he intended.

"News Flash Greywards-san! None of us choose to be here, alright! I was happy! I was going to get to see my parents again! After a year of living in fear that someone was going to kill me if I stepped outside, I had made a home where I could be me. Now? Now it looks like I get to start all over again!" Michiru retorted, her features contorting in anger and pain as she stared at her hands.

Zelgadis had been ready to yell back at the tanuki girl with his own retort but as Michiru went on, the fight left him, his anger succumbing to shame as her words sunk in. He wasn't the only one suffering, was he? Something else she said bothered him too and as the girl paused for breath he cut in, his voice suddenly much more even though with a hint of concern "Woah, woah, what was that about getting killed?"

Michiru froze, mouth caught open about to speak. Her eyes widened, unprepared for the sudden question. She looked off to the side, having lost everything she was about to say. Looking back up at Zelgadis as if seeing a whole new person sitting across from her, Michiru spoke "Oh, well where I'm from, beastmen are often hunted and killed by roaming bands of diluted humans."

The chimera raised an eyebrow "You looked human for one of your photos, right? Could you not have just done that and blended in?"

Michiru sighed, lifting her hand to one of her ears and feeling it before bringing it down across the side of her face, feeling the fur there "At the time, I couldn't. I didn't know how, sooo I just lived in my room for a year, feeling sorry for myself."

That confused Zelgadis, titling his head slightly as he asked "Wait, I'm missing something. If you couldn't look human, then why were you only hiding for a year and not your whole life?"

Snapping her fingers, Michiru responded "Oh, yeah, I haven't told any of you yet, have I? You see, beastmen and humans are separate species. Your one or the other, it's not something you can just switch between or become. It's what you are at birth. Me and my friend, we were the first that this wasn't true for…there was an accident and we got turned into beastmen. I wasn't born like this. One moment, I was just an average human and the next, I was something the world hated. Even saying that, among beastmen, we're pretty strange…Hey, are you alright?"

Zelgadis had gotten a strange look on his face, and for a second, Michiru thought he'd zoned out. Before long though, he responded to her question, speaking much softer than before "I'm sorry, Kagemori-san."

It was Michiru's turn to raise an eyebrow. This was already the most calm and reasonable this guy had been since she met him and now he was apologizing? Sitting back, resting against the wall, she crossed her arms "Oh? And just what are you apologizing for? I've lost count."

Zelgadis flinched at his cellmate's barb but met her eyes, trying to find the words "Fair point, I suppose. To start, I'm sorry I glared at you the way I did when these photos, as you call them, were being taken. I guess I…felt betrayed, I think, when I saw you change. You seemed embarrassed by it, looking human. That pissed me off, because you have something that I have tried desperately to try and get back for a long time and you were treating it as something to be ashamed of."

A couple of dots connected for Michiru, taking a few moments to answer herself "I wondered, when you said you were a mix of some kind of demon and a golem, just what that meant. So, you were human once too?"

Looking back down, Zelgadis confirmed it, sounding wistful "Yes, like you, I was just a normal human, if one with dreams too outsized for his abilities."

Michiru placed her arms to either side of herself to support her leaning forward, her expression softening as she asked, "Why do I feel like this was more than just an accident?"

A bitter laugh escaped Zelgadis at the question before he replied, "You could say that, yes. I was an orphan by that point, trying my best to be strong for all the family I had left, my grandfather, the Great Sage Rezo." Zelgadis paused as he almost spat out his grandfather's name, his hands balling into fists "He was the one responsible for what I am today. The product of another one of his experiments to try and cure the blindness he had been cursed with since birth."

Michiru looked away "Wow…that's a lot to take in. I'm so sorry to hear it."

Zelgadis shook his head "No, I'm the one that needs to apologize. I've been trying to fix my condition for a long time and like I said before, now I have to find a way home before I can even resume my search. I've…been taking my anger out on pretty much everyone."

That admission stunned Michiru. Maybe it was because she had been hanging around a stoic and stubborn thousand-year old wolf for so long she had come to expect long drawn out arguments that rarely ended in an apology. Or maybe in the short time she had known him, Zelgadis had come off as someone used to getting his way and not fond of suffering fools and thus not likely to apologize. Either way, after a moment, the girl's surprised expression melted into a warm smile which was followed by an extended hand "Apology accepted! I know I can be pushy and stick my nose into others business, but I hope we can be friends!"

Zelgadis glanced down at the clawed and fur covered hand being offered. This girl was a strange one, like some weird fusion of the two women in his life back home. Glancing at his own hand, the chimera thought that was likely not a bad thing. With a half-smile, he took the hand offered and replied "I'll keep that in mind. Guess I'll take my chances, Kagemori-san."

After a firm shake, Michiru pulled away, wagging her finger "See, now this is where you can call me Michiru. Shall I call you Zelgadis?"

With a bit of playfulness in his voice, Zelgadis said simply "If you wish."

(X)

Emeralda had picked up on how uncomfortable Michiru was at the prospect of staying with the purple-haired mazuku as she had quietly listened to them talk. It had occurred to the tan girl that if this Xellos wasn't human, there was a possibility he may not need to sleep, at least not like Michiru and Zelgadis seemed to. Since being around chatty people was nothing new to her, Emeralda thought it was best if she was the one to spend the evening with the self-proclaimed mazuku since she, too, didn't really require as much sleep as others.

Despite Michiru's warning about her cellmate's loquacious nature, Emeralda had found Xellos to be very quiet since they had been roomed together. This made sense if what Emeralda suspected about her cellmate was correct; Xellos was gathering information. Michiru was from a world similar to this one, so it made sense if Emeralda was right that this most odd of men was playing up an outgoing personality to gathering information.

It made sense to learn as much as one could of their surroundings. Emeralda had been doing the same since her arrival, it was just that the two seemed to go about it differently. Emeralda preferred to watch. It kept her out of the way so people couldn't ask her too many questions. Just as importantly, it also meant that she wouldn't have to act until she was ready. Clearly her cellmate was an outgoing sort, always ready with a comment or quip to get a response, at least when he wanted it.

As it stood, said mazuku was content to sit on his cot, legs crossed in front of him, facing the green-haired girl. Having been granted a sketch pad and pencil, Emeralda had taken straight away to drawing. Every once in a while she would glance up at Xellos, who could have been watching her just as well as sleeping sitting up, it was hard to tell with the way he kept his eyes so nearly closed all the time. Even if the lights had still been on or in broad daylight, Emeralda had been unable to tell.

Returning to her work, Emeralda was glad to have illumination from a hallway light coming through their door window and onto her cot. She had excellent eyesight but even she couldn't draw in pitch darkness. Continuing her sketching, the tan girl decided to glance up at Xellos once more, only to be greeted with the odd man's face peering right down at her from beside her cot. Her only outward reaction to this was to furrow her brow slightly. Inwardly, it had scared the shit out of her. How had he moved without her noticing? And was he…looking at her pad?

Sure enough, Xellos was inspecting what Emeralda was drawing, a hand on his chin thoughtfully. After a few moments of awkward silence, Xellos finally spoke as inquisitive and friendly as ever, saying "Friends of yours?"

Glancing down at the pad, Emeralda sighed. Though she preferred nature subjects instead of people, she felt it was important to do a portrait of the people in her life back home, as a reminder so as to not forget them. Though she possessed photographic memory, she wanted something tangible to hold on to, something Xellos had clearly guessed. "Yes." Emeralda answered, a hint of sadness in her voice. "They are very important to me."

It was a motley crew depicted on the page. A burley, almost animalistic man stood beside a stoic robed young man with white hair along with a wild looking blond with an eye patch. A young woman with grey hair kept in ringlets and wearing goggles stood beside another woman in a silly orange outfit and holding an odd pink fluffy animal. A wise but kindly looking man wearing small, rounded glasses stood just off center of the two central figures. It was these two that caught Xellos' eye as he responded "These two in the middle…family of yours? Siblings perhaps?"

There was a long pause, far too long to be natural, before Emeralda simply said "No, they aren't."

Though it escaped Emeralda's notice, Xellos' smile turned more into a smirk as he spoke again "Oh? They aren't what, exactly? Siblings or family?"

The purple-haired mazuku was met with a glare as Emeralda looked back up at him. This prompted him to step back, hands raised as if to say 'what?' To this Emeralda bit out "I said no. They aren't siblings and they aren't family, but they are very important to me."

"Oh my, I do apologize Kasim-san. I just saw those two and thought they looked a lot like you. You can understand my mistake can you not?"

Softening, Emeralda replied "Yes, I suppose so. Please, though, don't bring it up again."

Sitting back down on his cot, Xellos rested his hands behind his head as he leaned against the wall and said with no small amount of mirth "So serious! You should really lighten up, you know. It would make when you lie much harder to notice."

Having started to work again on the piece, Emeralda slowly looked back up across the way and said, "Excuse me?"

Xellos continued "No need to hide it, Kasim-san. You were very tense when answering Sanada-san's questions earlier. I suspect it was plain to anyone present you were hiding something…."

Panic began to grip the young woman. Sure, she wasn't great at lying but no one had said anything before. There was no way they could know, could they? What if they did? She…she couldn't stand to have anyone else know what she truly was, to see her for what she was. Fear quickly turned to anger as Emeralda countered with the only thing that would come to her frustrated mind "What are you talking about!? I'm…I haven't lied!"

Xellos' smiled widened, though he didn't move from his position. "Oh, my dear Kasim-san, I am something of an accomplished liar. It's an important skill in my line of work and I have to say, you are quite bad at it."

Emeralda sat dumbstruck. What was he talking about? How could he know? Was she really that bad at it? The calm and cool facade the young woman had been endeavoring to project continued to slip as fear shown through her amber eyes.

Sitting forward again, resting his hands folded at his knees, Xellos spoke again "I'm sorry to have brought you any distress Kasim-san, it's just that I had hoped to speak with Kagemori-san some more. You prevented that and at the very least I wanted to know a bit more about my quiet little obstacle. I must admit, though, even if you are less fun to play with, you are interesting in your own way. So tell me, how old are you really?"

At this point, Emeralda could clearly see that Xellos' eyes were fully open and what she saw terrified her. Instead of the barely perceivable eyes of obnoxious buffoon, Emeralda saw the cold calculating stare of someone who didn't even see her as human. Xellos' eyes were just like Krelian's, the first person she had been met when she first truly awoke from her endless slumber. It was a gaze that she shrank from, so horrible were the memories that came rushing back upon meeting those cold eyes. Xellos continued to bare into Emeralda and she cracked, pressing her sketch pad to her chest as she brought her legs up to press against her and hide her face as she whispered "It…depends. You could say Emeralda is three thousand nine hundred and twenty…or you could say Emeralda is four."

"Ah, how fascinating, you're older than me! And yet, I can't help but feel like that second number is closer to the mark…" Xellos quickly replied, throwing his hands up and slapping his leg, as if this was the most entertaining thing in the world to him.

Emeralda looked up, unsure how to respond to that. For a brief moment, Xellos' jokester persona had reappeared and the distraught girl began hoping things would return to normal. Such hope was quickly dashed as Xellos settled back down as he stood up, looming over her as he spoke in a sickeningly sweet voice "Well that sounds like a story I'll have to come back to. Now I'd like to ask you something that was supposed to be answered earlier today, if you don't mind. What are you?"

With that, Emeralda sucked in a breath as her eyes widened and she dug her face into her knees again. She had indeed been dreading this question earlier. After all, she would have been next to answer that question at the interviews before the whole scuffle with Zelgadis saved her. Now, she had been struck with it again, seemingly out of the blue. For the first time, Emeralda began thinking seriously about bolting out the door. Glancing in that direction, then at the opposite wall, Emeralda wondered just how many walls she'd have to blow threw to get outside. However, the tan girl thought better of it, sure that wasn't what Fei or Elly would do. They would face their problems, not run away.

With some resolve found, Emeralda moved her legs back down to a normal sitting position but kept her arms crossed and her head down as she asked "What do you mean? Isn't…Emeralda as she seems?"

Xellos was not impressed as he turned and walked over to the door's window and answered "I mean, Kasim-san, you don't feel human. You don't have the same…let's call it the same taste as everyone else. On top of that, I can sense a hint of magic coming off you, almost like you were wearing unwashed clothes. There is just a hint of it wafting off you, and yet you don't seem to actually have any magic to speak of. I am left to conclude that you are something other than human and are trying to hide that fact. Please, tell me, am I wrong?" The mazuku turned his head back to look at the tan girl as he asked that last question, his cold eyes still wide open.

There it was, this…monster had some kind of extra sensory perception that was helping him to zero in on the fact that she was different, that she was, in fact, a thing. He wasn't there yet though, so hopefully his attention could be deflected. That line about her smelling of magic, hopefully that would work. Turning her head to meet that horrid gaze, Emeralda spoke "You are right. For a time, I could use what you would call magic. Where I am from, it was called ether and it varied from person to person because it was as much a reflection of their own will as anything. I, like my mother, used mostly elemental spells."

This definitely caught Xellos' attention, his eyes returning to normal as he spun around, replying eagerly "Oh? Do go on! What happened that you couldn't use it anymore?"

Calm began to settle back on Emeralda's face as she began to think her plan had worked "Citan explained it to me afterwards. He told me that all the ether in the world came solely from a connection to a special being that had been trapped on our planet for thousands of years. When we freed it, it left back home, and we lost those powers. At the same time, I lost my oldest friend too."

"Fascinating! Where I'm from, it's usually when someone dies that magic is lost! Truly, our worlds are quite different, you and I, Kasim-san! This has been a truly enlightening talk!" Xellos exclaimed, clasping his hands together in front of him as he bent down and smiled at the tan girl, inches from her face.

Her calm façade restored; Emeralda met the mazuku's gaze. After a moment that seemed as much a battle of wills as anything, the greenette said "If that is all, I'd like to return to my work."

Straightening up, Xellos beamed "Of course! I thought I'd go talk to the guard anyway, so it works out."

Emeralda was extremely relieved to hear it. She had thought she had a good read on the situation going into this evening but had been horribly mistaken. Escaping without revealing any more was as much as she could ask for, but it had been…less than pleasant. Before starting again at her drawing, Emeralda said "Have a good chat."

As she began working again however, the young artist heard Xellos' voice in her ear when he bent down again and whispered "I haven't forgotten, Kasim-san. You can't hide forever. Oh, and please don't discuss our little conversation with the others. I wouldn't want to have to act any more than I have to."

When Emeralda shot her head up again, eyes wide, Xellos was gone. What did he mean? Was he threatening her? Sitting in silence, feeling more alone than she had in a very long time, the ancient and yet young woman resolved that this was something she would solve herself and that if it came to it, she would not hesitate to kill Xellos.

(X)

I do apologize that this one is a bit shorter than normal. As with last month, I again got sick. It really is true what they say about daycares. This was definitely more of a challenge for me to write after so much more action in the previous chapters. However, with everything calmed down, it was time for our heroes to really get to know each other and introduce themselves to us. I hope this wasn't too boring and know next time we'll see more action. Take care and thank you for reading!