Enmei stood awkwardly in (Y/n)'s newly gifted suite, finding the situation to be nerve-wracking to himself. The girl watched him curiously, fearing that she had offended him when he hadn't intended for any harm to come to others on his behalf. The grey-haired boy began to play with his sweater, looking to the side and rocking back and forth on his heels. He didn't seem keen on talking, but why else was he there?

The girl was sat down on her bed, looking curiously at the boy, but every time they made eye contact, he would quickly dart his vibrantly colored pupils away. A few times, it appeared that the boy worked up the nerve to speak, but he only backed out of it and gave a small mumble or whimper. He then shook his head and seemed to give himself a small encouraging speech to overcome his fears, and finally made eye contact with the girl.

"I wanted to apologize," he said determinedly, "I-I had no idea that you would react like that, and I promise I didn't mean to scare you away or anything! I really do love you! I want...to be closer to you."

The girl could hear the guilt and desperation in the boy's voice, and though it reminded her of Yamato and the others, it wasn't the same at all. In fact, he seemed more human than they did. And as the (h/c) haired girl remembered Asuka's words that the boy tended to have a different perception of affection than he should. It seemed certainly unhealthy for him and for others that would be given that affection.

"I thought I gave you the wrong impression of me," the boy said again, putting his hand by his mouth in a nervous manner, "So can we start over or something like that? I know you don't know a lot about me, but I'd be happy to share!"

The boy became silent again, feeling awfully embarrassed for accidentally raising his voice in excitement. He then shyly peeked up to gauge the girl's reaction, only to see her giving a hesitant smile. His embarrassed grin turned into a small frown, knowing he probably wouldn't get the chance to make his case to her. It wasn't like he didn't understand her hesitance, knowing that he probably didn't see him as anything but a friend, but it still pained him.

As the (h/c) haired girl pondered his proposal, she couldn't seem to make a decision, weighing both sides. Although she trusted Asuka telling her that he was just confused and was as harmless as a fly, she didn't want to risk facing another obsessed male. But her heart still yearned for Yamato, as much as it pained her to admit it, and speaking with another male might have freed her from that affliction.

"Sure," the girl said softly, "Why don't you let me get to know you better, Enmei?"

The boy's cheeks became a light hue of pink at the gentle tone she said his name in and he fiddled nervously, a small smile on his lips. Sitting down on the bed, he began to wonder what to tell the girl, trying to decide between what to tell her first. There was a certain excited air around the boy, making him appear to be genuinely happy about her willingness to talk with him. He then turned to the girl, positioning his legs in a rather child-like manner. "Criss-cross applesauce," (Y/n) thought, giggling slightly.

"To start with, I think what I like the most is working," Enmei smiled, "I like to be of use to other people, so when I help out Sora or Asuka or anybody else by working, it makes me feel all warm inside. But that's kinda boring, huh? I don't know about what to say, really."

"How about you tell me about your favorite food?" the girl suggested.

"That's a bit tamer than I would have expected," the grey-haired boy smiled brightly, "I don't often eat a lot of different food. I usually just have whatever is served in the dining hall. But, from all the things I've eaten, I'm rather fond of burgers. They're pretty yummy, but we don't have them very often."

The boy began to ramble more about his favorite things, becoming passionate when talking about them. While there wasn't much he seemed to put his enjoyment in, he certainly enjoyed them to the fullest. Most of the time, he would bring up Sora or Asuka, saying how grateful he was for them, his smile wide and joyful. However, when he found (Y/n) staring at his smile with an amused chuckle, he would blush and look away, although his smile would never fade.

"Well, it's just," he paused, looking up in thoughtful contemplation, his smile still plastered on his features, "They're like a family to me. I know I have one, but they didn't really want me, so here I am. At least, that's what I've been told."

"What do you mean?" the girl asked, a frown appearing on her face at his words, "How did you get involved with the Gensai anyway?"

The boy tensed and touched his neck, only to pull away when he realized he was. He tightened his hoodie strings, tying them together tightly. His expression was saddened, but he seemed to be holding a smile on his features despite it. He began to twirl a longer part of his grey hair in his finger. It seemed like a calming action that encompassed him in a sense of tranquility and peace.

"My mother abandoned me here when I was a baby," he shrugged, used to the idea of not being wanted, "I don't know anything about her except what's in the files about her. She's married, just not to my father, and apparently, she had a son with him. So I have a half-brother somewhere out there. But I really do think of Asuka like my big sister and Sora kind of like a father. He's not the same as one, but it's the closest I'll ever get."

"I'm sorry," the girl said quietly, putting her hand on the boy's shoulder in concern.

"Ah, no, don't be," the boy smiled genuinely, "If I stayed with my mother, I've no doubt she would've hated me, but, at least here, I've got people who really care about me. Asuka's better than any mother I'll ever have, and though Sora can be a bit opinionated about himself, he is really kind to me. More than he should be, really."

"But it seems like everyone picks on you here. I mean, Asuka said something about Seraphina picking on you, and there were those guys that tried to hurt you. That doesn't sound like a nice place to live."

The boy gave a surprised expression as though he'd never thought about it before. Sure, there had certainly been times when he felt completely hopeless and that he didn't deserve the life he had been given. In fact, there had been so many before he had met Asuka, constantly "put in his place" by those that ranked higher than him, and that was pretty much everyone. But despite that, Sora had always stuck up for him, even if he did it in a stern way. And when Asuka came along, he didn't want to be anywhere else but besides the two of them, helping out in any way he possibly could.

"Not at all," he sighed, his grin only growing, "I love this place. It's my home. I wouldn't trade it for anything else."

The way the boy looked, (Y/n) could tell he wholeheartedly put faith in his statements. Before, she wouldn't have believed that Sora would stand up for him, and that he was imagining it or taking it the wrong way, but he seemed capable of such actions. Although, if he were to attempt to be the hero, it would probably be quite awkward, and he would only end up becoming an anti-hero or something like the sort.

"And now that you're here," Enmei paused, his cheeks becoming warm, "It's like I have another thing to love about this place. I hope you can stay here forever. That'd be nice."

There was a knock on the door that drew everyone's attention to Sora who stood there with a blank look. His eyes moved from the grey-haired boy to the (h/c) haired female sitting next to him on the bed, but he didn't seem to care very greatly about it. He gave a shrug and brought a glass of whiskey to his lips, motioning for Enmei to follow him. It was a gentle motion, but the grey-haired boy was reluctant to part from the conversation he and the girl were taking part in.

"Is it important?" he asked, treating the subject delicately, "If it's alright...I'd really like to stay with (Y/n) for a bit longer."

The ravenette still held a blank look on his face, studying the red cheeks of the boy as he occasionally darted his eyes over to the girl, and then away. He couldn't hold himself back from letting a smirk appear on his features, but he did contain the chuckle that wanted to escape his throat. It was quite obvious the feelings that Enmei seemed to hold for the younger girl, and he certainly wasn't going to stop the boy from giving it a shot.

"I'll cover for ya this time," he said with a suppressed grin, "But don't make a habit of this. The old farts are gonna get cranky again."

"T-Thank you, Master Sora!" Enmei said excitedly, his grin the widest it had ever been, rushing to hug the older male, "This means so much! I'll pay you back, I swear! Thank you, Master Sora, thank you!"

"Yeah, yeah," the ravenette said, clearly uncomfortable with the hug, pushing the smaller boy away, "Just don't hug me again. I don't do dudes."

The grey-haired boy didn't complain, giving a vigorous nod as he rushed back to the female he seemed almost entranced by. As Sora turned to leave, he gave a curious look to the female, then to Enmei one more time, studying the two of them carefully. There was something off about the grey-haired boy, but he couldn't quite place his finger on it. Or maybe it was just his imagination. Figuring it was the latter, he shrugged and took another sip of whiskey, closing the door to the room and making his way to the meeting.

. . .

Enmei and (Y/n) spend the entire day talking and sharing information about one another, enjoying every moment of it. Though the girl wasn't entirely sure that the boy was perfectly harmless, he didn't seem to possess any of the qualities than anybody else had. He seemed calm and genuinely interested in her, something she hadn't been able to experience in quite some time. Yamato had always scared or threatened any potential rivals away. Whether or not the brunette acted on those threats, only he knew.

Eventually, they were talking their way through dinner, and then into the night, finding out surprising topics to argue or agree on. They laughed and enjoyed their time, unaware of the struggle that a certain orange-haired girl was going through. The entire day, she had been spacing herself from everyone else, preparing to enact another phase of her plan. Her target was still the prime minister of a foreign country, Lorian Balliol, who was visiting for a political debate in the country.

He was a typical political figure, boring and evasive, but a decent leader, having a significant sway over the economic outcomes of his country. Though it wasn't the wealthiest one in the world, it had prominent and promising advancements in science, particularly their investment in studying oil fields. Due to this, the country was beginning to enjoy a flourishing economy, trade booming. Asuka's mission was simple: she was to gain priceless information on the man, useful for blackmail or extortion.

The man was a greedy one, although he never revealed that to the public. That was why the assignment was so important. Should she find something that could convict him of something enough to lose his position or threaten his own safety, they would have a large sphere of influence over the promising country. Asuka wasn't pleased about this particular mission, but she never was thrilled to do them when it included disgusting men.

There was only one time when she was offered the ability to do an assignment that had a young and respectable man, but it didn't offer enough money to her to waste her time on. Thus, she took this one, one with a large reward should she pull it off. During her previous advancement in the mission, she had met with the man and established her presence, effectively captivating him, however much it made her want to throw up.

This time, she was going on a date with the man, something he had proposed the last time they had met, just a handful of days previously. She was dressed in a dark red dress that hugged her modest curves and accentuated her stunning orange hair that she took so much pride in. She walked slowly in her high heels, noticing the stares she got. This was not anything new, but it still annoyed her anyway. She had more self-respect than to let them gawk at her and get away with it.

When at last Asuka stepped into a top-tier club, she was greeted by multiple men, offered drinks that she accepted. Of course, she monitored her alcohol consumption, knowing she would need a clear head to do her job properly, but why not let the men waste their money? It was teaching them a lesson for thinking they could buy her. She made her own money, she didn't need them. Nonetheless, she was bombarded with attempts to woo her while she put on a sweet smile and declined. Normally, she would have smacked them or told them off, but she needed to be seen as "easy" in order for her plan to work.

Seeing her target across the room, she skipped over to him and smiled brightly, greeting him excitedly. Although it was an act, she had refined the art of masking her disgust and it made her an invaluable asset to Sora. That wasn't the only reason he held her in such high regard, but it certainly didn't hurt.

As Asuka skillfully manipulated her target into believing that he had gotten her drunk, she began to whine for his attention, suggesting they go to his hotel room. He, of course, was utterly enthralled by the orange-haired beauty, and was more than happy to oblige her request. As he led her there on his arm, she tried to focus her attention elsewhere. That was, by far, her least favorite part of her job. The fact that she had to pretend to be under the control of a man when in truth, she would never subject herself to that.

As the man prepared for a stunning night with the girl, she ensured the area was clear for her to proceed as planned and joined him on the bed. Normally, in the special division of Sora's harem, the girls would actually sleep with the men, not having the ability to utilize their wits, strength, and agility in such a situation. But there was a reason that Asuka was Sora's go-to for difficult assignments, and it wasn't just because he had more faith in her.

The girl made swift work of her target, tying him up and putting a gag on him for good measure. There was no need for it since she could easily take care of the guards, but she was in a foul mood that day, and she felt like she needed to take it out on him. She then began to search the room, using her skills to find important and classified files on his computer. Not wanting to leave anything of interest out, she interrogated the man.

As per usual, she was intimidating enough for him to begin to tell her about some instances of use to her. While he tried to call the guards, it didn't worry the orange-haired girl. It wasn't like they would last long anyone, and they would help relieve some of her pent up anger. Thus, as they swarmed into the room, the girl began taking them down one by one. They were no match for her agility and she soon had them unconscious on the ground. It wasn't enough to relieve her of her anger, but, at the very least, it provided the man with enough fear to spill everything he knew.

"How boring," Asuka sighed, pulling out her phone and calling the ravenette, "Well, I did it. Got some good stuff out of it, but what do I do about the pig?"

"What?" Sora scoffed, his voice coming out almost in a static, "Do whatever you want, just don't kill him yet. I'm in the middle of something, piss off."

"So grumpy," the girl smirked, hanging up on him and then turning to the terrified man, "Well, what shall I do first? I say I pay you back for eyeing me like a bastard all fucking night."

. . .

Sora gave a soft sigh. Though Asuka had given him some reassurance that the mission had gone well, he was still stuck in a meeting with the same old men he had met with just earlier. Apparently, they thought they had backed the ravenette into a corner so that he would have to accept their proposal to expand the slave trade. Of course, they should have known that attempting to force him into anything would only blow up in their faces.

"I believe we've reached a decision," one of the men said determinedly, "And I expect you to cooperate, Master Sora. Without this, we will not have access to doing business in Echal. I'm certain you understand that?"

"Mm," the ravenette groaned, downing a shot as he cocked an eyebrow, a smirk spreading across his lips, "You old farts just want money, don't ya? Well, fine. You can have your money, but it won't be from the slave trade. Echal doesn't do slaves, they do information. We sell them info, we get a good rep with the higher-ups in the country. Then we can work on expandin' the business to smugglin'."

The men in the room gave curious looks at the ravenette, wondering why he would have come up with a compromise. It certainly wasn't something that he did every day. In fact, it wasn't something he did at all. Most of the time, he would go with what he thought was best despite anyone else's opinions. Yet what he had come up with had made them nod their heads in agreement. They would get their money. There was no need to argue. Sora was right.

"She really is a smart one, ain't she?" he chuckled, letting his smirk widen.