“You still hate us, don’t you?” Yuuma asked to break the ice that formed the past few moments they were dancing.

“Who won’t? I lost my fiancé because of you, and yet you still have the audacity to show yourself to me.”

“We didn’t do anything to him, Nagisa.”

“But you did something to the mission,” she looked at him begrudgingly. “You sided with the enemy. And he lost his life trying to convince himself that you never double crossed us. Karma lost his life trusting my well-being to you. Our friends. How could you do that to us? To me?”

“It was a mistake of a lifetime, Nagisa. We tried to make it right by saving you.”

“No. You were saving yourselves. If you were really saving me, you could’ve let me die with him,” the bluenette argued.

“You know I can’t do that, Nagisa,” the brunet said softspokenly.

The bluenette looked at him with a challenging expression. “Then why do that in the first place, huh Yuuma?”

“Because I was blinded by jealousy, okay? I loved you first, and yet he was the one who swept you away! That’s why I tried to get rid of him, because I thought that if he was gone, you will finally look at me!”

Tears glistened in the bluenette's eyes, yet she threw a disgusted look at Yuuma. She was so disappointed that no words could ever explain how she felt hearing those words from the friend who killed her lover. It’s just so horrible.

“That is not love, Yuuma! That is pure selfishness! You knew nothing else could make me happy than staying by his side, but you took that right away from me!”

It was a good thing that the speakers blared with music, or else they could have ruined the mood.

“Look. When you love someone, it does not guarantee that they will love you back. You’re just so stupid! Unreasonable!” she broke free of his hold, yanking her arms away from him, trying to leave the dance floor. “You know what? Sometimes I don't understand why Megu could stick with someone like you for years. You're not the Yuuma I knew and the 3-E loved.”

“Nagisa, please!” Yuuma tried to grasp her hand back.

“No! Let me be!” she tried to pull away.

“Excuse me, but the lady’s hurting, young sir.”

A white gloved hand gripped Yuuma's arm tightly as the latter winced, as if the man wanted to rip his arm apart.

“And just who the hell are you to butt in?” the brunet asked with hostility, but the man, whose red hair freezed the woman remained stoic and unfazed.

“Someone unimportant. But I too, would like to dance with the young miss. Would you like me to do the honor?”

Yuuma was about to protest, but the newcomer held Nagisa's waist tightly and guided her to the other side of the ballroom, his amber eyes glinting with mischief beneath his black mask.

The music shifted to a slow dance, which unexpectedly matched the mood between them.

“Who...are you?” Nagisa mumbled, but was heard by the redhead who just smiled lightly.

“You’ll know, soon I guess. For now,” he pulled her closer, his lips closer to her ear. “Let me enjoy this moment with you, Lady Azure.”

‘Shit, this is bad. I'm getting confused. Stop comparing this stranger who looks and sounds a lot like Karma... to Karma? Gahh! Focus on your damn mission! This isn’t like you, Nagisa!’

“You’re tense,” the man with familiar crimson hair started. “Is something wrong?”

“Everything is,” Nagisa replied truthfully. She knew she shouldn’t have these thoughts. These feelings, rather, especially on a mission, but, she just couldn’t help it. Not after this masked stranger with the same shade of hair and eyes as his saved her from a figurative hell and led her to a dance.

Only one person would have the audacity to do that. Only her Akabane Karma.

But this is just so...wrong. Karma had passed on years ago. Without her. Unless, he actually lived on.

“You miss someone from your past, don’t you?” They continued to waltz as he asked. “Even I could sense that much. Now, you’re conflicted because of my sudden appearance.”

She chuckled bitterly. “Apologies. I’m thinking about another person when you’re the one I’m dancing with. It was a tad bit rude, wasn’t it?”

“You’ve always been the straightforward type,” he said something Nagisa couldn’t catch.

“I’m sorry, what was that?”

He shook his head, gesturing for her to dismiss it off. Then, he asked another question. “Say milady, what would you do if the person you’ve lost appears right before your very eyes?”

“I would punch him.” Nagisa responded almost too quickly. “That was because he took too long.”

The young man gulped unconsciously.

“Then, I would hold him tight and never let him go ever again. I mean, that’s what you would do right?” Karma, was what she wanted to add. But she can’t make any hasty conclusions yet.

They both let go as the song came to an end. Nagisa excused herself finding herself calm and collected— the state she was in before— after their encounter. As the redhead watched her back fade away, he smiled longingly as he unknowingly muttered to himself,

“That person misses you too, Nagi. So damn much.”

—•—

“You look well, Nagisa.” Gakushuu suddenly emerged from the backstage and noticed her clear expression. “Did something happen while I was not looking?”

Nagisa grinned lightly while tapping off a speck of dust from the strawberry blond’s suit. “Nothing I can’t handle, Gakushuu. By the way, I talked with the Chairman earlier.”

He sighed in exasperation. “Let me guess, he told you to consider your affiliation with me because ‘You two are not getting any younger’.”

The two couldn’t help but roll their eyes sardonically. Ever since they regained communication a year ago, the older Asano kept throwing hints about what he wanted Gakushuu’s relationship with her to be. However, Nagisa made it clear that she only treats Gakushuu as a best friend, a rival, and perhaps a brother. Not that Gakushuu wants them to actually happen.

“Exactly. You know Gakushuu, you should actually tell him that you already set your sights in finding the woman whom you gave your heart to in our school days.”

“Wait, you knew about her?” the strawberry blond exclaimed, bewildered.

“At first, the others thought it to be an urban legend. Gakushuu Asano’s muse, the Euphoria Tenshi.” Gakushuu’s gaze softened at the mention of the name but aside from that, he was annoyed for being ridiculed by the lowlifes he once called schoolmates.

“But, you know, I met her once. She and her brother, Tetsuya-san. Karma and her shared a ward because Karma was hit with their car. At the time, she had a relapse so they panicked on their way to the hospital.”

“Did she say anything about me?”

“She was sleeping at the time, but she said,”

“Not yet... Not now... Please, let me be with him... Shuu-chan...”

Gakushuu smiled sadly, but then returned to his prideful facade. Nagisa was about to give him space, until she saw a glinting light at the far back.

“Gakushuu, please step away. Now.”

A gush of wind slipped past them and as if on cue, Nagisa caught two daggers between her fingers which were supposedly aimed towards the blond.

“How rude of you to interrupt our conversation.” The young Asano glared at the direction where the two knives came from and saw a man who failed to blend in the scenery with a few people.

He threw three darts which hit the man’s nape. The two of them approached the latter and saw a familiar caller ID on his phone.

“So the mice finally got deceived by the cheese in the trap, aye?”

Nagisa’s expression darkened, her lips etched with a sinister smile.

“Now you’ve done it.”

That night, all of hell broke loose.