In the morning, (Y/n) woke up relatively early, probably because of the effect school had on her. It was a habitual wake up for her, so she doubted she'd be going back to sleep. Instead, she trekked downstairs, finding Yamato sprawled out on one of the couches, no doubt to make sure he was there if she tried escaping. Considering how early it was, she wasn't expecting anyone to be awake, but Takuya and Akari were there, very much awake.

Takuya was quick to notice her presence, brightening up and hopping over to her to give her a tight hug. He blabbered about how pretty the sunrise was and asked her if she slept well, if she liked the room, if she needed anything, etc. However, she wasn't paying attention to him. Rather, she was focused on Akari, who was hyper-focused on cleaning the kitchen. It wasn't dirty or anything, mostly because Rei was very concerned with the hygiene in any kitchen he used. Still, Akari was cleaning away with a worried expression on his face.

In reality, he was doing it to try and score back some points with Rei. The older male hadn't said one word to him since their little "talk" even though he'd occasionally throw a dirty glare his way. Unable to handle that, Akari was trying everything he could to redeem himself. If that meant waking up at the crack of dawn to deep clean the kitchen and prepare all the utensils that the older male would be using, so be it. And, just to make sure, he never looked the younger girl in the eyes, knowing Rei would definitely punish him for that, too.

"Uh, (Y/n)?" Takuya called, sadly clinging onto her arm, "Are you listening?"

"What? Oh. I'm just a little tired. What were you saying?"

"Just that...I was hoping to do something fun with you. You know, to take your mind off of everything. A-And I wanted a chance to...apologize. It probably wasn't right for me to go along with it, but - "

"Akari," the younger girl mumbled, walking around the counter to see his progress, "Was there anything Rei was planning on making for breakfast?"

Akari flinched. She didn't know if it was because she said the older male's name or if she was talking to him. Either way, he was dejected, biting down on his lip and starting to scrub harder at the fancy glass stovetop-looking thing. Still, even as he was trying to avoid her, she could only stare at the bandages all over his face and arms. She wondered if it was just bruising or if he had been bleeding. Cautiously, she reached out to touch him, only for him to stumble back and tremble.

"Ah - I forgot," she mumbled, "Sorry. Just...it looks like it hurts."

"Fine. I'm fine. You don't need to pay attention to me."

"(Y/n)," Takuya interrupted, standing in between her and the blonde, "Would you rather watch a movie or - "

"But I want to talk with you, Akari," the younger girl sighed, "You can't just pretend I didn't see the books."

"I'm not!" the blonde panicked, looking nervously all around in case Rei popped up somewhere and saw them talking, "I'm atoning! I'm making up for all the horrible things I did, so there's no need for you to pay attention to me. I don't exist, okay?"

"Don't you think you, at least, owe me an explanation?"

The male paused. He didn't think about that. It wasn't something he could really refuse either. She was entitled to know why he'd been following her around for years or why he had killed one of her friends. And, yet, even when his eyes softened at the realization that she was making a reasonable demand, shivers went up his spine. Quickly, he turned to find Rei standing at the top of the stairs, just having woken up. Akari vaulted over the counter as quickly as he could before rushing over to him.

"Rei, I cleaned the kitchen for you," he sputtered out, desperately trying to get the male to look at him, "I even took out everything you'd need for breakfast. I-It's a Thursday, so you're probably in the mood for crepes, right? I even - "

"Talked to your 'goddess'?" Rei mocked, finishing the younger male's sentence for him only to horrify him.

"No, I wasn't - You told me not to, so I - "

Akari didn't finish the sentence before the older male gave him an intense slap to the cheek. It sounded so loudly that even Yamato woke up. Akari stood there in shock as blood started dribbling down, the male pressing his hand to his cheek only to verify that it really did sting. He hunched over at the revelation of what just happened, Rei glaring down at him with no affection in his eyes. (Y/n) quickly made her way over to them - despite Takuya's attempts to get her attention - only for Akari to stand up straight again and stare up at Rei with hopeful eyes.

"You can do it again."

"Get lost."

"No, I mean it! You can hit me as much as you want. I know you weren't satisfied with yesterday, so - "

"You're still walking. Of course I'm not satisfied."

"Right? So, please do it until - "

"Mm, cupcake," Rei suddenly grinned, placing his hand on the girl's cheek as he pressed a kiss on the other, "So pretty even in the morning. What are you in the mood for this morning? I heard you didn't eat, so you must be starving."

"Get off!" the girl snapped, shoving him away to his discontent, "You don't get to pummel his face and come up to me with an innocent smile!"

"And yet, I did. Come on, let me dress you up so we can make a nice, romantic meal together. I'll let you eat outside, too, if you want, but only if you sit on my lap. I think it's about time we get closer."

"Akari, we should treat that before - "

The sandy blonde shied away from her touch once again, giving a horrified look to both her and Rei. The former was merely concerned about the injury as well as his mental distress but the latter was daring him to try something. He'd already warned Akari not to get close to her. And, after she found out he'd been stalking her, the younger male agreed. Still, (Y/n) argued with Rei, saying he was the one responsible for Akari's pain. At some point, the older male got tired of arguing back, snapping to the blonde in question.

"Heretic, don't you want my cupcake to show me a bit of love and care and cook breakfast with me?" the prince scoffed, earning a nod from the younger male, "See? He's fine. I'll ask again: what should we make for breakfast?"

"He's only doing what you want! Why are you so selfish?! He's not a toy!"

"And why do you care about some pathetic little stalker when you won't spare me a glance despite the fact I only have your safety in mind?!"

"He didn't hold a knife to my head!"

"No, but he did murder one of your friends!"

The guilt got to Akari. It didn't take much either. He was just itching for a reason to run away, bolting up the stairs in tears. Rei gripped onto the younger girl's wrist in a preemptive desire to keep her put. He knew she was planning on running after the younger male, and, yet, despite that, she ended up twisting out of his hold and shoving him to the side. All the while, Takuya was still calling her name, whimpering when she fled up the stairs after the sandy blonde.

"This is hypocritical and you know it!" Rei shouted after her, "He doesn't even want you coming after him either! Don't say I didn't warn you!"

Akari fled into the makeshift room Haru had given him. It was at the very end of the corridor, across from Takuya's. Nonetheless, he was a lot quicker than the (h/c) haired girl anticipated, locking himself in his room before she even made it halfway there. She pounded on the door, asking him to just speak to her or let her help him fix up his bleeding nose. Still, there was no response - just the faint sound of his sobbing on the other end of the door. It didn't matter how long she stayed there either. He wasn't coming out.

Shamefully, she had to walk back downstairs, Rei giving her a condescending look from the kitchen. He was already cooking, dicing up some strawberries with a huff. As she walked up to the counter, he paused for a moment to make eye contact with her, only to resume his dicing. Resigned, the girl moved into the kitchen with him, holding her hand out for the knife. He stared at her demanding hand with a scoff.

It was a very cocky thing she tried doing, but, just because it was her, he let it slide, pulling her in and placing the knife in her hands. It didn't matter that she knew how to dice the fruit. He wanted to stand behind her and help guide her, hovering over her shoulder. Rei, it seemed, was a sucker for physical touch, enough so to soften his irritation with her. In fact, it made him more willing to hear her out when she opened her stupid little mouth.

"Shouldn't you two talk?" she mumbled, gasping as he stabbed the knife down onto one of the strawberries, almost getting one of her digits in the process, "Be careful! You could've taken one of my fingers off!"

"Then you'd learn your lesson."

"What lesson? You can't be happy that you're separating yourself from him. You two have some crazy weird bond I can't explain, but I know you rely on each other. Him, especially! Akari's just terrified you hate him."

"(Y/n)," the blonde called, squeezing a bit closer to her, "Do you practice a religion?"

"No."

"Well, then I guess you wouldn't know what it's like for someone to apply a special title for your supreme deity onto someone else."

"Maybe not, and I get that goddess is super special to you and everything, but - "

"I'm the direct descendant of that goddess, you know. He's insulting me when he calls someone else that."

"What are you talking about? He worships you. That's why he's always running around, doing this or that or whatever you tell him. Oh my gosh, you don't even have to tell him to do something. He just does it because it'll make you happy. He didn't turn his back on you!"

"He's taking sides. He made a decision."

"Because he started taking pictures of me?"

"No. I'm sure he has about a million of me."

"Then? He's still worrying about what you think and listening to you when you tell him to avoid me like the plague. What have you lost from him having a new interest?"

Rei scoffed, backing off to start on the batter. That was how she knew she'd gotten through to him. He didn't have an argument to throw back at her. Sure, he was mainly mad about the term, not necessarily the stalking, but, as long as he could see the term wasn't meant as a betrayal, that was all that mattered.

The blonde continued to ruminate over it as he poured the batter onto the pan, spreading it thinly over before adding in strawberries and cream. He then helped make (Y/n) one, too, noting her desire for extra strawberries. The male left the spare ones up on the counter for anybody else to grab. Takuya wiggled, wondering if it was a good time to try and talk to her or not, but Rei didn't even let him try, the blonde setting down the crepe before huffing.

"What'll fix this?"

"I don't know your relationship. The only thing I know is that you're in charge of it. As long as you reach your hand out to him, he'll take it and you'll be best buds again. I mean, right?"

"So, what? I just march into his room and demand he tell me why he used that word to describe you?"

"Well, demand is kind of harsh. Just talk with him. Ask him to explain his reasoning. It might make more sense than it seems. And, if it doesn't, if he stops using the word, would you forgive him?"

Rei wrinkled his nose. He didn't know about that second part, but the first part made sense. The blonde didn't really know why Akari was using "goddess" to describe her. Maybe it had something to do with the deity and maybe it didn't. He didn't know which one was making him mad, but it was worth a shot to try and figure it out. After all, Akari was his biggest ally. Playmate or not, it was preferable to not feel so irritated whenever he saw him. It just soured all the memories they had together.

"Fine. I'll talk to him. But if he says something stupid, I'm not going to be the nice guy and let it slide."

"I wouldn't expect it of you."

"You talk back more and more, you know that?"

"Mhm. The crepe is good though."

"Obviously. I made it."

Rei didn't say anything more. He just enjoyed his breakfast before cleaning up the kitchen. He left soon after that to go upstairs. Still, she didn't know if he was heading up to see Akari immediately. It was possible he needed a bit more time to cool off before initiating that conversation. So, she decided to remain downstairs, if only because Takuya was on the verge of tears, practically begging for her to pay attention to him.

"You said you wanted a movie?" she sighed, "Well, I've been wanting to see the new action one with Ren Tatsumi."

"Oh. Yeah...he's really popular now, huh?"

"For good reason."

"What? What's that supposed to mean?" the white-haired male panicked, watching the younger girl walk to turn the television on, "Uh, (Y/n)? (Y/n)...?"

"I could explain it, but I don't think you want to know."

"I-I don't think we should watch a movie anymore! Why don't we do something else?!"

"Now I got all excited and we're not going to watch anything?"

"No! We can do whatever you want! It's just...that particular actor..."

The (h/c) haired girl rolled her eyes. She didn't think Takuya was going to be that concerned she liked the way an actor looked. Yet, there he was, fidgeting when she used the remote to find something to watch. In the first place, she was humoring him, if only because she had nothing better to do while she waited for Rei and Akari to kiss and make up. She ended up clicking on some romantic comedy to appease him, sinking back into the couch while Yamato put a pillow over his head. He should've known sleeping there was going to subject him to an early wake up.

Takuya was very invested in the movie, his reactions were very obvious. The male wore his heart on his sleeve, so he wasn't great at lying nor could he conceal any emotions. In fact, he made it clear what he felt towards the romantic relationship on the screen. At occasion, he would give a little hum before he looked over at the younger girl. And why had he done that? Well, it was obvious, but she chose to pretend differently, all the way up until the happy ending of the movie.

"That was lovely," Takuya blushed, his eyes still sparkling as the credits rolled on, "They'll live happily ever after now. What did you think, (Y/n)?"

"I don't know. I'm not really a fan of movies. This one was pretty average."

"Oh. I'm sorry. I thought you'd enjoy watching a movie, but I should have asked your preferences first. Then, what do you like to do for fun?"

The younger girl thought for a while, trying to find an answer for him, but, whenever she came even remotely close, she realized it wasn't really a hobby. She did student council for a variety of reasons but most of them made her do it for a means to an end. Then, of course, she took her classes but she couldn't say she really loved them either. It wasn't like she had the time for anything beyond that. Takuya gave a concerned look before something bittersweet came to mind.

"I...I like music," she confessed, "Most of it."

"What kind of music?"

"Oh. Folk music is probably my favorite to sing and learn, but, if I'm just listening, I guess I like music with a range of vocals. That's always been impressive to me."

"Folk music. That's a little unexpected."

"Yeah, but I have a lot of good memories with it. Ha, I once knew someone who was really beautiful at singing. He taught me a lot of Nadi songs and dances. You wouldn't believe how difficult they are."

"You met someone from Pasnad? Really?"

(Y/n) gave a bittersweet smile, quick to glance at Takuya's hair. Normally, it would have made her angry to see white hair, but, as she was thinking back on those memories, it was now a little comforting. Of course, she remembered his hair was mostly brown or black, caked in some kind of debris or dust from whatever rotting place he had to sleep. Still, that color had always been so beautiful to her. Well, only when it was on him.

"I took singing classes when I was little," Takuya mumbled, trying to find commonalities with her, "I...I wasn't very good."

"Neither is Narahashi," she snickered, "He's always been horrible with the arts: music, painting, dancing, and even literature."

"Well, he can't be good at everything."

"That's what makes him so mad about art. Everytime he starts something new, he thinks it's going to be easy, and then, all of a sudden, everything he makes turns out flat."

The (h/c) haired girl began amusing herself thinking of all the pathetic little paintings he'd tried to make over the years. It was like a computer made it. Actually, for the longest time, she thought he'd been cheating with technology somehow, but she'd happened to watch him in progress a few times. They were all him. He was just horrible with any kind of art, which was probably why he disliked it now.

Takuya was confused about how he should be feeling. On one hand, she was smiling now compared to her former grumpy expression. On the other, she'd brought up her childhood friend. The white-haired male, like everyone else - with the exception of Yamato - strongly disliked him. Even if he wasn't romantically interested in her - which he definitely was - she seemed to sway that way towards him. It was like she was completely ignoring everyone who wasn't Narahashi Shiko.

"Well," she settled down, stretching her arms behind her back, "I'm heading back upstairs before anyone else comes."

"But I wanted to spend a bit more time together," Takuya whined, pleading with her not to go, "You can teach me the folk songs you like?"

"You wouldn't be able to sing them. Oh, but I guess Rei and Akari might. Where is the capital of Vethela again? Huh."

"Well, then we can listen to music together. Or, maybe we can - "

"Takuya. Don't misunderstand. I'm still pissed at all of you. I only came down here to get breakfast."

"But I said I was sorry! And, if that's not enough, I can prove it."

"I don't really care if you're sorry or not. What's done is done and you've all decided to keep me prisoner. Do you think I want to talk to my wardens?"

"But you wanted to talk to Akari! That's not fair!"

"He was the only one trying to stop the rest of you. The only reason he stopped is because you drugged him."

"I-I was scared! I was just going along with everyone else because things were really tense and scary! I shouldn't be punished for that!"

(Y/n) shrugged, giving the male absolutely no closure. On the contrary, she left him alone with his concerns, retreating to her room. Takuya tried following after her, but, the moment she slammed the door on him, he couldn't keep following. In shock, he leaned himself against the door, pressing his forehead against it sadly. She didn't seem to understand it wasn't his fault. She should have been blaming Yamato and Shota, not him. It was so unfair.