Nabi trained her gaze on Guisei, his mind elsewhere when he described his battle against Akihiko and the words Naisho said to him. A sigh escaped her like a calming breeze, akin to the noise of the fireplace in her room. Guisei stared at the ceiling, working through his mind like a complex web spun by Naisho with Erena made as bait for him.
"You said you know the guy Nabi; what's his deal, anyway?"
Nabi perked up from the small cup of tea Guisei prepared for the both of them only for the mist to fill her head the more she tried to think back about Naisho, only remembering moments before the Exousia's speech. In contrast to Shi's tone, Nabi merely shrugged in response.
"He's….strange, the same type of guy you can only trust if you have leverage over."
"And he has more leverage on us…. Geez," Guisei muttered.
He sunk into the crimson couch, blending in entirely if not for his golden eyes and skin that still peeked out from through it. Nabi's eyes swirled around the room, like the crackling flickers of flame that occasionally entered the open air as if searching for something.
"We need a clock," Nabi said.
"I feel like a clock would just make this numbing tension worse—— where the hell is this guy and whoever he was going to bring with him, anyway. I swear if this is an elaborate ambush like last time, I'm just going to let you handle it."
Nabi nodded.
"That's fine."
"You're just bored."
A calming quiet permeated the room. The two merely waited, but like the ticking noise of the clock within both of their minds, they heard a knock at the door.
"Door," Nabi said, expecting Guisei to get it only for his muffled voice to come from the couch.
"Door."
The knocking continued only for the two to exchange their 'door' command until Nabi let out a sigh, extending her arm towards the door despite how far she was from reaching its silver handle.
___________________________________________________________________________
"Nai….its late, why did you drag us out here like this anyway," Juno asked, sleepily rubbing the silk fabric of her black robes over her bright blue eyes contrasting with the tired expression on her face as she leaned on the Naisho's pink jacket.
The young man couldn't help but smirk as he pushed her head away to watch her bob side to side before falling back onto him
"It's not even that late Juno, you just sleep way too easily, I think."
Juno's gaze couldn't help but straighten in disagreement before drifting back into the (sleepy?) dull look she had before. Naisho looked back at the other one with them, unable to contain the fox-like gaze he seemed to gain.
"Plus, we need to help our little friend out a bit, anyway. She's doing just fine."
"But still Nai—"
The door to Nabi's room blast open, filling the hall with shards of metal and wood. Juno and Naisho carefully peered into the room to see the smoke from Nabi's smoking fist slowly cease. Their gazes shifted slowly to Guisei, who had escaped the couch's grip and was now sitting next to the destroyer of the door, mirroring her expressionless face towards them.
The two pairs exchanged careful looks, blinking at the other as if contemplating what to do next in a cycle that dared to never end. Naisho sliced through the dense air with his cold blade of a request.
"May we come in…?"
"Go ahead," the two said in unison.
Juno kicked away a piece of the door, no longer tired after having her life flash before her eyes from the mere explosion of a door. Guisei watched the two closely as if they were still threats even as Naisho plopped onto 'his couch' while Juno sat next to the young man.
____________________________________________________________________________
Juno kicked away a piece of the door, no longer tired after having her life flash before her eyes from the mere explosion of a door. Guisei watched the two closely as if they were still threats even as Naisho plopped onto 'his couch' while Juno sat next to the young man.
"What exactly do you want, Naisho?" Nabi asked.
Her distant gaze locked with the young man that sat before her without care in the world.
"A proposition."
"Explain."
"I won't beat around the bush with this, after the crap you guys and the other two pulled during the Trial of Birth, many eyes are on you and those eyes are either looking for the ones Zephyr mentioned or searching for potential targets."
"I'm failing to see where we factor into that, neither should apply to a couple of first years."
"You can drop the act, Nabi Itami of House Satania."
Nabi maintained her composure, having the awareness to keep the Reiju from leaking out of her body and keeping her mind clear of anything distracting, even if the thing in her thoughts was him and his own thoughts creeping into her mind.
"Being a part of a Deadly Sin's court is meaningless so I suggest you make your point known now or else you can leave."
Guisei and Juno watched as Nabi and Naisho dueled each other with their words, both forcing the other to rethink before strategizing only for a smirk to cross Naisho's face at the last moment.
"While you may have been careful, you've let your subordinate go out of control on too many occasions," Naisho said.
The web he created was laid and now all it needed was a proper trigger. Guisei blinked, preparing to defend himself only for Nabi's monotone voice to cut through the air, just like Naisho's had before.
"Explain."
"The Trial of Birth."
Nabi let her mind stray away, remembering the sight of Guisei wandering the open wasteland and the golden reiju that swirled around him, cracking the stone beneath his feet as if lightning struck it and sparks filling the air from the giant creations he left behind, but to her knowledge nobody could have seen it, only felt his presence at most.
"What about it?"
"The form he took was of the Progenitor of Greed, Mammon."
"Your source?"
Naisho shifted his gaze towards the shattered frame of the door
"I thought you were told to stick with us, girl," Naisho shouted, letting his voice pass the frame with ease.
A chill ran up the girl's spine as Naisho's voice kissed her ears. She brushed her deep brown hair to cover some of her face from the light, preparing to step into it, yet something made her hesitant.
He was in there.
Her heart beat rapidly like Naisho's finger on the crimson couch debating whether to face the two who caused this or to simply just run away again like she had done so many times and there was nowhere else to go but forward at this point.
Forward….
Forward…..
The first thing the light touched was her bright violet eyes as she stepped into the light. Despite her rapid breathing, her movements were smooth, like the silk skirt wrapped around her waist. She watched as the last sight she saw before her rebirth gaze at her as if she was a ghost returning to haunt him for what she endured. The girl opened her lips to speak, introducing herself just like she had before.
"H...hello, I'm Erena Xestis."