Morning was especially excruciating for Izumi this time around. There was a lot on his mind and if Lavina’s plan went well, then there was even more to come. Plenty of pressure came with the attendance of the ball. After all, every specter would be there, and Izumi wasn’t sure if he was up to the challenge. Regardless, he tried to push his anxiety to the side as there was much more at stake than his pride. If he went, then it wouldn’t just allow him to learn more about Wraith and his world, but it would prevent the rise of hostility between Wraith and the other specters. With this in mind, he forced himself out of bed, awaking to the smell of tobacco rising from Wraith’s smoking pipe. He was sitting in the living area, his back to the bed in his usual spot, with his legs crossed and a drink in hand. Breakfast was already prepared on the coffee table, which was clearly meant for Izumi only, since it was a simple bagel filled with an assortment of eggs, avocado, tomatoes, and other ingredients. The drink provided for Izumi was non-alcoholic in comparison: a small glass of orange juice. Overall, a fairly healthy breakfast, making Izumi wonder whether Neio actually knew about the concept of eating healthy or if he just presented whatever his mind was set to cook. Sitting beside Wraith, Izumi reached for the plate and began to eat.

“Good morning.”

Swallowing a bite first, Izumi cleared his throat before replying. “Morning…”

“They didn’t give you a hard time right?”

“Y-yea we were fine, we went to um-” He hesitated. Was it alright to stay that he talked to Lavina? Their relationship was strange, considering that they seem to dislike each other's characters but they still rely on the other in their own way. A mental sigh, he'll find out eventually anyways. “Uh... Lavina's library-”

Suddenly Wraith began to choke on his drink at the mention of her name. “Hck–Lavina?! You met her?!”

“Is that bad…?”

“Not explicitly just- depends. What did she say to you?” Sitting at the edge of his seat, Wraith put down his drink and gave Izumi his undivided attention.

“Well originally she showed up after you left yesterday, said she was gonna talk to you but you happened to walk out at the same time, so she talked to me instead. You guys had an agreement of sorts…? Was about that.”

Wraith groans, remembering his side of the bargain that he almost purposefully forgot. “...Did you tell her anything about us then?” Realizing he framed the question in the implication that there was something to be had in the first place, Wraith panics and rephrases. “I mean like you didn't say anything about um any sort of nightly activities or whatever right?”

“...Noooo…? She pretty much just made her own inferences about what she could see.”

A relieved sigh. “Sounds like her. Alright, what else?”

“Well...if I'm honest I asked her about you a bit. I was just kinda curious what you were like back then, and then it somehow resulted in us going to her library so…Do you…-?”

“Nope, nope. Whatever she said to you about me you can keep it to yourself because there's a super high chance it'll invoke some sort of reaction out of me that isn't happiness.”

“When are you ever happy though?”

To Wraith, the smart aleck voice is ear straining and he rolls his eyes almost unconsciously. Izumi on the other hand is more absorbed with the fact that this is the third time she's made an entrance like this.

Lavina strut through the doors to the bedroom, Neio, with the other two behind him, mouths sorry, Wraith only holding his emerging headache in his hands.

“I’m happy when you're not around.” He barks, putting out his pipe and lighting a cigarette instead.

“Are you happy when Izumi is around then?”

In a flash, Wraith stands from the couch and bares his fangs, the abrupt motion causing Izumi to flinch.

“What in the living fuck do you want?”

“I came for Izumi actually. I wanted to ask him if he wanted to stop by the library again today, instead of being holed up in your man cave all day.”

“The answer is-”

“Yes! I don't mind! I didn't really get to look around much yesterday.” Izumi cuts Wraith off before he could answer for him. In Wraith's mind swirled Izumi's past advice, and he repeated to himself, Remember Wraith, peaceful thoughts. Don't start a fight with her. You always fight with her. Fight her some other day if you want but not in front of him. Just suck it up. Look at him. Doesn't he look excited to go? You know how much he likes learning things. Lavina is perfect for him then. It's alright, he'll be fine. You could just go with him. Right?

With Izumi's adorable contentment in mind, Wraith stomped out his cigarette, grinding it into the stone.

“I’ll go with you.” The words came out as Wraith shifted his eyes to the wall, away from any figure. “Finish your food first.”

No other prompt was necessary. Izumi quickly scarfed down his food to leave as soon as possible.

Now, the area around the table became quite crowded. It was located between an aisle of racks, which were several meters apart to accommodate for the study space. A few steps forward would take one to the rail which circles the center most hole, and down the aisle were a few more sets of tables and chairs before finally ending with another set of shelves. At the desk, Neio and Dahlia were seated, with Faelan on the floor beside them. Lavina only appeared on occasion, bouncing between checking on Izumi and taking care of the athenaeum, while Wraith was leaning on the railing, trying to cope with the fact that he almost always finds himself in her home against his will. Izumi, however, was exploring the library–at least the surrounding area– asking several questions to not just Lavina, but the other spirits as well. Most of his questions regarded the nature of the other specters: what they were like, how old they were, what their relationship was with Wraith and Lavina, how their faction and rules were different to Wraith's, so on and so forth. The specters he found strangest were the ones related to positive emotions, such as the specter of merriment, considering he always associated specters with negative emotions. Then again, he has a memory, albeit faint, of Wraith saying that they exist as well. Only rarely did Wraith add something on to the conversation, usually in the case of him knowing something that the others didn't, and if Lavina was there, that wasn't often the case. Eventually, Lavina stopped working and rested on the railing next to Wraith. The tension between the two was clear as day as soon as Lavina began to whisper to him. Izumi stopped exploring and sat with the others, pretending like he wasn't trying to eavesdrop on their conversation. What they were talking about though soon became evident. In seconds it escalates into a full blown audible argument.

“Fuck no.”

“Wraith-”

“I said no and there's no changing my mind. Are you crazy?!”

“Me? Crazy? I'm not the one who would rather start a war with every living specter rather than suck up my pride and attend some party that won't even last a full evening!”

“It's more than just that and you know it.”

“Oh I'm sorry, you're right. Too many whores on your rod and you can't stand them all fighting over it so you'd rather have needless bloodshed instead. You're right.”

“It's not because of the fucking shitty plus one rule that YOU made up!”

“You know why I made it up? Because of people like YOU who think they're hot shit and build walls all around. You're not approachable Wraith! Ask anyone in this room! And if they agree with me, then doesn't that show something because these are your supposed closest allies.”

Just the two excruciating seconds filled with crickets spoke volumes. The audience awkwardly bounces their eyes between the two as their quarrel boils over and bursts into raging flames.

“See! If you have a ‘shitty plus one’ you look less like a barbaric simpleton which is exactly what you of all people need!”

“I am not fucking taking Izumi with me. Over my dead body. I would rather fight every specter and spirit in that room with my hands tied behind my back than take Izumi with me.”

“Give me one good reason.”

“All of them hate me for starters Lavina!!! They hate me, they see Izumi and they think oh now would you look at that, the specter of despair is interested in someone and now I have to fight a bunch of people anyways!!”

“First of all you're delusional, not everyone hates you. Madeline is scared of you and Adelard could care less. Second of all you know I could masque his scent, so he just looks like a spirit to everyone. Did any of the other spirits you brought ever get attacked? No.”

“Izumi is different.”

“HOW?!! Oh because you actually care about him now you're gonna be all irrational about it.”

“It's not that-”

“It is that! You keep saying oh it's not that it's not that. What is it then? Hmm?”

“You- uGhHhh!!” Wraith dishevels his hair in utter aggravation, wondering why he even dated her at one point in his life.

“I’m not saying this just to keep my mouth running. Izumi wants to go you know.”

Instantly Wraith's piercing gaze falls to Izumi who jumps in his seat. Steadily, Wraith's eyes calm down so he doesn't scare him.

“Is that true?”

“Mmm…” Izumi mumbles at first, still a little scared anyways, then vocalizes a better response. “Y-yea. Lavina helped me pick out a dress for it too.”

Dress?

All of Wraith's anger seemed to fade away. Instead, it looked like there were little dandelions around him. Dress….

“....Alright...if you want to go…But on one condition. You can't EVER be left alone. You either have to be with me, Lavina, Dahlia, or Neio. Ok?”

Izumi rapidly nods his head, trying to contain his excitement. “Yes ok I will!”

Defeated, Wraith exhales deeply and walks away, hiding his shame in one of the neighboring aisles.

Heels against the wood, Lavina triumphantly struts over, head and chest held high.

“Told you to leave it to me, right?”

Only partially in jest, they all applaud.

“Women are terrifying…” Faelan mumbles.

“I can't believe you did that..I've never seen Wraith back down like that.” Stars in his eyes, Izumi felt nothing but pure admiration for Lavina's unwavering resolve.

“It's actually one of the reasons we fell apart. He'd lose almost every argument we had and it got under his skin. But also, you're to credit too! Mentioning the already set up outfit just dealt the final blow. Told you, he's a sucker for dresses. You'll see.”

“That much though? He looked like he was on cloud nine for a second there.”

“I told you, you'll see!” Another cocky smirk which strikingly resembles that of Wraith. Did he get it from her or vice versa? Izumi couldn't tell.

Between two bookshelves, Wraith wallowed in his pitiful loss, the public humiliation in front of not just his generals and new found follower, but Izumi as well. On the floor he flumped with his back against the tomes until he heard a pair of footsteps creep closer. Dusting himself off, Wraith stood on his feet before he could be caught in his sorrows.

“Oh, Izumi. It’s you.”

“I guess it’s my turn to ask if you’re alright.” Izumi awkwardly smiles, coming a bit closer.

“Hah, yea, I’m fine. I owe you anyways for being out all of yesterday.”

“You don’t owe me anything, it’s not like it burdened me for you to be away, and I’m not your girlfriend or anything so…” Across from Wraith, Izumi leaned against the bookshelf. “If anything, I owe you for the whole thing in Hodaira, by like, a lot.”

“I nearly forgot about our deal actually, but I’ll ask for that payment some other time. You could’ve gotten away with murder you know.”

“So you could penalize me more for delaying the inevitable? Sure.”

They exchange a heartfelt smile, time almost seemed to freeze to preserve their secluded moment. Izumi used this time to gather his courage into words.

“Umm...Wraith…”

For the first time, Wraith actually found himself nervously anticipating what Izumi could possibly say, even though he tried to play it off.

“What’s up?”

“I...um... know it’s hard for you to let me come to the ball, but I wanted to let you know that I really appreciate it. I don’t wanna say that my life was boring or anything, since I still had my mom, Eiji, and Lala, but I guess what I’m trying to say is...I appreciate just having the opportunity to learn about all this, and everyone treats me like I’ve been here for years.”

Wraith is a bit lost at how to respond, scratching his head to try and think.

“That’s just kind of how they are though. Not all ghosts are as welcoming as them. To say the least, we’re all man-eating killers, no matter how you look at it. Myself more than anyone.”

There it is again. Pushing me away...

“You remember our promise right? I said I would accept you no matter how ugly you were. That doesn’t just apply to your appearance. People could have ugly personalities or mannerisms too. I’d accept you with all of it.”

Abruptly, someone calls, “Izumi? Where are you? We should start getting you dressed!”

Of course it’s Lavina, Izumi holds in a sigh in turn for a finalizing smile, turning to leave until a hand promptly latches onto his arm.

“Wraith-?”

Izumi couldn’t tell if it was due to the lighting, or whether he was seeing things. Wraith was blushing. Not just a little either. His cheeks and ears were dyed a passionate pink. Eyes mushy and lips barely parted, Wraith wasn’t even sure what he was doing either.

“I...I remember…” Sighing a cuss, Wraith put Izumi’s palm to his cheek, nuzzling against it. He could feel the heat dyeing Wraith’s face. Now Izumi was the one who felt fluffy, with the image of Wraith in his hand resembling an affectionate canine. “I...thank you. I know you said it before, and I thanked you before too, but really, thank you. You have no idea how much it means to me to hear that.” Wraith returns Izumi’s hold to his person with a tender smile. “Lavina is calling you. If she’s going to help you get ready, then I’ll meet you back in my room.”

Steps approaching, Lavina looks down the aisle and lays eyes upon the pair, her expression shifting ever so slightly. “Izumi, you should go back to where Dahlia is.”

“Aren’t you coming?”

“I’ll follow after you.”

Izumi turns back to Wraith for confirmation, who nods. With one last glance, Izumi returns to the group, Lavina taking his place. Immediately Wraith falls to the floor in a ghastly groan, hanging his head in his arms.

“What the hell am I doing Lavina.”

“I was about to ask you that.” She stood beside him smoking.

“I-...I don’t know what’s going on with me. I didn’t even do that on purpose my body just moved. I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t know why I’m acting how I am. I don’t even know how I’m feeling. I don’t know. It annoys me so fucking bad and I can’t stand being so- so-”

“Lost.”

“Yes! You’re so smart. You tell me. I’m sure that’s why you want to know everything about me and him so badly. In fact, I bet you already know whatever this is and whatever I’m unsatisfied with to have a medium for in the first place.”

“I do.” Lavina exhales. “But I can’t tell you how you feel, or what you lack in your life. You need to figure that out yourself.”

Although Wraith expected that answer, it still frustrates him, being left with nothing but what he started with.

The clock steadily approached the hour of the upcoming ball and the only ones left to reconvene in the bedroom were Lavina and Izumi. Going down the line, Faelan, being a normal spirit and not actually one of Wraith’s generals, wasn’t dressed in extravagant attire like the others since he wouldn’t be attending. Dahlia’s armor had a gold design and there was a small yet refined fabric over their shoulder, but other than that was fairly normal. On the fabric contained Wraith’s insignia: a pair of clawed wings surrounding a thin vertical eye. The same was printed onto Neio’s drapes, which were red in color instead, making Neio appear more colorful than he already was with his blue skin and white hair. Then, there was Wraith. For once he forgoed the usual red, instead wearing primarily black. Gloves weren’t his thing, but for the occasion he made an exception. The black suit was normal excluding it’s embroidery in certain areas, which resembled roses and thorns. Under the blazer he wore a vest, which he also didn’t like but put up with, over his usual teal dress shirt, this time with the sleeves down to the cuffs and buttoned up. Never was Wraith seen without his robe, and this still applied along with the black theme to his attire. The robe was transformed into a cape, with the same thorn and insignia design, this time in gold rather than its usual black. And finally, over his shoulders was the cape’s abundance of pale teal fur. Neio and Dahlia already knew what Izumi would be wearing, but Wraith only waited with his heart in his stomach. A shudder of the bedroom’s entrance only spiked his nervous anticipation, sitting closer to the edge of his seat. First came Lavina, who was dressed in a slitted white evening gown and fur coat. Then, behind her came the main star of the event. Izumi.

Around his chest, the dress was a silky royal blue containing specks of silver jewels and embellishment, both a combination of thin straps and off the shoulder sleeves. Below the night sky were swan colored threads, which only partially covered his open toed high heels. There wasn’t much additional make-up to be had, only a bit of finalizing touches such as thin eyeliner, light lip gloss, and more. In terms of accessories, there were only two, but they perfectly completed the regalia. Clamped on each ear were low hanging silver earrings and over his head sat a simple tiara. Attached to the diamond crown was a sapphire cloth resembling a veil which concealed his back, stretching to the singular silver bracelets which encircled each wrist. And finally, per Lavina’s promise, there were spots of illusionary light blue scales in order to add a spirit-like image to his appearance.

Everyone was more concerned with Wraith’s reaction to Izumi than anything else, and his thunderstruck shock was simultaneously exactly what they expected and more, making a picture perfect frame of a deer in headlights.

“S-so? What do you think?” Izumi’s fingers weaved in and out of each other, his timid antics finally catching up with him, only getting worse the eternity that Wraith seemed to ogle.

“What do I think? I-...” Wraith rose from the couch, still towering over Izumi despite the presence of his heels, fondly holding his hands in his own. With evident and nearly fantastical sincerity, Wraith smiled and said, “I love it. You look amazing.”

He kissed the tips of his fingers, the others looking between each other in awe. “Here, I want to give you something.” In the pocket of his blazer Wraith reached to unveil a deep ruby jewel laced by a silver necklace. The others immediately knew the meaning of the gem and Neio almost interrupted until Lavina gestured for him to keep quiet.

“It’s a bloodstone. In our culture, if you can call it that, spirits and specters alike give jewels like this to people they cherish. And...I cherish you. Mine is a little more special though. If you hold it in your hand, it’ll turn into almost anything you want. Nothing like a full on house or anything, but it could turn into a weapon if you need to protect yourself. And, it’ll protect you on its own.”

Although the great weight behind the gift was explained to him, Wraith didn’t disclose all of the details regarding it, Lavina already knowing full well she was going to tell him later if someone didn’t beat her to it. For a fleeting instant, Izumi wanted to decline the gift. He couldn’t accept something that meant so much, not just to Wraith, but to their entire lifestyle. But...He also longed to be someone important to Wraith.

“Wraith I-I don’t even know what to say…”

“I could put it on for you for starters?”

“R-right! P-please…” Izumi’s hair was short, so there was no need for him to lift it to allow for Wraith to clasp on the necklace. It shimmered only a little below his collarbone, the silver fitting in perfectly with the rest of the outfit.

“If everyone is going to see you anyways, we might as well give them something to stare at.” Wraith grinned, gracing Izumi’s cheek with his thumb. “So,” Holding out his hand, Wraith knelt over slightly, a clear invitation for Izumi. “Shall we leave, my princess?”