I had a lot of fun playing with fire crackers last night. I supposed Ange also had fun. Angelique glanced at her brother, who had fallen behind her in their walk to the bus stop. So why does he look so down?

"Ange, what's wrong?"

"Guil...." Ange muttered, eyes downcast.

"What did Guil-san do?"

"...According to him, OZ might not last forever."

"Huh?!" Her eyes widened, horrified. "What's that supposed to mean?!"

Realising the way he phrased it, he quickly looked up to correct himself in panic. "It's not what you think, Angelique! OZ isn't breaking up. It's just. . ."

Once again, his eyes fell on the ground. He stood next to Angelique on the bus stop with slumped shoulders. "No group has entered Visual Prison for centuries. And all of us . . . might go our separate ways someday...."

That's. . OZ, Lost Eden and Eclipse breaking up. . . While the thought hurt her deeply, she showed a tender smile to Ange. "I don't think you should worry about that now. OZ is just getting started. You have yet to convey your music to the whole world. Think about what you can do 'now' instead of something that hasn't even happened."

"Mm....you're right." The girl wondered if her words had even reached him. His face hadn't regained its usual shine. Not being able to lift his spirits served to depress her.

Goodness, Guil-san. Why did you say something like that to Ange...?

The bus had arrived where the twins stood gloomily. Angelique was the first to step into the bus. As Ange was about to get on, a pair of vampires made their appearance.

"Where are you going on your own, little pup?" Dimitri asked.

"Eclipse?!" Ange exclaimed, not expecting to see them there. At the name of Eclipse, she poked her head out to see what was going on. 

"Oh, it seems you're not alone. You have Angelique with you."

"We shall join you," Hyde declared before the siblings could process anything.

"A perfect way to relieve boredom," explained Dimitri.

The bus would leave any moment so Ange tried boarding the bus, thinking they were just joking. "...Okay,bye."

However, Dimitri was serious. If he wanted to request something from Ange, then he must give him something in return. "Now, hold on. I'll give you a gift."

Never had Dimitri been prouder than now to introduce his beetle, his dear friend and companion. "Behold, Odin!"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"....Now, wait." With a beautiful smile, Hyde pushed his partner out of the way, harshly. Dimitri felt as if his lifespan shortened when the afraid insect flew away from them.

"ODIN!!!" Angelique had never thought she would ever see the usually cheerful Dimitri look so panicked and terrified. He looked so heartbroken when he ran after Odin.

Poor Dimitri-sama....

Meanwhile, Hyde continued on with the conversation as if there was nothing wrong with his partner. "How about Eclipse's new song that we just finished recording?"

After getting to know Eclipse and Lost Eden, he could now see the charm of their music. Like Angelique, he had also become a fan of their music. That's why he didn't even hesitate to accept the blonde's offer.

"Looks like we have a deal." Smiling, Hyde turned his head towards the direction Dimitri ran off to. "Dimitri, we are leaving."

"But..." He looked around and called out to the beetle. "Odin! Where are you!?"

Meanwhile, the bus driver had enough. "The doors will be closing now."

In the end, Hyde had to drag the blunette and throw him into the bus before following him inside.

.  . .  . . .  .

"Uh..." He can't stop thinking about Odin. Angelique peaked at Dimitri's saddened face. She turned around in her seat to face him fully and did everything she could to cheer the older male. "Don't be disheartened, Dimitri-sama. Odin returned to his home. He must be happy to return home."

"Right... Odin wants freedom...."

Seeing that his spirits were still down, she racked her brain. "U-Um, your new song! I look forward to hearing it! Eclipse will sing it on the night of the Visual Prison, right?"

"Yes," the thought of music took Odin off his mind. Dimitri finally showed her a smile. "Our little lambs will surely enjoy Eclipse's new song as well as our solos."

Her ears perked up. "You have new solos?"

"Yes," Hyde answered. "However, we don't plan on releasing them until the end of this year."

"I see." Dimitri-sama and Hyde-sama's solo. . . . how exciting!

Dimitri's usual grin had returned to his face by then. "So, little pup, where are we going?"

Ange, who had been silent till then, replied, "Our home."

"Ah, so you're going back to your hometown."

"Yeah, because it's Shinbon."

"Shinbon?"

"The Japanese have a ritual in summer called Obon where they pay their respects to their ancestors. Shinbon refers to the first Obon after a relative has died," Dimitri explained.

"Yeah..." Dimitri-sama is unexpectedly aware of our culture.

"You wouldn't believe it, but he's rather knowledgeable. Though he's usually walking a very fine line."

"Hey!" The said man protested. She couldn't help giggling at the display. Dimitri-sama and Hyde-sama are perfect together.

"Hyde, have you known Dimitri for a while?"

"Unfortunately."

"Now,hang on." Hyde paid no attention to Dimitri's protests.

"I've begrudgingly known him since we were humans."

"Hyde, your comments seem harsher than usual." Dimitri commented with a pout.

"Wow, so you've always been together." Ange awed.

A reminiscing look settled on the blonde's face. "Though that also goes for Guil,too."

The twins' eyes widened together at that. "Guil,too?"

"What? You two didn't know?" Having recovered from Hyde's cold jabs, Dimitri questioned.

Hyde made a surprising declaration. "We're brothers."

Brothers!?! While Angelique gasped loudly, Ange ended up shrieking in total surprise. As a result, he got a scolding from the bus driver. Dimitri-sama, Hyde-sama and Guil-san are brothers!? That's completely unexpected! . . . But if you look at it, all three of them are exceptionally gorgeous. Maybe because they're brothers?

"Wait, you two and Guil are brothers?" Eclipse could feel the two's overflowing curiosity.

"As vampires,yes. We have the same parent," Hyde elucidated. 

"Are you surprised?" Dimitri looked like he was having fun.

"Of course. I'm surprised beyond words," Angelique honestly replied. Ange nodded to her words.

"Then where is your parent?" Ange asked.

"He passed quite some time ago," Hyde casually said.

"Oh....I'm sorry to hear that." Angelique mumbled.

"We are immortal and forever young but you know that we're not completely immortal, don't you?"

"Yeah."

Dimitri's green eyes stared off at faraway with a smile on his lips. He spoke in a very soft tone, "He followed his own path till the very end."

 . . For him to have this expression, he must've really respected that person. Well of course, it's their parent after all.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Ange hesitated.

"But of course. I am omnipotent, therefore I can answer all!" the taller male boasted.

"Have you ever thought of disbanding?"

"!!" Angelique certainly wasn't expecting that question.

Dimitri did not delay for even a second in giving his answer, claiming with a huge happy grin. "Nope!"

On the other hand, Hyde didn't hesitate and smiled mysteriously, a hand on his cheek. "I'd rather not comment."

"HYDE!" The bus driver snapped at Dimitri.

With an apology to the driver, Dimitri asked Ange the reason for asking such a question.

". . . . Guil said OZ might break up in the future. That's why, he advised me to think about the decision of becoming a full vampire carefully."

Hyde seemed to catch on the fact. "But isn't your parent supposed to turn you into a full vampire? As far as I've heard, your parents are..."

Angelique decided to explain the situation to them: about Ange having a different vampire parent other than their parents.

Dimitri nodded his head understandably. "I see. So you're returning home to have some time to think."

"Yeah... And I might also be able to find something out about my parents."

Hyde chuckled. "Ah, so they're an afterthought."

The other man fondly asked. "You truly love Guil, don't you?"

At that, Ange faced away from them and looked outside the window, feeling somewhat bashful.

Angelique smiled softly. The conversation unofficially stopped and she leaned her head against her seat. The passing greenery flashed by. Eternity,huh.....

There was an indescribable feeling in her chest. It was an unknown feeling of her heart being heavy. Slowly, she closed her eyes and she started drifting off to sleep. I've known it since the beginning but . . . . . . Ange is in a separate world from me.....

.  . .  . . .  .

The familiar scent of greenery and nature soothed Angelique's mind. With the key, she unlocked the main door of their house.

Dimitri, who had been gawking at their hometown, exclaimed his awe even louder when they entered the house. He looks so adorable like this.

Slipping off their shoes, the four walked inside the dark tatami room. Ange proceeded to open the sliding door to the veranda in order for light and air to enter the room. Hyde gracefully sat down on the tatami mat while Dimitri seemed to be having the time of his life, rolling and enjoying everything. "This is splendid, little pup!"

"The greenery smells rather nice here." Hyde commented, smiling.

Dimitri sat up from his rolling around in the most perfect way. The setting rays of the sun made him shine. "What you're actually smelling is the soft rush of the tatami and woodwork. It appears that Japanese cedar was primarily used for this house. Despite how humid it gets, this house is very well maintained."

"That's surprising." There were sparkles in Angelique's eyes after hearing his explanation. "You can tell all of that so easily? Amazing!" Vampires have a keen sense of smell but I didn't expect Dimitri-sama to be this well-versed.

"Thank you for your compliment, little lamb."

"Is there anything I can help you with?" Hyde had given up on listening to Dimitri's explanations and asked Ange instead.

"It's fine. We just have to clean and get ready for Obon."

"I can assist you in the cleaning," Dimitri proposed.

"You actually know how?"

"Of course! There is nothing which I cannot do!" He boasted and stood up.

"Wh-What..!?! W-Why are you-!?" Angelique blushed brightly when Dimitri suddenly took his shirt off. She quickly looked away from the male, cheeks burning with embarrassment. I-I-I can't believe I saw THE Dimitri-sama without a shirt! N-No, I didn't see anything!!

"Disregard his antics, Angelique. He has no sense of decency." Hyde internally chuckled at her adorable reaction. "Aside from that, you can leave the cleaning to us. There are other preparations you two need to do."

In the end, Angelique took a quick stroll to the grocery store to buy cucumbers, eggplants and other necessary things for Obon. Ange had stayed behind and worked with Eclipse, who were unexpectedly proficient at cleaning. Later, when the twins were making the vegetable decorations, Eclipse lent them a hand. Dimitri made a limousine from the eggplants while Hyde made a unicorn. Nonetheless, those were also used up for the ritual.

Having completed the ritual, Ange and Angelique were on their way inside. As soon as Angelique opened the door to the tatami room, Hyde blocked their way of vision.

"Excuse me, Angelique."

"W-Woah!??!" Everything blackened when Hyde gently covered her eyes with a hand. He lightly grabbed her shoulders and turned her around.

"W-What's going on?" To have Hyde so close to her made her cheeks flush pink.

"Wha...?!" Ange was left dumbfounded as Hyde slowly guided her away from the room. Once they were away from there, he removed his hand.

"You shouldn't enter that room now, Angelique. Like usual, Dimitri has lost his mind and completely striped himself out of his clothes."

"W-W-W-What....!?" T-T-That means.... oh gosh! Heat spread to her ears and neck, making them appear red. Embarrassed, she hid her face in her hands. "I-I'm sorry for asking!!"

In that situation, a chuckle escaped Hyde's throat. She was quite the adorable kid. Truly the freshness he required after tolerating an obnoxious Dimitri, poker-faced Guiltia and defiant Saga.

The blonde landed his hand on top of her head, faintly ruffling her hair. "The one who should be embarrassed is that idiot. Now, let me go and check on him."

"...Mm." She nodded. . . . . Now that I think about it, I didn't see Eclipse bringing any luggage with them...... There should be some spare yukata that might fit them.

. . . Okay, I admit I really want to see Eclipse in yukata.... I mean, who wouldn't? Having brought a pair of yutaka for the two men, Angelique stood outside the closed door, being able to listen to their hilarious conversation.

"Now, I get it! Perhaps I am Adam!"

"Just how many forbidden fruits must I feed you for you to learn some shame?"

"Pfft..." She couldn't hold back her chuckle and knocked on the door. Her brother opened the door and she handed the yukata with her eyes closed, in case she mistakenly glimpsed at something she shouldn't see.

.  . .  . . .  .

The noise in the house had died down. The serene silver moon was shining in the sky. Buzzing of crickets was the only sound echoing around the place. The two members of Eclipse soundlessly enjoyed the beauty of nature.

Meanwhile, the two siblings were sitting in front of their family altar, paying respect to their grandmother.

"We're back, grandma." Ange whispered. Looking at the picture of their grandma stirred a feeling of loneliness in the girl's heart. It has been a year, huh... Maybe it's because it's so quiet now that right now the house feels empty without grandma.....

"Hey Angelique . . . do you remember what grandma said before?" The brunette spoke in a quiet voice.

"Hmm?" She faced him.

". . .About our father," he clarified.

"Oh..." She understood what he meant. "Didn't you say you weren't interested in knowing about him?"

"Yeah...." He looked away.

She reached out to hold one of his hands reassuringly. "Have you. . . . changed your mind?"

"I...." His grey eyes met her identical ones before he nodded. "I want to know."

"You sure?"

"Yeah." Seeing no hesitation in his eyes, she smiled faintly. "If that's what you want."

Her gaze landed on the drawer where their grandma had kept all of their parent's momentos.

"Also," Ange's voice grabbed her attention. "I'm sorry."

"Hm?"

She felt her hand being squeezed back. "You were always curious about mom and dad. But you held yourself back from discovering about them for my sake..."

"You don't have to worry about that." She patted his head with her other free hand. After all, it's normal to be curious about one's parents. "Now, open it, Ange."

"Mm." He pulled the drawer open.

Little did they know about the big shock they would receive.

To be continued...