Update April 17-23 2024: Hello everyone, what a long two years it has been! So much has happened to me, you have no idea. I've ended a eternity-long (two year) relationship I was in, dropped friends, gained few new acquaintances, had low and high points, quit some habits, new job, new city, new car, new boyfriend, and so much more! Unfortunately, all of my old documents disappeared as I thought I'd never come back here. But her I am, still dreaming of the same characters and strange worlds...

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Love Stage!! or Fairy Tail.

Chapter 3: Taste of Clarity

Reiji kept her gaze fixed on her surrounding, her heart threatening to pound through her chest. The Demon had agreed to a dinner date—although tone could hardly call it as such—with none other than Otto, an old prison mate from long ago. Reiji felt awful backing out after agreeing to meet with him in peace; she felt obligated to follow through in fear of disappointing someone. She frequently asked passerbys for the time. 07:45… 07:53… 08:09… 08:18…

Time couldn't move any slower for the green haired Demon. She wore one of her many evening gowns: a long black dress with a dark red cardigan sweater over, keeping it wrapped around her chest purely out of habit. She even wore matching black shoes with little straps to secure them onto her sizable feet, one of her many body insecurities. He felt the demon eye rosary around her neck. It no longer spoke to her, oddly enough.

Earlier that day, it called to her, a passing thought in the background of her mind. Michele insisted upon selling it at once. She couldn't possibly be afraid of its power, to risk her own friend's life like this. But it could've been anything that claimed the blacksmith's mother's life!

But speaking of blacksmith again, her thoughts returned to the focus of Michele, daydreaming of the western Demonic accent of that blacksmith female; the way her thick locks draped down her shoulders, the red shape of her pants held by a black belt around her waist, the beads of sweat that sometimes dripped down her—

"Hey, I'm glad you came, Reiji."

She was jolted from her momentary fantasy, fixing her glasses towards the man before him. She took deep breaths, genuinely frightened by Otto's sudden appearance. His orange eyes gleamed in the gentle light shown through the Black Alley windows. He work the same pants from earlier, but changed his shirt to a short sleeve button down, showing off the many tattoos that covered his arms. I hadn't noticed that before, she silently observed, eying an ink dragon hissing. Brady red eyes bore into hers. She forced a smile, returning her golden gaze to her shoes, as she sometimes did.

"Oh, hello, Otto. I did not see you there," she said, bowing hesitantly. Otto returned the gesture, smiling. "That's a neat shade of red, it looks nice with your shoes."

"Oh, thank you," Reiji replied, keeping her eyes on her moist palms. Her vision seemed distant as the horrible butterflies in her stomach began to spin out of control. As much as she wanted to run back home and puke up her lunch, she put on a brave front anyway. Sooner or later, I have to do this. I have to… move on. She thought to herself as she entered the Black Alley Diner with Otto.

They sat themselves at a table by the window. Otto pulled a chair out first. She watched, expecting him to sit. But he gestured toward her. Understanding, she sat, realizing the seat was for her. The built male sat across from her, pulling a menu from the napkin holder at the window end of the table. Reiji took one as well, taking note of the English to Demonic script translation. Her Demonic wasn't great, but it was good enough to make sense of the translations, at least.

The Black Alley diner was known as a place for quiet patrons and minimal interaction required of the servers. Reiji hardly ate out despite the quaint atmosphere, as it bothered her to be too close to large groups as it was.

"Have you, uh, ever been here before?" Reiji asked quietly, trying to adapt her volume to the energy.

"I come here on special occasions," Otto began. "Birthdays, anniversaries, a treat to myself. Well, I'm always by myself," he confessed with a shrug. Reiji nodded.

"I don't really eat out, it's too many people," she murmured, holding the menu up to cover her face. She felt so small under his gaze, it freaked her out just glancing at it. Otto's eyes softened at her mannerisms. He placed his menu down. Reiji looked up.

Oh no, oh dear, I upset him!

"You didn't have to come, you know. I would've understood if you bailed," he said. "I can tell you're still scared of me."

"Scared? Me?" The dark skinned demon laid her menu flat, shaken by his words. I, I am not scared! … I think.

"I, really I get it," he lowered his gaze, beginning to stand. "Wait, please sit," Reiji insisted, grabbing his hand. She quietly retracted it, surprised she dared to touch a virtual stranger. He sat back down, looking at her hopefully. For the first time since she saw him again, she maintained the locked stare, the hotness suddenly falling away from her body in waves. For a moment, Reiji thought clouds had lifted from her mind. She cracked a small smile, relishing in the miraculous boost of clarity. Unbeknownst to her, the demon eye of the rosary developed a faint, black line beside its thin iris, which was otherwise purely a blank red.

"I know you've changed, Otto, despite our history. I would like you to stay," she assured his, then tapped his menu. "Let's eat, it's been a long day for both of us."

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The rest of the evening seemed to flow naturally. Reiji and Otto enjoyed a quiet dinner: fried koi seal and sautéed vegetables on Reiji's plate and a horse beef ramen for Otto. They soon paid separately and left with two complementary drinks on Otto's personal tab. Now they walked along the river. It was well past the eleventh hour, but Reiji couldn't care less. Her mind was so abnormally relaxed, she had no interest in ending the night just yet.

"They allow me to pay when I can, since I go there so often. Can you believe that?" Otto grinned, recounting his pleasant experience at the Black Alley. "Oh, yes. My friends all try to open a tab or beg free food at Mina's all the time!" Reiji chuckled softly. Otto laughed as well. Then he exhaled, placing his thumbs in his pockets.

"You're still with Shugo and the others, right?"

"Correct," the green haired demon affirmed. "Although, I wouldn't recommend approaching them…"

"I know, trust me," Otto said, frowning. "Shugo came to my stand after you left earlier. He looked like he wanted to set everything on fire…

"Hey, remember that night in the, um, prison camp. When Shugo burned everything?"

The hair magic user froze on her tracks, suddenly recalling the sight of that angry ginger boy all those years ago, controlling an inferno of emerald green all by himself. "Yeah. Why?" Reiji asked blankly as took her glasses off to wipe them. On her skirt. She put them back on, turning to Otto. He was looking at her.

"That wasn't the only thing I saw there, in that chamber they put you all in," he answered at last. "I don't think anyone noticed a pair of red eyes in the darkness. It felt feral, not quite evil, but full of anger. It looked right through me," he recounted, a hint of fear in his tone. "I had nightmares for years about that, that thing I saw. It was far more terrifying than being beaten with a baton," he mumbled, shaking his head. The green haired demon stared at him with alarm, having never seen fear in such a tough skinned male. He raised his right arm to Reiji, showing her that same dragon tattoo.

"To conquer that fear, I brought to life, sort of. I figured such wild eyes best suited the striped Tiger Dragon, don't you think?"

"I had not noticed your tattoos earlier, they look really cool," Reiji smiled. Otto smiled back, fixing his sleeve. They continued on their walk after that, letting go of topics about their scarring past. Although they bore physical scars for life, some were best left unsaid. And Reiji couldn't be more relieved. She wrapped her cardigan around herself once more, feeling self conscious next to the male who once bullied her for her body. Her heart rate began to rise again, feeling invisible eyes burning under her skin. She hugged herself, taking deep breaths. No, no, no! I was just beginning to enjoy this! Stupid brain, let me be normal.

Reiji had begun to quicken her pace, passing Sunset Valley Avenue altogether. Otto got in front of her quickly. She tumbled into the male. He balanced her with ease, ensuring his face avoided her bosom. Reiji yelped in surprise, jumping away.

"F-forgive me, I didn't mean to—"

"No, no, it's okay!" Otto put his hands up as he stepped back from the red faced Reiji. She turned away, keeping her cardigan closed. "I'm really sorry, Otto. I've been such a mess today," she mumbled dejectedly, hot with embarrassment once more.

"I promise I don't mind, Rei," he replied softly. Reiji turned to him, a stern look on her face. She was tempted to correct him from saying that name again, but paused. A warm breeze swept across the river, flowing through her living hair before relaxing once more. Otto seemed so… gentle, more than she'd ever known him to be. His eyes were marmalade pools of unreadable emotion. His once sliced back, brown hair spiked up in the humidity, complimenting his naturally rugged look. He stepped forward, extending his hand.

"Come on, you have a mission tomorrow, right? I heard your name in the announcement this morning." She swallowed to clear her throat, nodding. Disregarding his hand, the darker Demon turned away once more to walk back to her apartment. Otto followed her out of courtesy towards the young female. She glanced at him, raising a brow.

"You're walking me home?" she questioned.

"I've learned it's polite to walk a date home to ensure their safe travel. My mentor taught me that," Otto explained. "If you mind, I'll let you go home alone," he added quietly. Reiji looked up in thought, noting he had actually called this a "date." Dinner with an old face, she corrected him to herself. She wouldn't mind being cordial with him, but she could not become too close with him. What would the others think?

Her mind returned to the tattooed demon, smiling softly him. "You had a wonderful mentor," she complimented him, attempting to wipe away the look of imaginary judgement from her friends' faces. Otto's eyes lit up at her response as they walked down Sunset Valley. She suppressed a humored chuckle at his little spark of joy.

As Reiji ascended the stairs to her apartment, she noticed Otto had stopped. She turned back. He gave a slight wave with his left hand, indicating this was the end of their "date."

"I'll let you go now. I enjoyed the evening," he said. Reiji nodded in agreement.

"Yes, as did I," she replied. "Get home safe."

It felt nice to write a peaceful interaction between a once mean, angry brat and a scared, defenseless girl. Age is nothing if we're not evolved, right? I don't know what the other two are up to now, but it seems like Otto has been making an effort to heal from his past. Reiji won't forget what that troublesome trio did to her, but maybe she could forgive at least one of them, since he was truly sincere in his change. I don't know, I'm only the writer. Fair warning, the next chapter is a little off script and a tad spicy. Bye-bye!