To say that Opera's mood after Ichigo had left them, turned dark, would be an understatement. His mood was so dark that the only thing that Shichiro could even compare it to was the devil's very own soul.

Which was just part of the reason why Shichiro had had to offer up some of his stashed away hard liquor to appease the cat demon. If appeasing him was even possible at this point, that is.

"I don't understand how she could choose her education over pleasure!" Opera grumbled as soon as he'd torn the cork out of one of the bottles that he'd gotten down off of Shichiro's high shelf. "Am I repugnant? A disgusting insect? What the hell is wrong with her for turning down sex acts from not just one but two very pleased demons?!" He growled out before placing the bottle to his lips and drinking the liquor down in big gulps.

Shichiro tried his best not to react to the fact that Opera was drinking an entire bottle of some of the headiest booze that he had ever purchased. But failed.

He visibly bristled, the green feathers around his waist and neck fluffing up like cat fur as he protested. "Hey, hey, hey! Don't drink that stuff like that. You'll get drunk!"

Opera slammed the bottle down a second later, scaring him badly enough to send him scampering for cover behind the dirty couch that was a ways across the room.

"I just don't get it!" Opera screamed. His voice rising uncharacteristically since the liquor was already rushing to his head as he sighed. "What do I have to do for her to want me?"

Shichiro peeked out from behind the couch that he was hiding behind and stared at the other demon strangely. He'd never seen his old friend like this. Especially over a girl.

It was crazy to think that Opera could be anything but confident in himself and his abilities.

Even when it came to seduction and the opposite sex the cat demon was pretty much unrivaled by anyone. Even the Crown of Lust herself had nothing on Opera.

Taking a few seconds to gather his courage, Shichiro then slowly climbed out from behind his hiding place and ambled over to the cat demon.

Opera's ears were drooping, and he had laid his head down on the table that he'd made himself comfortable at. For all intents and purposes, he looked...pitiful to Shichiro.

He didn't like that his friend was brought down low like this.

But at the same time, he was trying to understand exactly what the problem was. Opera kept talking as if Ichigo didn't desire him, but that didn't make any sense because of what had taken place earlier.

"What makes you think that Ichigo doesn't desire you? You're still courting, aren't you?"

"Of course we are. But nothing I do seems to impress or draw her to me." Opera said miserably with his head still down as he began to tick off the various things that he'd done to impress her. "I turned the other teachers into a throne for her-" Shichiro remembered that. He also recalled being asked to participate by acting as Ichigo's guard 'dog'.

A role that was much more suitable for Kalego, but he had taken to his bed after being made a student's familiar.

"I got her a lovely red dress plus accessories as a courting gift. I mounted some of the teacher up on the wall of the teacher's lounge. I fought for her during the mate hunt-"

"Yet despite not being impressed she still did a blood exchange with you, didn't she?"

"She did..." Opera said as he lifted his head a little bit to look at Shichiro. "And I can feel what she feels often."

"What was she feeling earlier?"

"Anxiety mostly. Though, her side of the bond was...kind of fuzzy for a little while."

"Fuzzy?"

"I couldn't tell what she was feeling. There was just a fuzziness present in the bond that usually isn't there."

"Ah, could she have been feeling something pleasant?" Shichiro asked with a slight tilt of his head. Opera frowned as he thought for a few seconds and then his expression lightened considerably, and his ears raised up a bit.

"She was feeling affectionate." Opera stated looking very much as if someone had just smacked him upside the head with something. "I've felt her feeling fondness, friendship, and even love on a few occasions-"

Shichiro raised a brow at him, but Opera simply kept talking. "It wasn't a romantic feeling. More like the sort of love one feels for a family member."

Shichiro didn't say anything, he just let Opera ramble as he went on ahead and helped himself to a few of the liquor bottles that his friend hadn't drunk out of yet.

If he could just get them away from the cat demon, then maybe his stash wouldn't be completely decimated before Opera left him today.

He had only managed to get three bottles away from his friend before Opera grabbed one of the other ones left over and uncorked and drank all of it in one long swig that had Shichiro's eyes widening to the size of saucers by the time the bottle was emptied and set aside.

Opera wiped his mouth with the back of one of his hands before saying, "You know, I felt her feelings earlier. Before we did things. And she likes you, Shichiro."

If anything could utterly stump the gargoyle it was those words.

Ichigo liked him? Why?

Aside from his intellect, his body, and his strength and rank he had very little going for him. After all, he wasn't much of a looker like Opera or Kalego were. He liked mystical creatures and his research just a bit too much. There were terrible rumors circulating about him experimenting on his students.

He broke things all the time, made messes. He forgot the clean himself up regularly due to his many, many late nights researching various things ranging from herbs, to potions, to random and silly things like tea blends.

He also had that aggressive skin ship issue too. A lot of people couldn't stand being held or petted by him. At all.

"It's such a warm and happy feeling." Opera said with a sigh as he propped his cheek in his palm and waited for Shichiro to say something. And when the gargoyle didn't, the cat demon got a bit irked.

"Do you have anything that you wish to say, Shichiro?"

"I don't control her feelings." The gargoyle said almost defensively as he walked away from the table to put the bottles in his grasp back up on the shelves and out of Opera's reach. Where they belonged.

"You may not control her feelings, but you do elicit certain ones within her." Opera said almost casually as he turned himself so that he could stare a hole through Shichiro's skull as he went on to say. "I think that you should be our third."

Causing Shichiro to drop one of the bottles that he'd been about to set down. The thing hit the floor and shattered into a million pieces while the gargoyle turned and glared at Opera as if he'd like nothing more than to kick his ass as he growled out, "Do you have any fucking idea what you're saying?"

Opera merely gave him an amused look. "I do."

"Demons don't typically share well, Opera."

"But they do when they are in agreement with one another."

"You would really share her with me? Your woman? Are you insane?"

"Maybe. But yes, I would share her with you."

"Why? Why would you do something so maddening? And with me of all people!"

"Because if I did so with Kalego we may end up fighting to the death over her. And that wouldn't make her happy at all."

"But this will? Being shared between us?"

"I believe so, yes." Opera said with a slight shrug of his shoulders.

Shichiro just stared at him feeling as if he could cheerfully rip the cat demon's head off and be totally fine with the fact that he would have a body to hide afterward. Yet despite how enraged he felt, he didn't move a muscle to do anything. He couldn't.

Opera had him pinned in place with one of his I-see-all-and-know-all stares.

"Would you like to hear my reasons for bringing it up? Or would you like to shout at me some more?"

Shichiro was leaning hard towards shouting some more but simply couldn't find the words to express himself right then. Opera seemed to take his silence for wanting to know his reasons because he started talking. And Shichiro had nothing better to do than listen because some small, part of his was genuinely curious about why his old friend would pull something like this with his chosen.

"We've known each other for a long time Shichiro. And in that time, I've watched you grow from fledgling into a demon of great ability. But that isn't why I like you. I like your warmth, the way that your face lights up when you speak of your research and mythical creatures. I like how you always care about others so much. But you also seem to forget yourself because of that."

Shichrio looked away from him, his eyes finding some dark corner in the room and pretending that it interested him greatly as Opera uttered the words, "I worry about you, Shichiro." Drawing his eyes back to him. "I worry about how you forget to eat, to sleep, to care for yourself like you should. I know that you are lacking in confidence because of your scar and have all but given up on ever having a wife or children of your own. You're awkward, shy, clumsy at times, and a bit of a crybaby. But despite all of those things I still like you, so very much."

Shichiro jumped when he suddenly felt Opera wrap his arms around him and lay his head on his chest.

He had no idea how the cat demon could move so damned fast after consuming two whole bottles of hard liquor, but his hold was loose enough so that Shichiro could shove him away if he felt he should. But oddly...he didn't feel like he should.

Instead, he wrapped his own arms around his old friend and simply held him as he tried to think of what to say to him now. Finally, he figured out what to say. It was a simple sentence but held every ounce of affection for the cat demon that he possessed.

"I like you too, Opera."

Shichiro blushed when Opera tilted his head back from its place against his chest and gave him a blinding smile before he raised up on his tip toes and pressed his lips against Shichiro's scarred cheek.

Ichigo decided to stop by a vending machine before going on to class.

The reason for this- was that demon senses were much sharper than her own and she didn't want anyone to smell the fact that she had been sucking dick and drinking cum. Not only that but her throat was a bit sore too.

So, a drink and maybe something overpoweringly sweet to munch on were the only options that she had at the moment. And it was while she was getting her stuff that she felt Opera's emotions go from darker than pitch black to something else lighter.

Much, much lighter if she was gauging things right.

She had already had a suspicion that she didn't hold all of Opera's affection. The fact that he had included Shichiro in their...uh, relationship? Even to the smallest degree had been somewhat enlightening to her. Though it had also been a bit confusing as well.

Still...feeling as Opera was at the moment, it wasn't hard for her to completely tell what was going on. And despite the fact that she wasn't entirely sure what it meant for her. She couldn't help but feel happy for the two demons.

Opening her drink, she took a few swallows of it as she sent feelings of warmth and happiness through the bond hoping that Opera would know that she wasn't upset with him.

After all, Shichiro was a nice guy for a demon. If Opera wanted to share his heart with the guy, then she wasn't going to be one of those obscenely jealous women that made everyone's lives a living hell.

It simply wasn't in her to do so.

Once she got her stuff, she started walking again. Granted, she didn't exactly have a clue where she was supposed to go since she still didn't know the exact layout of the school buildings.

Finding where she was supposed to be turned out to be a lot harder on her than it had to be since so much had happened to her thus far that she had simply forgotten to explore the school and other buildings like she had initially intended to.

Something that she needed to remedy ASAP.

Thankfully, she ran into some teachers wandering the halls from time to time who were able to direct her to the class that she was meant to be in. And once she was finally there she was tackled to the floor by both Az and Clara. Who had launched themselves at her like missiles the second that she had stepped through the door.

She staggered back and fell after she caught them and wound up dropping her drink and her sweet treat in the process as well.

"Master!"

"Ichi-ken!" The two cried in unison as they both pressed their faces against her shoulder and chest.

Ichigo blushed and tried to get them to let her go, or at least not press their faces so damned close to her breasts. But the two kids were lost in their own little world of hugs and weren't really listening to her. If not for the fact that Sabro had wandered over and unceremoniously pried the two off of her. She might have had a bit of a crisis on her hands.

"Your master wishes you to be careful of touching her chest." The blond demon chided as he gently shook Az to emphasize his words before letting him down.

Clara gasped in realization and quickly started to wave her arms around to get Ichigo's attention, then once she had it, she said in a whispered tone, "Sorry Ichi-ken."

"That's okay," Ichigo said as she reached out and ruffled the smaller girl's hair while Sabro set her on her feet. "Thanks for the help Sabro." Ichigo said with a friendly smile as the demon helped her up off of the floor.

"I saw the fight earlier," Sabro said slowly. "I would imagine that after our teachers negotiated the terms of their surrender that you must be quite tired."

"I'm fine, actually. I'm not tired in the least." Ichigo said as Az suddenly grabbed her from behind and wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted her up off of the floor and then spun a little bit and put her down so that she was far away from Sabro.

"You owe the lout no explanations, master." Az said with a smile that looked just a tad bit out of place on his face. In fact, it reminded her a great deal of the too innocent smile that Opera often gave her.

And she got a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach from just looking at it. So much so, that she yelled for Sabnock to run for it mere moments before the immediate area around the blond demon suddenly turned into a huge frigging fireball.

"Az!" She shrieked in alarm.

"It's all right, master. Sabnock is gone now." Az said as he gently petted her hair with a serene smile. As if he hadn't just burned someone to death!

"You mean he's dead?!" She asked almost in tears.

Poor Sabro! His only sin was being nice to her. Oh, how could her little pyromaniac duckling do such a terrible thing to someone?! She wondered as she blinked rapidly in an effort to hold the tears welling up in her eyes back.

"Hn? Oh no. He escaped." Az said absently before pointing to her...left? "He's over there now."

Ichigo turned her head to see if Az was being honest with her or not and nearly collapsed from relief when she saw that Sabro was indeed okay.

He was smoking a bit and several other of their classmates were helping to pat him out, but he was fine.

Ichigo took several deep breaths in an effort to control her inner turmoil but then grabbed her duckling by the front of his jacket and growled out. "Az... Never try to outright murder someone like that again!"

"I wasn't trying to murder the lout, master!" Az laughed in amusement. "I was merely removing him from your presence. After all, you do seem tired. So, I felt that it would be best for you to rest a while."

Ichigo sighed, thinking that Az was going to one day give her a heart attack. But decided that while highly likely, he probably wouldn't do it entirely on purpose. It would probably be an accident that she mistook for something intentional.

After that, everyone was told by the teacher who had been silently observing them- to separate into small groups of three and go to one of the many tables with flowerpots on them.

Ichigo wasn't sure how it happened exactly.

But Sabro wound up stealing her from Az so they wound up in the same group with Clara while her favorite little pyromaniac wound up being part of another group at the table in front of their own.

Az was devastated. She could tell by the way that he burst into tears and simply seemed to give up on living. But Sabro and Clara were both happy.

"That was mean." She muttered to Sabro.

The blond demon merely raised a brow at her and cracked an amused grin as he stared at Az's semi-lifeless form drooping over his flowerpot, sobbing. "Master!" In overly dramatic fashion.

"Hang in there Az-Az!" Clara called out.

"Yes, hang in there Asmodeus. If you perish here, then who will serve your master in your place?" Sabro asked mockingly.

"Master! Don't replace me!"

"I'm not going to replace you, now calm down." Ichigo said loudly as she elbowed Sabro in the stomach for goading her duckling's dramatics on. It was hard to focus on the teacher telling them how to use magic while Az was carrying on. But somehow, she managed.

And though she didn't have any mana like the rest of the demons present, she still miraculously managed to grow her late mother's favorite flower.

A pretty pale blue-purple hydrangea.

Opera was in a freakishly good mood by the time they met up again to go home for the day. Ichigo was pretty happy too thanks to the fact that she'd aced her first magic lesson. And had also been allowed to even bring the hydrangea home with her.

The second that she had gotten close, Opera had stared at the potted flower in utter fascination as she explained that it was her mom's favorite flower. After that he had taken the flowerpot from her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and they had begun walking once Az and Clara finally came running up to walk home with them.

"Master! Thank you for waiting for us." Az said as he positioned himself on the side of Ichigo that Opera wasn't occupying.

"Sure. Did the teacher say that you could bring your flowers home too?" Ichigo asked curiously. Both Az and Clara looked at her oddly for a second before saying no and shaking their heads.

Apparently taking the plants that they had created in magic class wasn't something that was done often. And if someone was allowed to take their plant home, it was only because it was deemed safe enough to do so.

Which explained a lot once Ichigo really thought about it.

Az's flower had been made of pure flame. And Clara's...well. Ichigo wasn't quite sure what the hell it had been since it had appeared to be a chimera of some sort. So, it was probably a good thing that the pair hadn't been allowed to bring their flowers home.

"I've been meaning to ask you master," Az said as he glanced at her hydrangea curiously. "What sort of flower is that? I don't think that I've ever seen one like it before. It's very unusual."

"It's a flower from my hometown." Ichigo said. "Hydrangea's are very pretty and colorful flowers that a lot of people favor for their smell, color or aesthetic. In flower language, it means gratitude. And many people often use it as a gift when someone is ill or have even died. Though a lot of other people like to use them in weddings."

Az looked at her strangely for a moment or so as he filed the information away in the back of his mind. "I see. How very strange." He said thoughtfully before asking, "Do you like these...hydrangea flowers?"

"I do. But more than that, is I like the memories that I have of them."

"The memories?"

"Yeah, they're my mom's favorite flowers. My dad would get her some for every special occasion. Birthdays, anniversaries, happy Friday..." She chuckled. "He bought her some when I was born. And he got her some more when both of my younger sisters were born. My mom would plant them in our yard and spend hours tending to them so that they would grow and bloom."

The looks on Az's, Clara's, and even Opera's faces were intrigued as they listened to her speak about her mother. Especially since none of them knew much or anything at all about the mysterious woman.

"My mom died one day in April when I was still just a little kid. And after she passed, the hydrangea's were the only thing that I really found any solace in. But I wasn't very good at gardening back then and tended to overwater them and stuff. So, the flowers eventually died. And when they did, it sort of felt like my mom had died all over again."

Though Ichigo said the words in a lighthearted manner, she couldn't help but feel a little bit depressed knowing that the flowers that she had created with magic would likely die just like the other flowers had. But she refused to dwell on it.

After all, flowers died. It sucked, but it still happened.

But memories...like the ones of her mom, they were forever.

"Master," Az said in a funny tone that had her looking at him to see if he was okay only to notice that he and Clara both had big fat tears rolling down both of their faces. "To think that such a small flower could mean so much to someone..."

Az sniffled as he wiped his face with the arm of his jacket while Clara blew her nose on the kerchief that had appeared out of nowhere.

"Guy's it's just a flower," Ichigo said with a small laugh. "Even if it isn't here anymore, I have my memories. So, I'm not sad."

"You do not have to downplay your sadness, master. It must have been so very hard for you, growing up without a mother. In actuality it explains why you're such a strong person!"

"You had no choice but to grow up once she was gone!" Clara sobbed into her kerchief.

"My lady..." Opera said in a sad tone that had Ichigo looking at him. She literally paled when she saw that he looked as if he were about to start crying at any second.

"Please don't cry." She said in a slightly panicked tone.

It was then and there that Ichigo decided to stop talking about her life to other people. Especially since they always seemed to overreact.