[Between Vol.3 and Vol.4's Time skip]
"Someone help!" A man yelled through the Marlet district of Prusha. They frantically pushed through the crowds of people, Glancing back with fear in their eyes at something chasing them…
At first, he couldn't see a thing over the crowd's head. Just the stalls and shops that were crowded by people…How the hell did he lose this person so quickly? He was just running away from them after stealing some gifts from the General Shop, and that's when he saw them.
As he was scanning the market district floor, He found what was chasing him. Just hopping into the air, was a silver haired girl. She was small in height, so she constantly had to keep jumping up to see over the crowd. It wasn't much of an issue for her, Really it was just a good exercise for her.
"Hey! Stop, you thief!" She yelled at the man. Once she found her target again, she began to swim through the crowd.
The man was terribly frightened. It's been an hour since she's chased him, why the hell was she so caught up in trying to get him?!
The man began to run once more, pushing people aside until he finally entered an open area of the district. Stopping momentarily to catch his breath.
"Fu….fuck….Why the hell is a kid chasing me?! I just grabbed some damn chocolate!" The man panted heavily between his words, sweat dripping from his nose as he stared at the ground.
"Those are his favorite!" He jerked his head up in surprise at the voice. Once he turned around, it was too late for him as the silver haired girl came rocketing at him with a speed he's never seen. She lunged at him, crashing into his torso and forcing the two to fall right onto the market's floor.
"Give me those chocolates! That's the last of what they had in that store, I'll rip your arm off if you don't let go of it!" The silver haired girl's eyes burned a bright Amber color as she stared intensely at the man. "Give it to me!"
Scary. That was what was only going through the man's mind. How the hell was this girl so strong? Or how was she so fast? This day was not supposed to be like this, this chocolate was for this girl he was looking at. I mean…Today was a special day. It was Lover's day, a day to celebrate close ones here in Zenith.
Wait…was this girl going to give this chocolate for Lover's day?
Ah, to hell with it. Giving a gift to some girl was not worth having an arm broken, especially by a small child in public.
"H-here! Just take the damn thing!" The man said, frightened for his life. "Screw the chocolate, I should just take that girl out to eat!"
Scrambling to his feet, the man ran off into the crowd. The silver haired girl looked at his direction with irritation in her expression, she held the box of chocolate in her hands.
"Hey, Relax with the aggression." Another voice came from behind her. When she turned around, she saw a tall Blonde haired man holding a bundle of flowers in his arms. "Lilith, did you even get the guy's name?"
"Uh…" Lilith thought for a moment, scratching her chin. "…No, But I think I've scared him into never robbing again."
"Lilith, we need to apprehend people to make sure they don't do these things again." The blonde man said sternly. "Also…For a box of chocolate?"
"I'm going to bring it back to the General shop and pay for it myself! It's the last one there and I'm getting it, Kale!" Lilith pouted at him. "It's important."
"Hooh…I see." Kale rubbed his chin, putting the pieces together. "It is Lover's day. I guess you two would be partaking in it."
"We aren't partaking in it! Not whatever you and Tera have in mind…it's just a little gift for the things me and him have been through…" Lilith looked down at the chocolate. It's been two weeks since the festival, and Kota's been busy teaching Chris magic. The time spent together has been cut quite short between the two with Kota having to go to the university alongside Teaching Chris…
"You can call it whatever you like, Lilith." Kale smiled at her. "Don't change the fact that you decided to give it on this day. Now come on, let's head back to the General shop so you can pay for it."
"Right!" Lilith nodded her head, She then followed Kale through the crowd. Trailing behind him, She remembered something else. "Oh…Er, Actually…"
"Kota has all the rubees with him?" Kale said without looking back.
"…Yeah…Can you pay for it?"
"You really do need Kota to help you with a lot of things, huh?" Kale moved around a crowd of people, inching closer to the General shop. "…But, I'll pay. At the cost that you do an all-nighter practice with me tomorrow."
"Aww…" Lilith groaned. "…Fine."
The two made it into the General shop, it was fairly packed inside of it. Many people were buying gifts and other things for the special occasion. Lines were made for the owner to have their things paid. Lilith looked at the crowd in dismay.
"Come on…I was just here, it wasn't this crowded before!" Lilith pouted. Kale looked down at her, frowning.
"Well, there's not much we can do. We'll need to wait like the rest of them." Kale continued to look at her. "Kota should still be at the university, so we have some time before he leaves." He tried to reassure her. "It's still noon, so we should be fine.
"Ugh…" Lilith groaned. With her impatience growing, she held into her Chocolate firmly and waited alongside Kale amongst the crowd. "Hopefully…"
****
The Afternoon light pooled over the rooftops of the buildings that surrounded the Feline course, a Restaurant whose aesthetic relied on the friendly Felines. Inside this Restaurant, we're two boys who had just left the university. A dark haired boy with blue eyes sat on the floor, Petting a cat that strolled near him. Meanwhile, a Green haired boy strolled around in the kitchen, cooking up something.
The dark haired boy was thinking, it during the school day that he realized it was Lover's day. Bunch of other students were smooching and laughing together, giving letters to each other to confess their love. He realized that maybe he needed to do that as well…
As he was thinking, someone held a bowl of food at him. The dark haired boy looked up, seeing the green haired boy smiling at him.
"Bone apple teeth, Kota." He said.
"It's Bon appetit, Griffin." Kota frowned as he took the bowl. Inside the bowl was some rice and eggs, alongside a good portion of meat. "Hey, what are you planning to do for Lover's day?"
Griffin thought for a moment, he hummed to himself as his eyes glanced towards the counter. A familiar pink haired girl leaned against it, holding her glasses as she tried to clean them. "Hmm…Good question."
"Are you spending it with Sura?" Kota glanced towards the Pink haired girl too. "Seems like you two have gotten close…She's not throwing that many books at you."
"Aaand, she hasn't given me a lot of death stares. It's more or less blank stares towards me, which is what I call progress." Griffin chuckles to himself. "I have my way with women."
"No you don't." Kota plainly said to Griffin.
"Oh? Really?" Griffin scratched the cat ears he had to wear, It was an aesthetic thing for this Restaurant. "Watch this, I'm heading back into the kitchen and cooking a mean one up for Sura. That'll be my lover's day gift to her."
"Uh huh…wait, maybe I could do that too…" Kota at first wasn't into the idea, but it soon came together as he realized one thing about Lilith.
She does love to eat. Particularly sweet, but also the things he makes. His occasional cooking of fries and sometimes meat really wins her over, he hasn't really thought about it…but perhaps he could make a cake. It didn't seem like a problem for him, it was all a memory in his mind. Or…past life. But still, he might need some help with it.
"Uh, Griffin. Is it possible that your uncle would let me-Oh, and he's gone…" Kota raised his head to realize that Griffin had already gone back into the kitchen.
"Meow…" The cat that he was petting was laying next to his feet, its eyes closed and its body stretched out. Kota looked down at the cat, reaching for its head with his hand.
"…Yeah, I think Lilith would like a mini cake. I could put some pastels on it for her. Pretty sure I got today off from teaching Chris, so I got this afternoon to make it for her. Ain't that right, Buddy?" Kota reached for the cat's name tag that was wrapped around its neck. The name 'Heidi' etched into it. "Huh…thought you were a boy. My bad."
Getting up to his feet, Kota left the cat where she was as he walked towards the counter where Sura leaned. The pink haired girl was focused on her Book now, an old leather book that seemed ancient. It wasn't until Kota sat at one of the chairs for the counter that Sura noticed him.
"Kota." Sura said, as she looked at her book.
"Hey, Sura…what're you reading there?" Kota tried to make conversation with the girl. It was hard to make one with her just due to the overwhelming aura she had. She didn't even practice magic, yet it felt almost like she could shake the earth with her stern voice.
"This?" Sura finally looked at Kota, her green eyes now fixated on him. "It's a story that someone wrote. A romance one, about an idiot and a stone cold killer. Quite fun."
"…I didn't know those books existed." Kota seemed concerned.
"Maybe if you looked around the Library and walked the more obscure aisle, you'd find an interesting few." Sura placed a wooden thin slab on the page she had open before closing it. She eyed Kota momentarily before glancing at the kitchen doors. "Ok, what's he making?"
"What?"
"The green haired moron, what's he planning?"
"Oh, he's making food for you. I don't know what though." Kota watched as Sura's eyes perked up with interest, he hadn't seen that happen before. "Are you…curious about what he'll make?"
Quickly Sura tried to cover her small mistake, she stopped leaning on the counter and faked a cough. "Ahem…I was just wondering what the idiot was doing. If he wants to make something for me, he can. But he'll receive the most crushing criticism possible from me."
Even with that, Kota saw through it. Sura seemed eager to eat Griffin's food. And surely enough, Griffin came brushing through the kitchen door. In his hand was a plate with what looked to be quite luxurious food. The green haired boy strolled his way to the counter, tiptoeing and twirling around as he carried the plate in his hand.
"A twirl…a spin, Another spin for the lovely employee who is supposed to be working but obviously reading." Griffin smirked as he said that. "But I suppose you can consider yourself on break at this very moment!"
"I'll break your hand." Sura said sternly towards Griffin. He jumped at her words but quickly recovered himself, her voice was…scary.
"Ahem…Today is lover's day, and I would like to…Er…" Griffin stumbled on his words, he pulled at the collar of his shirt and tried to figure out what to say next. "Umm…partake in it with a very special person. Someone that I'd like to know a lot more…And hopefully doesn't try to kill me with books."
"We'll see." Sura said bluntly, she placed her book on the counter and held her hands out. "Come on, drop the plate in my hands like a good boy. Just know I won't be kind if it's horrible."
"Hearing you call me good boy makes my fake cat ears perk up!" Griffin said cheerfully. He must've said it to hide the shivering hands he had to hand the plate to her.
Kota found himself cringing at those words, but Sura ignored it as she was handed her plate.
"Oh…" Sura seemed actually surprised by what she was looking at. On her plate was a neatly decorated meal. Beef that was cooked nicely was drizzled in a nice aromatic sauce while fried potatoes were next to it. The drizzling of oil gave off a fantastic smell as well alongside the greenery that was on the plate. All of it looked quite delightful to Sura.
Not that she wanted to show it, but Griffin could clearly see in her sparkling eyes of how in awe she was with his cooking.
"Bone apple teeth, Sura." Griffin then bowed to her. "And happy lover's day."
"We aren't even dating." Sura muttered out.
"Wanna make that a thing?" Griffin said with a smile.
Kota quickly moved away from the counter, unsure of what would happen. No way in hell was he going to witness his friend dying. Kota quickly grabbed one of the cats that were hanging around and looked away.
However…Nothing happened. In fact, something else happened. Sura grabbed the fork on the plate and began to eat the food given to her. She was impressed, really. The food tasted delectable, when the hell did Griffin learn to cook? As soon as she took the first bite, she stopped.
"…You sure about that? Sura spoke in a soft manner. "You think you could keep up with me?" She looked up and stared at Griffin.
"Hey, just because I'm dumb, doesn't mean I don't notice you slowly warming up to me." Griffin then pointed out the book she had. "And that, that book is basically us. Except you haven't tried to kill me yet. Please don't if you are considering that."
There was a short pause from Sura, she held a straight face at Griffin who looked back at her with. Worried look. But it wasn't long before Sura broke into a giggle fit, she tried to hide her smirk that she made with her hand but it didn't work. She was caught.
"Haha…I guess you have been noticing my interest now. Here I thought you were empty in that head." Sura smiled. That made Griffin redden with joy. "Alright, I'll bite. We can try."
"Wha-wh-What…" Griffin stumbled over his words as Sura accepted his request. "Me and you…are now dating?"
"Woo…" Kota celebrated, holding the cat he had up and waving its paws. "Go, Griffin."
"It's…It's so fucking…I might cry from this." Griffin began to sniffle in a joking manner. "This is peak, I've peaked." He then looked at her, determined. "As a belark, I will do everything for you. You have my full loyalty, and my family alongside you. I'm like a Guard dog."
"…I'm reconsidering my thoughts now." Sura began to lean against the counter, her hand cushioning her face as she looked at him. "But knowing you and your family, I know you'll be taking it seriously."
"Uhhh….pfft…W-well-Wait, you've been reading about my family?" Griffin scratched his head.
Sura seemed to have noticed she said that as she too began to turn red. "I…Well it seems there was a book dedicated to your family in the library and I happened to notice it. That is all." Trying to find a way to switch the topic, Sura grabbed the fork on the plate and began to eat. "Let's just…eat this meal you've made together."
"Ooh, a dinner date. Don't mind if I do!" Griffin smiled, knowing full well that he got her. He began to eat alongside her with another fork he had on hand.
As the two began to talk and eat, Kota watched from the floor. He still held the cat in his hand as he watched the two eat. But only one thing ran through his mind at the moment.
How the hell was he going to make the cake?
****
"Ah, 600 Rubees for them chocolate!" The owner of the General shop said, Kale promptly dropped the currency onto the table where the owner stood.
The two have been in line since noon and ended up staying in line until sunset. Judging from Kale's glances, Lilith was more or less pissed. Her fist bunched into a ball as she stared at the chocolate that was given to her.
"Here, Miss. Sorry for the long wait. Just one of those days." The owner apologized.
Lilith gripped the box of chocolate firmly, staring at the owner with anger. Her eyes squinted to an absurd amount. However, the owner could only wave at the two as they left the shop.
Once Kale and Lilith headed outside of the shop, Lilith began to violently shake the box of chocolate.
"You!! You box of chocolate, you wasted our whole day!! I should've thrown half of those people out of the shop, they took so long!! Ahh!!" Lilith yelled at the box.
Kale patted her shoulder. "Relax! Just be glad you got it! Calm down. Sheesh."
Lilith began to pout again, holding the box in front of herself. "Now I've ruined the chocolate, I can feel the chocolate pieces being crumbled and stuff.."
Kale frowned, he didn't like seeing Lilith like this. It reminded him of the times when the two trained and Lilith just couldn't get a move correct. She was too hard on herself, so he needed to step in and pull it back for her.
"Hey, it's the thought that counts." Kale patted her shoulder. "I don't think Kota would care if they were crumbly or not. Just as long as you got it for him. Don't be so sad about it, alright?"
"Uuu…." Lilith moaned sadly.
Kale wondered what to do next, they couldn't get another pack of chocolate…something else would have to suffice…
"Oh." Kale realized. He looked at the bundle of flowers he had and drew one flower out of the bundle. A red rose. "Here, take this and give it to him." He then slipped the rose into Liliths right hand.
"Uuu…" Lilith looked up at him, teary eyed. "Thanks you, kale."
"…" Kale looked down at her, giving her a small smile. He was unsure of what to say to her. So he let it slide. "Let's get home."
The two then traveled back to Kale's home, where upon arriving…Kale noticed something fishy as they entered his lawn.
Up on the second floor of his home, his window was open. And his room's candle light was on, alongside a figure who leaned out the window. Of course, Kale knew who it was. It was Tera, The dark skinned woman trailed her finger against the wall of his home as she looked at him.
"Well, well…Look who showed up late. Took the whole day to wander and almost completely forgot about what today was, I see." A sultry voice came pouring from the window. "Tsk tsk, bad boy."
"Ran into a little issue on the way back. Had to wait in a line to help get Lilith her gift." Kale replied back to her.
Tera turned her gaze to Lilith, smiling at the girl. "Ooh, joining the fun! Good girl, I'm sure the boy will be pleased. Matter of fact, he just came home with his own gift as well."
"Ah, really?!" Lilith seemed surprised, her cheeks reddening. "…he thought about today too, huh."
"Seems he did, I too got a gift for kale!" Tera retreated into Kale's room, grabbing something.
"Is it…Is it normal?" Kale asked loudly, he began to move closer towards his front door. "Please be normal."
Tera popped out of his room and leaned out the window once more, with a bottle in her hand. "Oil."
"Huh?" Kale squinted his eyes and he looked at the bottle. "Why?"
"Come upstairs and you'll find out. It'll be fun, fufu…" Tera slowly began to recede into his room, shaking the bottle as she finally dissipated the room.
"Kale, is she cooking something for you?" Lilith asked him. But Kale quickly tried to change the subject.
"Haha, wellll….That is something I can't answer. Hey, why don't you give Kota his gift and spend some time with him? Been a bit since you two properly been able to chat." Kale quickly ran to his front door and opened it. "I…Need to give my gift to Tera!"
"…Does this mean-"
"This means don't knock on our door." Kale finished her sentence. "Have fun with Kota!"
Kale quickly ran into his room, and Lilith could hear his footsteps as they traversed to the second floor. Lilith found herself perplexed by Tera's gift…who would need oil? Either way, Lilith needed to focus on Kota. So she proceeded into the house.
Upon entering the house, the smell of something sweet hit Liliths nose. It wasn't Pastel…it was something else, and it was coming from the kitchen. Lilith instantly knew that It was Kota's doing, so she braced herself. Ever so slowly, she began to walk towards the kitchen while holding the box of chocolate in her hands.
The smell grew stronger as she got closer, it almost made her drool over the thought of eating it. As soon as she turned the corner into the kitchen, she saw him. Kota placed a yellow cake onto a more subtle plate, his clothes dirty from what seemed to be flour and other ingredients.
"Damn it…I forgot the icing for this." He muttered to himself. He then turned around.
"Ah." Lilith could only mutter as the pair were now staring at each other. Lilith tried to say something else, but found the words failing to come out of her mouth. So she just stood there with her mouth open. "Ah…Haaah…."
"Uh…Cake?" Kota awkwardly said, grabbing the plate of cake and holding it towards her. "I had it baked at Griffin's restaurant, but I wanted to finish it here." Lilith looked at the cake and its yellow coloring, there was a white filling in the middle of the cake. Besides that, it did look unfinished without icing or anything else.
"You made this for me?" Lilith asked, looking up at Kota.
"…it's not done, it needs like chocolate icing or something so I can write something."
When Lilith heard that, she looked at the box of chocolate in her hand And then the cake. Perhaps she could…
"Uh…This was for you…" Lilith slowly held the box up to Kota, her face flushed with red. "For Lover's day, but…I think you can use it for your cake. There's also a rose with it…"
"Oh…" Kota began to blush as well, looking at the box. "It's my favorite too. Milk chocolate." He looked at the rose that she had also given to him. He smiled as he twirled it in his hand. "Not the biggest flower guy…But I appreciate it." He then placed the plate of Cake and rose onto the kitchen counter, grabbing the box from lilith. "Thanks, Lilith."
Lilith simply nodded in a hasty manner, too embarrassed to say thanks back.
Kota grabbed a bowl and proceeded to empty the box of chocolate into it, filling it to the brim. And with a flick of his finger, a burning light burned just above his finger. Putting the bowl down, he began to heat up the chocolate with a beginner fire spell. Both Lilith and Kota watched as it began to turn into a smooth mixture, one that would be suited to be used on the cake.
"You know, ever since the Festival…we haven't done much talking with each other." Kota said.
"Well, you're busy all day with school and Chris…and I got all day training. Oh, I also need to do an all nighter of training tomorrow." Lilith said, drawing closer to him. "We've been busy doing things."
"Yeah…But when we have the time to get together…" Kota said, looking at her. "I feel like the stress I get just melts away."
"Gah! Er…Me too." Lilith admitted. "Just getting home at night and seeing you in bed makes me feel relief. Just knowing I will come back to you."
Once Kota finished melting the chocolate, he got the bowl and grabbed a spoon. With ease, he began to coat the sides of the cake by Covering it with chocolate while leaving the top empty. Once he did that, he found himself proud of what he made.
Presenting the cake to Lilith, Kota held the plate up towards her. "Here. Happy lover's day, Lilith. Thanks for helping with the final moments of it."
Lilith took a sniff of the cake, practically drooling over it. "Ah…Happy Lover's day, Kota."
"Ok, now I'm gonna cut a slice of it. No need to be raaaagh!" Before Kota could finish his sentence, Lilith began to devour the cake. Her hands grabbed the cake and tore it apart as she stuffed her face with cake.
"Good! It's delicious!" Lilith's muffled voices said as she ate.
"Ah…Indeed." Kota looked on as she continued to devour it. It was at this moment he realized that he wouldn't be able to get a piece, not at all.
But…he did get to see Lilith happy, and that's all that mattered.