Aoyuzu looked at Honjo who was distant from Ms. Steinbeck. He knew all about his love for her and his dream of becoming her son.

"Do you not like Ms. Steinbeck anymore?" he whispered in Honjo's ear.

"I don't know... She's weird." he replied, looking at the woman who was occupied. "I don't like her List her boyfriend."

"What's a boyfriend?" Aoyuzu asked curiously.

"I asked Mr. Zoldyck the same thing but he said I'd understand when I'm older." Honjo explained. "We should tell her how he treats us."

"Will she believe us?" asked Aoyuzu.

"She has to. Why would we lie?" he reasoned, enough to convince Aoyuzu.

Honjo and Aoyuzu walked over to Corliss. She looked up and waited for them to speak.

"List is mean to us." Honjo said, Aoyuzu bidding in agreement.

"Now what spurred this on? Is it because you saw Mr. Zoldyck?" she asked.

"No. He really is. We would ask to play but he'd shove us off. He said we weren't worth his time..." said Aoyuzu, backing him up.

"Boys, I trust you all to be truthful." said Corliss with a shake of her head. "Haven't I told you all not to make blame someone without proof?"

Their spirits fell. They didn't have any. Aoyuzu looked at Honjo.

"We'll get proof then. I don't want him to be around anymore." Honjo declared before walking away.

"When did he get so feisty...?" she muttered.

____

"Should we be doing this...?" Aoyuzu asked worriedly.

"She won't believe us otherwise. I'm just doing all of us a favor." said Honjo, approaching Corliss. "Ms. Steinbeck!"

"Yes, Honjo?" she asked, turning around.

"I want to take pictures of you on your phone." he said, making puppy eyes.

"Only for a little bit." she said, unlocking her phone then handing it to him.

Aoyuzu had her turn around so she couldn't see Honjo taking off with her phone. He told her not to turn around until they said so. She waited and waited. Finding it strange, she turned around and saw the two were gone.

"Honjo! Come back here!" she shouted, hurrying off to find them.

Honjo and Aoyuzu entered the room and saw List had just arrived as he was placing his things down. They gave each other a nod before separating to do their respective roles. Honjo sat in the back, away from List's site as Aoyuzu gathered a few other children to expose him.

Corliss opened the door and saw Aoyuzu sitting beside Honjo who did crossword puzzles. She marched over to them and demanded her phone. Honjo silently handed it over.

"What's gotten into you?" she scolded.

"Liss, what's going on?" List asked, putting his arms around her shoulder.

"Don't worry about it. I'm just glad I have my phone back and in one piece." she said, putting it in her pocket.

"Such rascals aren't they?" said List with a chuckle.

Corliss chuckled then happily changed the topic.

____

Corliss had started to pack up to head to her next job. She took out her phone and started to look through it, making sure the boys didn't mess with anything. It was then she spotted an unfamiliar video in her gallery. She tapped on it and turned up the volume.

"List, can you help me with vocabulary words?" Aoyuzu asked, holding a piece of paper.

"Do it yourself. I have better things to do." List replied, waving him off.

"Please? I want to make Ms. Steinbeck proud." Aoyuzu pushed, slightly whinning.

"Can't you take a hint? I don't care for you all. Kids are an absolute nuisance." List spat, pushing Aoyuzu away.

Corliss continued to watch, her lips pulled into a taut. Not everyone had to like children, but to treat them like crap was beyond acceptable. She rewatched it, disappointing her even further.

After an hour or so of traveling, she entered the hospital, keeping a lookout for List. She happily greeted the woman who's spot she was taking over.

"List was looking for you. Oh, and a few women too. Beware of the women." she said before leaving.

Corliss let herself get situated then looked over what was left behind. Not too long after she got settled in a woman stopped by with a hand on her hip.

"So you managed to get List's attention? What's so good about you, huh?" she asked rhetorically, playing with Corliss's hair. "You're not even pretty."

"Um, how can I help you...?" she asked, avoiding the topic.

"You can't worm your way outta this one, hag." she said. "We're going to force you both to break up."

"Miss, are you threatening me?" she asked loudly, making sure others heard.

"You don't have to be so loud." she scoffed before leaving.

List noticed the woman leaving from where Corliss sat. It wasn't often that the other women talked to her. He stopped by the desk and was given a joyous smile.

"What's up?" she asked curiously.

"It's not often they come to talk to you." he said, leaning against the desk. "What was that about?"

"I'm not sure. She seemed upset about me having your attention." said Corliss, trying to brush it off some.

"Ah, jealousy..." said List. "Don't mind them. They're just upset that after playing around I finally decided to get serious with someone."

"I figured you weren't the type to commit." she half joked.

He beckoned her to lean forward, putting her under the assumption that he wanted to whisper something to her. He end up giving her a brief kiss on the lips. She playfully hit him, scolding him for flirting on the job. She sent him on his way then sighed happily. She frowned, completely forgetting about the video on her phone.

"List!" she shouted, causing everyone to look. She beckoned him to come over. He gave her a questioning look as he stood before her. "We need to talk. Do you have to go back right now?"

"Yeah, maybe when we get off our shifts? I'm getting off earlier today." he said with an apologetic look.

"Okay. Don't forget." she said, sending him off again.

____

Corliss quietly stood outside, a cool breeze passing by and kissing her bare hands. The days were getting cooler. She looked off to the side then noticed a tall figure approaching her general direction. She turned to move then stopped as they started to come into the light.

"Illumi? What are you doing here?" she asked in surprise.

"Decided to surprise you and take you home." he said with a smile.

"Oh, how kind. But, I'm actually waiting for someone..." she said, looking back towards the doors. "I can't leave until we talk."

"Then I'll wait with you." he said then noticed she was holding her phone tight. He wrapped his hands around hers. "They must be chilled."

"Oh, they're fine." she said, despite not moving her hands.

Illumi smiled happily, keeping her hands warm. She smiled back then put their hands in his pockets.

"So, hows the company? Any strange requests?" Corliss asked.

"Hm, one person continued to insist on having an island in their kitchen when there's no room for it. Not even if we knocked down a wall or two." he said, remembering how upset the person got.

"Eh, that's weird. How did it end?" she asked curiously.

"No island. One of my employees managed to convince them the island wasn't the best idea." Illumi said, rubbing his thumbs over the back of her hands.

"Stop, that tickles." she giggled, causing him to do the same.

"Hey! What are you doing?" a voice shouted.

"Oh, there you are!" Corliss exclaimed.

List pulled them apart then glared at Illumi. Illumi put his hands up in defense, figuring he was the easily jealous type.

"List, it's okay. We were just talking. And speaking of talking, we need to as well." she said, pulling him off to the side.

"Just talking? Your hands were in his pockets! How can I be sure he's not plotting?" List said, glancing back at Illumi who subconsciously tucked a strand of hair behind his ear.

"You worry too much. Moving on, I want to know how you feel about the kids at Sunny Side." she asked, a serious look present on her face.

"I love them. They're little angels." he replied, smiling.

"You're lying. Tell me the truth, List." she pressed, her tone becoming threatening.

"I honestly really love them. You don't believe me?" he said, feeling hurt.

"I can't believe you're going to run with it. Look, I don't want you coming by Sunny Side anymore. If you have something you want to give them, come see me." said Corliss, disappointed.

"Liss, it's not what you think-" he said, but she had already started to walk away. "Liss."

"We can go now." she said to Illumi.

Illumi looked at List who didn't approach. He probably feared making her more upset. He quietly pushed her forward a bit and started to walk back to his car. He didn't ask questions, knowing she was the type to hide behind walls.

"The children asked about you." she muttered, getting into the passenger side.

"Really now? Guess I'll stop by if I have time." he said, noticing he'd have to fill up on gas tomorrow morning. "How's Honjo?"

"He's... he's good. I'm in the process of adopting him." she said, looking out at the city nightlife.

Illumi nearly slammed on the breaks at the news. Did her financial situation balance out? Did her superiors pity them and decided to help out? Corliss remained silent, not mentioning anything else.

"I'm happy for the both of you. I know you'll give him a good life." Illumi said, making a left turn.

"Illumi, what would you do if you found out the person you like treats animals like worthless things?" she asked out of the blue.

"There are many ways to go about this, but in my case, I'd try to find out why. But I wouldn't want to date them. Only scum would hurt innocent animals." said Illumi, slowing down at a red lightning. "There are many lines that shouldn't be crossed, yet people continue to do so."

"Makes sense." she replied. She turned to look at him then held his hand. "I can't let them suffer..."

"Did you say something?" asked Illumi.

"Nothing, just drive safely." she said, pulling her hand away from his.