"Alright, Lina. The preparations for the movie have been completed. You may now proceed to take off the tuxedo and shades to further feel comfortable while enjoying the movie.", Luna tried to get Lina inside.

"Yay, finally! I have no idea how big, strong and tall security men outside important buildings stand in one spot for so long, it's so boring!", Lina happily got inside.

"Don't hit your head on the way in, kid.", Tiki got there just in time, "Here, take these too. But watch it, the cookies are exclusively mine, ok?", she gave Lina the bag with snacks.

"Roger! I'll guard the candies with my life!", Lina gave her oath of loyalty.

"With the presence of Magi, that would be-", Luna was interrupted.

"Just let her do whatever, Luna. It's one tick before her birthday anyway.", Tiki whispered.

And wasting no time after, Lina got rid of all the fancy wear as she entered the room with a bag full of sweets, Terna and Magi waiting to get everything started as they looked at Luna and Tiki from outside.

"You guys coming to get this started?!", Terna excitedly asked.

"Well, I've got a couple of things to say and give to Dante, so you can start a bit early without me. Won't take long anyway, I should be back before commercials and unskippable ads finish.", Tiki said.

"I will then proceed to walk along with you. Drima's gift must go through interrogation to further guarantee Lina's safety."

"You girls don't take long, alright? Spend quite a good amount of time trying to set everything up anyway.", Magi urged them.

"Will do, since there's a good reason for me to rush it like so.", Tiki took a faint glance at the box of cookies Lina unpacked from the bag.

As Tiki and Luna then started walking along, it wasn't long before the inseparable pair started questioning one another's trip, in a fit that was typical of Tiki, but most definitely not for Luna.

"The item in the bag?", Luna asked.

"Would you believe me if I told that it's a 5-star restaurant dish made by 'Dark Mode' Hikari? I'm supposed to drop by Dante's room and give it to him."

"Enemy has abilities correlating with something other than the battlefield, and specifically, the kitchen section of a living quarter's?"

"Dude, I kid you not, I saw a part of her that's a full 180 from what I'm used to. For example, rate Enemy right now, same with Hikari, but still."

"Rate as to what?"

Tiki rolled her eyes, "Her as a whole, you know."

Luna understood, "Oh. You are referring to gossiping and talking behind one another's backs, like with how most TV shows portray? Very well, I shall fully analyze her. Rough hair and skin, but she is saved by her fit physique, as with most of us, due to extreme battle conditions and physical demands, and it all aligns perfectly with the size of her hair being able to reach her back, which further adds the illusion of girth that was much needed. 2 points for physical attributes. Her personality reminds me that of a 'tsundere', from Lina's cartoons. However, unlike the monotone nature of the cartoons, she has depth of care layered beneath an almost unapproachable and detestable set of manners that serves to shove most everyone away from her, in fear of something only she knows. 3 points for personality. She is a 5/10.", Luna briefly but very accurately proceeded to describe Enemy on both the inside and outside while providing nothing but her usual straight face, adding no bias to her judgment.

Tiki was understandably flabbergasted, "Hoo-k, I think you...got that covered? I'm lost as to whether you like or dislike her now."

"My interactions with Enemy, as opposed to Hikari, have been severely limited due to the circumstances at hand. However, with someone like Dante, where their interactions have been among the most frequent in the group, the seething hatred for each other grows by the day. It would be of use to call such hate 'cute' if it were like the rivalry that of a love-hate relationship, similar to the bickering between Dante and Anya which always results in them 'hanging out' and having fun in their own unique way, but frankly speaking, it is not. The threats imposed by both parties against each other are anything but 'cute'. They have been stated with a state of mind and tone of voice that betrays genuine hatred, spite, and active alert for a window of opportunity to cause severe physical or mental trauma against each other."

"Maybe you're overstating things a bit, Luna. I'm telling you, there's another side. Look at this food for example. Would you ever expect her out of all people to make this?"

"When it was revealed that she had been spending an excessive amount of time within the Church's Monastery branch in Dirunon, there were a few statistical probabilities of such. However, given their severely low chance, a 'surprise', is among the many terms we could use to describe this."

"Well, I'm telling you that physically, she got to a proper 7-8 and personality...maybe a 6. Breaking news too, it all happened in one night."

"My interest is peaked. I shall investigate on such tomorrow, so that everyone may shake conflict off of them. That being said, I have a bigger and more imminent peak of interest aimed towards Drima and Lina's plans. My sister has been in a permanent state of zoomies since this evening, when coming out of Drima's office. Such a state, given Lina's interests, can be extremely dangerous."

"I think you are overprotective of her, yet again. Anyway, since it's a surprise, I hope to god you won't actually go ahead and ruin it for the kid. Come on, Luna, you saw how excited she was. And with her birthday coming up, if that surprise is ruined, you bet your ass you'll have to deal with a lot more than just Lina on zoomies. Hell, I'd argue that seeing Lina sad, under any circumstances, would be the most definitively heartbreaking scenario ever, given how we all got used to her. Again, life, as a whole, isn't worth living if you don't want to live it. Let the kid off a bit."

"Given how much more developed my sister's emotional abilities are, compared to mine being locked behind a protection wall of H.I.V.E., I suppose that your words can be taken into consideration. You are a reliable ally, if surprisingly so, to talk about such subjects.", Luna paused in front of Dante's room, "With us arriving at our destination, I bid you farewell for the night."

"Won't you come to the movies?"

"I am afraid that the conversation at hand might severely outlast a movie's length, if not more. To not drag everyone down, I will avoid attendance, which is of no issue, since my presence until needed, has always remained passive."

"I guess...so? Anyway, I won't push you much. But remember what I said about the kid, alright? I get setting boundaries and all that, it's important, but don't get too much into that."

"Affirmative. Good night.", Luna kept moving to Drima's office.

"Good night Luna. Alright, now for you...", Tiki knocked on Dante's room.

It didn't take long for Dante to show up at the door right after, his face laced with discomfort as an ice pack was firmly held on his right shoulder, barely able to let go of it before the pain came back.

"Holy shit, what the hell happened at the infirmary?", Tiki wondered.

"Lina did a perfect mid-air frontal kick directly on my shoulder, that's what happened. According to the scan, she almost dislocated it, which she would have, if I showed any resistance to the hit instead of giving into the force and being flunk backward like I did.", he angrily said.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Eh, you've seen worse.", Tiki shrugged, "Here.", she gave him the food.

"Chicken and vegetables? Wait...", Dante got suspicious, "Did you cook this?", he feared for his physical integrity yet again.

"Had you had to guess, who would you say made this?", Tiki teased him.

"Tiki, I've gotten my ass kicked during our cardio session today, before I got said ass handed over to me by a 10-year-old girl. Just tell me."

"Long day coming to an end, but here's another surprise. Enemy."

Dante got severely confused, "Enemy? Enemy my enemy, right? The same Enemy who has only been showing up whenever Hikari is healing in the back, while she slaughtered everything in her path, including trying to kill me on several occasions because she was 'confused' but won't dare to admit it?"

"You know any other edge-lord that'd call themselves 'Enemy' like that?"

"Yeah, ok. Thanks.", he took the food, "I'll cherish it later."

"Do with that, what you will. For now, I'm off to the movies."

"You're going to the movies?"

"No, actually. Terna set her entire place up for a movie. Think it like a cinema done proper."

"I got my ass kicked over you girls watching a goddamn movie?! I seriously thought something had gone down bad for you all to have been gathering like that!", he tightened his grip on the ice pack.

"Curiosity kills.", Tiki walked away, "Or gets you nearly killed. I'll see you tomorrow."

Not wanting to share any more of the same air as the others did from his ever-boiling anger, Dante slammed the door shut as he went to his own living room, placing down the ice pack and the food on the small table. He grunted softly as he took a few swings around with his arm, getting it ever closer to healing.

"So...did we find out what everyone was swarming Terna's room for?", Yuno curiously asked.

"I'd rather not talk about it. How long until the healing factor kicks in anyway?"

"It already has. Friendly reminder that your bones not being broken does not mean you're good. But if you just cool off, you'll be fine by morning."

"I was poisoned with a powerful toxin. How's that for a reminder?"

Yuno shrugged, "Obsulyte works in funny ways for everyone. Now, what's inside that bag?"

Dante, wanting to show Yuno what it was all about, opened the tightly sealed top and let loose of the same, delicious, fragrant and fresh smell of Isabella's dish. It wasn't long before he too, was amazed by both the presentation and the smell of the food, having himself go through Hikari's 'Pasta Incident' in person.

"That smells outrageously good. Better than what you really ever made!", Yuno got excited, "Who made this?!"

"According to Tiki, it was Enemy.", he bluntly said.

"Enemy? Enemy like, your enemy, right? The same Enemy who has only been showing up whenever Hikari is healing in the back, while she slaughtered everything in her path including trying to kill you on several occasions because she was 'confused' but won't dare to admit it?", Yuno got confused.

Dante got deja vu'ed, "What in the...yeah. That same Enemy."

"This has indeed been a long day full of surprises. And the portion in there is very generous too."

"Judging off how alone she's been, it's only natural she'd have a lot more than she could chew at once.", Dante sealed the food again, speaking ever so harshly as he looked back at it.

Yuno got annoyed, "Hey, come on Dante. No need to save that thing for later, it's already dinner time, if not past it! Let's split it in two.", he suggested.

In a move that surprised even Mellistar himself, Dante moved towards the side of his bed and approached the nearest trash can at a rapid pace, taking the food out yet again, and throwing it directly into the bin, making sure to mix it around with everything else already in there, until it became completely uneatable.

"Woah, woah, woah, Dante! What the actual hell are you doing?!"

Dante pointed his finger at Yuno, "You shut up, got that? I don't care how much that nasty bitch tries to make amends, I do not give a shit."

"You could've just given the food to me, moron!", Yuno yelled back.

"What, gluttony got the best of you, you little flying menace?"

"No, that's just not cool, even for your standards! Come on!"

"I don't care how much she regrets anything, I don't care if you or everyone else collectively decide to take her side and rain on me instead, I'm not feeding off of that hand. Enemy, no matter what she does, wearing dresses, makeup, going in the kitchen and making a chef class recipe, can go and actively fuck herself if she thinks she will get through to me."

Mellistar tried to chime in, "Dante, you were obviously much better raised than-"

"You have the least right to say jackshit. It's because of you and your basic as hell 'romantic love interest' that we wasted time in a world where apparently, it's a more than invaluable resource!", Dante argued with Mellistar too, "We could sit down, have a picnic, go on vacation to actually enjoy life in this miserable planet, but when you never said anything, we wasted time and effort thinking we were damn nothing but productive! I am not about to be swayed by you or Yuno to make choices that do not match me. I chose to throw this food away like she chose to be so much of an asshole in the first place. You wanted me to be unaffected by you and Hikari? There. That's me unaffected. Now, bounce.", he shooed Mellistar off.

"Dante...this has to stop someday. It's just been two days, nothing too major, but with how we're passing those 48 hours on constant edge with what's said and done, everyone around here is just tired of this. Fighting all the time, threats...does that really come off as a group of friends to you? Because need I remind you, you loved the idea of traveling with them just a week ago."

"Ah, yes, the classic tale of a bunch of bratty kids saving the world. For starters, Yuno, we are all legal adults here. And for seconds, what in this group tells you any of us are friends? Terna wants to profit off our backs by writing hits, Luna injected herself in for protection, Tiki is basically our dog since she owes us for Corosta and Hikari just wanted to use us all from the get-go, with Enemy tagging along because she's just that big a slave to her."

"Then what about Anya? You know. The girl who selflessly helped you whenever, being turned into this horrid monstrosity that depicts only her animal side, for your sake, while asking nothing in return? That's me singling out the one person you forgot to mention. Do you want me to go off about how everyone collectively tried to help you in Dirunon? Enemy included? Or how different their bonds are with each other? What do you have to say for any of that?"

"The only thing I have to say is that we are no different than mercenaries. Just banding together because we have something to gain out of all this. As soon as that's gone, they're gone too."

"You are completely blind, wrong, and downright disgusting for saying any of this, you know.", Yuno was uphauled by Dante's words, "This isn't you, Dante! And being a part of you, I know it isn't!"

Dante paused as he looked at Yuno briefly, retracing his words but not taking any back, "I have yet to see another side to any of this anyway. Grown up or not, I'm not replacing anything I once had with this."

Yuno deeply exhaled as he tucked himself into bed, "Then you don't mind me saying this in return, just to bash your head until your eyes open, do you? Something that if you believe what you just said, 'Mr. Adult', fits you perfectly."

"What's that?", Dante provoked him.

"*If* and only *if* you truly believe everything you just said, which I still know that deep down you don't and you're masking something you won't even let me know.", Yuno took a long breath, "You are a bundle of incoherent misery, a flawed mind, and a horrible person. You are tearing the group apart and will be the sole reason that despite what genuine happiness everyone hoped and slowly started to gain by bonding with each other, you will end up shoving them away with a scar so vile, so deep, that they will bare for the rest of their lives. Because although you were once a talkable, understanding and kindhearted person, as soon as you learned about who 'Dante' was, you are now nothing but a constant pain to everyone. These past couple of days, no one feels good when you are in the room. It's like you have a ticking time bomb enter, and though everyone tried and is trying their best, you still make them all feel awful when the only thing they reach out to, is a brick wall and a heart of stone. If there's any heart left to begin with. Good night, Dante.", he tried a completely aggressive wake-up call.

The lights closed off as soon as Yuno finished his sentence, Dante dared not to oppose any of Yuno's words as he turned to his other side to sleep. Dropping onto his bed as well, he could not help but just stare at the ceiling for a long while. He wasn't angry at all...and that pain in his shoulder? Magically gone. It's as if he was healed in an instant. His mind could only trace back to those words he said. It couldn't be true, could it? He too, felt genuinely happy about it. Interactions between them, making harmless fun and embarrassing each other. But just why, when it was for him to speak from the bottom of his heart, the only words that would come out were ones like these? It was almost as if he voiced his fears as his own, legitimate beliefs. Just why, when life would give him so many chances, including a second chance at it, he would choose not to just waste it like that, but refuse to even give that second chance to anybody else to begin with? So much unnecessary and constant self-destruction along every step, as if he couldn't help but walk the stairs of success backward, into the abyss."

"Why...?"

Was the one question he looked to ask the heavens above but himself. Why did any of this happen? Why would he have to witness the day in full contradiction to Isabelle? Why was it that when everyone was happy, he was still sad? Why, why, why. He did this to himself so many times over. It hurt so much every single time. And in this harsh flow of life's river, he was only dragged down until he did it again. And although it now hurt the most out of any other time, to have himself trying to stab his own heart a little deeper...he would do it again. Because people like him deep down believed only in one thing. That salvation from themselves? That was a fantasy, made for others to cherish as they let them their words of encouragement to swim back, but no hand to pull them out of the river.