Chapter 16

They buried him today.

Diana stood in the crowd, all of them dressed in blacks. She clenched her hands nervously as women in big, veiled hats and men with slicked back hairs and fitted tuxedos exchanging soft, sad words about what a shame it was. How Frank had been so brilliant, how he could have had such a full life ahead of him.

There was a coffin in the middle, and the mortician did a great job in making Frank look peaceful even if he had a violent end.

Frank's grieving parents had heavy ringed eyes, their faces lined in stress. It was cold, not only because of the weather but being in a burial where the guilt was strong proved to be suffocating.

"This is aggravating," Andrew confessed to her.

"Yes, this is one of those times where I wish I was everywhere but here."

Diana and Andrew stood far out from the crowd where they watch Hannah and Barbara console Frank's dear parents at the front. Frank's mom was red and swollen like a pregnant woman and his dad brooding like a lost soldier in the midst of war.

They both couldn't find it in their hearts to face them once more today when they both share the immense guilt of his demise.

Frank's coffin had been lowered down to the earth. Yet, as the hours went by and the hollowed earth was full again, there are people who loved him who refused to move on and lingered. Except for the Minister of Defense and his son, Louis Blackwell, Diana was certain they stayed for a hidden agenda; probably to spread false information to strike fear and submission to their cause in their particular beliefs in the name of politics.

Andrew's father, however, the Minister of State Paul Hanbridge was eager to leave. "It does not puzzle me that you would want to stay behind. He's your best mate after all, but I have to go."

"Worry not, father. I have my own car."

"See you, son."

They watched him walk away and when Andrew was sure of his distance, he asked her while fixing his cufflinks. A habit he frequently does when he was about to put up with a facade. "So, what time will you meet with Miss Kagari today?"

Diana doubted what sort of act of brash decision Andrew had in mind for him to be nervous about and refuse to tell her. "In about an hour, I will meet her and Carter will drive us to a café shop she requested."

"What café shop is it?"

Diana raised her neatly arched eyebrow at the possibility that Andrew might trail after them. "Something called Last Wednesday Society, I am certain my chauffeur knows the place."

Andrew's eyebrows knitted together in a frown.

"What? What's with that look?"

"I know the place. That was where Frank had a blind date weeks ago."

"Frank had a blind date?"

"Yeah, I set him up to help him get over you but during that date, something happened—he won't tell me—but I guess that saddened him so he took your aunt's advice to pursue you instead."

"Do you know the girl he had a date with?"

"Truthfully, I forgot her name. All I know is that she's the kind of girl that you wouldn't notice until you really look at her."

Nodding, Diana mumbled. "I have an idea of her."

Andrew's brows knitted together. "Diana, are you stereotyping?"

"I'm not. I said I have an idea. I did not utter a single disrespectful description."

"What about her then? Why the sudden interest with Frank's blind date?" his expression changed from puzzlement to apprehension. "You don't suppose—"

"And you call me delusional," Diana glared with a sneer evident on her lips. "My curiosity does not always correlate with the case."

Andrew rolled his eyes and stared far into the distance. "Oh, your manic pixie dream girl is here."

Diana made an exasperated sigh. "Please tell me you are bluffing."

"Whatever do you mean?" Andrew fluttered his lashes at her, imitating the irritable way a certain French girl when she tried to be innocently sweet despite the jaded personality within.

Akko was clad in an orange jacket, blue turtleneck sweater, and some shorts despite the cold December air. She spotted them and started her way, shuffling towards Diana when she tripped over a conveniently placed rock and fell down on her face flat on the ground.

Andrew sighed. "She's a lost cause."

Before anyone else could notice her epic fail, she sprung up fast like crocuses on spring.

"Good morning," she said, double checking the time on her phone. She moved fluidly to Diana's side, keeping a certain distance between them. Her red eyes flicked against the sun. The electric current that was radiating from somewhere in her body never slackened.

"Morning, Akko," Diana sucked in the morning air.

"Shall we go?" she asked and Diana nodded.

Diana noticed Andrew flick something towards Akko's direction. It was such a tiny object that the Japanese girl couldn't feel. Diana rolled her eyes, yet spoke nothing of it. Andrew has his own decisions and if he wanted to spy on them, Diana has nothing to hide.

Outside, they strolled along a pathway in the park leading towards the road. A sleek black open-top Ferrari rolled in. The cushion was covered with glossy red leather, and it smelled brand new.

"Heading towards your next destination, Miss Cavendish?" the Chauffeur got down and opened the car door for them.

"Indeed, thank you. Please put the hood down this time, Carter." Diana said, motioning for Akko to get inside first and then climbed in beside her.

The chauffeur got the black roof back on and shifted the gear before driving out of the cemetery.

"Are you okay?" Akko asked.

"Grieving is hard work, harder than studying for exams," Diana said in a dull droning voice.

"I'm glad I'm bringing you away from there then."

There was something about Akko's optimism that drew Diana in. Perhaps it was the desire to bring back the childlike innocence she lost and hanging around the girl, she could do well with a few stolen personality traits.

Diana removed her long coat, revealing a black skirt and a white top underneath. She placed her coat behind the seat. All the while, she noticed Akko eyeing the garment with keen interest. Diana grabbed a denim jacket to put on. Her attention was at the rear-view mirror and spotted that indeed Andrew's car was tailing after them before heading towards a different direction.

She crossed her arms. Pondering whether she should reprimand a man older than her for a few months for doing something so rash and irresponsible.

Diana could feel the cushion seat shifting; Akko was reaching for something behind them. "Do you want to borrow my coat, Akko?"

Akko froze, like a mouse caught by a cat. "Ah! Not really, it's just so expensive looking! By the way," she fidgeted, eyes taking in Diana's overall appearance. "You said you would be doing charms to fend off the bad luck?"

"My apologies, Akko, but I honestly do not believe in old wives' tales."

"Eh!"

Diana placed a hand on her shoulder, and told her with the most assured voice she can manage. "We will be fine. It's just lunch."

They hadn't spoken to each other again after that. Diana had grown especially quiet throughout the ride, and Akko was too shy to speak. She can feel Akko's attention boring into her head. It was a bit unsettling, to see someone who's willing to jump at her given the presented opportunity.

After they arrived at their lunch place, Diana glanced up apprehensively from her window side and saw the Last Wednesday Society. Reflected in the black glass, Akko's jaw was set tight. Her red eyes stared straight not through the windshield but to the back of her head.

"Is something the matter, Akko?"

"Eh? Oh! Uh... no," she said. "Let's head inside!"

Diana followed Akko inside and looked over at the desserts and cakes behind the glass counter. Akko was the type of girl who eats sweets for lunch. After ordering their meal and drinks, they settled on a table near the window.

"You come here often?" Diana asked her just to break the heavy silence, though she didn't seem to be bothered by it.

"Sometimes," she said.

"It's an unusual place." Diana got herself some crepes and tea for she wasn't one for sweets, but clearly, her companion has a sweet tooth.

She watched Akko slowly sipped her strawberry milkshake. "Will you have some cake?"

"Cake?"

Akko smiled widely as she offered her a taste of her chocolate cake. Diana's senses were overloaded with how sweet it was, so she just kind of stared at it. Akko laughed a little, flicked her finger over the cake and ate it, grinning.

"Give it a try! It's a Belgian chocolate cake! Everyone loves chocolate."

Diana blinked. Here she was being treated to a simple dessert where Diana was used to eating gourmet food whenever she would dine at her estate. As Akko patiently waited, Diana, sliced herself some. She was not at all supposed to find the surface of it soft, but when she ate it, she found herself a religious woman because this is the most miraculous thing she had ever tasted. Her toes curled with its cocoa aftertaste, and then Akko laughed a lot.

"W-what's with this ordinary chocolate?" Diana flushed.

"I know right! It's just so addictive!"

"Despite its low-priced run of the mill chocolate, its enkephalin, which is responsible for tuning chocolate into a legitimately impossible to resist indulgence, has surmounted than what is supposed to be in an average chocolate," Diana explained, all the while sensing that the shop's proprietor was observing them strangely. "I'm now starting to think you have magnesium deficiency for you to be a chocoholic."

Akko's smile turned upside down, her teeth gritting. "Aww, there you go again! Stop deducing about my actions like the little slut you are!"

Diana's jaw dropped, lost at words for a few seconds. "I think you meant sleuth."

"Oh? What does slut mean?"

Diana chuckled. "Nevermind about it; nonetheless, forgive me. But as Andrew would say, 'you could sooner divert a river from its course than deny my nature'."

"Hey!" Her eyes shone. "I didn't know you love memes."

"Oh please," Diana said, holding her teacup. "It's a bane of my existence. Andrew used that line so many times but I have to admit it is a raw dialogue."

"About a cat, yes!" Akko gushed. "You actually remind me of my old cat back at home."

"Is it because of my catlike behavior or the lion mane of a hair?"

"I meant huggable!" Akko said, and then she took up the fork because she's trying to have manners now—or at least have manners around Diana—but it didn't stop her from carving out great big chunks of the cake with the fork.

Diana ate along with her. She was glad that the bitterness of her tea and the sweetness of her crepe nullified and balanced each other out. And soon, before they know it, Akko's cake was gone. She leaned back in the chair, contented and happier, so much happier, than Diana had ever seen her.

"Akko, you are an angel incarnate." Diana watched her from beneath her long lashes with a little smile on her face, and suddenly Akko cannot look at her, all bashful.

"Oh really, could someone be an angel of I am a troublemaker?"

"Not all is perfect."

"Did I eat too fast? Do you think I'm greedy?"

With a sigh, Diana decided to confront about the issue bothering her since the car ride. "Tell me honestly, Akko. I won't get mad. Why do I find you so often staring and reaching for my hair?"

Akko gulped, slowly inching away as if the little distance mattered. "You know why."

"Because my hair is cotton and you want to touch it?" Diana asked, but somehow not convinced it was the real cause of her desperation. But then again, Atsuko Kagari was not English. Perhaps it is a cultural discrepancy between them.

"Yeah, can I?"

"It is a bit weird to ask someone of that."

"Aren't we friends, Diana?"

"Why, of course, we are. Do you doubt us, Akko?"

Akko pouted, a crease on her forehead indicated she was contemplating. "Then, can I ask a piece of your hair? I swear I won't mess with your hair anymore if you would."

"I am not your average girl, so I possess no basis. Albeit I know your request is not normal."

Sucy tapped her fingers on the counter, humming to some song that had been stuck in her head since few days. It was an annoyingly cold Saturday noon and she was all alone again to tend the shop. Her co-workers were all college students and since Sucy was in her senior year of high school, the manager assigned her to work on Saturdays.

She was so bored out of her mind; she preferred stalking Cavendish and Akko to make sure the Brit won't get her dirty hands all over her beloved. She had half a mind to just close the shop and go home or do the stalking now.

Her mind drifted back to last night. Professor Ursula acted ordinary, like she didn't confront her hours ago and all that. She even perfected her adobo recipe. It tasted exactly like the ones being served at the orphanage. One of the few beloved memories Sucy had of the awful place. She wasn't sure how to feel of it honestly. First, she wanted to relish the flavor exploding inside her mouth on the first bite. The second bite made her want to stab Professor Ursula for making her recall all the awful memories that came with it, and lastly, she wanted to cry upon the third.

She comprehended she had to be used to eating meals surrounded by people who wanted nothing but to put her behind bars. After a delicious Filipino dinner prepared by Chariot herself, Sucy went back to her flat room prepared for the ritual. She went over their conversation last night.

"How do you plan on dealing with your beloved and killing the spy?"

"I read this one spell from the tome called empathic mind link and as for Cavendish's spy, I have a better idea. Can you make her walk?"

"Of course, so you want me to make her walk to her death?"

"No, I want you to make her meet me somewhere solitary. I have a proposition for her."

"Your wish is my command."

Now she would have to wait for tonight.

Sucy's head began to be filled with abducting Cavendish and torturing her again. She was startled back to reality when the front door opened. The first thing that caught her attention was his dark hair.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Loa stole the words right from her mouth.

Cavendish' lapdog walked up to the counter looking down at his phone. Once he reached the counter, he locked the phone screen and looked up. Green eyes met hers and he blinked rapidly a few times.

"Miss Manbavaran?" he said when she made no attempt at saying anything.

"As if it's surprising to see me considering you and Cavendish went snooping about me here," Sucy said crossly.

"True, but catching you work on your shift took me off guard."

He looked around at the flowers and bouquets arranged neatly on the racks behind her and she took the time to study his features. The only thing that didn't go along with his attire was the mischievous glint in his eyes and the nervous cold sweat trailing from her forehead.

"How may I help you?"

"I need a bouquet." he said, "For a girl."

"Thanks, you confirmed my suspicions that you're heterosexual. The occasion?" she asked.

He blinked, unguarded with the sassy line. "It's for an apology."

Sucy looked at the bouquets ready to be sold. "Does she have any favorites?"

He frowned. "Nothing particular, she just generally likes all kinds of flowers."

"Any suggestions?" she asked, "Or do you just want to randomly pick a bouquet from our shelf?"

"No.," he said immediately, "I want it special. It's just I don't know much about flowers and all. So..." He stood silently for some time, looking thoughtful. "You would know what kind of flowers women like right?"

"I don't speak for the majority of my kind," Sucy said.

"Okay how about this. Just make it the way Miss Kagari likes it."

Sucy's nostrils flared. "Is it for Akko?"

"No?"

Sucy regarded him for a minute. Hanbridge looked helpless and naked without a blonde person standing next to him. She nodded, moving around the shop, collecting Akko's personal favourites—all red flowers—and arranging them in a radial pattern.

He stood patiently by the counter as Sucy began her tedious work of flower arrangement. She worked for around twenty minutes, fixing the flowers and adding some finishing touches with a golden ribbon and presented the bouquet to him.

"It's good. And could you do me a favor? My handwriting isn't really good, so can you write a note along with it?"

She nodded and pulled out a small slip of her signature paper form the drawer. "What should I write?"

"I'm sorry Diana, love Andrew," he said.

Sucy raised her visible brow at him, attempting to figure why on earth he would buy a bouquet for Cavendish as an apology.

"I messed up, okay? It would be nice if you wouldn't tell everyone at school about the flowers."

Sucy hummed in response, shrugging. As much as she was tempted to put some poison in the flower so Cavendish would die upon inhaling it, she stopped herself from being unwise. She wrote the words down in neat cursive letters with the name at the bottom end of the note and tied it to the ribbon. She handed the bouquet to him.

"Perfect," he said, smiling. And she noticed that he had a lopsided smile, the left corner of his lips pulled up higher than the right.

He paid and left with a final thanks and she went back to her boring life.

"What was that about?" Sucy asked out loud. No one could hear her except for Loa.

Andrew went back to where he parked his car far away from the flower shop but enough where he can watch if anyone gets in. He can't help his uneasiness as he went in to buy a bouquet with a dual purpose. He knew once Diana would learn about his solo mission, she would slap him for being too reckless, but he can't just stand by and wait.

He found himself unable to idle by as Diana extract information from Miss Kagari while he could do much more to help her. So as he distracted Miss Manbavaran with making that bouquet, left a miniature camera with a microphone on one of the premade bouquets on the shelf and he flicked a button-sized transmitter on Miss Kagari's hood and so he can easily spy on both. Andrew could just imagine all the laws he broke by doing so, and if evidence were presented, would be inadmissible to the court. At least, Diana's speculations would have hold ground.

Andrew turned on the GPS, helping him track where Miss Kagari was. The Japanese girl was at the shop where Diana mentioned they would be. After a few hours, Miss Kagari would separate ways with Diana and head towards Miss Manbavaran.

There, Andrew would be able to hear their conversation about Diana.