This is my third attempt at this chapter. The OG was okay but not 100 percent satisfactory due to sort of skipping some character-interaction development. Then I got more ideas to fill in those blanks, and when I finally got to sit down and write them… the second version just wasn't working the way I wanted because part of it was too vague/skipped stuff too. So this is a combination of three different drafts of chapter 12 with multiple points of view for build/flow, so I apologize for that.

I will not write lemons, so while there may be zest throughout this story, it will only go so far before I suffer secondhand embarrassment and bail out with a skip. Some new concepts will be introduced in this chapter, so I apologize if it seems abrupt. Just hang on with me.

Please let me know if you enjoyed the chapter!

TW: Teenage Dream alluding to improper BDSM with other dreamers who don't appreciate witnessing it, nosebleeds, hand injury, making out, tongue biting/blood.

Blood Entwined, Crossed Between Distant Moons
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Two weeks after returning from the Human World, Asmodeus had been given a challenge by his mother.

"Pursue Clara-chan and earn her favor."

This didn't seem all too difficult… except that due to his training taking every free moment of his time, Clara was pissed with him. She wouldn't look his way if he tried to grab her attention between classes, and had resorted to pranking him with a rebuking huff.

He… deserved it, he inherently knew it, but his mother was adamant about pursuing her and fasting from his adoration of Iruma. He needed to prove he was equally head over heels in love with her. Except… except he could literally feel how being apart and unable to discuss what happened between them was hurting Iruma, which only made reaching out to Clara more difficult. He wasn't as in love with her in the same way he was with Iruma, and it was a severe inadequacy in his mother's eyes.

"Alice, if you're going to claim both of them as your partner, then you must love them with the same fervor. This is a matter of seduction, love, lust, and complete possession. Child, If you can't love your targets equally as they are, you deserve neither."

After the third week of his training, his mother was called to Babyl Tower for interviews which kept her full attention, thus, his training was passed onto Raim-sensei. This was both good and bad, as she had far greater insight into Clara's mindset, but also made her far more judgmental about his attempts to win Clara over and called his previous attempts half-hearted.

So he began to play a sort-of game of Tag with her at Raim-sensei's suggestion. It was difficult for him to formulate how to catch the little imp off guard, but he began to quietly stalk her while wearing Anti-Detection glasses before cornering her into alcoves and halls where she was forced to face him with every second of free time he had. Pursuing her became the center of his thoughts during his waking hours, and new schemes plagued him in his sleeping hours.

Throughout all of this, he sporadically had strange Memory-Dreams from Iruma's perspective, much like his classmates mentioned on occasion. It made his heart hurt to witness these Memories as guilt festered and stretched his stress further and further.

And then, seemingly without rhyme or reason at the end of the fourth week, the Dreams changed.

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Iruma was the center of everyone's concern. The Misfits all cared for him in their own way, and after they all had foolishly tasted his blood, they would now be forever bound to him in one way or another.

The Memory Dream thing, as far as Balam-sensei had theorized, was a result of some of Asmodeus's blood entering Iruma's wound, which immediately began to circulate in that moment. A small residual hangover result of Asmodeus's brand of Blood Magic tainting the offering they'd consumed.

However, the Dreams had slowly been evolving, little by little as time went on. They were no longer Iruma in these Dreams, but their own selves. They might've begun as ghostly observers to the events occurring within them, but they slowly could interact with the various forms Iruma took on in these Dreams.

And then, one day, the atmosphere within the Dream shifted and melted into an incoherent mess.

Ix Elizabetta sensed something about this new Dream development that she simply couldn't resist trying to gain some form of control over it.

Iruma may have been the center of their collective thoughts, but Ix Elizabetta was a lover, and she knew the poor boy wouldn't handle her approaching him in reality all that well. Clara would snarl at her, and really, she wasn't out to steal Iruma away from Clara. She just wanted to love him freely along with everyone else.

So Ix Elizabetta went to sleep with only thoughts of Iruma, and the letters exchanged between them as she focused on her single Desire.

To show Iruma a Ludus form of Love.

The Dream set itself in her room, as they sat across from one another with tea and sweets at her white tea table. She made small flirtatious gestures, just enough to gain his attention while keeping chaste, as they held nonsensical conversations over prepared sweets. It was a fun, simple, innocent Dream, and Ix Elizabetta poured every last drop of longing into this small bubble of time that they had in hopes that it could one day happen in reality.

However, she was not the only participant of this Dream, and she supposed it lent more credence to Balam-sensei's theory about how and why these Dreams had started in the first place.

She smirked behind folded hands as she glanced at the immobile ghost of Asmodeus, who could do nothing but pine and burn in jealousy at her challenge within this Dreamscape.

'You aren't the only one who can love Iruma-kun and make him happy.'

Ix Elizabetta chose to be particularly petty during the day at school, and made sure to give Iruma just a little more affectionate attention throughout. The poor boy was a little confused as a vague spark of suspicion came and went while ignorance kept him from making any proper connections, but he otherwise seemed far more open to her attention then he might've normally been if it hadn't been for their shared Dream.

She made sure to grasp Lied's hand tightly before the day was through, as his agony was blatantly on display every time she gave Iruma attention, and she had no desire to harm the friendship between the two boys.

She loved every one of the Misfits equally, afterall.

However, she had no way of knowing her Dream had been witnessed by anyone else, and learned swiftly what chaos could be let loose in the race to control Iruma's Dreams for one's own selfishness.

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Kerori was stressed.

She'd had her Beast training, her Akudoll gigs, schoolwork, and the lingering trauma of witnessing two of her classmates get critically injured.

Sure, everything had turned out alright, but Iruma was not unscathed. To top it off, she was being made witness to the boy's various Memory-Dreams, which made her appreciate her family's cold affection with each passing night.

But she really was Stressed and nearing the peak of falling into a Wicked Phase, and Iruma was the cause and quite possibly the cure for her troubles.

She'd noted the silent shift in their Dreams and witnessed the allure of Ix Elizabetta's Dream. With that in mind, she decided she would be the one to Dream of Iruma that evening. She definitely wouldn't let outsiders in, for this would be an entirely selfish and daring Dream just for her.

So the setting was made between them as Sleep made her Dream come true, and she smirked haughtily as she sat upon her ice throne in a familiar forest.

Her Kingdom empty, free of her servants while Iruma appeared before her in seemingly recounted Memory.

He didn't notice anything wrong at first, as she had set this particular Dream during the Harvest Festival within a specific moment in time… but he was quick to notice that he was not dressed in his Archery Gear in alarmed confusion. His camo-style jumpsuit was replaced with something far more to her more devilish tastes as she soaked in the genius of her design. Black thigh high heeled boots left only a few inches of skin to the imagination before being met with fitted black shorts. Connected at the waist was an ornately snowflake patterned black-on-black half skirt with veil train that bloomed behind him as if it were some sort of ceremonial dress. His top consisted of a solid black sleeveless (and open back) halter top with a sheer diamond cutout along with opera-length black gloves, his ringed finger the only one free to feel and touch beyond their casing.

She, too, was not dressed in her ice-blue dress of the past. No, she wore something far more sheer, barely covering the essentials while wearing an luxuriously elaborate ice-blue cape around her shoulders with white fur trim. She couldn't help the smirk that crossed her lips while he gaped at her with a deep flush as he immediately forgot his own state of dress.

She licked her lips before she deigned to approach him as ice continued to encapsulate the dirt and trees around them with each barefooted step. He stumbled back at her approach, clearly alarmed at the unusual turn of events before tripping on the inner crinoline of his half-skirt and falling into the depths of it with a silent gasp.

Kerori peered down at him as she placed a bare foot daintily on the sheer diamond fabric of his chest and felt the shudder of his breath at the cold touch, drinking him in as she found herself enraptured by the partially visible scar of his rooted brush with death that started this madness. She smirked down at him, "You have entered the Kingdom of this Ice Queen, and you will bow to my every whim."

Iruma was beyond articulation, consumed by confusion and the sight of her as he mindlessly agreed to her Will.

She relieved every last drop of Stress upon him in complete Domination, and when she Awoke, she was more than satiated by the unwitting service he'd provided her.

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Purson Soi woke up in a daze to discomfort and a bloody nose.

He dragged himself out of bed, took a hellishly cold shower, and began his morning routine without a single thought in his head.

That was, until he finished putting on his school uniform and breathed out as he finally came to terms with the fact that he'd had an out-of-this-world Dream well beyond his imagination.

Yeah. Yup. Purson Soi definitely didn't have the guts to have even a ninth circle of hell sort of Dream as he'd had last night, and he was certainly not the type to Dream about his classmates getting together like that.

He put a tired hand to his forehead as he squinted strangely sensitive eyes at nothing to try and clear his sullied thoughts.

He just wanted to disappear right now.

Ah. And he had. Whups. There was still breakfast to grab before flying off to school.

'I wonder if Iruma knows what's happening..?'

Purson had been quick on the uptake. His Bloodline Magic still seemed to be effective in that Dreamspace, as he'd been able to keep himself from being detected… but things were getting out of hand far too quickly within the span of only two nights.

He'd have to observe Iruma and see if his classmate acted any differently today. He didn't appreciate getting dragged into that Dream, and if Iruma was ignorant (and probably didn't want outsiders witnessing something so mortifyingly embarrassing), then he needed to be clued in ASAP so he could protect himself in and from these Dreams.

Purson landed at the school gate with a silent sigh as he kept himself from being seen, wandering like a ghost through the halls and out to Royal One.

He almost managed to take his seat without incident before he startled at the feel of someone's hand on his shoulder and melted back into sight while staring at Ix Elizabetta in terror.

The blonde imp gave him a kind smile and a wink before she came close to his ear and whispered, "We'll be having a tea party after school at the usual place, you'll be sure to come as a hidden guest, won't you..?"

Purson clenched his fist and minutely nodded as he melted away the second she removed her hand from his shoulder.

He held his burning cheeks and gnawed his lip in shock as he watched her saunter over to Lied and give him a loving pat on the head and greet him good morning.

'How'd she know I was here? She shouldn't have detected me! And- and what WAS that!?'

Purson buried his face into the palms of his hands, more than flustered, but filing away the information that he'd been given. He had, on more than one occasion, sat in on Girl Talk meetings, so he knew what Elizabetta was talking about.

But again, how did she know he was there? Did he smell or something? But he could hide his scent even better nowadays, and they always brewed such strong floral tea that that couldn't be it…

He sighed mentally before straightening himself out. He observed that his fellow Misfits had begun to gather in a small whispering huddle, and found himself wandering over to their little group. Unfortunately, Purson didn't have the chance to listen in on their discussion before Iruma arrived with Asmodeus and Clara.

Purson's eyes narrowed slightly as he noted how stiff Iruma was, and understood why he'd been invited to the Girl Talk meeting.

At the end of The Dream he'd dropped his Anti-Detection Magic due to how overwhelmed he'd become by Kerori's Domination over Iruma, and Ix Elizabetta had been present in that Dream and noticed him.

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Iruma was, to put it simply, an absolute mess.

He'd woken up before his alarm in foreign deep discomfort from his absolutely inappropriate dream, proceeded to have a viscous nosebleed, and then could barely move as his bones and joints zinged with a familiar-but-forgotten pain.

'Of all times, why do I have to deal with growing pains now?'

He'd taken his time to cool himself off and gather his thoughts with an ice cold rinse until his left shoulder ached, before soaking in the tub with the extra time he'd found for himself to try and alleviate his pain.

'Was that the sort of dream those books warned about having during puberty..?' He buried his face into his hands as he tried to scrub away the lingering sensations the dream form of Kerori had trailed across his skin. He swallowed harshly at the particularly vivid recollection of her tongue tracing over the permanent scar on his shoulder and shuddered before dunking himself under the tub's surface to hide from those thoughts.

Opera was surprised to find him up so early, but he simply laughed the concerned Security Devil off and started his usual morning routine. He was unwilling to share even the tiniest detail of the sinful thoughts his mind had tormented him with throughout the night, while Opera dutifully took away his bedding without further questioning, noting his Ward's awkward behavior.

Iruma rubbed under his now sensitive nose after getting dressed, and wondered if he'd suffer another nose bleed during the day. He took in a deep breath and sighed softly as he clapped his cheeks lightly and pumped himself up for another totally normal day at school.

He glanced at himself one last time in the mirror before heading off for breakfast, and had his still-less-then-usual fill. His appetite had improved over the past few weeks, but it was still only at a third of what had been his previous normal in the Netherworld. Grandpa and Opera seemed happy enough with his growing appetite, so he worried over it less as days passed, however, he found himself incapable of eating much this particular morning as guilt closed his throat and his stomach rolled with a bout of nausea.

Iruma almost managed to make it through his breakfast before flinching harshly. He dropped his fork on his plate in response to the zing of pain that went through his arm and grimaced, "Ow."

Opera frowned as they observed him, "Iruma-sama?"

Iruma looked at them sheepishly, "S-sorry. I promise I'm not hurt, it's just… when I woke up, my bones and joints kind of ached."

Opera's eyes narrowed as they placed a hand on his forehead as they mentally recounted the unusual morning Iruma was having, "You're a little warm. Perhaps you should stay home from school today, Iruma-sama."

Iruma's eyes widened as he vehemently shook his head, "N-no, it's okay! I feel fine! I mean, I've been running a little warm the past few days, but I think I'm just going through growing pains!"

Opera blinked in confused surprise, "At your age?"

Iruma paused, "...Yeah? Do… do demons not go through growth spurts..?"

Opera pulled back with a small hum as they observed their Charge, "Demons tend to grow through childhood until about thirteen. A majority don't have another period of growth until about sixteen through nineteen, though some demons have different growth cycles, like Balam-sensei. Despite his age it seems he'd gone through another growth period within the past year."

Iruma gaped at them for a second before nodding, "Oh. Well, according to the books that I read through, human boys tend to have growth spurts from about age eleven to eighteen." He shrugged, "I remember feeling like this a few years ago, but I was working all the time and kind of forgot about it despite the trouble I got into for abruptly dropping products."

Opera's horns lowered notably before straightening out from their unspoken distress over Iruma's previous living conditions. But they had promised their Charge that they wouldn't speak of it after Iruma had become overwhelmed a few too many times because of their sympathy.

Iruma smiled at them and finished his meal before getting up right on time for the doorbell to ring.

Iruma greeted Clara and together they walked to school in their new normal, as the ache of Asmodeus's missing presence became more and more dull each day.

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Balam observed the distraught human teenager before him as he dabbed disinfectant on the burn he'd sustained from his Magic Class. "So you're saying that even though you were using your ring like usual, you somehow used twice as much power?"

Iruma nodded miserably, a notable flush to his cheeks that was becoming more concerning the longer it stayed.

Balam frowned behind his mask, "Has anything unusual happened to you recently? Did you come into contact with something?"

Iruma's fingers unconsciously twitched as he immediately thought back to Ameri's blood-filled kiss a few days ago and the dream that shall not be recounted in public came to mind. "I- uhm…" He squirmed a little, "I might've… been offered some blood. From a girl."

Balam froze as he stared at his student in shock and nearly dropped the elongated tweezer in his hand. "I-Iruma!"

Iruma flinched, "I- I'm sorry! I just- Azz-kun's training so much that we've barely had the chance to talk and it's been making me anxious, and I've been interviewed multiple times by Henri-san and I-!" He sucked in a deep breath of air before burying his face into his free palm and wailing, "I just can't tell if anyone actually loves me and I'm scared of being alone again!"

Balam disposed of the soiled cotton ball and set down the tool in his hand before silently wrapping Iruma's hand in worry at his abrupt swing of emotion. The older demon took in a deep breath and sighed softly to himself, unsure of the unusual changes Iruma had undergone despite their caution these past few weeks.

He and Blushenko had been so very careful about not using too much Magic at once to heal Iruma… but it seemed that they had made one large misstep in his overall treatment that seemed far too obvious now.

Asmodeus had been struck first, and Iruma had received his blood through that injury before reciprocating with his own blood.

No one had bothered to check for possible transmission symptoms after that.

Balam calmed himself and decided to break trust, "Iruma… do you know what Asmodeus's Bloodline Magic is?"

Iruma sniffed and shook his head, "All I know is that he didn't wanna talk about it, and that it wasn't fire."

Balam nodded solemnly, "I see… It's unfortunate that he hasn't taken the chance to explain just why he's been undergoing such severe training under his mother, Raim-sensei, and I since your return, but it was for your sake that he did so, understand?" Iruma nodded silently as he continued, "The reason he didn't talk about it, why it's so difficult for him to speak about it… is because it's Sex Magic."

Iruma was still for a moment before he looked at his teacher-friend with a completely flushed face, "EH?!"

Balam raised a brow and noted even the teen's hand was getting hot. "...Iruma-"

Iruma pulled his hand back and covered his face while making an unintelligible noise, "N-no wonder!" He grit his teeth and cursed his own naivety, "That, that makes so much sense! I mean, I thought I felt myself become abnormally excited when he-" He covered his mouth and waffled, "When he first kissed me… Uaaah~!" Not to mention his latest dream..!

Balam rubbed the side of his head awkwardly. He knew just by their regular conversations that Iruma had previously never thought that much about romance, but clearly things were different now.

Iruma peeked upwards before meekly asking, "So… how does that work?" Balam hummed in confusion as Iruma elaborated, "How can that even be used in battle?"

Balam nodded and cupped his chin, "If it's anything like his mother's escapades in the past, he can essentially make use of his flames to spread around an aphrodisiac that is expelled from the body. It can drive demons into a lustful frenzy, making it easier to force them either under the user's control, or to kill them with pleasure."

Iruma nodded in a slight daze, "Oh…"

Balam absently started to gently pet Iruma's head in comfort, "Until now, he hasn't really seen much use in its application as things have stood… But because he unwillingly used it against you for his own benefit, he's going through all of the years of training he'd declined until now to prevent it from happening again. He just… he probably didn't know how to explain himself to you, Iruma-kun." The human boy was far too notably pure of heart for such vulgarity.

Iruma sighed softly as he leaned into Balam's coddling, abnormally tired as his wrapped hand burned under his skin from his improper use of Magic, "I should have tried harder… to talk to him." He closed his eyes, "We still haven't… even really explained things… to Clara."

Balam blinked, realizing that Iruma had started to doze off. He furrowed his brow and used his vines to pick up the teen and place him in a comfortable nest, cocooning him in his territory.

Something was not right with Iruma, and the growing Mana that seemed to have attached itself to his veins was of growing immediate concern.

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Clara wandered the halls of Babyls in concern. It'd been two class periods since Iruma had gone to visit Balam-sensei, and he still hadn't returned.

It was one thing for Azz-Azz to be missing sometimes, it was a whole other thing to be left all on her lonesome.

She sighed notably in irritation, puffing her cheeks as she crossed her arms. 'It's not nice to leave a girl by herself.'

Clara barely had the chance to feel a flare of warmth before a familiar hand rudely grabbed the side of her head and pulled her into a small alcove. She stumbled into his chest before he switched their positions, with her pressed against the warmed stone wall as he fully blocked her from view.

This was the odd sort of game she and Asmodeus had been playing for the past two weeks, and she was kind of getting annoyed by it. "Again?"

Asmodeus observed her, not with his usual annoyance or tolerance, but with an odd amount of concern. "Clara-"

Clara slapped the palm of her hand onto his chest and pouted up at him, "Iruma-chi is worried because of you, and you keep avoiding him! Why?! All of us can tell that he's bothered by it!"

Asmodeus paused at her seriousness. He supposed it was best that she was done allowing her childish play to continue as the situation stood, but he was still trying to figure something out for himself. "Clara- I-" He sighed tiredly as he felt a shift within himself before relenting, and surrendered himself to her. "I yield."

Clara's expression went blank in shock, "Wh-huh?"

Asmodeus's face flushed lightly as he became slightly annoyed. "I yield to you, Clara." He wanted to call her stupid so very badly, but he needed her favor- for her to understand what he had come to terms with.

Clara flushed lightly as her hand clenched loosely into his shirt, "Wh-why are you yielding to me? I didn't ask you to-"

Asmodeus breathed out heavily from his nose in frustration, "Because Iruma-sama and I have agreed that the three of us are in a relationship! I don't- we haven't had the time to discuss the particulars as a group, but!" He slapped his hand over hers on his chest and bared his fangs, "You're our girlfriend, dummy! I've been training for your sake as well!"

Clara's face turned red from surprise as her affection swelled for the idiot in front of her. She couldn't help but squeak, "Azz-Azz likes me?"

Asmodeus used his hand to run down his face in frustration before cupping under her cheek and lifting her face to him as he leaned in close, "Inconceivably, and despite ourselves, yes. I love you, you little imp."

Clara gaped up at him, wondering what he'd do next, but was left wanting as he simply waited. It took her a moment to realize why he wasn't moving closer- he had yielded to her. Which meant… that she was the one who controlled things from here. Clara took in a deep breath before leaning upwards to seal the space between them.

Asmodeus's demeanor immediately relaxed with a silent exhalation as he cupped his hand behind her neck and kissed her deeply, which she returned greedily as she wrapped her tail around his arm. She didn't understand how this sophisticated idiot had come to like a childish imp like her, but she would divulge in his desires and greedily take of what he had to offer.

Asmodeus had yielded first.

She could scarcely believe it as she suppressed childish giggles while they made out in that small alcove for a time. She was content, tucked in as she was, that she didn't expect something to wrap possessively around her thigh. She pulled back, nearly knocking her head on the stone wall behind her save for Asmodeus's hold on her as she squeaked.

Asmodeus's eyes were lidded as he licked his now swollen lips with a hum, his voice deeply husky as he spoke, "Sorry about that."

Clara swallowed thickly as she quickly grabbed the offending appendage that had snaked upwards around her leg, startled to find a pink tail there. She blinked down at it and followed its trail back to where she couldn't see within Asmodeus's coat. She looked up at him, "You have a tail?"

Asmodeus looked at her like she was the biggest idiot in the world as he flicked the wide tip of it against her stomach in annoyance with a dull thwump. It was almost as large as Sabnock's, and similarly spikey in appearance as most of the boys in their class. "Yes."

Clara flushed deeply, "You hide it?"

Asmodeus huffed lightly at the fact she had his tail trapped and flicked the brunt of it against her stomach again, "Yes. Unlike you girls, if ours break, they don't grow back. Mine is of the rarer variety, and I nearly had it ripped off as a toddler."

Clara was surprised before she looked down at it and patted the flat of it gently in sympathy, "Oh."

Asmodeus allowed her to touch the end of his tail for a long moment before poking her, "May I have that back?"

Clara looked between him and the end of his tail before gaining a tiny mischievous smirk, "Am I making you nervous?"

Asmodeus clicked his teeth, "If you don't want me to ravish you in this hallway this instant, I suggest you give it back to me."

Clara gaped at him, unsure if she actually wouldn't mind him taking her against the wall right then and there, before relenting and moving her hands behind her as she unwound her own tail from his arm.

Asmodeus sighed softly, relaxing from an unnoticed tension he'd gained as his tail slunk into the folds of his clothes to be hidden once more.

There was a lingering flush to his cheeks as he refused to look at her for a moment, "Thank you, stupid Clara."

She growled at his abnormal meekness and grabbed his face before shoving their lips together while she pushed past his boundaries and pierced his tongue. He startled with a muffled yelp before growling in turn and piercing hers in revenge.

Their wills clashed against one another, seeing who might draw back for breath first, before a familiar demon cleared their throat behind them.

"While it's nice to see the two of you getting along, maybe you should reconsider your little rendezvous to the outdoors instead of a public hallway?" Asmodeus and Clara pulled apart in surprise and gaped at Ameri with bloody lips as she lifted an eyebrow at their shell shocked expressions, "You're going to be late for class."

Asmodeus cleared his throat and straightened his ascot before grabbing Clara's collar, "Right you are. My apologies for the unsightly display." He dragged his girlfriend with flushed cheeks for getting caught, thankful that the president had interrupted when she had.

Ameri huffed lightly to herself with her arms crossed as she turned while trying to wipe what she'd witnessed from memory.

She'd never admit that she herself had loitered a tad too long while secretly enjoying their little make-out session. Ever. Maybe.

Ameri buried her face into her hands as she overloaded from their brazenness as she recalled doing something similar to Iruma only a couple of days ago.

Her phone buzzed, pulling her out of her thoughts as she looked at Elizabetta's invitation for a Girl's Talk. She smirked slightly to herself as she made her way to class, and quickly responded with a yes.

Tonight's chat would be particularly fun, she just knew it.