"So what exactly are we doing for this date?" Rosella asked as the Masked Man led her back to his quarters.
"I haven't decided yet," the Masked Man answered monotonously. "Do you have any preference for where I take you?"
Rosella thought about it for a bit.
"I might have a place in mind," she admitted.
The Masked Man raised a brow.
"Where exactly?" He asked.
"Well," she started, blushing. "There's this cute little hidden grotto on the outskirts of Tazmily Village. I used to sneak off there all the time. Whenever I felt sad or anxious, I always found comfort in that spot."
The Masked Man smirked a bit. He didn't take her for someone who'd sneak around. Even little goody-two-shoes has a bit of a rebellious streak in her, he thought.
Rosella noticed his expression and blushed redder.
"What are you looking at me like that for?" He asked, blushing as well.
"You seem more expressive lately," Rosella pointed out.
"What? Is that a bad thing?" He said, nudging her a bit.
"Of course not," Rosella answered, grabbing his hand and smiling. "I love it. You should express yourself more often."
The Masked Man gave her a genuine smile before clearing his throat.
"A-Anyways. What should I wear on this date?"
Rosella started going through his clothes until she found a pair of ripped blue jeans and a white tee shirt.
"How about this?"
The Masked Man looked at the outfit.
"That's fine, but the helmet and jacket are staying on."
"Aww really? The helmet too?" Rosella asked in slight disappointment.
"I'll take it off when we get there, I just don't want anyone getting any ideas," he told her.
"Very well," Rosella sighed.
Her attention then shifted out to the night sky. She frowned at the lack of stars. Light pollution's a bitch and it's all Porky's fault.
She turned away from the window and went into the Masked Man's bathroom to get ready for bed again.
The Masked Man felt a bit tired so he just went right to sleep.
When Rosella finished getting ready for bed, she saw the Masked Man sleeping peacefully and smiled to herself. She took off his helmet and kissed his forehead.
"Goodnight Claus..."
Little did she know, that kiss did something to him.
"What's wrong with a harmless prank?" Claus said as he, Lucas, and Rosella were hiding from some Pig Masks who had just shown up recently.
No one knows why they were in town at that moment in time, but Claus wanted to take it upon himself to mess with them a bit.
"They look like they mean business," Lucas pointed out.
"They do," Rosella told them. "Papa said they work for his new boss and that we shouldn't mess with them."
"Your dad's always such a big worrywart," Claus scoffed. "Watch this!"
He then took out a slingshot and attacked a Pigmask.
The Pig Mask took 5 damage.
"Why you little brat!" He said, getting ready to attack the three of them.
"Uh oh," Lucas said nervously.
The Pig Mask's cohort tried to attack Claus.
Claus dodged quickly.
"Lucas, go get our parents," Claus commanded. "I'll handle these two!"
Lucas nodded and rushed off to find the nearest parent.
The Pig Mask attacked Rosella this time.
Claus got in front of her to take the hit for her.
SMAAAAAAAAAAAASH! Claus took mortal damage.
"Claus," Rosella screamed.
She quickly cast PK Lifeup Alpha. But to her surprise, it worked more like a Beta.
Claus's HP was maxed out.
"What?!" The Pig Mask yelled in shock.
Pierre, who showed up with Lucas, witnessed her use her powers. His face turned pale.
"Rosella Mikayla Thornson, what do you think you're doing?!" He yelled.
The battle came to a complete halt.
The Pig Masks stood up straight when Pierre showed up.
"I'm so sorry for my daughter's actions," he pleaded with them.
The Pig Masks looked at each other and then back at Pierre.
"We should be apologizing sir," one said. "We didn't know this was your daughter."
"Her boyfriend here was the one who tried to mess with us," the other one piped up.
"She's not my girlfriend," Claus protested, blushing.
Pierre muttered some choice words in French about how he wouldn't let him date her after what happened today. Did he mean it? No. But he knew he and his family weren't safe here anymore. He said nothing and dragged the three of them home.
When they made it back to their houses, Pierre took Rosella inside and slammed the door.
Lucas and Claus stood there dumbfounded.
The Masked Man woke up in a cold sweat. He soon noticed a figure in the corner of the room.
The figure was Hinawa's ghost.
Hinawa saw Rosella next to him and smiled, disappearing.
The Masked Man wiped away some tears and looked down at Rosella.
He moved a strand of her hair behind her ear. He seemed to find a lot more comfort in her presence.
He soon went back to sleep.
The next day, Rosella was up early getting ready for her date with the Masked Man.
She took a shower and now she's wearing a pink midi sundress with a rose pattern on it. She let her hair down and curled it. She then conjured up a beige sun hat and matching sandals. She also conjured up a bag with a big blanket and an entire packed brunch for two in it.
The Masked Man woke up soon after. He looked at the outfit Rosella picked out for him and smiled a bit. He immediately put it on and went to knock on the bathroom door.
"Rose? You done in there?" He asked.
"Just about," Rosella answered, opening the bathroom door.
The moment he saw her in the sundress he put his hand to his heart.
"You look beautiful," he whispered.
"Aww, Claus—I mean, um—"
"It's fine," The Masked Man said. "I-If you want to call me that, you can. It's grown on me a bit..."
Rosella beamed at him, which only made him blush redder.
"But don't call me that in front of anyone else, got it?!" He commanded.
"Got it," Rosella said happily. "Shall we go?"
The Masked Man composed himself and nodded. He wrapped his gun arm around her waist and held onto her wrist with his other hand.
Rosella looked up to him as he took to the sky. Her face was flushed with amazement.
"So where is this place?" The Masked Man asked her as he got closer and closer to Tazmily.
"See that little forest over there?" Rosella said as she pointed to the forest by the Thornson Manor. "It's in there."
The Masked Man landed at the entrance of the forest and set her down. He blushed as Rosella took his hand and led her further into the forest. He kept getting flashes of her as a kid as the two of them walked. He stopped for a second as he felt himself glitch out.
"Claus, are you okay?!" Rosella said as she turned around to check on him. She gasped as she saw his systems overload.
"Oh no!"
Rosella immediately sprung into action, grabbing his shoulders and using PK Healing on him.
The Masked Man's systems became stable as she did this.
"R-Rose..."
Rosella smiled and put her hands on his cheeks, resting her forehead down on his helmet.
The Masked Man looked up at her, his face heating up.
Rosella let go of his cheeks and got out the blanket and brunch. She put the blanket down flat.
"Here. Let's eat to regain our strength," she told him.
The Masked Man nodded and sat down, grabbing an egg and cheese sandwich from the bag. He handed one to Rosella as she sat down next to him.
Bianca, who happened to be taking a stroll, saw them together and gasped, soon hiding behind a tree and watching them.
The Masked Man took off his helmet after finishing his sandwich.
Bianca smiled and got her camera ready.
Rosella, after finishing her sandwich, noticed some cheese on his face and wiped it off for him.
Click.
"Thanks," the Masked Man said, blushing a bit. He put a hand behind his neck.
Rosella looked over and smiled at him, blushing.
Click.
The Masked Man tried to reach out for her hand but wimped out at the last minute.
Rosella noticed this and took her hand in his.
The Masked Man blushed redder.
Click. Click. Click. Click.
Bianca immediately rushed home to show Pierre her shipping fuel.
Pierre was meanwhile mulling over some things, trying to muster the courage to quit his job and deciding whether or not he should keep himself and his family in Tazmily permanently.
"Pierre," Bianca said excitedly. "You'll never guess what I got!"
Pierre raised a brow at Bianca.
"Qois?"
Bianca immediately showed him the pictures she took of Rosella and The Masked Man—or, well, Claus.
Pierre's eyes widened when he saw the pictures.
"C'est Beaute," he said, getting teary-eyed. "Even while brainwashed, he still loves her..."
Bianca kissed him on the cheek and took the pictures into her study.
"These are definitely going into the Clausella Scrapbook," she said, giggling as she got a glue stick and scissors out.