14 Fall: ...Slothfulness That Begets; Inevitability...

[Some Time Fourth Grade]

"Hey Eros, what's that on your back?"

We were having a swimming lesson during P.E., and Eros had just taken off his towel as we all prepared to jump into the cold water.

"Oh these? They're scars," he said, glancing at his back.

"What!? That's so cool!" I said, pumping my fists.

He frowned. "You really think so?" I nodded, and he let out a breath of relief. "Well, if you think so, I'll be proud of them Major~."

I was about to ask him how he got them before the teacher blew her whistle. "Alright, everyone who knows how to swim, jump into the water!"

"Yes ma'am!" We all yelled out, and the majority of the class jumped into the water, all except for three people.

Erebus turned to me; his brow furrowed in confusion. "King, aren't you getting in?"

"Oh, I can't swim," I said sheepishly, looking to the side while I scratched the back of my head.

"It's okay Major, I can't swim either," Aether said, giving me a reassuring nod.

"Well, looks like it's just me and you dear Eru~!"

"Stop with the nickname! It's creepy!" Erebus said, shoving Eros away, and I started to laugh as the teacher made her way over to us.

"So, you two can't swim then?" She asked us, and we shook our heads. "Alrighty, you three are just gonna have to sit out for now while I handle the others, alright?"

Three? I turned towards the third person, a girl with golden hair wrapped in a bun sitting near the fence, who nodded at her words.

"And from you two boys, I don't want any trouble, you hear me?" The teacher scolded, and we replied with a "Yes ma'am," before she hopped into the pool to help the others.

I glanced back at the girl, who was staring out the fence into the woods. "Hey Aether, who is that girl? Is she new?"

Aether turned towards the girl and pounded his hand with his fist. "I've got it."

"You really know?"

"Nope, haven't a clue."

"Then why would you say that!?" I exclaimed, and he shrugged, nodding to himself.

"I can't expect to know every girl who likes me," he scoffed.

Ever since the incident last year, he had grown cockier by the day. Maybe it was because he skipped a couple grades or something? I didn't really mind, since I knew he was super smart.

"I'm gonna talk to her," I said, and Aether grabbed my shoulder, shaking his hand.

"Don't you know? Girls have cooties."

"Weren't you the one who told me they didn't exist?"

He paused before the realization dawned on his face. "Oh yeah, I did."

I shook him off me, laughing. "Okay, wish me luck Aether."

"Please, you don't need luck Major. You have skill," he responded giving me a thumbs up as I walked towards the girl.

"Hey, you're in the no swim squad too?" I asked, and she glanced at me before turning away. Upon closer look it seemed that her swimsuit was well worn, it starting to fray at the edges.

"It's not nice to ignore someone like that," I said, taking my seat next to her. "Are you shy, is that it?"

"What do you want?" She asked, sending a chill over my body with her harsh tone.

What's up with this girl? "I've never seen you before. Are you a transfer student?"

She hesitated before shaking her head, a strand of hair falling from her bun. "No, I've been in this school all my life."

"But how come I never see you in class?"

She went quiet, and I got the feeling she wasn't about to answer me. "O-okay, never mind then…"

Well this is awkward, I thought, looking at the girl who was now drawing her finger across the concrete floor.

I decided to try again. "So um, what's your name?" Her finger stopped at my words, but she didn't answer me. "Okay, I'll introduce myself first then."

I cleared my throat and told her my name before continuing. "Oh, but everybody calls me Major except for Erebus, who calls me King."

Her yellow eyes looked at my feet, and this time she did respond. "Why does he call you that?"

I grinned. "It's my eh-pee-tet!" I shot up to my feet as I formally introduced myself. "For I am a legend among all Mystic Art users, Keeper of Weapons, King, Master of the Mystic Arts, Leader of the Mystic Multitude!" I finished it off with a pose, grinning triumphantly.

"You pronounced it wrong."

"…Huh?" That wasn't the reaction I was expecting. "I've practiced it a million times, there's no way I pronounced anything wrong!"

She looked to the side, frowning. "It's epithet, not whatever you were saying."

"Oh, so that's it!" I said, relaxing my body. "Man, I thought I screwed up- wait a second, I was pronouncing that word wrong this entire time!?"

I started to ruffle up my hair, my face going red from embarrassment. "Oh, this sucks, and I thought I was cool too! Agh, I feel like an idiot!"

I heard laughing, and I stopped my shame fest to see the girl laughing at my reaction. "You're funny," she said, and her yellow eyes finally reached my own as she stood up.

"I'm Hemera. Nice to meet you Major!" She said, giving me a grin so radiant that I thought I was about to be blinded.

"Ah, why are you glowing so brightly!?" I said, squinting to see her. "It's weird!"

She stopped smiling at my words, the radiance gone as she reverted to her meek self. "Oh, sorry about that. I didn't mean it, I swear!"

I chuckled. "No, it's cool, so you should do it more often! Oh, can you do it on command, or is it on permanently like Eros' sparkles!? Can you do other neat things too, or is can you only-!"

I got cut off by the teacher chopping my head lightly. "Can't you see you're overwhelming her Major?"

I looked at Hemera, who was swaying back and forth in a daze. "Oh, sorry! I got too excited!"

The teacher sighed. "Anyway, time to teach you three the basics, so follow me!"

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It was the end of the day now, and as I was walking to the front of the school, I saw a girl with golden-yellow hair that nearly reached the floor wearing rather old clothes.

"Oh, is that you Hemera?" I asked, tapping her on the shoulder. She nearly jumped out her clothes, her hair whirling around to hit my face as she turned to me. "Ouch, that hurts!"

She blinked when she saw me and let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, it's just you. Sorry about that."

"Nah, it's fine. What're you up too?" I asked, readjusting my backpack.

"Oh, I was about to head home…" She said, gazing downward, tapping the tip of her shoe onto the floor.

"Aw man, I wanted to introduce you to the others so we could talk about your abilities and stuff!" I complained, frowning. "Well, if you have to go, you have to go…"

As I started to walk away, I felt someone grab my hand, and I turned back to see Hemera's face close to mine.

"Um, I can't make it today, but, but…" She trailed off, looking down at the floor.

A realization dawned onto me, and I gave her a wide grin. "So, tomorrow then?"

Her face lit up at my words as she started to glow again. "Yes, tomorrow for sure!" She gave me a sunny smile, and I was almost blinded again.

"Whoa, so bright! How do you do that!?"

She laughed and started to back away. "Tomorrow, okay?"

I gave her a thumbs up. "Tomorrow it is!"

We waved each other goodbye, and I made my way out the school, practically skipping my way to our group's meeting place.

As I was heading over there, I saw a girl with dark skin and short hair even darker blocking the sidewalk, her arms crossed as she stared at me triumphantly.

"I've been waiting for you!" She declared, pointing at me with a wild grin on her face.

I stopped, frowning. "Um, who are you?"

"So mean!" She declared, clutching her heart as her charcoal grey eyes winced in imaginary pain. ���After making me wait for so long, how dare you say that!"

"But I really don't know who you are though…"

She quickly recovered before clearing her throat. "Well, allow me to introduce myself! I am Nyx, pleased to meet you Major!" She offered her hand, and I glanced at it before looking back into her eyes.

"How do you know my name?"

"Of course I know your name!" She exclaimed, grabbing my hand as she rushed to me. "Your group is famous after all!"

"Oh, we're not that famous, hehe," I said, feeling my ears going warm. "But why do you care about us?"

"I wanna join! I already have an epithet ready and everything!" She leaned in closer, her eyes sparkling with joy.

"Hmm, I dunno…" I said, taking a step back from the girl who proclaimed herself as Nyx. She seems a bit too overenthusiastic for me… Oh, I got it!

"Hey, can you come tomorrow instead?" I asked her, and she shook the hand that she was still clinging onto.

"Of course! After school?"

"Uh, yeah. I'll lead you to our base, so just wait out in front."

She finally let go of my hand, saluting me while flashing her white teeth in a grin. "Roger that! I'll see you tomorrow then Major!"

She ran off into the distance, waving me goodbye, and I felt my shoulders relax. Why are girls so hard to deal with?

After my strange encounter, I managed to reach our meeting place, which was the park the four of us ran too last year with Aether, without too much trouble, where my three friends, Erebus, Eros, and Aether, were all waiting for me.

"What took you so long King? You're never late," Erebus said, his red eye gleaming with curiosity. "You didn't take out a couple demons without telling us, did you?"

"Of course not! I would never do something like that!" I said, shaking my head before continuing. "No, I ran into a strange girl on the way. She said her name was Nyx I believe."

"Oh, her? Yes, she does try very hard, doesn't she?" Eros said, sparkles darting around him.

"You know her Eros?"

"Yes, she's in our grade. Actually, she might be in our class too."

Seriously? "Well, after talking to her, I got an idea!"

Aether's raised one of his eyebrows, stroking his chin. "Oh, what is it?"

"Well, I think we need more people, right?" Everyone nodded, and Erebus scowled at my words.

"Alas, you are correct. It is getting difficult to handle higher level demons with the four of us."

"Right? So, I think we should go and recruit people! I already have two people ready, so all we need is a test!"

They all gave me a grin at my idea, and I already knew their answer just from that alone. "Alright, it's settled! All we need to do now is set up this test. Aether, can you come up with the test since you're super smart?"

"Of course, that's child's play for someone like me," he said haughtily.

"Awesome! After you come up with it, we'll handle the rest, alright?"

We ended up working on our tests until my mom came to pick me up, and by that point, they were all but finished.

"Bye guys! I'll buy you some time, so make sure you finish up tomorrow, okay?"

"Of course~! Bye Major!" My three friends waved me goodbye, and I walked back home hand in hand with my mom as I told her about my day. After we got home, we went through our normal routine, and I finished it off with my nightly talks with my twin, which had gotten extended by an extra thirty minutes.

The next day afterschool, I met up with my two candidates at the front of the school, my three friends having snuck out the side exit so Hemera and Nyx wouldn't notice.

"So, why are you here Lachy?" I asked, scowling.

She readjusted her backpack and gave me a grin. "Well, we don't get to hang out as much as we used too, so I thought I could infiltrate your group!"

I scratched my head, frowning. I guess it had been a while, since I spend so much more time with Erebus, Eros, and Aether. "I guess you can join, but what can you even do?"

"Fufu," Lachesis said, laughing haughtily. "And the next thing you'll say is, whatever, wait, how did you guess that!?"

"Whatever, wait, how did you guess that!?" I exclaimed, feeling slightly taken aback.

"Hmm, well, I can do that since I know you so well," she said, giving me another smile.

"Oh, so it was an accident then," I said.

"Of course it wasn't!!"

"Um, when exactly are we going to leave?" Lachesis and I turned to Hemera, who seemed to be wearing the same old clothes as yesterday.

Ah right, I almost forgot. "Thanks for reminding me Hemera!" I cleared my throat and straightened my back before continuing. "Well, I've gathered the three of you so you may undergo some Trials!"

"Oh! What sort of trials are they?" Nyx exclaimed, her charcoal-grey eyes sparkling with joy.

"There will be three trials for you to complete! Trial of the Past, Trial of the Present, and Trial of the Future!" I declared, and all three of them scowled at my words, all of them scowling for different reasons.

"Trial of the Past, huh?" Hemera murmured, and I noticed she gripped her arm tightly why looking downwards.

"H-hey, what do you mean by Trial of the Present? Do we have to give you a gift?" Nyx asked, laughing to herself, but her eyes were wavering, between what I didn't know.

Only Lachesis stayed quiet, her scowl forming into a frown as she nodded to herself, as if renewing some sort of resolve.

"Uh, did I say something wrong? Where'd all the excitement go?"

Hemera shook her head. "No, it's nothing. Are you going to tell us what these trials are?"

"Well, I really don't know?" I half-said, half-asked as I brought my finger to my chin, looking upwards.

"But weren't you the one that thought of them?" Nyx asked, scratching her short hair.

"Oh, no, that was someone else," I said. "But that doesn't matter! If everyone is ready, follow me!" The three girls nodded, and I led the way to the park, where my three companions were waiting for me.

"King, we have finished the preparations! Are these three the ones who will bear the burden of taking out demons with us, forever plagued by the darkness!?"

I grinned, pounding my fist into my hand. "Great, now then my friend Aether here will explain the first Trial!"

I walked to Aether and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, you got this!"

"Of course I do, I'm Aether." I chuckled and took his place while he walked to the three girls waiting.

"Oh, hi Aether! Did you come up with the trials?" Lachesis asked, and he nodded.

"Yep. I'm in charge of the Trial of the Past, so listen." He cleared his throat, and the girls stood at attention as he begun to speak.

"I forgot."

"An unexpected development!?" Nyx exclaimed, and us three guys sighed. I forgot; he chokes at the important moments.

"Alright girls, I'll explain it~!" Eros said, bringing Aether to the back. "Forgive Tae~Tae, he doesn't know any better~."

"Tae~Tae? The heck is that?" Aether asked, scowling as Eros replaced him.

"Anyway, allow me to explain fully~!" Eros purred, sending off sparkles with a wink of one of his caramel eyes.

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A couple of hours had passed now, with all the Trials having now been completed. I was the one who would be announcing the results, and the three girls sat while I stood on top a bench, clearing my throat.

"Well, the Trials have been completed, and after meeting with my companions, we decided you all suck."

"Another unexpected development!" Nyx proclaimed, leaning back as if in shock.

"Aw, but I thought I aced all of them Major!" Lachesis complained, pouting as her soft blue eyes glared at me.

"I-I see, so I failed…" Hemera muttered, her long hair covering her face.

"Well, you all failed. Even I don't know how you guys managed to do that, but you all suck! Lachy failed where it counted in every single Trial, despite knowing what to do, Hemera only passed the Trial of the Present, and Nyx only passed the Trial of the Future."

They all grew quiet at my rant, and I sighed before letting out a big grin. "So, that's why you all pass!"

"…Huh?" They all said, and I nodded towards the guys, who started to clap for them.

"Well, you guys seem cool, so I guess it's alright. And think of all the cool combos we can do together now that we have 7 people now! Oh, this is so exciting!" I hopped down from the bench, feeling satisfied.

"Ah yeah! I've finally joined this dandy group!" Nyx yelled out, pumping her fist in the air.

"Yay! I'm able to be with Major now!" Lachesis said, giving me a fierce hug.

"H-hey! Stop that already! Why do you hug me so much anyway!?" I yelled out, trying my best to push her away.

"Because I luv you, duh!" She said, hugging me even tighter.

"I love you too Lachy, but seriously, you can't be hugging me all the time!" I said, but I ended up relenting, hugging her back.

Oh man, why do I feel so warm right now? It's weird. I thought as Lachesis released me, giving me another smile.

"Oh, look at you Major~!" Eros shouted out, and I rolled my eyes.

"You can clean up with the girls then!" I retorted, and he gave me a wink, sending me sparkles.

Nyx nodded to herself, her charcoal-grey eyes sparkling. "Maybe, just maybe now I can…"

She trailed off as she saw a black car approaching, and she froze, her eyes widening as it pulled to a stop. An old man with skin as dark as Nyx's came out, and he readjusted his sunglasses, motioning for her to come.

She bit her lip slightly, and I noticed her hands tightening into fists before she relaxed, and a smile appeared on her face. "Well, it seems I have to go now. I'll be back tomorrow, so don't do anything too cool without me." She ran off, and I frowned as I watched her run to the black car, all of us waving her goodbye.

"What's wrong King?" Erebus asked, and I shrugged, unable to pinpoint what exactly felt off.

"I dunno, her smile felt weird is all. It's as the smile wasn't matching the face?" I half-said, half-asked. "I don't really get it myself."

We watched her leave in the car, and it was then I felt someone tugging on my backpack. I turned around to see Hemera, her yellow eyes wavering between conflicting emotions.

"It's okay, right?" She glanced away, gripping onto my shirt as her lips started to shake.

"What's okay?"

"Fo-for me to be here, isn't it?" She gripped my shirt even tighter, taking shaky breaths now as she squeezed her eyes shut.

I scowled, sighing. "I think this is the fourth time something like this has happened. What's up you guys!? Why the heck wouldn't it be okay!?"

Her eyes darted back to investigate my own, which were glaring at her. "H-huh?"

"Seriously, what the heck!? I said you're welcome too, so what's the big deal? You can't change your mind, since I won't let you! You're stuck with our group, so be prepared to join in with the cool!"

I held eye contact, anger welling up, and her yellow eyes finished wavering, giving off the last send off with a laugh. Hemera started to laugh, letting go of my shirt as she clutched her stomach, and my anger dissipated, leaving confusion.

I looked at the others, who were giving me knowing grins. "Uh, did I say something funny you guys?"

Aether shook his head. "Nope, it fit you perfectly, just as I expect someone at the same league as me."

We all turned back to Hemera, who was still laughing, seemingly growing brighter each second. "I-I'm sorry, I-I wasn't expecting that, I'm sorry!" She fell back, laughing even harder, and I could only feel my face growing warmer by the second.

"H-hey, this really isn't funny! I meant it you know!"

"I know," she said, still chuckling as she sat up. "I just," she cut herself off, instead giving off a grin that could light up the world and tackled me, giving me a hug fiercer than the one Lachesis had given me earlier. "No, of course I accept! I have no intention of leaving now!"

"Not you too, get off of me!" I yelled, trying and failing at pushing her off, making me feel warmer by the second. "Oh, this isn't cool at all!"

She laughed, and I relaxed as I hugged her too. "I don't get what I did again, but if you're happy, I guess it's alright."

She nodded, releasing me. "I feel way better, thank you Major!"

I didn't even do anything! Everyone around me started to laugh, and I could only pout in return, gaining three members in our group.

However, it would be a while until we were all together again, Nyx having disappeared for almost a month.

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"Wait, since when have you been in my class Hemera!?"

It was the next day, and we had spent the remainder of yesterday afternoon cleaning up the remnants of the Trials before going home for the day. I had just walked into the classroom to find Hemera sitting at my table along with everyone else, more specifically sitting next to my chair.

"Oh, hello Major!" She rushed me, almost causing me to fall over with another hug. "I've always been in this class, duh!"

"Since when!? I didn't even know you existed until two days ago!"

"Now, now, it's not nice to treat girls like that Major~," Eros purred, sending off sparkles at the sight of me. "How couldn't you have known a girl like this was in class?"

"Why is it my fault all of a sudden? And get off me already!" I managed to push her off, and we both went to our seats, where I noticed once more that she was wearing the same old clothes she had been wearing for the past two days.

"Hey Hemera, don't you have any other clothes?" I asked, setting my backpack down next to my seat, and she tensed up, looking away as her radiance dimmed.

"Um, this is only pair of clothes I have… Oh, but I handwash them every day though!" She slunk back into her chair, her face pink as she seemed to be awaiting something.

"Oh, I didn't know that. Hey Lachy, do you think you can give her some clothes?" I turned to Lachesis, who was sitting across from me.

"Eh!? Why do I have too?"

"Because you're a girl! She probably likes wearing girl clothes, duh!"

She pouted, slinking into her chair as well. "Oh, but I like my clothes."

"Huh?" We turned to Hemera, whose gaze was darting between Lachesis and I. "You don't… care?"

"Care about what?" I asked, and the look of shock passed.

"Um, never mind then."

"I can offer clothes as well! I have plenty of training wear that you can wear on our adventures to slay demons!" Erebus offered, his red eye gleaming.

"Ooh, playing dress up? I wouldn't mind dressing a girl every once in a while~."

"I guess I can give clothes to people beneath me, since I have no need for it," Aether offered, and we all turned to him.

"But you're wearing clothes right now…" I muttered, and we all started to laugh, everyone except for Hemera, who was hiding her face in her shirt. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"No! Don't look! I-I'm fine, really!" She turned away from us, her shirt completely covering her face.

"Now that I think about it, a lot of your stuff is pretty old huh? Are they hand me downs?" I asked, looking at her backpack which looked to be stained with mud, one of the straps holding on by just a couple threads. And just like that, I had another one of my brilliant plans.

While Hemera was still hiding in her shirt, I motioned everyone to come closer and told them my idea.

"Well, what do you think?" I asked, glancing to make sure Hemera was still incapacitated.

"That's our King. I have no objections," Erebus agreed, and everyone nodded at his words.

"Alright, can we do this by Friday?" I asked.

"Maybe, we just need a place to hide them, so she doesn't notice," Aether said, and I scowled at his words, not thinking of that part.

"Well, we could hide them at someone's house," Lachesis suggested. "Major's house is pretty big, and they don't really use their basement, so we could store it down there. I can help Major out if he needs help, and if it's too much, we can get Minor too."

"I don't think Minor would be too thrilled to help out, but I like the idea Lachy. Any objections?" They all shook their heads, and I grinned. "Great, let's get this operation underway!"

"Right!" They all said, and the bell rang, signifying the end of our planning and the start of our plan. Oh, and class too.

We spent the next two days sneaking around Hemera, making sure she didn't notice anything odd. I was put on distraction duty, since she seemed to be really attached to me for whatever reason. Luckily for me, I was able to do my job in my home, so it didn't bother me too much.

I had to also explain what we were doing to my mom, and when I did, she seemed so enthusiastic that she helped me grab what I needed, saying we needed to clean out the house anyway.

And so, after two days had passed, we were able to put the plan in motion. We had canceled our normal demon-slaying activities that day in order to pull it off, and I had to somehow distract her long enough before I could leave school, giving the others enough time to prepare everything.

After about 30 minutes had passed, I decided it was time to leave, and I led Hemera back home with me.

"Hey, where are we going Major?" She asked, tilting her head as we walked on the sidewalk. "Aren't we going to the park?"

"Nope, we decided to cancel today's activities."

"Oh, so you wanted to spend more time with me?"

"No! Why is that the first thing that comes to your mind!?" This girl was really weird sometimes.

She laughed, her long golden-yellow hair bouncing, practically shining in the sun above. "Well, you have been spending a lot of time with me, despite your complaints, so maybe you do like me?"

"Of course I like you," I said, readjusting my backpack. "What would make you think otherwise, we're friends right?"

A broad grin appeared, and she nodded. "Yep, I have friends now!" She started to skip, humming a jolly tune to herself. "Friends, friends, I really do have friends!"

"By the way, how come I never noticed you in class before?" It was something that was bugging me for quite some time, and I couldn't help but be curious.

"Oh, that," she said, and her smile faded as she stopped altogether, looking up at the sky. "My parents never really liked sending me to school too much."

Huh? "But why? Are you like Erebus? He told me his mentors thought school was a waste of time."

She shook her head, looking down at the ground as the tip of her shoe tapped the ground. "Well, it was mostly cuz they didn't want me in trouble again…"

"You can cause trouble? Whoa, and I thought my group were the only ones who could do that…"

"Eh? What do you mean?"

I started to laugh thinking about it. "Well, I got in trouble first grade because they saw me fighting Erebus, and I got suspended for a week. In second grade Eros, Erebus, and I were messing with a girl too much, and then they suspended all three of us for three days. Oh, and last year we got in trouble helping Aether after the school found out we went into a testing area without permission and figuring out we messed with Aether's grades. All four of us were gonna be expelled, but we had evidence the teachers had done bad stuff to Aether, so we got off with getting a two-week suspension. I have to wonder what we'll do this year…"

"Y-you did all that, and your parents didn't want you to not be at school?" Hemera said, her mouth open with her yellow eyes widening in shock.

I laughed again. "Oh man, mommy was so mad at me, I got grounded for a month after the last one, plus a beating too. Yeah, I don't wanna go through that again!"

"A-amazing…" she uttered in awe, and I shrugged.

"You really think so? Me and the guys have decided to try and keep the streak going, so who knows what'll happen?" I gave her a grin before walking again. "We have to hurry or else we'll be late!"

"R-right!" She hurried up next to me, and we continued walking back home, Hemera deep in thought.

"Ah, we're here!" I proclaimed, having reached my house. Hemera stopped as she saw the front yard, and her eyes widened at the sight.

"Wh-what is this Major?"

I walked to the others and grinned. "It's a surprise, duh!"

Our surprise consisted of many clothes, much that we either didn't wear or didn't need, a relatively new backpack, 6 pair of shoes (unworn), and a vehicle to carry it all in (mommy would be driving it all back to Hemera's house).

She walked unto the grass, her backpack dropping on the ground as she walked towards us, until stopping halfway. "Huh?"

"It's for you!" Lachesis said, walking up to her and handing her a ribbon. "It's only old clothes, but they should all fit you! Oh, the ribbon is to tie that long hair of yours!"

"Y-you guys gave me all this? B-but why?" Her voice was trembling, as she took a small step forward, her eyes wide at the sight of our surprise.

"Well, you only have one pair of clothes, and we all have so many, so I thought it would cool if you could have more! After all, all of us in our group have to look cool!" I exclaimed, and she let out a laugh as she fell to her knees, clutching the ribbon tightly.

"Although, clothes are a lot heavier than they look~," Eros murmured. "I'm glad we had Eru~ to help us out there!"

"Why must you call me that nickname yah Incubus!? But I must agree with King, it would be unfair if only we looked cool slaying demons! You too Hemera, must look cool, and once we get you that epithet, you'll for sure be one of the coolest!" He flashed her a grin and thumbs up.

"Y-you guys!" She sniffled, tears starting to fall onto the green grass.

"Eh!? She's crying! Did we do something wrong mommy?" I turned to her, and she shook her head, smiling warmly at me, rustling my hair.

"No, I don't think that's it. It's because you did something right."

Aether walked towards the sobbing Hemera and gave her a hug. "I don't have much clothes, but I gave you underwear."

"Hey, those aren't consoling words at all Aether!" Lachesis exclaimed, starting to cry as she hugged Hemera as well. "Oh, it's okay, you don't need to cry!"

We all came in for a group hug, consoling and crying among each other, the loudest being Hemera, who was in the middle of it all. But despite crying the hardest, she had on the brightest grin I had ever seen, lighting up the world with her tears and her overwhelming happiness, only crying out four words:

"Thank you, thank you so much!"

We had also decided to repeat that tradition every year, and after that, I wasn't able to remember a time after that moment where her smile wasn't able to light up the room, causing smiles all around…

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"Nyx! You're finally back!"

About a month had passed since we saw her go away in that black car, and as quickly as she disappeared, she showed once more, waiting for us as we walked out of school, the school day over.

She gave us a merry wave, a smile on her face, and as everyone came to hug her, I scowled. It's the same as last time. "It's as if the smile doesn't fit…" I murmured, trying hard to figure out what was wrong.

"Major? What's wrong? Aren't happy to see Nyx?" Lachesis asked, releasing Nyx from her hug as she approached me.

"Hmm, I don't get it!" I yelled out, mussing up my hair. "Oh, it's whatever. I'll figure it out later."

Lachesis frowned as she tilted her head. "You say some weird things sometimes."

Nyx ran up to me, giving me a fierce hug. "Heya! I'm back, sorry it took so long! You didn't do too much cool stuff without me, right?"

"Of course we did! But we couldn't come up with our group combo without you!" We let go of each other, and I saw her dark-grey eyes light up.

"Whoa, a group combo!?" She exclaimed, and she pumped her fists in the air. "Oh man, I can't wait!"

I pulled out "Coolest Notebook, The Fourth," and opened it to Nyx's part, which was mostly empty. "We need to figure out everything you can do, so that's what we'll do today!"

We spent the next two days working on what Nyx could do, and when we finished, we finally had our plan.

"Alright, here's our first group combo!" I exclaimed, and everybody crowded around me, looking at the plan I had wrote with the help of Aether. We were hanging around outside during recess, near the edge of the forest where Erebus and I first trained together.

"Alright, first thing we do is have Lachy tell us what the Demon can do!"

She saluted me, a silly grin on her face. "A simple task for me Major!"

I nodded before continuing. "Then, while Lachy tells Aether so they can formulate a plan, Hemera will blind the enemy with her brightness!"

She nodded, a loose hair falling from the bun she had made with a ribbon. "No problem! You should give me a harder job next time!"

"Next, I'll disarm the demon with my Mystic Arts while Eros distracts the demon so Aether and Lachy can tell us what the demon can do!"

He winked at me, sparkles darting all around us. "Of course~! A simple task for a charmer like me~!"

"Then, we'll use Nyx's ability to incapacitate them, and that's where Erebus does his finishing move, Shadow Slicer!"

"The enemy won't even know what hit them King!" Erebus exclaimed; his red eye gleaming at me. "And then that's when they'll tremble at the might of our group!"

"So cool! Oh, what's the name of the attack Major?" Nyx asked, and everyone turned to me, their eyes shining with anticipation.

"That's easy," I said, standing up as I raised my hand in the air. "It'll be Group Attack Number 1: [Redacted]!"

(The memory grew hazy as I watched myself say the name, but I was unable to hear it, and then the memory returned to its previous state.)

"Whoa, that's our King for yah! The master cool, I really have learned from the best!" Erebus exclaimed, and everyone nodded.

"Alright then, let this group combo be the first of many!" I declared, writing our first combo in "Coolest Notebook, The Fourth."

"Yeah!" Everybody yelled out, smiling and laughing with one another, and once again I noticed it. Nyx's smile, filled with happiness, and yet, what was this feeling something was wrong with it.

It wasn't just those times either. Over the course of a week, it seemed I alone noticed those off-putting smiles, fine by itself, but when I looked at the entire face, there was something there I just couldn't put my finger on, until finally, I couldn't take it anymore.

It was during indoor recess, and the girls had gone off to do their own thing, so it just us guys. It was then I told them.

"Hey, something's been bothering me lately," I said, and they all looked at me as I stopped writing in my notebook.

"Hmm? What is it Major? Nothing ever bothers you," Eros said, his sparkles starting to slow down.

"Well, it's Nyx. It's her smile. I can't put my finger on it, but it feels weird, I guess."

Eros nodded, leaning back in his seat. "I noticed it too. It feels forced."

"I wouldn't say that Incubus, but something about it is indeed strange. Maybe she's hiding some dark secret, like demons are manipulating her in the shadows, forcing her to use her abilities against her will!?" Erebus exclaimed, shooting to his feet, causing looks to be thrown at us, and the teacher glared at us, holding a finger to his lips.

"Inside voice boys."

"Sorry!" I yelled out, and he shook his head at my response.

"You weren't meant to yell out the apology either…"

I pulled Erebus back down to his chair. "Hey, we can't let Nyx know either you know, so keep it down."

He nodded, folding his arms as he leaned back in his chair. "Well, whatever the case may be, it is a problem. What shall we do King?"

I leaned back in my chair as well, looking up at the ceiling. "I don't know what's wrong, so I can't help. Hmm, do any of you guys know what's wrong?"

Aether nodded. "Yep, I got it."

"Got what?"

"I got the fact that I have no clue what you're talking about." I pushed him for that one, rolling my eyes.

"Okay, any serious answers? Eros, do you have an idea?"

He shook his head, messing with his blondish-pink hair. "Alas, I don't Major~. Should we try asking her?"

"Asking her what?" Golden-yellow hair filled my vision as Hemera looked at me from above.

"Gah!" I fell back, yelling in pain. "Ugh, don't scare people like that Hemera!"

She giggled, brightening up the room. "Aw, sorry! I didn't mean to. What are you guys talking about anyway?"

I got up from my chair, glancing at the guys, who nodded. "Okay, I guess we can tell you. By the way, where's Nyx and Lachy at?"

"Oh, they're in the library. I just came from there. So, what's up?"

After we sat down, I explained to her my strange feeling with Nyx, and when I was through, she gave me a sunny grin.

"Oh, that's simple! I can figure it out for you," she said, slapping the end of her ponytail on the table.

"How?"

"Oh, I can check how happy someone is. For example," she grabbed my hand and nodded to herself. "Major here is pretty happy overall, but since he's worried about Nyx, it drops it to about 40 points on the Hemmy scale!"

"Wait, you can do that!?" I exclaimed, and she nodded.

"Yep, it's been a while since I've really used it though, so it probably isn't very accurate right now…" She trailed off, a small smile on her face. "But I'm gonna use it a ton more, just you see!"

"Well, whenever Nyx is smiling again, we need her to hold her hand," Aether suggested. "Hemera, can you make up excuses to do that?"

"Well, it doesn't have to be the hand, but it's just easier like that. It should work though. I'm friends with her, she has no reason to refuse!" She started to laugh, and I couldn't help but feel a little bit worried for Nyx, since I know how clingy Hemera could be.

The bell rung, and the teacher clapped his hands. "Alright, everyone back to their seats!" Everyone returned to their seats, and the people who went to either the computer lab or the library returned as well, and once everyone was situated, he cleared his throat.

"Now, I have a special announcement to make. If you look on the calendar, you'll notice that we have a three-day, two-night trip before summer break three weeks from now. What I'm passing out now is a permission slip to go out in the woods with us."

He started to hand out slips of paper to all the students, and when he reached my table, he spoke again. "Now, if you don't get the permission slip in a week before it's due, you won't be able to go." I was just about to grab one before he stopped and looked at me. "No exceptions. I also don't need trouble on this trip, right Major?"

I rolled my eyes. "Why are you calling me out!? C'mon, give it already!" I heard laughs throughout the class, and he looked at me carefully, glancing at the slip.

"I mean it, no trouble on the trip. Understand?"

I hated it when teachers did this. I snatched one of the slips from his hand, sticking my tongue out. "I'll behave, so stop it already."

"Stop it already, sir," he responded, emphasizing the ���sir" in the sentence.

"Sorry sir," I said, and he finally relented, giving the other slips to the rest of our group.

"You're quite the troublemaker now~," Eros purred, and I rolled my eyes.

"I am not, and you know it Eros. You've gotten in trouble plenty of times too. You just get away with it since you can charm people. My Mystic Arts don't help in situations like that."

"Also, you need to get into groups of four, alright? Boys and girls can't be together, but other than that, you can group with whoever you want."

"We already have our group King," Erebus said, and the guys of the group gave each other high fives.

"O-oh man, we have to get someone else to join, huh?" Hemera mumbled, and Lachesis started to twirl her hair.

"Well, with me, Hemera, and Nyx, we do. Oh, but who to choose. I can get one of my other friends if that's alright with you two," Lachesis suggested, and Nyx nodded.

"Sure, I don't mind!"

Only Hemera seemed nervous, as she fidgeted in her chair and pouted. "A-alright I guess…"

"What's wrong?" Lachesis asked, tilting her head, still twirling her hair.

She shook her head, slapping her cheeks with her hands, leaving them red. "No, I'm fine. I trust you Lachy, so choose someone great okay?"

In the end, they couldn't find a fourth person to join, much to their disbelief.

"Oh, this sucks," Lachesis muttered, and I could only laugh at them.

"Sucks to be you guys! I guess you're not gonna go on the trip Lachy," I teased.

"Oh, you can be so mean sometimes Major!"

The teacher took note of our argument and frowned as he looked over a list. "That's strange, there should be enough people for everyone to have a group of four." He scanned the list and with an "ah," continued.

"Right, so it seems someone isn't here today, so she'll be with you ladies, alright?"

"Yes sir!" They responded, and Lachesis elbowed me, a sly look on her face.

"Heh, look who's laughing now."

"Whatever, you got leftovers!" She gave me a light punch, glaring at me.

"Hmph, this girl will be the bestest partner we'll ever have! Right guys?" She turned to Hemera and Nyx, the former who smiled, brightening the room, and the latter who started to laugh.

"Yep, we'll show those boys who's boss!" Hemera exclaimed.

"Oh, I can't wait to go!" Nyx exclaimed, and Hemera grabbed the both of them in a fierce hug.

"Girl Power!" Hemera yelled out, before her eyes widened. "Oh, we should come up with a move together! What do you say?"

"Yeah let's do it!" Lachesis said. "Let's show the boys that we're way better than them!"

Hemera grabbed Nyx's hand, looking at her with wide eyes. "What do you think Nyx?"

Nyx smiled, the same as the previous ones that felt so off to me. "Sure, let's do it!"

It wasn't until after school was done and we were walking to the park that Hemera was able to report her findings.

"The smile was fine Major!" She declared, and I scowled, looking at Nyx talk to Lachesis and Eros while Aether and Erebus talked a little bit ahead of us.

"Really, there wasn't anything else?"

"Well, although the smile was fine, everything else is, well, it's hard to explain," she said, readjusting her backpack.

"What was the Hemmy points?"

"… 5."

Huh? "5? Not 15, 50, 55, none of those?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm afraid not. It's just plain ole 5. It would've been lower if she wasn't smiling then."

I ran my hand through my hair, my brain trying to understand. "How low does the Hemmy scale go?"

She shrugged. "I don't really know. I just thought it was 0, but it felt like Nyx's was less than 0."

"Wait, numbers go that low?" I asked, my brain trying to wrap my head around that concept.

"How am I supposed to know!? I never experienced anything like this," Hemera retorted, pouting.

"Numbers lower than 0 are called negative numbers," Aether said, and Hemera turned to him, frowning.

"How do you know that?"

"I read it in a book," Aether said, nodding to himself.

"… Are you actually smart? I don't know," Hemera muttered, and I laughed. After the incident last year, Aether preferred it if people didn't know how smart he was, which was fine with me, but it has led to quite a few misunderstandings.

"I was there too, Lady of Warmth and Optimism," Erebus said. "It was in a book we accidentally found open, and it was for pretty high-level math."

"Okay, so what would the scale be if we had these 'negative numbers' then Hemera?" I asked, and we all looked at her as she closed her eyes, scrunching up her face.

"Um, maybe around negative 90, I think?"

We were all hushed into silence by her words, and I glanced back at Nyx, who was still talking amicably to Lachesis and Eros. "So, that's bad, right?"

Aether nodded. "The higher the negative number, the lower it is. Negative 1 is greater than negative 3, stuff like that."

I shook my head, starting to understand how these "negative" numbers worked. "Okay, so it's bad."

"What do we do King? If she isn't happy, why does she hide it?"

"I don't know… You're meant to say when you're sad, right?" I turned to the others, and they all looked down. "Hmm, am I wrong?"

Aether cleared his throat. "Anyway, we can't help unless we ask what's wrong, but if she hasn't told us yet, I don't know if she will."

"Well, there's one other thing I'm confused about," Hemera said, and we all turned to her.

"I don't understand, maybe since it's been a while, but there's something else."

"Something else?" I asked, and she shook her head.

"That's all I know. I just feel something else, like maybe it's making her feel that way, or something…"

"Then we just need to beat it, right guys?" Erebus asked, and Aether and I nodded while Hemera shook her head.

"No, I…" She trailed as she tried to think, but then gave up as she started to look dizzy. "Oh, I don't know! I give up! We'll figure it out later, my head hurts from thinking too much about complicated stuff."

"Yeah, mine does too," I said, and we decided to put out conversation on pause.

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"Hey mommy, why do people not say when they're sad?"

It was night now, and I was sitting with my mom on the couch, watching T.V. together. I had just gotten her to sign my twin's and I's permission slip, and Minor had rushed off to the bathroom, beating me to the shower.

She nearly choked on her tea when she heard my question, coughing as she put her cup down onto the coffee table. "Wh-where did this come from Major?"

"Well, I found out that my friend Nyx is hiding that she's sad, but she won't tell us why."

She frowned as she sat up, and I did the same as she looked at me with warm eyes. "Oh, how did you figure that out?"

"Another friend told me that she's negative 90 on the Hemmy scale!"

She tilted her head as frowned. "Hemmy scale? What's that?"

"Oh, it's a thing that measures how happy you are! Mine was 40, since I was worried about Nyx. Oh, and negative numbers are really bad, especially negative 90!"

She chuckled, mussing up my messy black hair. "You sure do a lot with your friends huh?" I nodded, and she mussed up my hair a little more before turning to me.

"Okay, how can I put this…" She thought for a moment before nodding to herself. "Right, so you know how people get mad, sad, happy, stuff like that?"

"Yep, I do all that every day!" She laughed at my response.

"I know you do, and you let everybody know it. But some people can't do that easily."

I frowned as my brain tried to understand. "But why can't they??"

She wrapped her arm around me, bringing me closer before sighing. "Well, there are a lot of reasons why. They don't want to worry people around them; they try to bottle up their emotions, or they have some circumstances that won't let them, such as bad past experiences or present problems that they feel inhibit them to speak."

"Inhibit?"

"Oh, it means to prevent something."

"I see…" I said, nodding as I trailed off, the frown still prevalent on my face.

"But all those reasons have one common thing tying them together," Mommy said, holding up her index finger.

"What is it?"

"Fear. In the end my sweet son, they're just afraid. Even if the reason that's preventing them to speak is gone, the fear doesn't go away that easily."

"What are they afraid of?"

A soft smile appeared as she rubbed my side. "Afraid to open up. To them, it's easier if they keep it to themselves rather than get other people involved. But my son, that's wrong." I looked into her eyes as she said these next words to me, words that I never truly understood the importance of until much later.

"If you want to be a good friend, a good person, then you must tell people how you're doing. People can't help if they never know what's wrong, and more importantly, you can't help yourself if you never say what's bothering you. The act of saying what's wrong helps a person far more than anything else could, as that's the only way to bring about a solution." She breathed a sigh of relief. "Do you understand?"

"Uh, I think so?"

She laughed as she brought me in for a hug. "Oh, it's fine if you don't get it now, but if you really wanna know something, ask for help. Never be afraid of that."

"He-hey! You're squishing me!" I squeezed her with all my strength, which ended up causing a tickle fight between the two of us which didn't end until Minor got out of the bathroom.

Even after our talk, I was still unable to help Nyx, and as the days progressed, her Hemmy score grew worse and worse, until there was only three days left until our trip in the woods.

"What do we do Major?" It was recess, and we were taking a break from our demon slaying for today in order to train. Hemera, Erebus, and Eros were sitting next to me, and I frowned, groaning as I let myself fall back into the grass.

"I dunno Hemera. Maybe we really should just ask her," I muttered, at my wit's end.

"I don't think she would like that," Eros said, looking at Nyx, who was messing with Aether along with Lachesis. "But I'm out of ideas as well…"

We all grew quiet, and I looked at Nyx's eyes, which were now ebony-grey. Wait, now?

"Huh?" Everyone turned to me as I sat back up, and my brain was trying to connect the dots, and I started to think aloud. "Hey, what was Nyx's eye color when we first met her?"

"Isn't it the same as it is now?" Erebus asked, shrugging, and Hemera shook her head, the same realization dawning onto her.

"No, it wasn't! Oh Major, you're a genius!" She yelled out, giving me a fierce hug, her smile lighting up our mood.

"I-I wouldn't say that. I'm just thinking that maybe her eye color getting darker has something to do with her score, or something. It was grey when I first met her, and now it's almost black." Hemera released me, nodding.

"Yeah, I remember that too. It changed after she went away for that month."

"Now that I think about," Eros started, and we turned to him. "I guess it's been hard to notice, but her eyes have been getting darker lately."

"Yeah, but what does it mean Incubus?" Erebus asked, and Eros shrugged.

"I dunno. Do you two have any idea?"

"Well, maybe her eyes getting darker have something to do with her getting sadder?" I suggested, and Hemera nodded, her yellow eyes lighting up.

"Yeah, I think so too!"

"Hmm, okay, but how does that help again?" Erebus asked, scowling.

Oh, I guess he's right about that. "Um, maybe we can tell her to stop whatever she's doing?" Hemera offered, and what mommy told me flashed through my head, and I shook my head.

"No, I don't think that'll work either." If she's afraid, then she might not listen. Oh, think Major! And just like that, another one of my brilliant plans popped in my head.

"Nyx is going on the trip, right?" I asked, and Hemera nodded.

"Yeah, she turned in her permission slip last week. Why?"

I grinned, nodding to myself. "I have a plan to help her out!" I motioned everyone to come in closer, and I told them my plan.

"Uh, King, are you sure that'll work? I have the utmost faith in you and your brilliant plans that can take down even the strongest of demons, but I dunno…"

"Of course it'll work!" I said, looking at everyone. "And we'll do it during our school trip three days from now! I'll tell Lachy on the way home today, so one of you needs to tell Aether, alright?"

Eros smiled, sparkles darting all around us. "I expect nothing less. I'll go along with it. Who knows, this may be thing to keep our streak going~!"

"Then it's decided. We'll help out Nyx during our trip into the woods!"

"Yeah!" We all exclaimed, and the plan was set into motion.

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"Alright class, get into your groups! It's a free day today, so you can do whatever you wish-!"

"Yeah!" I yelled out, high fiving the members of my group.

"You can do whatever you want, withing reason! You hear me Major?" The class started to snicker, and I felt my ears grow red.

"Yes sir," I mumbled, and the teacher clapped his hands.

"Now, go have fun! We'll be doing something special tonight, so remember to be back before 5 o'clock, okay?"

"Yes sir!" We all yelled out, and we slowly started to scatter away into our groups, exploring the surrounding woods.

I turned to my group, which was Eros, Erebus, and Aether, and nodded at them. "Right, you all know the plan, right?"

"Yep, of course Major~! But are you sure it'll work?"

"Of course, it will. We shouldn't get into any trouble so long as it works out, I think."

I turned to Erebus, who was staring at the girl's group. Besides the usual three, there was the extra person they gained when they were making their group, a girl with messy brown hair that seemed to frizzle out into an afro, with round glasses with different colored brown eyes. I think her name was Necessary, or something like that.

"What's wrong Erebus? Having second thoughts?"

He shook his head, frowning. "No, it is nothing King. I am prepared to see this plan to it's awesome conclusion!" He turned to me; his red eye gleaming as he gave me a thumbs up.

"Okay, let's get everything ready while the girls distract Nyx, alright?"

There was only one thing we really needed, and we were going to use this free time to go and find it.

"So King, how will we know when we find it?" Erebus asked, the four of us now exploring the woods.

"Hmm, it needs to be big, with preferably nothing around. Something like that. You'll know when you see it."

We continued onward, jumping across streams and hopping over large roots, the warm light filtering through the green leaves of the treetops, and the four of us started to sing a merry tune while we ventured around the woods, trying to find the most crucial part of our plan. Until…

"Whoa, look at this!" I exclaimed, rushing forward, running to the place I had been searching for.

It was a large grove, filled with yellow flowers shaped like trumpets, the sun shining its rays directly on them, the treetops seemingly avoiding the grove of flowers. Yes, this was the place I was looking for.

"Yes, this is the place! Now we have everything we need for the plan guys!" I yelled out, turning around while spreading my arms out wide. "Tonight, we'll meet here!"

"So, this is the place you were looking for?" Aether said, walking into the grove of flowers. "I see, this could work."

"Right!? Now the really hard part comes tonight though…" I said, nodding to myself. "Everyone remember their roles?"

"Of course~! I'm to charm the teachers so they don't get suspicious," Eros purred, walking up to me as I put my arms down.

"I��ll use my Shadow Step to make sure they don't follow us King."

"I supervise," Aether said, nodding to himself.

"Yep, after that, it's up to the rest of us to make sure the final part of our plan works out!"

"You're leaving this up to chance~?" Eros asked, his caramel eyes looking into my own.

I shook my head. "Nope, I have faith in my comrades! We'll be able to do, I just know it!"

Erebus patted me on the shoulder, giving me a thumbs up. "Then, we'll leave it up to you and the girls King. The real question is how do we get back to camp from here?"

We all froze except for Aether, who pointed at a nearby trail. "If we take that, it should lead us back to camp."

We all breathed a sigh of relief. "Man, I'm glad you're here Aether. I thought we were totally lost for second!" I started to laugh.

He shrugged, a small smile on his face. "It's nothing. Someone like me should be able to do something like that. I am the best."

Erebus gave him a wicked grin, flashing his teeth. "Of course, I expect nothing less from our tactician!"

We bantered along back on the trail, the sun still relatively high in the air. Soon, we reached back to camp, where the teacher breathed an audibly sigh of relief, checking us off on a piece of paper. Erebus once more looked at the girl with the messy hair frizzling out in a wild afro and wide-rimmed glasses, his red eye glaring at her.

"Hey, you've been staring at that girl for quite some time Eru~," Eros said, looking at the girl, who was talking to Lachy and the others. "Do you like her?"

"She feels so familiar, with this warmth within me, what could this feeling be inside?" Erebus voiced out, looking down at his chest. "It seems I have to reflect on this later."

I looked back at the girl and shrugged. Eh, whatever, it's not like she's important to the plan or anything.

The day passed with relative bliss afterwards, and for dinner we had curry before the teachers announced what the special event they were going to host for us was.

"Gather around now, for we're doing a test of courage!" There were murmurs all around, and I grinned to myself as I looked at the guys.

"This is it guys, our chance," I whispered, and the others nodded.

"Once the sun sets, you'll go down on this trail," the teacher continued, pointing to the entrance of the trail we had came out of earlier, "in groups of four to reach the goal, which is to ring a bell, and then to make your way back here. Simple right? But they'll be scary things within the forest trying to stop you, so be careful, else a ghost might take you to the underworld!"

One of the female teachers elbowed my teacher, the one speaking, and he cleared his throat before continuing. "In any case, you're free until the sun sets, so go make your groups while you can, alright?"

Everybody dispersed, and our merry group of demon-slayers came together, plus the girl with messy hair.

"We deal with blood-thirsty demons, like ghosts are gonna scare us!" I yelled out, laughing, and in the distance, I could see my twin roll his eyes.

"You'll be the first one to cry Major!"

I glared at him, sticking out my tongue. "Shut up Minor, you'll be the one crying first! Crybaby!"

Nyx and Hemera looked confused as they saw this, glancing between the both of us. "Do you know him?" Hemera asked, looking at my twin.

"Oh, he's my twin, my SHORTER twin!" I yelled out, emphasizing the short part, and Minor stuck out his tongue before walking away with his friends.

"I didn't know you had a twin Major…" Nyx said, watching my brother walk away.

"Yep, they call me Major since I was born bigger than my twin! But he's a goof, so don't hang out with him," I said, and Lachy frowned.

"But you talk late at night every night Major."

I felt my ears going red at her words. "He-hey! You weren't meant to say that Lachy! I'm too cool for that!"

This entire time, Erebus wasn't paying attention to us; instead, he was staring at the girl with the messy brown hair, and it seemed she finally took notice of his stares.

"U-um, do you need something? You've been staring at me for a while."

Erebus blinked before shaking his head. "No, I just feel as if I've met you before is all."

"I don't think I have, since I'm new and all. What's your name?"

He grinned as he got into his pose. "Excellent question, for I am one who dwells in the darkness, keeping this power of mine sealed within my right eye, waiting for the right demon to unleash it's power upon! I am Erebus of the Shadowy Night and the Smoldering Flames, Slayer of Demons, Ruler of all those in the Dark!" He finished, pointing at the girl with the messy hair. "Who might you be, brown-haired girl?"

The girls were stunned into silence, while us guys grinned at him, applauding him for his newly come up epithet. The girl in question stared him in his red eye, and a small smile appeared on her face.

She got into a pose of her own, grinning at Erebus. "I am one who brings order within the bountiful chaos of this world, bringing forth the events that shall lead us to the inevitable End Times! For I am the Dark Empress Necessitas, Balancer of Ruin, Enforcer of Events, Bringer of all unquestionable Catastrophe!"

This time, everyone was stunned into silence, as we all started to process what was going on in our heads.

"So, so cool!" Erebus and I yelled out, and we practically leapt onto Necessitas.

"Oh man, did you come up with that yourself!?" I asked, grabbing one of her shoulders.

"Forget that, she's perfect for our group King! She's gotta join now!" Erebus exclaimed, and we both started to shake her as we bombarded her with questions.

Eventually, Aether and Eros had to peel us away from her, much to our complaints, and the time to put our plan into action was finally upon us.

The groups went like so:

Group 1: Hemera, Lachy, Nyx, and I

Group 2: Erebus, Eros, Aether, and Necessitas

Group 2 would go ahead first, hiding themselves somewhere nearby to ward off teachers, while group 1 would perform the hardest part of the plan.

While we were waiting in line, we could hear screams of terror coming from within the trail, and I couldn't help but get a little nervous.

"Don't get too scared Major!" my twin yelled out from behind me, and I whirled around to him, scowling.

"I'm not scared of stupid ghosts! I fight demons! You don't be too scared!"

One of the teachers started to giggle before she covered her mouth. "Now you twins behave alright?"

"Yes ma'am!" Minor yelled out, and I turned back around, pouting. In front of me I could see Aether's legs shaking, and which calmed me down.

At least I'm not the only one nervous about our plan.

"Okay, next group can go on ahead! Try not to get taken by ghosts!" My teacher said, and group 2 walked away, Erebus giving me a thumbs up.

I took a shaky breath, glancing at Nyx, who was talking to Hemera. Hemera was holding Nyx's hand, a warm smile on her face, before I felt a slight tug on my shirt.

I turned to Lachesis, who was twirling her hair around her finger. "Major, are you sure it'll work?"

I nodded, grinning. "Yep, I'm sure. I'll need help though, okay?"

She nodded, giving me a big grin. "Okay, I trust you Major!"

"Alright, next group can go!" My teacher looked at me and sighed. "And Major, don't cause any trouble, okay?"

"Why do you always assume it's gonna be me!?" I yelled out, and I could hear a nearby teacher giggling to herself.

He sighed before waving us through, and the plan was finally set into motion.

It was dark in the woods now, a stark contrast to the warmth and greenery of how it was before. We could hear animals chirping in the dark, with the occasional growl or so, but nothing we hadn't experienced before.

After a few cheap scares made by teachers and ghosts alike, we had reached our destination.

"This is kinda scary Nyx," Hemera said, clutching Nyx's hand tightly.

"Wh-what? No, it isn't scary at all!" Nyx said, chuckling as she clutched Hemera's hand with an equal amount of force.

"Shadow Step."

Suddenly, we were in the grove from earlier today, a moonless sky yawning down from above us, and Erebus was at the edge of the grove, his red eye gleaming before he faded into the shadows.

"Whoa, is that part of the test too!?" Nyx exclaimed, and we all turned to her, looking into her eyes.

It was Hemera who spoke first, holding one of Nyx's hands with both of her own. "Your eyes are darker again. They're black now."

"Hk!" Nyx froze, her black eyes widening at Hemera's words.

"I don't fully understand, but you're in pain, right? Why didn't you tell us!? We can help you Nyx!" The plan had begun.

Nyx's face grew dark as she looked down, biting down on her lip. "You, you noticed. You weren't meant to notice."

"Of course we noticed! We're your friends Nyx!" Lachesis said, grabbing Nyx's other hand, trying to look her in the eye. "You have to tell us what's wrong, you know?"

"I'm not supposed to!" Nyx yelled out, and we froze as she continued. "Don't let anyone know, always have a smile, laugh when others laugh, act as others do, I'm not meant to do anything but that! I, I can't do anything other than that!"

"Says who!? We don't care, so act as you wanna act Nyx!" Lachesis said, leaning in closer, and Nyx shook them both off, shaking her head.

"I, I can't! I'm not meant to! If I do, people will get hurt!"

"But Nyx," Hemera said, grabbing ahold of her hand once more, "You hurt so much, it's enough to make me cry."

Nyx's lip started to tremble as she started to shake. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Of course you do! I wasn't able to understand now, but, but," Hemera started, her body starting shake as her voice trembled out these next words. "Why, why is that you carry other people's pain?" She looked at her, tears coming down from her face. "Why do you do that!?"

"H-how do you know that? No one, no one was meant to know, so how is that…" Nyx trailed off, looking at all of us as she slid down to her knees. "I, I can't let it go, since it'll hurt them instead…"

My mother's words resounded through me once more, and I walked up to Nyx, flaring my nostrils as I grabbed her shirt.

"Eh!?" She looked at me and could see the anger in my eyes.

"I, I don't fully get any of this at all, but I don't think you should do that! If people are hurting, they should just say so to their friends so they can help! So why should you hurt instead of them!? Why!?"

She was at a loss and could only stare at me as she took my onslaught.

"I bet it was stupid adults who said that! But, is that what you want!?"

"But, I was told to help them, so this is helping, I'm helping people by taking it and-!" She got cut off as I brought her closer to me, as I asked her my next question.

"What do you wanna do?"

"Huh?" She looked confused as I asked that question, as if she had never been asked that her entire life.

"Do you wanna be hurting!? DO YOU!?" I yelled out, and her eyes widened once more.

"I, I," I let go of her shirt, taking a step back as she tried to answer my question.

"It'll be alright, okay?" Hemera said, hugging Nyx from behind. "Friends help one another, that's how it should be. Please Nyx, let us help."

"I, I…" I saw the grass glisten, and I looked at the tears streaming down from Nyx's face as she proclaimed what she wanted to do.

"I don't wanna hurt anymore," she said, barely whispering her wish into existence, and I grinned, pulling out of my pocket a stick I used for my Mystic Arts.

"Then, using my Mystic Arts, let the darkness in her eyes, [REDACTED]!"

(My memory grew hazy once more as my field of vision turned black, and I could hear screeching within the memory before it cleared.)

I collapsed to my knees, gasping for air. Oh man, that took a lot more out of me then I thought. I looked at Nyx again, looking into her eyes before breathing a sigh of relief.

Nyx started to sob, and as the three girls hugged one another, I laid down on my back, a warm feeling of accomplishment rising within me as I stared into the moonless sky, smiling to myself.

"That's how they look. So cool."

And after that night, Nyx acted the way she wanted, her eyes forever proof of that.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hey King, where exactly are we going now?"

It was summer break, and after the events of the trip, all of us except for Necessitas got into trouble. I got the worst punishment, a three-week suspension. Luckily, I told mommy what had happened, and I ended up not getting into trouble at all, since I was following her advice.

Anyway, the seven of us were walking on a trail near the park where we usually train, Nyx leading the way with me behind her (Necessitas had disappeared while we were all dealing with our suspension's).

"I dunno, Nyx said she wanted to show us something. What is it you wanted to show us?"

"You'll see," she said, hopping over a fallen branch. "It's cool if I don't say so myself."

"Since when have you been an expert in cool? I'm the cool master, remember?"

A slight smile curled on her lips as she glanced behind me. "Again, you'll see."

"Aw, but Nyx!" Hemera managed to push through me and hug Nyx from behind, causing both of them to stumble. "I wanna know now!"

"Ge-get off me you bright bulb of sunshine!"

"But I wanna know now!"

I laughed at their exchange, looking up at the treetops. Ever since that incident, Hemera had grown attached to Nyx, more so than me now. It was funny though, they had kind of grown to be opposites now, yet they were practically inseparable.

"It's better if it's a surprise, alright?" Nyx said, managing to push Hemera away.

"Fine!" Hemera said, grinning at Nyx as she grabbed Nyx's hand.

"Major, I'm tired! Carry me!" Lachesis complained, and I looked back at her.

"You're heavy Lachy, why would I do that?"

I nearly fell on my face from Lachesis kicking me from behind. "You're just meant to do it! Oh, Aether, you carry me!"

Aether snorted. "Please, I don't carry people beneath me."

"Yep, that's Tae~Tae's way of saying he's weak Lachy~. If you want a strong, reliable boy, then you should always go for dear Eru~!"

"Shut it yah Incubus!" Erebus yelled out, punching him in the arm. "And stop calling me that weird nickname! It's totally not cool!"

"I know right, it's cute~!"

"I'm just glad I don't have one," I said, chuckling to myself.

"We've arrived guys," Nyx proclaimed, and we all ran into each as we stopped at the end of the trail.

I groaned as I noticed the clearing in front of me, and my eyes widened at what was in front of me. "Whoa, this would be an awesome place for a hideout! How did you find this place Nyx!?"

It was a large clearing, the largest I had ever seen, with only a singular tree in the center. Green grass covered the clearing, the occasionally flower sprouting up here and there. I walked into it, a warm breeze passing over me as my brain went into overdrive.

"It's cool right?" Nyx said, coming up next to me. She looked at the tree and pointed to it. "But that right there is the best part."

I looked again at the tree and gasped. "No way, a tree house!?"

It was true, a real tree house was in front of me, with a ladder leading up to the entrance. Also connected to the tree was a swing, and a slide was connected to a wall of the tree house as another exit.

"I found this place while you guys were still in suspension," she said, walking ahead of me to the tree. "So, I asked to have a tree house made, and that's the result."

"Whoa, are you actually rich or something?" I said, slightly taken aback from this sudden development.

"Well, money made at my expense, but it's whatever," she said, nodding to herself. "It helped with this, so I don't really mind."

"Oh Nyx, you're the best!" Hemera said, almost sending Nyx to eat the dirt with another hug-tackle.

"He-hey! Haven't I said to get off me!?"

Erebus walked up to me, looking at the tree house with his red eye. "I see, this is a perfect place for a hideout! This place is easily fortified from demons, and the best part is that adults don't anything about this place."

I nodded. "Yep, it's perfect!"

"But what should we call it," Aether said, and I put my hand on my chin as I tried to think.

"Ah, I got it!" I yelled out, and everyone turned to me. I grinned, proclaiming the name of our hideout.

"This'll be the hideout for us! And we'll name it-!

(And We'll Name It!)

"The Slayer's Paradise!"

I heard resounding cheers as I yelled out the name of our new place of gathering.

"Alright, but before we do anything else, I do have a question," Nyx asked, and we turned to her, who was still looking at the treehouse.

"What's the group's name."

Everyone turned to me, and I thought about it before frowning. "I dunno. I never gave us one."

"Huh!?" I started to laugh at their reactions.

"I just never came up with one. Should I do it now?"

"YES!" They all yelled out, and I laughed again as I turned to the treehouse.

Hmm, what are the coolest words I know that I haven't used yet? Oh, there's gotta be something! And then it clicked in my brain.

I looked at everyone before nodding to myself. "Okay, you ready?" The all nodded, hanging onto my words.

"Our group's name shall be [REDACTED]!"

(The memory grew hazy yet again, despite how hard I wanted to hear it…)

They were hushed into awe as they heard it before Erebus spoke.

"I don't even know what that means…" And we all started to laugh.

Nyx nodded, still looking at the hideout. "Well, I'm glad we have it finally covered."

I nodded, grinning at her. "Yep, thanks a bunch Nyx! I never would've found a cool hideout like this on my own!"

"Y-you mean it?" she asked, and I nodded.

"Of course!"

She turned around, her eyes staring into mine. "I'm so glad," she said, giving off the biggest smile I had ever seen her do.

After all this time, I finally figured out what was wrong with the smile. The smile wasn't the problem at all. It was eyes.

I grinned at her smile. Yeah, white eyes really do suit that smile the best.