"Eve, thank you!"
Rena was lying down next to Eve, telling about her day with Elsword in the cinema. Eve was giggling, feeling glad that both of them had settled their worries.
"That's nice, Rena! I want to fall in love again, though," Ara smiled at Rena. She confessed to Raven before, so she definitely knew how Rena felt. Both of them were rejected, but the burden in their hearts faded away. There was still an awkward feeling when they talked to the one that rejected them, though.
Rena laughed and nodded her head at Ara. "Me too, Ara. I wonder if we are even able to get anyone. Why does this sound like a collection now…"
Lu chuckled and narrowed her eyes at Rena and Ara. All these love were definitely a toy for her, a former demon lord. She didn't intend to love anyone; she only needed Ciel in her life. "Raven, Chung, Ciel, Ain, and Noah are single," Lu paused to look at Nisha. The girl was already glaring at her the moment she mentioned Noah's name. "But don't even try to get Noah. I'll do that."
The girls gasped when Lu said it. Nisha stood up, grabbing her mirror and preparing herself for combat. "I don't approve of unfunny jokes."
Lu slammed her pillow and laughed loudly. "I thought you're upset over something else!" she shouted and wiped her tears from the laughter.
"I don't think Raven is interested in romance anymore. As I tried to get him, I learned about him a lot," Ara said and stared at Lu. She didn't even hope for a miracle anymore.
"Huh, is that so? What about Chung?" Lu asked and stared at Nisha, who was lying down again and hugging her pillow.
Nisha turned to silence, recalling the memories she peeked when she was in Chung's body. "I don't know if you guys noticed, but he's been reading a book about a mystery of a plagued village lately. It has around 17 volumes. If you can even distract him from that, then maybe you could get him. Good luck."
Lu blinked her eyes several times in confusion. Nisha sounded like she knew everything about Chung and it actually scared her a bit. "Anything? Does he even glance at someone else?"
"Well, Elsword? His best friend?" Nisha shrugged with a confused look. She looked away from them, staring at the wall. "Elsword is busy with Eve, so he's hiding his loneliness with books," she sighed and pouted. "Maybe if a certain someone didn't leave him for memes."
"You seem to dislike Aisha so much," Rose laughed nervously and patted Nisha's head. Nisha can be cold, but she was adorable, Rose can't resist to not pat her.
Nisha slapped Rose's hand. An expression of hatred was clearly visible on her face. "I understand how Chung feels. You guys are useless. If you guys can't do your lovey dovey job, I'll do it myself. Take Raven or something, I'm with Chung tomorrow."
"Damn, that's so bold. I like it," Lu's eyes sparkled in amazement. She took a peek after Aisha left; she knew Aisha stayed with Chung for tonight. Seeing Nisha taking Chung away would be her best entertainment to start the day tomorrow. "How about Ain? Anyone know?"
"He seems to like Eun."
"Huh?!"
Everyone stared at Ara immediately, but she just smiled. Ain might not even remember, but Ara knew he's way more talkative when Eun was around. Even Ishmael would stay silent just so he could talk with Eun.
"You just need a cute small body like me to attract Ciel. I doubt you people can get him with your big chest," Lu smiled proudly of her small body.
Eve giggled and picked up a light blue potion. "We'll see how it goes," she smirked, opening the potion without everyone's consent.
Emotional Potion: Everyone's emotion will be amplified for the day. Get ready for a sudden expression!
Noah woke up with an expression of terror. His heart beat so fast and loud, his breath was uncontrolled, and sweats ran down all over his body.
Ain, as an angel, was actually able to stay awake the whole time. He quickly opened his eyes when Ishmael told him to. He faced Noah, approaching him slowly and grabbing his shoulder. "What's wrong? A nightmare?"
"Big bro… Clamor…" Noah sobbed, tears rolling down to his cheeks as his body started shivering.
Ain didn't know what Noah was talking about. He pulled the kid into his arms, hugging him tightly and patting his back. He actually felt bad for the human, but he didn't know why. Luckily, in a short time, Noah was able to go back to sleep. Ain would go back to rest too, but he kept hugging Noah. He didn't want another nightmare to haunt Noah again.
The next morning, Nisha woke up early. She had a serious face, which was unusual. Even Laby got really worried and attached herself to Nisha the whole time. She climbed down the stairs with her melodica, greeting Ciel in the kitchen before going to the living room.
But Ciel stopped her, noticing the unusual serious expression on Nisha's face. "I'm going to do the only thing I can do. I'm the only one who understands him," Nisha said before she turned around and left. Ciel was curious about the "him" that she mentioned, but he didn't ask.
In the living room, Chung was already awake, but it seemed that he didn't get a good sleep. His eye bags were visible, but he decided to read a book instead. Aisha was sleeping peacefully next to Chung in a sitting position, covered in a blanket.
"Hey Chung, I've been practicing," Nisha said without bothering with the greetings. She didn't practice to play melodica all day, but she was proud of her progress. She still didn't know much about music, but she thought she was doing well for a beginner.
"Really? Are you going to play Canon in D now?" Chung asked without looking away from his book. The story was getting interesting, but he didn't read anything yesterday. He wanted to spend this day just reading.
A classic Minuet melody was played by Nisha, accidentally waking up Aisha in the process. But the first few notes caught Chung's interest. He even looked away from his book and stared at Nisha.
Nisha stopped playing and looked at Chung. "It's the first piece you learned! I'm practicing it," she smiled and grabbed Chung's hand. "Let's go to the backyard. I'll play more for you."
Chung chuckled and put his book on the table. "You skipped a few notes, though."
Nisha giggled, pulled Chung's hand and walked to the backyard. "I know. Do you think I should write the notes first? I just played by your memory."
Aisha was still trying to keep her eyes open. She was still half awake, processing what she just saw and heard. She was covered in a blanket, she felt warm by herself. Chung left his book and went with Nisha to the backyard.
Wait, Chung left his book for Nisha?
Aisha was completely awake this time. The bookmark was a bit out of the book, which was something that Chung never did. He always kept his bookmark inside the book before leaving it. Was he that interested in what Nisha was doing?
It felt like a sharp knife stabbed her heart. She felt so hurt by that fact. She was letting Chung sleep on her lap, only for him to cover her in her blanket and leave her for Nisha. Something watery fell down from her eyes to her cheeks. She expected this, but for some reason, she felt really hurt today.
"Aisha, what's wrong?"
Raven walked to the living room because he heard someone crying. Aisha looked at him, more tears coming out as she covered herself in her blanket. Raven, still confused, sat next to Aisha and asked her the same question. "What's wrong? You can tell me."
"I-I… Waaaaah!" Aisha didn't manage to finish her sentence and cried loudly. Raven hugged her and patted her back, letting her cry as long as she wanted. She was always smiling in any condition, Raven couldn't bear to see her cry so suddenly.
After a while, Aisha broke the hug and wiped her tears. She felt so embarrassed to cry in front of someone, her face turned red from it. It would be better if the "someone" was a girl, but it was Raven—and he knew very well that she was trying to seduce him for quite some time. "I… I actually love him…" she muttered.
Aisha told Raven everything. Starting from how both of them were dating for jokes, then she broke up with him to date the other guys in the gang for fun. Ever since Elesis got a gift from Chung, she started feeling jealous. She wasn't sure why until she realized she actually loved him. But her crush already moved on and she wasn't sure what to do to get him back. Even Nisha said it was impossible for them to go back like they used to.
"Hm… you guys have a complicated bond," Raven responded with a confused look. He never cared about romance ever since his fiancee died. But he experienced love before; his relationship with his fiancee was so smooth, so he wasn't sure if he could even give any advice to Aisha. The fact that Aisha and Chung were still friends was like a miracle for him.
"I… never apologized and neither did Chung. Should I do it first?" Aisha asked with a worried look. It was definitely too late for her to apologize, but she felt uneasy for not apologizing.
"Maybe not. I think it's better to not even mention it," Raven answered as he folded his arms. Nobody knew Chung that much except Elsword. He was hard to read and now he was just spending his time with his books. But maybe… there was another side of Chung that was shown to Aisha at least once. "Don't think about my answer too much. You know him more than me," Raven said with a smile.
"Does he like Elesis? He gave her that hairpin," Aisha pouted with jealousy. She wanted a gift from Chung too. It was unfair that she didn't even get anything.
"Ah, that day? He gave me a panda doll."
Aisha startled and glanced at Raven. It changed everything she thought so far if Raven got a gift too. "I was whining about it the whole day. I think he bought it so I could shut up," Raven explained with an awkward smile.
"But on that day, he was lying about his feelings and being rude instead. I thought he liked Elesis, but if this is the case… It's so random," Aisha said with a frustrated look. She DATED him, so why was she unable to understand him now? Did he actually change a lot? Maybe she had to ask Elsword about it.
Rose brought the breakfast to Add's lab. The breakfast was filled with sweets as a sign of Ciel's love for Lu, even though Lu yelled at him for not caring for the others. They didn't even bother to eat together with the gang, they just wanted to spend the rest of the day alone.
Add sighed and looked away from her. "You guys are annoying me. Will you guys ever stop using those potions?"
Rose laughed, sitting next to Add and pinching his right cheek for her own satisfaction. "Nope! Not until everyone is satisfied with their romance!"
Add pulled Rose's body closer, leaning in for a kiss. "There, it's as simple as that. Just kiss and be done with it already."
"Aaah, so brave!" Rose squealed and held her red cheeks, feeling the warmth of her face. "Maybe we should do what Lu and Ciel always do. Let's hook them up!"
"It's not my problem! I don't care," Add pouted and hugged Rose tightly. He usually didn't ask for this much attention, but now he wanted to be spoiled with love. Of course, Rose will take care of it and spoil him all day.
"Hm, what is it? Do you have any other research?" Rose asked and patted Add's head gently. She knew her boyfriend was oddly different from any other guys. While the others would love physical affection, Add would love to do research. His research can be random without context, but it usually involves Rose.
Add told her his idea. This time, it wouldn't be considered as research, but merely his curiosity. Rose sighed and hugged Add tightly. "I'm sure Noah is free! Let's go!"
After eating their breakfast, the couple approached Noah, who was still drinking chocolate milk. The others were already going out. Rose greeted him with a smile and waved her hand. "We wanted to know more about you! Do you want to come with us?"
"Of course! I need to buy more snacks!" Noah nodded and quickly followed the couple from the back. He hadn't talked with Add at all, he saw this as a good opportunity to get to know Nisha's friends.
As Rose expected, Noah bought food from a food stall they encountered first. She sighed, but she was very happy that Noah was able to enjoy himself. "Where did you get your money anyway?"
"Clinic! They always accept help and are willing to pay," Noah answered before he ate the meatballs he just bought.
Add was suddenly annoyed, glaring at Noah, but the new friend was still smiling. "Noah, how do you fight? Do you just heal?"
Noah swallowed his meatball and grinned. "Do you want to see?"
"So… why are you following me?"
Lu and Ciel were taking a walk to check on Elsword and Eve. Both of them were really attached to each other, but Elesis was trying to disturb them and Ain was extremely annoyed with her. This was like a daily routine for them now.
But Ciel noticed the person behind him, Ara, wasn't following Lu. She had been following him from the back without any words. This time, she finally started speaking. "I need to know you more so if THAT happened again, I can properly fight back!"
Lu laughed nervously when she heard Ara was more annoyed than usual. She wouldn't be annoyed unless someone triggered her hatred in the first place. Lu saw this as merely entertainment. "Geez, come on, Ara. You're still mad about that?"
"Include me too! I'm lonely!" Ara pouted, which was an unexpected response. Ciel was speechless with this; he didn't even feel like replying with a single "okay". But Ara looked really sad and tears started coming out from her eyes. "I… tried reading books, but I don't like them. I don't know what to do, but everyone is having fun…"
Lu sighed and scratched her head. She felt pity for Ara, simply because Ara reminded her of her past subordinates. They would blindly follow her with no interest or favorite stuff, and it was a sad sight. But this was too confusing for her. She didn't even expect to get a headache from her confusion. "Get a hobby or something. Did you spend your childhood training?" she asked with a sad smile. But then she laughed loudly, she felt really happy and her eyes sparkled brighter than usual. "Then you're included. Operation hooking everyone with their crush!"
"Yes! I shall let Eun get closer with Ain!" Ara shouted with a serious look. Eun actually possessed Ara's body, leaving the duo demons and approached Ain.
"I'm VERY confused," Lu commented and folded her arms. She noticed the effect of the potion today thanks to Ciel's overly fanboying behavior in the morning. But Ara's emotions were too random, she didn't get what Ara was feeling right now. "She's lonely, that's for sure. Do you think she's going crazy?" she asked and kept walking like nothing happened.
"Do you think I should buy a music book? I need to practice sight reading."
Nisha had been writing her notes on a music sheet that she made herself. Not only was she bad at making a simple bracelet, but she couldn't make a proper line either. She looked very proud of what she did, despite it being horribly bad.
"If you want to, you should. Get something that Laby likes too," Chung replied as he pointed his finger at Nisha's mirror. Nisha was planning to get a classical music book, but what if Laby actually enjoyed rock songs? Now that Chung pointed it out, Nisha started to wonder if her and Laby had the same music taste.
Nisha brought Chung along to the music store. She didn't care about disturbing people, she brought her melodica and played it on the way. Chung didn't mind either, although it would be better if he did.
"Chung?" Nisha faced Chung with a curious look. Ever since she peeked at Chung's memory, she wanted to ask him something. She thought it didn't matter, but it bothered her so much today. "If Aisha actually loves you, will you accept her again?"
"No."
The answer was short and straightforward. The mirror instantly attached itself to Chung's arm. Laby was trying to say something, but Chung patted the mirror because he couldn't hear her. On the other side, Nisha heard everything Laby said.
"But Aisha loves you now! Laby is sure Chung still has love for Aisha!"
"Give it up, Laby," Nisha grabbed the mirror and hugged it. Chung noticed a hatred in Nisha's face, possibly a jealousy that Laby attached herself to him. Nisha hid it pretty well, though.
"But I should apologize for toying with her back then," Chung continued. Even though it ended with a break up, it didn't feel like everything had finished.
Nisha giggled and smiled. "Laby wants the best for everyone. You guys are very complicated."
Chung glanced at an accessory shop. The place had pink lights, making everything in it bright pink. It was a bit crowded with young girls. "Nisha, can we go there for a bit?"
"Huh? You like girly accessories?"
Add was looking at his new collected data with a smile. Several screens appeared from his Dynamos, making the atmosphere a bit awkward for other people. He should be enjoying his food, especially when he's at a buffet. Rose already had enough and Noah was still eating. A lot of empty plates were stacked on the side of their table.
"You're, um… How should I say this… Very happy?" Rose stared at Noah, who was still eating his soup. There were more fishes in the hot pot that he's willing to eat.
Add finally looked away from his screens, making it disappear one by one. He grabbed his empty bowl and a ladle to get fish soup from the hot pot. He can't stop his curiosity any longer. "What are you, Noah?"
Noah narrowed his eyes at Add. He seemed very displeased with what he just heard, but his pout gave another impression. "I'm not answering that to a human-like being with a weird eye and shoulder!"
Add looked at his own left shoulder. Because of his failures from trying to go back to the past, he lost his human form and was currently stuck with his younger body. Some parts of his body turned white, it grew larger every time he spent too much time in the time and space. He sighed, he wasn't surprised that Noah refused to answer him. "You don't trust us, correct?"
"I don't trust you. I don't even trust Nisha and Laby," Noah answered bluntly with a serious look. "But we don't have to trust each other. I simply exist, you don't need me."
Add raised his one eyebrow in confusion. He had enough of a headache just by hearing idiocy from the gang, and now their new friend was currently on a different level that he wouldn't understand. "What if I said we need you to pay for our buffet?"
Noah's eyes sparkled in happiness. "That gives me joy! Thank you, I'll do more to help you in the future if I'm needed!"
"Sure, whatever. You'll be my permanent guinea pig until I'm satisfied."
Rose didn't manage to stop either Add or Noah. In fact, Noah was very glad that he could be a guinea pig for Add. She massaged her own forehead, trying to be more relaxed with all the confusions she got in one day.
Not everyone was home when midnight came. In the backyard, Nisha realized her cheeks were already hurting from playing melodica for a long time. She sighed and put her melodica in the case. "I was SO excited for this instrument today. Thank you for accompanying me and sorry for disturbing your book."
Chung chuckled and shook his head. "It's fine. Did you thank Laby all the time?"
"Of course not. She's always here for me and I'll do the same. We don't need a thank you if we're always together," Nisha hugged her mirror tightly.
Chung placed a navy flower crown that he bought from the accessory shop on top of Nisha's mirror. While Nisha stared at her own mirror, Chung put a pink bowknot hairpin for Nisha's bangs. "I think pink suits you. Laby seems cool with navy too," he said as he stared at Nisha and her mirror.
"You're very weird. Are you trying to hit on me or what?" Nisha teased, but her serious look didn't show a single sign of a joke. "So what's the rest of that accessory for?"
Nisha's eyes widened when she saw someone was peeking into the backyard. A feel of hatred came into her heart. Chung turned around to see the person, Aisha. "I need to talk to her. Thank you for today," he smiled at Nisha and approached Aisha to drag her somewhere else.
Raven came later with a confused look. "What are they doing?" he asked and looked at Nisha. Of course, he noticed the new accessory. "You look nice. Try wearing a pink dress for once."
"Huh, you think so?" Nisha touched the hairpin on her hair. She hadn't looked at herself, she wasn't sure if it's a pity compliment or not. But Laby had praised her for a while now. Maybe she actually needed to wear something new.
Aisha's face turned red just by Chung holding her hand. She tried to hide it, but she completely failed. How embarrassing it was to be fluttered just by a hand holding? And they were in the kitchen, which was not a good place to talk privately. But logically, the kitchen was the best place for it now.
"I'm sorry for what I did. I toyed with your feelings," Chung apologized and bowed down to Aisha.
"I-It's fair! I did that too, come on," Aisha replied as she held Chung's shoulder to stop him. She made plans for a whole day with Raven for this, but Chung apologizing first was not in her expectation. "Why are you always so awkward, Chung? Geez…"
"Sorry…"
Aisha smiled and held Chung's hands. Her heart was beating too fast, all her body felt warm from embarrassment and excitement at the same time. Chung felt the warmth in Aisha's hands, he looked Aisha in the eyes. "You should stop reading for a while and socialize! I'll take you somewhere tomorrow. Do you have plans?" Aisha asked, trying to look normal but she couldn't stop herself from smiling.
"I do. I haven't finished talking with Nisha," Chung answered as he tilted his head. Aisha was right; he was reading for too long, he didn't know how to socialize properly anymore.
Aisha was a bit disappointed when Nisha's name was mentioned. But even so, this was a new step for her. She held Chung's hands tighter and nodded. "Alright then. Maybe next time. Have a good night!" she waved her hands before she went to the girls room.
"Are you guys going back together?" Lu asked with a smug on her face while she walked to the kitchen. She would love to see the bookworms going back together.
"We're not," Chung answered easily and picked up a small box on the table. He already prepared it in the kitchen, since he was going to give it to Lu and Ciel. He opened the box, revealing a lot of hairpins. "You guys need a new one."
Lu wore hairpins on a daily basis, and so did CIel. They were simple hairpins, but Lu's eyes sparkled over the new colorful hairpins on the box. "We DO need a new one!" Lu shouted with a smile. She grabbed Chung by his waist and stood closely to him. "See, Ciel? It's not always sweets. Chung understands me."
"But, I… I've been searching for the best hairpins!" Ciel tried to make up an excuse.
Chung smiled and picked up a cat ears accessory that got buried by hairpins. "And a nekomimi for you, Ciel!"
"Gimme that!" Lu took it away from Chung's hand. She jumped to Ciel's shoulders and put the cat ears accessory for him. "I'm a cat servant! Nyanya!" she tried to imitate Ciel's tone.
Ciel got embarrassed just by hearing Lu. His face turned red instantly. It sounded ridiculous to imagine himself wearing cute stuff. "Stop it, Lu! I'm not wearing that!"
"Then I'll wear it with you! You have no choice meow," Chung showed an evil smile and put another cat ears accessory on his head. Lu squealed in excitement and kicked Ciel's chest in the process.
The others came home to see Lu and Chung having fun with cat ears while Ciel got humiliated by it in the kitchen. It was a weird sight. "What happened to them?" Elesis asked and pointed to the three people.
"I don't want to know," Add walked away and went to his lab. Apparently ignoring could be a good decision.
On the other hand, Elsword was very excited and approached them in the kitchen. "Do you have one for me too?!"
"Obviously, here you go."
Nisha giggled and swayed her hair, feeling proud of what she did. Even Nisha's mirror was floating up and down, showing as much excitement as Elsword felt. "Chung is always a troll. Thank me later I turned him back to that."
Everyone went back to their room after a while, but Ara was still looking out the window in the living room. She was feeling sleepy, but she refused to sleep. Ain approached her from the back and looked out the window as well. There was nothing special to see, so he asked a question. "What are you looking at?"
"Um… nothing," Ara answered with a worried look. "But Rena isn't home yet. Where is she?"
Special thanks to Strgazr and Nicole Tamashii!
Imagine any Minuet you want because there are different stuff
Thank you for reading!
Onishin Tsukitenshi
Lu: We don't talk about taste!
Ciel: It's just a day without sweets *pats Lu*
Lu: Bad! It was very bad!
Ain: Deal with it
Lu: Rrrrawr! No!