♧Inner Demon♧

Dear Mama,

I got stood up on my first date. If you could call it a date...

And Onii-sama is hovering over me nonstop. I guess he found out about my unexpected visit to 'that place'.

Why is it that things don't go exactly my way?

Also, Jeje-san seems kinda jealous of my new plushie. Do you think he'll let me pet him if I stopped showing him the plushie?

Yours,

M. A.

♧Inner Demon♧

"Sakuya, idiot. Why aren't you showing up in school. Mahiru's worried so stop being a dumbass before I hunt you down. Don't ignore this, I dare you. "Sakuya said, reading the text aloud as he stared at the screen of his phone with an unimpressed look.

'Seriously... That girl.. '

He ignored the message. But true to her words, Mitsuki did hunt him down and is now cornering him in his favorite music shop with a very nasty glare directed his way.

This doesn't look good.

"You've got some nerve ignoring my text messages, Sakkun. " His brows twitched. Of course, she would call him with that nickname. She would try to mock him and get on his nerves to elicit a reaction and dammit, it's working because he gave out an irritated sigh.

Although he did feel bad about canceling their outing, Sakuya was more embarrassed and nervous to go out with her. Well, this was Mitsuki afterall and sometimes, he would find it difficult to differentiate the Mitsuki from before and the current Mitsuki.

A lot has change over the year.

"Stop meddling with other people's business, Mitsuki. And why aren't you at school? Are you skipping class? " She raised a brow.

"I could say the same to yo--wait, stop changing the topic! Why didn't you answer my messages?! " She demanded, obviously annoyed that he wasn't responding. If there was one thing that Sakuya knows about Mitsuki, is that she hates it when he doesn't reply to her messages.

"I'm busy. " He received an unimpressed look that says 'I don't believe a word you just said'. He wanted to sigh, it's always been hard to lie to Mitsuki since she always seem to know when someone's hiding something. But what Sakuya doesn't understand is that Mitsuki sometimes act as if she knows who and what he really is.

That couldn't be possible, right? Sakuya's been doing a great job at hiding and he's manipulated their memories to fit in so that would be impossible.

But then, he did met Mitsuki a few months earlier than Mahiru... and she was so different back then. Was it possible that she wasn't affected? But then that doesn't make sense because if Mitsuki knew, she would be hating him for lying to Mahiru and the others.

His brows furrowed, well she did hate him at one point and that was--

"Psh. Busy, meaning you're slacking off and hanging around a music shop. Suuure, Sakuya, I believe you~" She said, chuckling sarcastically before stomping towards him.

"Okay. Listen here. I don't care what kind of business you deal with. Drugs, smuggling or human trafficking --"Sakuya immediately turned beet red, a little offended by her words.

"I don't --!"

"--But you have no right to make your stupid friends worried! Atleast say something, don't leave me and the others in the dark. I'm not a worrywart like Mahiru but that doesn't mean I don't care. Do you understand?"

He stared at her in shock before rubbing his head nervously. Did Mitsuki really admitted that she care?

"Y-Yeah.. "

"What do you mean 'yeah'? Is that the only thing you have to say after being MIA for days? "

"Look. It's none of your business, okay? But you can tell Mahiru and the others that I'm fine. Stop worrying already. I can handle myself." Sakuya answered, moving away to maintain a safe distance because who knows what's inside Mitsuki's head. She would flip out or lash out at him if given the opportunity so he was only being cautious.

"Ahahahaha! " She suddenly laughed, casually walking over and patting his back which surprised him. "Wow! None of my business! I see! I think I get it! Sorry for being so annoying! "

"H-Huh..? "Sakuya looked at her questioningly, wondering about her sudden compliance.

"Hehe.. "

Did she really understood?

He then felt something hard hit the side of his head, stopping his train of thoughts.

"Gah!!! M-Mitsuki!! What the hell?! Why'd you hit me?! That hurt! "He yelled, clutching his head and staring at her accusingly. Why was it that this girl has a lead for an arm?! Wasn't she supposed to be anemic and gets tired easily?

"As if I'd say that! Who do you think you are, moron!!?! I'm your friend so it's normal for me to meddle. Everyone always tells me that everything is going to be fine. But no it's not. Don't say that you're fine when you don't mean it. I'm fine? Please don't make me laugh." She shouted furiously, grabbing his collar and shouting nonstop infront of his face.

"You think I won't notice? Then you shouldn't have ignored my messages. You shouldn't have been skipping school without telling me or the others. If you're going to lie and say that you're fine then atleast be more convincing. Even a child isn't going to believe you and you used to say that I'm childish!" Mitsuki was fuming at him, face red and lips quivering that he wondered if she was going to cry again based from the glossy look on her mispaired eyes.

"Idiot! Sakuya is an idiot!"

Now he felt a little guilty for making her feel bad but Sakuya has little time to react when the store manager kicked them outside for being so noisy and scandalous.

"You got us kicked out! Tch. " Mitsuki huffed.

"Me?! "He pointed to himself. "It was your fault! You were shouting so loud!"

She gave him an irritated look before smacking him in the face.

"Gah!! Stop that! "He whined.

"If you weren't being such an emo then this wouldn't have happened! Stop making people worried! "

"I told you! I'm fine! "

"And I'm Mahiru. "She said mockingly. "Try to sound more convincing and then I'll believe you. I lie a lot so I would know.." Mitsuki admitted, looking off in the distance with an annoyed face as if she couldn't be bothered to explain what she said.

He immediately clamped his mouth shut and turned away. There was a tense silence between them and Sakuya is getting a little uneasy because Mitsuki is never this silent before.

But the atmosphere was killing him so he decided to break the ice first.

"So.. You admit that you're a liar too?" He carefully worded, gauging her reaction. She snapped her head towards his direction in a harsh manner, looking like he just said something stupid.

"Everyone lies, Sakuya. There are things you don't want people to know so we hide the truth and inevitably end up lying because of it. There are times when some people are just not ready to divulge their secrets yet. But seriously... after everything I said, that's what you wanted to ask? Whatever! I'm going. " She said, raising her hands up and backing away casually.

"Mitsuki...I... "He murmured, watching her retreating form. She was already a little far away but her figure stopped and she glanced at him.

There was a look of disappointment in her eyes, something that made him feel uncomfortable. The intensity of her look said a lot of things that was needed to be said but truthfully, he didn't understand half of it.

Slowly, she mouthed something.

'We're friends, right? '

His eyes widened, he wanted to nod his head but he was too stunned to answer. Mitsuki was always joking and goofing around with him so to see her ask something as serious as this was pretty rare.

The look of disappointment intensified and before he could answer, she was already walking away with her back turned. It felt like an eternity as he stared at her disappearing figure.

His phone suddenly buzzed.

There, written in italics was another one of her messages.

|From: Mitsuki |

When will you tell Mahiru?

♧Inner Demon♧

"Mitsuki, that girl! She suddenly stopped going to school just like Sakuya! What is wrong with those two! Sometimes, they act a little similar. It's frustrating! " Mahiru grumbled under his breath, Kitty Kuro perched on his shoulder.

Yawning, he spoke. "But Mitsuki is acting a bit off, don't you think? "

Mahiru stopped. "Y-Yeah... I'm not really good at reading her but ever since the day she admitted her lie, I've become even more worried. Mitsuki was a very direct person back then! " His fists clenched. "It's unusual for her to lie..not that I'm saying she doesn't lie but those were all harmless jokes! I just know that something changed... And I don't know what it is."He finished.

"And Mitsuki doesn't want to go back to Misono's house, she's been avoiding my messages whenever I would ask her to come. I asked Lily but he doesn't really say anything and would tell me that it isn't his place." Mahiru's fists clenched. "I'm worried. Two of my friends are acting weird and they won't tell me anything."

Kuro turned into his human form since it was already nightime.

"Mahiru, I don't want to deal with it but you should probably know that Mitsuki is not who you think she is.. " Mahiru's eyes widened because it's not often that the Servamp of Sloth would say such things. Kuro has always been very reluctant to share information unless he was asked directly.

"Give me that so we can go home. " Kuro languidly snatched the groceries and quickly walked towards Mahiru's apartment.

"W-Wait! Kuro! What do you mean by that?! " He ran after his Servamp who was deadset on ignoring the elephant in the room.

'Stupid Mahi.. ' Kuro thought.

Once they entered the apartment, Mahiru has started bombarding his Servamp with questions but Kuro's eyes is trained on something else.

"Hey~ " Mitsuki said in a casual manner, sitting comfortably in the couch and watching TV as if she owned the house.

It takes a few seconds to register what's going on so naturally, once he was able to get his bearings, Mahiru flipped out.

"Mitsuki!!! Where have you been?! And how the hell did you get inside?! "

She yawned softly, covering her mouth with her left hand. "Lockpicking. " She raised a hair clip as if it was perfectly normal to trespass in other people's house using a thief's method.

"That reeks of crime! You should turn yourself in! " Mahiru shouted. "And you didn't answer my other question! What have you been doing! Everyone's worried! "

"I was hunting Sakuya down and hanging out with my most favorite person in the world." She replied, turning to the TV. "Oh yeah. Sakuya said not to worry because he's fine and it's totally not our business. He lied, obviously but I'm too mad at him right now."

"So you talked with Sakuya, huh? " The brunette murmured. "I've been trying to call and text him for days. How come you were able to find him so easily? "

"Informant, remember?" She then turned to Kuro. "Hey! I bought you some ramen! "

Kuro's ears perked up. "Really? "

Mahiru grew an irk mark, narrowing his eyes at the bluenette. "You just said that she's a suspicious character! How come you get bribed so easily?! " Mahiru mumbled under his breath.

"By the way, Mahiru.. Have you been meeting with Chibi-chan? "She inquired and Mahiru couldn't help but notice that she sounded hopeful.

"Ah.. I did and Kuro got me a weapon!"

"Cool. What is it? "

He awkwardly rubbed his neck. "It's a broom and I haven't trained properly so I don't know how to use it yet. "

Mitsuki burst out in laughter, Mahiru's cheeks turning red in embarrassment. "Don't laugh! It's not funny! "

"Bwahaha!! A broom?!!! That's so typical!! Hahahahaha!!! "

"S-Stop laughing! It's not funny! "

"You also hit me with a broom the first time we met. Are cleaning tools, weapons to you? "Kuro asked, already slurping on the ramen that Mitsuki bought him.

"I can't help it, okay?! "Mahiru shouted.

"Pfft! That's okay, MahiMahi! You could totally use a broom for tons of things! "

He stared at her skeptically. "Like what? "

"Cleaning. "She deadpanned.

"Agh! Stop messing with me! "

"It's true! You could also use it to bash people's head! You'll be fine!"

"Don't just say that so casually! " Mahiru pointed out. "By the way, Misono said something really weird. "

Mitsuki was suddenly infront of him.

"Hih! "

"He did? "She questioned.

"Y-Yeah.. He said something about you having the same name as his father's secretary.. "

"Oh... " Mitsuki looked really disappointed, the brunette instantly freaking out at the depressed aura radiating like waves around her.

"H-Hey... Is there something wrong?"

She smiled and laughed. "No.. It's nothing. Just that Sakuya is being stupid and Onii-sama won't stop hovering over me. It's why I escaped here."

Mahiru for once, was able to tell that she was lying.

"Mitsuki, it's not nothing if it could make someone as loud as you depressed like this. You've been acting really weird lately. Are you hiding something? And don't tell me it's because of your brother. We all know that he has a sister complex and evading him by now is an easy job for you."

"Woah, Mahiru..Easy. "Mitsuki raised both of her hands in surrender. "You sound as if I'm doing something bad."

"No, that's not it.. "

"Mahiru, it's really nothing. But you should probably ask Sakuya that question instead. Lately, he's been really worried and skeptical of your actions. " She advised. "You know... about the vampires and all... It isn't my place to tell him since I'm not the one with the servamp here."

"I don't want them to get involved! I don't want my friends to get hurt. That's why Kuro got me a weapon. So I could have the power to protect people! "

Kuro yawned." But you don't even know how to use it yet. " He blushed. "I'll learn! And you'll help me! "

Kuro's eyes widened. "What a pain.. "

"You're my servamp so you need to help me! "

"Fine.. But just so you know, I'd rather die than do something so troublesome."

Mitsuki giggled at their short exchange.

"The two of you.. You really have a good chemistry. "

Mahiru and Kuro shared a look, the two blushing as they both turned away.

"But I'm glad that atleast you're getting along." Mitsuki said. "But what I said about Sakuya is true, Mahiru. He acts like it doesn't bother him but he's very perceptive. Atleast consider telling him."

Mahiru shook his head. "It's not that easy! I don't want my friends to get hurt. It's bad enough that you're involved but involving the others is going to be a problem. They're going to be a target and what if they get hurt again? Ryuusei got bitten by a vampire and almost died!" He closed his eyes, hands trembling. "I don't want to experience that kind of thing again! I don't want my friends in danger because I was being selfish!"

Mitsuki's expression softened. "Oh Mahiru.." She stood up and grabbed his hand between her own.

"I didn't mean to make you feel that way.. I'm sorry.. I didn't know. "She admitted, feeling guilty at her own words.

"I guess I was also worried.. I just didn't want you to shoulder everything by yourself, not if I could help it. But you should know that I'm capable of taking care of myself. Besides, we aren't alone, Kuro's here too, right?"

"Hey, why are you involving me?" The servamp said, looking like he didn't want to be there at all.

"You're already involved, so don't make excuses!" She stuck out her tongue. "And you're the only one I could trust to take care of Mahiru since he doesn't seem to care what happens to him as long as he helps others."

Mahiru blushed awkwardly. "I can take care of myself just fine!"

Mitsuki only rolled her eyes. "As much as I want to believe you, fighting vampires is not an easy matter so please don't blame me for putting my faith on Kuro. And Kuro, I hope you don't mind--"

"I do--"

"-- looking after this naughty child. He gets himself in trouble a lot." She concluded, ignoring the vampire's protest.

"Hey!"

Mitsuki flashed him a smile, a sincere smile that lightened up her face and made her look more relaxed.

"I'm glad I met you, Mahiru."

"Ah..." Mahiru blushed, not knowing what to say at her honesty and sincerity but since he really couldn't afford not to answer, he opened his mouth to speak.

"Errm..I'm g-glad I met you too, M-Mitsuki."