Awkward Meeting (for Raiye-san)

Masato and Haruka looked to Lute with such worry and desperation. The result of her call chilled them.

" ..It seems Asteria was in the hospital but has been missing since this afternoon. "

"How?" Haruka began.

"Why, is more like it," Masato murmured. He bowed his head to consider the new mystery. Then: "Huh?"

The crotch of his pants was wet.

The water Zera poured on me? No, too warm... warm?

His cheeks flushed. Haruka felt his face heat up, her arms still around him.

"Masato-kun, what's wrong?"

She tried to peer over his shoulder. After a second, he exclaimed and floundered.

"Oh, your pants are wet..."

"Ah, it's not what you think, Haruka!"

Lute decided to call someone else, someone every single one of them knew aswell.

" Hey Cerbera, I thought you should kn-- Oh, are you sick? Ah.. Headache.. You should lie down and take a rest.. Anyway.. I wanted to tell you that Asteria is out of the hospital but no one knows where she is. "

Lute went silent for a while, listening to Cerbera's words and smiled. " Hey, it sounds like you're really sick.. Please take some medicine and rest. " Lute was worried off course, Cerbera was someone dear to her and even though Cerbera was sick, she was still glad to hear her, that was untill something started to outvolume Cerbera's voice...

" Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are. Up above the world so high, Like a diamond in the sky... " Lute listened to it while Cerbera's voice was slowly overtaken by the other voice, her eyes starting to widen as she remembered what Masato just said about Asteria and suddenly the phone was dead. " ...Cerbera..? " She quickly got off from the stool and dashed out of the shop and towards Cerbera's location, forgetting to say bye to everyone.

Sindel was silent, she had no idea what was going on but it seemed something was happening, something very strange.. And scary.. Instinctively she held onto Zera's hand, squeezing gently upon it. Zera was apologizing to Masato with a politefull bow while Lute had been talking to Cerbera, she didn't mean to get Masato entirely wet but then blinked when Sindel had clutched her hand, looking back at Sindel. "

" ..Sindel..? "

" .... "

Haruka didn't notice Lute's call or departure, having finally realized what Masato's wet crotch implied. "Kyaaaah!"

Masato was in a similar panic. Worse, he had to split his attention between his ward and Zera. "Haruka! It's not what you think! Really! No, Zera-san, it's all right, I know it was an accident... Zera-san?"

The two of them looked (and blushed) at the way Sindel and Zera held hands. Then they felt the same cold that had seized their friends.

"What's wrong?" Masato asked.

"Is it Cerbera-san?" Haruka, quicker to guess and correct in this one, gasped.

Sindel kept a calm fix at Haruka and Masato, she knew Masato could handle it since he managed to keep his cool when he spoke to Sindel about her own stuff but Haruka.. She knew how the girl would react and before Sindel could even speak, Zera was the first one to act with words.

" There is nothing wrong, Sindel just got startled by Lute's departure, didn't you miss Sindel? " Sindel tilted her head to look at Zera and not long after she nodded in agreement, Haruka didn't need to know the truth if it would hurt her.. Sindel felt odd though, the need to protect Haruka.. So this is what Cerbera must've felt.

Trusting as she was, Haruka took Zera's lie to be truth. "Oh..." Blinking, she looked around her. "Eh? Where did Lute-san go?" she asked, her concern now shifting to their missing companion. "She was just here a minute ago..."

Masato saw through the deception. Somehow he managed not to betray his suspicions. Haruka was still holding her, and his ward has shown herself to be rather touch-sensitive. If she sensed any tensing on his part...

"Maybe she ate-and-ran on us?" Masato asked, making the joke as wry as he could. "If so, she truly is a member of an evil organization..."

"I don't think she's like that..."

Sindel literally face palmed from Masato's words, they were so close to making Haruka believe it! Despite Zera's efforts, Sindel became hot headed once more and even though Zera was trying to talk her out of it, she spoke out clearly.

" Lute left cause apparently-- " Zera was trying to hug Sindel close now, hoping that it was unexpected but alas Sindel's well known hot headedness got the best of Zera's attempt. " --Lute was calling Cerbera who seems to be sick and since the volume was up loud enough, Cerbera's voice changed into Asteria's an-- "

Zera had reached the point where she had to take action, bringing her palm to Sindel's lips instead and muted her, speaking out with a harsh tone. " You're going to have to be quiet before I unleash Hell on you. " It was uncommon for Zera but also strangely identical to what Cerbera would say.

Masato winced. Sindel was right to get angry at his goof. Okay, note to self, don't make light of situations like this...

Haruka stared at Sindel. "What? What happened with Cerbera-san and Asteria-san, Sindel-san? What did Lute-san sense?" She understood there was something wrong, though the details were hazy. Asteria-san turned into Cerbera-san? Or did I get it wrong?

And then Zera shut everyone up with her caustic warning. "Y-yes, Ma'am," the intimidated Haruka and Masato mumbled under that lashing tongue.

Zera released a rather gentle sigh, bringing both arms back to her sides, looking down at Masato and Haruka with a rather calm look, like everything she just heard was easily brushed off.. And then Zera started to speak that much comfortable.

" ..For now, all that I personally know is that Asteria is looking for revenge. Will my sister ill she has no protection and therefor Lute stormed off, I believe it is time to set our cards right. Right now we have new bonds. " Zera looked from Masato, to Haruka and back to Sindel. " We're no longer alone. "

Sindel widened her eyes at first but soon she smiled brightly and shook her head, trying to hide a laugh. " You're so corny, Zera... But you're right.. I guess I have two new friends now.. "

Haruka and Masato rallied almost instantly when Zera's gaze softened. "That's right," Haruka affirmed to their friends. She even took Zera and Sindel's hands in hers, and squeezed them firmly. "You're not alone. Never alone," she vowed.

Masato looked around the shop, making sure no eavesdropper was present. "What's the plan, then? We'd like to help however we can."

Both Zera and Sindel couldn't help but show a faint tint of red on their cheeks when Haruka took their hand, both of them nodding with a smile. " I understand that now. " Sindel spoke with a surprisingly soft voice.

Zera was scanning shop aswell, though she slowly hopped from the stool and pulled her hand from Haruka's heading outside. " Please excuse me. "

Sindel watched her stand outside before she'd look back at the other two. " Our main problem is reaching Cerbera.. We don't know how many girl's she is possessing but with Zera holding Cerbera's jewel, we can reverse it. "