"Just land it already!" The voice of Beelzebub in his head annoyed Zane as he made another attempt to land the ring onto the bottle. Trying to ignore the demon in his subconscious, Zane took a deep breath as he concentrated all of his energy into his last ring. One bottle. One ring. One man. The ring went flying from Zane's hands as it traveled through the air towards the every so elusive bottle, the man on one of the benches nearby even taking the time to look over his newspaper to see the historic sight. It was happening. After 5 attempts, Zane would finally snag the final ring on the final bottle. He would be revered as a hero in Hosenka, one who finally overcame th- Nah. It missed again. Dropping to his knees, a resounding "Nooooo!" escaped from Zane, the words of despair flying into the air and creating a metaphorical cloud of despair.

A few minutes later, Zane had finally managed to calm down. He sat in his red yukata while eating a small festival snack. "Do we really have to win all those prizes, Beelzebub? Can't we just go home..." Zane wished his demon could've represented anything BUT greed. Wanting everything was legitimately tiring. It wasn't just gold statues and fancy clothes like some people thought - true greed involved wanting even the most minor of things, all the way down to exclusive merchandise that they only offered as prizes at the fair. "No way! They have exclusive stuff! At the very least we need the exclusive calendar of popular Joyan idol group K-88! Their lead singer, Miyoshi, is set to..." Zane now spoke out loud, trying to do anything to get the voice of Beelzebub out of his head. "Alright, fine! We'll go back and try again!"

Beelzebub as happy as a child who's mom let him get icecream, Zane certainly felt like he was a father who had just caved to an absurd request as he made his way back to the fair. At leas the atmosphere here was nice, and the clothes that he bought here were good as well. It seemed like only some people were wearing Yukatas, though. Zane supposed it was more likely for the locals to have them. A tourist like himself would have to drop a pretty penny to get one, after all. "Worth it, though." Zane noted how nice the material felt on him as he made his way towards another one of the games at the fair. They all had the same prizes after all, so anything was good with him.

Sitting on one of two stools for a game that involved shooting small water guns at targets, Zane placed his hands on the counter and made a small little tune by lightly slapping them onto the wooden surface. The man who ran this stall turned to see Zane, seeing he was alone. "This game's for two, you might have to wait for someone." Looking to the other stool, Zane noticed there was a second water gun there as well. Perhaps having somebody to assist him could give him a higher chance of winning the game? "Sure, I'll wait." Turning his back so that he leaned on the counter while sitting on the stool, Zane watched the many faces of the crowd walk by. Someone was bound to come and want to join him eventually, right? Zane just really hoped it was a beautiful woman. Was that type of thinking too wishful? "If you're hoping for some beautiful, busty woman to suddenly show up and save the day, you're far too wishful." Beelzebub reminded Zane, the demon somewhat mocking him in his mind.

Now Zane just wanted to prove Beelzebub wrong.

Raina smiled as she walked through the different stalls and pathways that made up this carnival. The smells of the different food and sweets radiated through the stands and hit the girl square in the nostrils, with an alluring fragrance. She twirled slightly looking around for something to do, her hair and dress flowing with the new found wind. She spotted one of those water gun games and laughed, remembering the good times she had when was younger, and had a family. It had been fives years since they died, five years that she lost thanks to that dark spell.

"Five years..." She said quietly as she walked to the empty stool and sat down. She seemed to be out of it as she sat, brushing the hair out from her face, and readied herself for the game to start.

The girl was a sight to behold, adorned in a small shirt with a cut out in the front, exposing part of her chest, and a skirt made of a lacy material that fell to her knees. It was obvious she was not shy about her appearance or was maybe just oblivious to it. Her crimsons red eyes sparkled as she seemed to focus on the game, completely ignorant to the goings on of the people around her.

Zane was quite surprised to see someone simply sit beside him without a word, turning to face just who this stranger was. His eyes widened a bit at the sight he did see - a beautiful woman with pink hair. Smiling, Zane figured that his luck hadn't run out just yet. His eyes also wandered to her clothing. Her skirt didn't seem too abnormal, but he certainly had never seen anything quite like her shirt before. It seemed that the girl next to him didn't mind revealing quite a bit of her chest, something that Zane found was both exci- "Focus! Stare all you want later! Don't forget what we're here for, Zane." Beelzebub's voice played through Zane's mind in a much louder tone than usual, only further emphasizing how much the demon wanted to get that calendar.  Grumbling to himself, Zane figured he would have another chance later and turned to face the game.

The girl's words seemed odd though. Just before she sat down, Zane couldn't help but hear something about years. It was the only peep out of her that Zane had gotten. He found it odd how she just sat there without saying a word. No hellos, no friendly greeting or wish of luck. Zane would certainly try to talk to her afterwards, but for now he hoped to simply focus on the game so not to have Beelzebub yell at him again. Shooting down the targets as they came up, the fact that he would be able to talk to such a beautiful girl right after was enough to motivate him to do even better. The maximum score the team of 2 could get was 30, with each target representing 1 point. The calendar that Zane and Beelzebub wanted was an option if they managed to get at least 20 in total. There were some other prizes if the two were able to get 30, but none of them seemed to hold much priority to the very bossy demon in Zane's mind.

Shooting down target after target, Zane managed to score 20 points all on his own. The focus he had been granted from the desire to chat up the girl had clearly paid off. The guy running the game looked pretty impressed at the pair, pointing up to the wall of prizes. There were calendars, small toys, stuffed animals and a few other things hanging up. "Alright, which prize would the two of you want to share? I'll give you a moment to talk it over." Share? Zane didn't realize that they only got 1 shared prize! "What the hell?! Ugh, we shoulda never played the team game! You better keep the prize, Zane! Don't go thinking she'll love you if you give her one stuffed bear or something!" Turning to the woman, Zane wondered just what it was she would want. "Hey, were you hoping for a prize?"

Zane noticed the two of them hadn't exchanged any words so far. Perhaps if he was friendly enough the woman would be fine letting him have the prize. Putting on his best smile, Zane tried to look as handsome as he could as he held out his hand to her. "The name's Zane, by the way. It was pretty fun getting to play with you, miss...? Seemingly asking for her name, Zane's eyes (well, eye) moved towards the wall of prized once more. "Should I pick what prize we get, or should you? I don't mind either way." Zane definitely minded. Beelzebub minded even more. The lie was simply a way to seem nicer to the girl. If he seemed kind enough perhaps the woman would be fine with letting him have the prize, right? It was hard to say. Zane never really was the best when it came to charming the opposite sex. Hopefully simply having a beautiful woman like her sit next to him didn't use up the entirety of his luck.

The game started and the targets proceeded to move along the path just beckoning to be shot down. Raina sighed as she gripped the handles of the target shooter and focused her attention to the targets. She sighed before unleashed a barrage of bullets that seemed almost demonic. Each target in her path fell like she was obliterating a horde of her most hated enemies. A small crowd seemed to gather around her watching her blast target after target after target. The game ended with a celebratory jingle, indicating that they have won.

The girl stood up, flipping her gorgeous hair out of her face, enchanting many hearts of the onlookers around her. The game operator spoke to her saying, "Alright, which prize would the two of you want to share? I'll give you a moment to talk it over." She finally noticed that someone was playing with her and blushed out of embarrassment. Was she so in her head that she did not even realize she was in a team game? She crossed her arms, accidentally pushing up against her already almost exposed chest and sighed. "I.. I do not need a prize, he can have it." She said in a angelic tone as murmurs rang throughout the crowd.

"She shot every target and does not want a prize?" One onlooker said. Another replied with, "Doesn't she look like one of those guild wizards from a few years ago?" She winced at the sounds coming from the crowd, seemingly not realizing her partner in the game was talking to her. She shook her head and finally realized the man talking to her. He was pretty handsome at least to her he was.

"I'm sorry. What did you say? I seemed to zone out a little." She said cocking her head to the side a little in a cute fashion, causing the crowd to aww and finally shut up. She turned to them and sent a glare causing them to run away in fear before turning back and smiling beautifully. "Excuse my rudeness. I am Raina. Raina Lynna Vanille Scylar, I guess we were working together without me even realizing it. My apologies." Beauty and light seemed to radiate off the girls skin as she moved ever so slightly.

Zane realized in hindsight that he probably didn't even need to touch his gun to win a prize that game. The woman's way of playing was absolutely crazy, almost as if she had been born with the sole purpose of winning these types of carnival games in mind. Gulping, Zane looked over the pink haired beauty. "... New plan. Hit on her all you want, Zane! Win over her heart and make her beat all of these carnival games for us!" It was a decent plan, one that Zane felt he had a somewhat decent chance to pull off. The crowd of onlookers would make it a bit difficulty though. There was not only a risk of someone in there recognizing his face, but also that others would try to drag her away from him. "I'll take the calendar, please!" Zane's finger pointed at the calendar he had been trying to win earlier. The man took it down and placed it in Zane's hands, a smile creeping up on his face. Why was he smiling? He didn't even want this... still, it felt satisfying to finally get to this point after trying for most of the night.

Zane was surprised to find that the girl was able to scare away pretty much every onlooker with nothing but a single glare. Not only was this impressive, but it also meant that the task of getting into her heart for the night was made somewhat easier. "It's alright, Raina. The name is Zane, by the way. That was pretty impressive - you certainly have me beat when it comes to shooting water." Leaning in only slighly, Zane looked into Raina's eye with his own. If he didn't have the eyepatch he could've used both of his eyes, but perhaps that would make him TOO handsome. At least that was how Zane thought of it anyways. "You're not only the most skilled person at this game here, but probably have the best face, hair, chest, voice and eyes among the whole carnival." Zane wondered if he was laying on the flattery a little bit too much. It was only then that Zane realized he really wasn't that good at getting women to fall for him. Zane wasn't exactly the best with this kind of thing, despite what his ego would sometimes have him believe. He figured it was best to be a bit more genuine. "Aha, sorry, I'm laying it on a bit too thick. Do you wanna go another round? I thought the last one was pretty fun. How about it, Raina?" Zane very much hoped this girl would be willing to play a considerable amount more. This was most likely the best plan to satisfy Beelzebub's ridiculous greed tonight.

Zane seemed like a flirt, plain and simple. His words were like brown sticky sweet molasses as he complimented literally every part of her body, not that she was not used to flirts, but this seemed either really sweet or really vomit inducing. Raina could not decide which option she was feeling. She smiled a little before speaking, each word carefully thought out as she spoke. "I cannot decide if you are extremely sweet, or just too much for me to deal with. Care to elaborate? I mean it was kind of obvious you wanted that calendar, is there a reason you wanted it so badly that you would flirt with a pretty girl you just met, not that I minded it." She winked almost seductively at the man before twirling a strand of her hair.

Raina was good at this. Good at making people want to tell her things, even without trying. "Furthermore, if I win any more of these games security might riot. Better not risk it, don't you agree?" She continued. Raina's crimson eyes sparkled like a perfect gemstone and studied the movements and facial features of the man, just in case it gave information she might find useful.

Despite the fact that she appeared to be in a trance earlier Zane quickly found that the girl was a lot more keen than he had initially guessed her to be. A bit flustered, Zane let out a little laugh. Thankfully there was a very good explanation he could give here - one that was also the truth of the matter. "Ya got me, I have a friend who really wants a lot of the stuff at this carnival. He can't get it himself tonight, so I figured I'd go play the games in his stead. I admittedly had no success until you showed up though." Beelzebub felt very proud of the way that Zane handled the question. When the two first met Zane would've most definitely fumbled the situation around until it eventually all came crashing down like a vase hitting the solid floor. "Hitting on you is just a bonus, of course. A very good bonus."

Zane let out a metaphorical sigh in his head. "She's a lot smarter than we gave her credit for, but we're fine now! Now get her to win the rest of the prizes for us!" That was certainly the plan that Zane had laid out earlier, but the woman's words put yet another wrench into it. "Hm? I see no reason why security would get mad at us. If people are skilled enough to win then they can win as much as they want to, right? I can tell you weren't cheating back there, so that isn't an issue either." Zane actually couldn't tell if the woman had been cheating or not. He'd never really looked into any fair game cheating strategies, if those even existed.

Noticing he'd need a bit more of a push if he wanted her to stick around and play a few more rounds, Zane leaned closer to Raina, his eyes looking somewhat softer than before in what seemed like a combination of an act and him being completely genuine. "Please, I really want to do this for my friend." A half truth. Zane didn't WANT to do it, at least not in a traditional way. He simply wanted to appease that stupid demon so his voice would go away for a while. "And getting to spend more time with you is another desire of mine. It's rare that I meet women as gorgeous as you, and I've been all over Fiore." This one was the truth, actually. Despite having met a lot of different people in his time wandering Fiore it was clear to Zane that Raina was certainly up there when it came to her looks. Was it shallow of him to only compliment her looks here? Yes. But Zane hoped that being genuine about it would be enough to charm her into staying until the pair won at least a few more prizes at this fair. "Please, Raina? Preeeetty please?"

Raina sighed as she frowned a little. This man really wanted to win his friend some prizes, but she knew if she kept winning it would only be a matter of time before they showed up. She muttered some incantation in a lost language. "Lux Prisma refractione." She said as her eyes seemed to glow a rainbow and she waved her hand in front of her revealing that she had a bag hidden with her all along. The contents of the bag was full of various prizes that appears to be stuffed to the brim. Her eyes returned to her normal crimson as she held the bag towards the man. "Here you go. I tend to hide my winnings by refracting light so people tend to not get angry. You see, I kind of have a reputation here..." She started to say before a crowd of people dressed in security uniforms surrounded the two. "Damnit. Already?" Raina said thrusting the bag into Zane's hands.

"There she is! It's the Ringer Raina!" One of the security officer's shouted pointing towards her with a baton.

"You know I hate that name boys. Shall we settle this like women or do you want a piece of me? Either way, I am game." She said as her eyes squinted as she focused, while pulling her hair up with a pearl embroidered hair clip. The officer who shouted seemed anxious as he rushed towards the girl, almost too fast to react. Raina instantly back flipped behind her sending her foot flying towards the man's chin as he rushed her. The kick connected and knocked the man to the ground. "Guess we are settling this the rough way then. Bring it boys." She said as she landed up straight and got into a fighting pose. The wind picked up blowing her hair back as the fragrant scent of cherry blossoms radiated off of her golden skin.

"What in the..." Zane took the bag from Raina's hands, surprised at the sheer amount of prizes that were in it. "The hell kind of gold mine did we stumble upon, Zane?" Gold mine was an understatement, at least when it came to the business of carnival prizes. This felt more like a mine full of diamonds. "You won all of this? My god..." Zane's eyes focused on the bag, tempted to run off with it as soon as he could if possible. Still, the fact that he had taken a bit of liking to Raina over the few minutes he had spent with her so far enough to make him stay for the time being. How much of that liking was due to her outfit rather than her personality was a ratio that Zane didn't want to admit currently. Zane's focus on the bag was enough for him to be quite off guard at suddenly being handed it. Looking upwards, Zane gulped as he saw the sights that surrounded the two of them.

"Oh. Guess there were a lot of monsters in that metaphorical gold mine..." The carnival staff seemed to be less than happy with the current state of things. The pair were surrounded on all sides by them, a number that was almost comical for a festival of this size. Did they really need THAT many guards? Standing up from the stool he was on, Zane held the bag in one hand and prepped the other to defend himself as Raina began to fight off the security. The Yukata Zane was wearing certainly didn't offer him much flexibility with his legs, so his right arm would have to be enough for now. None of these guards seemed particularly strong - they were at a festival, not a castle or anything. Zane gave an incoming security guard a strong punch to the face as he approached Zane with a short baton, Zane's strength being enough to send him flying into the nearby stall. "Of course this wacky stuff always has to happen to me..."

A few more security guards came Zane's way, all of them dispatched with a fair amount of ease. They felt more like nuisances than real threats, though Zane wasn't really excited for the possibility of feeling what those batons were like. Looking over to Raina, Zane wondered why he was even doing this. He could just run. There were enough openings for Zane to make a mad dash with the bag in hand, even with his yukata on. So why? In truth, Zane knew why. He just hated that he was stupid enough to be willing to fight off dozens of security guards simply because it was with a pretty, busty girl. Spinning around and hitting another one with his right hand, Zane called out to Raina as he fought them off. "Ya know, I really wonder how many more are coming." The whole situation felt like a setpiece in a silly action story. "You're lucky I'm so shallow, or I wouldn't be helping you out so much!" Zane couldn't help but wonder if Raina even needed his help or not. The girl seemed awfully capable. It almost made Zane feel kinda insecure.

Maybe scratch the "kinda" part.

Raina stopped suddenly as she realized how ridiculous this whole situation was. Fighting security guards who wanted her to leave a carnival seemed a bit unorthodox. She grabbed the arm of the man who threw a punch at her and launched him over top of her. The man landed into a few of the other guards comically. She turned to the officer clearly in charge and spoke, "This is ridiculous just leave me alone. I am leaving." She said as she leaped on top of one the guard's soldiers and flipped over the group, landing gracefully and walking towards the exist. Her pink hair seemed to savagely dance with the blowing breeze as she walked. She crossed her arms against her chest, almost hugging herself as she walked and sighed. "At least the cute guy got some prizes, it was not like I needed them." She said with a weak smile as she walked.

She knew she probably would not see Zane anymore and that was okay. If she read him right, he really only wanted prizes. Why would anyone want the hang out with a jinx like her? The sky seemed to darken as clouds rolled in and rain started to pelt the ground below. Her namesake was not something that bothered her. The water was refreshing as she walked, hiding the tears the swelled in her eyes.

The brawl soon came to an end, Raina quickly leaving as she stormed off past the guards. Both Zane and the security were shocked enough by this that they all traded glances. All of them that were still conscious simply walked away as if nothing happened. Zane felt a tiny bit offended, especially since he had been fighting off some of them too. What, was he not a big enough threat to them?! "Hey, you guys really just gonna leave me here?" He asked, turning to face one security guard who was slow to walk away from the scene. The guard turned to Zane with a tired look in his eyes. "They don't pay me enough for this, man."

Fair enough. Since Zane was clearly not going to be bothered anymore by the underpaid guards, he figured it was probably a good idea to go see how Raina was doing. He could see her walking away a bit in the distance, her dramatically swaying hair making her stand out enough to let Zane know it was her. Running towards Raina, Zane clenched the bag tightly. What was all that about? He had pretty much all the prizes Beelzebub could want now, yet his curiosity about Raina had definitely caught his interest. He knew Beelzebub wouldn't be against anything unless he chose to gave the prizes back, which Zane PROBABLY wasn't going to do. Still, he found Raina intriguing enough to be worth following after - plus, she was still very attractive to Zane.

Running up towards Raina, Zane called to her. "Wait, hold up!" Slowing himself down, Zane panted a bit as he approached her, his pace slowing down considerably. Zane truly was a bit out of shape these last few months, embarrassingly enough. "That was pretty fun back there, huh? I don't usually enjoy fighting off a bunch of guys, but it was certainly more interesting than I'd imagine." Taking a deep exhale, Zane stood up straighter now. How long had it been since he had done something like that? The raindrops landing on his head at a faster pace by the minute, Zane looked around to see if there was anywhere the two could find for shelter. There was a small grassy hill with a tree on the top nearby, perhaps he could suggest there? "Wanna get away from the rain under that tree up there?" Zane asked, his hair and clothing becoming wetter by the second. "I wanna talk to ya more. It's rare I meet someone as cool as you. The way you handled those guards was pretty great." Smiling towards the girl, Zane hoped that she'd accept his offer to spend a bit more time with her. Perhaps what began as a plan to get prizes could end with the bonus prize of a new friend.

Raina sighed as she heard the man run up, or at least try to catch up with her. She was frustrated, irritably and honestly done with this whole day. The rain pelted the ground with a heavy splash as each drop imploded upon reaching the ground. How did her life end up like this? Five years ago, she was happy. Joined the guild her parents were a part of, just enjoying using her magic for good. Why was she targeted? None of it made any sense in her mind. She was not a strong member of the guild in the slightest. So why, why her?

The man started speaking to her and she felt a rush of rage swell in her chest. She quickly swung her leg as she turned kicked towards the man but purposely not hitting him. "What! What could you possibly want from me? Money, more prizes, or maybe its my body you want? Well forget it! I have had enough of people and their wants." She practically screamed at Zane as the rain picked up into a torrential downpour. Her hands glowed with the sparkly lights indicating her magic. "Just leave me alone!" She screamed as she fell to the ground and just laid there curled into a ball. She was emotionally exhausted.

Zane momentarily flinched backwards at Raina's kick, not aware it was intended to be a miss either way. Seeing as to what her legs did to those early security guard Zane had a feeling that he wouldn't end up looking nearly as handsome for a week if he was to take something like that directly to his face. The rain began pouring down harder and harder, the crowds and staff of the fair soon leaving everything behind. The noise from the downpour was loud, but not enough to make any speech between the two hindered by any significant margin. Anyone nearby certainly wouldn't be able to hear, though. It was fine though, as there weren't any two people crazy enough to stay out any second longer in this rain besides the two of them.

"You know, she has a point. Those are kinda the three things you want from her, Zane." Admitting that Beelzebub was right wasn't something Zane liked to do, but he also knew that the demon was speaking the truth. "Yeah, I blame a bad influence of mine. His name started with a B, I think..." Moving towards a nearby stand that sold some traditional Joyan umbrellas to those who walked around at the fair, Zane plucked one off the now temporarily abandoned stand and held it over his head. Walking as he spoke, Zane looked down at Raina's curled, sad body. While Zane had believed he had become a bad person ever since the events with Zagan, and he admittedly had to some degree, enough of his humanity was still left in him to at least cave in and comfort a sad girl. "Those 3 things are very, very, very nice. But..." The 3rd nice in Zane's sequence was oddly emphasized for some reason or another. "I wasn't lying when I said I just wanted to talk."

Planting the umbrella's hilt into the ground and pushing it into the wet and grassy land that the fair sat on, Zane soon after opened up the top of the umbrella, protecting Raina's curled up body from the rain with its surprisingly sturdy coverage. Backing up and grabbing a second umbrella for himself, Zane stood roughly 2 meters away from where he planted the earlier umbrella. Opening up his own to protect himself from the water that surely had already ruined his hair to some degree, Zane sighed. "I can get why you'd feel that way, though. Sucks that you had to have a whole squad of guards on you while simply trying to enjoy some random fair." Zane looked up at the sky, thinking about how many of the kids often would accuse him at cheating in various activities as a child.

Even if he still intended to use her insane fair game skills to his knowledge one day, even if he was undeniably interested in.... certain aspects of her appearance, he was still feeling quite sympathetic towards the girl. He had gotten so caught up in trying to play the villain that it almost felt weird to him. How long would it be until that part of him was lost entirely? Walking a bit closer to the girl and cutting the distance between them in half, Zane wondered if she'd really be okay if he just left her here. It was best he stuck around as long as he reasonably could. "You sure you want me to leave you alone? You haven't been a bother to so far, you know." The security guards were a bit of a bother, but oddly enough one that Zane ended up finding fun. "I'll go if you want me to. But if you enjoy my company, I'll stick around. I got a lot more funny lines to say, you know. Roughly 500 of them."

The rain fell from the sky in an almost angry manner, like the sky was raging at the act of what happened to her. She laid on the ground listening to the sounds of the rain splashing against the umbrella the man put over her. She missed the rain falling on it, it somehow brought her an ironic since of comfort no matter how soaked she got. She thought about her life, her past, her family long forgotten. Her mother was a baker and a mage with similar holy magic to her own. Not one for a fight, her heart radiating love and affection for everyone. Her father was more of a aggressive loving goofball, always ready for a fight and fiercely protective of his family and friends. Would they be proud of where she was now? Giving up on life with a guild after one traumatic experience.

Her long pink hair was sprayed out on the ground in a wave of bright color. She sat up, under the umbrella and wiped her eyes of the tears before looking at the man with her. "You do not have to leave.. if you do not wish it." She said before blushing deeply and looking into the man's eyes. "I am sorry for being hysterical.. I have had issues in my past that have scarred me, but I am working on it."

Zane smiled a bit as he saw the woman expressing that he could stay. Seeing the blush on her face made him a bit happy as well, much to Beelzebub's discontent as the demon sighed in his head, the fly's non-existent eyes practically rolling to the back of his head. "I'm just gonna tune this out for a while. You humans, I swear..."

It wasn't something to be TOO happy about, especially given the fact that the rain was pouring down on the two. Zane felt his eyepatch a little as he listened to Raina's words, his hands running over the leather. It had gotten a bit too wet for his tasted. Still holding his umbrella in one hand, the other moved towards the back of his head, unraveling the small knot at the back and promptly removing it from his head and placing it into his pocket. Zane's other eye was as good looking as the first. Nothing about it looked unhealthy, the fact revealing that the eyepatch was little more than an aesthetic decoration rather than a coverup for some missing eye or grave injury - though a kick from Kaiser to the face did adorn it with something resembling that for a few days in the past. "I get you. There are some things in my past that I don't like to remember, though probably for certain reasons."

Zane sighed, thinking about some of the memories he forced himself not to recall. These weren't bad memories. Most of them were good. They were ones he wished he could revisit more often, yet he knew that doing so would only make him attached to them, something that he wouldn't do anymore. He was a human now. He was a criminal now. There was no place for him there now. "I'll spare you the monologue, don't worry. I'm more interested in hearing about your story anyways. If you're willing to tell me, of course. I always like a good tale." The rain continued falling on the umbrellas, the weather getting colder and colder by the minute. Even with the protection provided by their "borrowed" protection, the effects of the rain would soon be a bit too much to healthily sit through while outside. "Might wanna give me the abridged version for now though, we'll have to find shelter sooner instead of later. Gotta say, talking to a girl while standing in the rain isn't as nice (or easy) as all those dramatic romance stories make it out to be."

Raina picked herself of the ground, slowly and almost enticingly. She was not trying to be flirty but apparently it is the only way she knew how to move. She wiped the wet strands of her hair out from her face and stretched in an almost slow motion manner. She smiled at the man before taking a step out from the umbrella, letting the sky downpour upon her small frame.

"You are not afraid of a little rain are you?" She said as she slightly turned her head and looked over her shoulder at the man. "My past is not something I am used to speaking about. My life was fine until five years ago." She said as she crossed her arms, pressing them against her bosom.

The wind picked up a little speed sending the rain falling sideways and her hair billowing with the invading breeze. For some unknown and bizarre reason, Raina felt better. Even just vaguely speaking of her pain seemed to lift the ever so crushing weight off of her chest. Luckily her back was towards the man so he could not see the streak of crimson blush that sprayed across her face as she thought about how this random encounter has seemed to help heal her pain.

"My past is my past, I really need to just move on with it." She ran her hands through her long hair behind hair, sending droplets flying off of her hair. "By the way, those romance stories do not have it wrong. Can you not feeling the wave of emotions rain brings? It is almost like the heavens above send rain every time someone needs a push in the right direction." She said as she finally noticed the eye patch being removed. "Wow, you really should not wear that often, you have such intense eyes. They are almost breathe taking."

The rain kept up, seemingly gaining only more momentum as time went on. At this point though Zane had already gotten so used to the feeling that it didn't feel any more significant than it was a couple of minutes ago. Zane could not help but notice the way Raina moved. Anyone with even the slightest interest in pretty girls would, after all. While he found it odd that she somehow ended up moving like that all the time, he was in no way complaining. He would never dare complain about something like that, especially while the rain poured down on the two like this. Chuckling a bit, Zane replied to her comment about the rain as he too decided to step out from under his umbrella, moving slightly closer to Raina and letting more of the water hit him. He didn't like the feeling, but he was willing to do it from the dramatic nature of it and all. "Nah, rain doesn't scare me. Even if it did, I probably wouldn't admit it in front of a pretty girl."

"Moving on with the past, huh?" Thinking on it, Zane had forced himself to move on with the past here and there - though it could also be interpreted as running away from it. He blocked out some memories as to not be sad with it all. Did he really move on? Or did he just run? "Just make sure it's accepting it rather than forgetting it when you do that, Raina." Zane offered that simple bit of advice, not wanting to delve much deeper into it. Smiling a bit, Zane found the fact she went along with his comment about stories amusing. It was no fun when people brushed those things off after all. "Hah, you have a point. At this point all we'd need is a dramatic confession of sorts and we'd have a best selling novel all written up."

Zane blushed a bit at Raina's comment, a feeling he was no particularly used to since he had betrayed his guild and met Beelzebub. Perhaps he had been trying so hard to be cool that he had become immune to it for a while. Guess the rain really did do things to people. "Is that so..." Looking to the side slightly, Zane pushed his eyepatch further into his pocket before taking his hand out. He wouldn't need it for a while. He soon looked back towards Raina, letting her get a better look at his second eye. "I suppose I won't need to wear it around you then." Zane had chosen to dramatically stand out in the rain earlier, a choice that would soon leave his yukata looking not so great. It wasn't too bad or anything, but you could definitely see through it a bit, owing to the fabrics it was made of being not the best at resisting downpour. Looking down at himself, Zane shrugged a bit at his own worries, deciding it was not worth fretting over right now. He made a quick comment on it while looking up towards Raina. "Looks like my clothes might be a bit afraid of the rain, actually."

Raina smiled cutely as the man stepped out from the umbrella. "Someone is being bold." she thought to herself. She decided the best way to handle this situation was to tease him a little. She took a few steps away and start to twirl and dance alongside the rain. Her body was graceful and elegant as she moved, an angelic waltz partnered with the waves of rain that fell to the ground. Most people would be afraid to dance in a torrential downpour, worried and full of anxiety that they would fall and embarrass themselves in front of others, but not her. It was almost like she was a creature of water, someone who just blended in with it. A streak of bright pink hair radiated in circles as she danced.

The girl felt almost free as she danced and wanted more then anything to just be her old self, so she started to sing. An eerie almost spooky serenade of emotion and freedom. The song rushed through the area in a surprising rate, refusing to be overtaken by the sounds of the storm currently happening. It wasn't that she was ignoring the man's comments and obvious flirtation, it was like she had this impulse to do this, and she could not refused.

Zane blinked. He hadn't really expected the conversation to go this way all of a sudden. Who would? Then again, dancing in the rain was yet another cliche - one that Zane could quite appreciate. He would often go out in the rain for a little while when he was a kid back in Baska. Something like this reminded him of that. Only sorta, though. Stepping forward once again, Zane tried to mimic Raina's dance. He didn't dare try to do her song though, his singing voice was not nearly good enough for that to leave any kind of good impression. His dancing skills weren't really "good" either, honestly. He fumbled a bit as he tried to keep up with Raina, always way behind. He was never really a big fan of dancing, but the situation made him want to try it out and be a bit bold. In addition, his stumbling from time to time was something more likely to come across as adorable rather than bad.

Zane's dancing slowed a bit as he continually got further and further behind Raina's movements that he was trying to mimic, his body eventually coming to a stop as he simply observed her for a bit, a smile on his face. "Geez, I guess that dance is a bit too advanced for me." Zane was certainly impressed with the way Raina moved, though. She seemed so elegant, even while moving on the rain covered ground with droplets pouring all over her. "Hmmm, then again, I am wearing this yukata... that could be a feasible excuse for now, right?" Chuckling a bit to himself, Zane backed up just a slight bit as he let Raina continue her routine for the time being.

A little bit of time had passed with Zane simply watching on the sidelines. He liked Raina's movements, but he still wished he could play a more active part. Maybe he could make a suggestion? Trying to approach Raina, Zane moved his yukata-clad legs across the wet grass, holding out his hand towards her and making his voice a bit louder than usual so that Raina would have an easier time hearing him through both her singing and the rain. He looked towards the girl, her eyes specifically if they were in view, and made his request. "Care to dance? The slower type, of course. I doubt I'll get much more out of my legs while I'm still wearing this thing." Zane wasn't exactly good at this type of dancing either, but he figured he'd certainly do better than before. Besides, he was mostly just trying to be even bolder than before. And what was bolder than yet another cliché?

She stopped her dance and song and looked at the man drenched, trying to keep up with her. She smiled flirtatiously as he asked her to dance with him slowly. His poor clothes were soaked to the core, not that it made him look bad, just wet. She walked towards the umbrella and picked it up, twirling with it slightly, sending drops of water at Zane. She finished her twirl and walked to him and forcefully wrapped her arm around his, before turning towards him.

"Let's get you out of the rain before you get sick. First dates should not end up with me having to heal you. That is second date material." She said sweetly and winked at the man. "So where are we gonna go?"

She wanted the man to pick somewhere for them to go, most times men could not get past her quirks, whether it be used to fist fighting or her singing and dancing. She did not want to add dominating on the list of traits men hated her for. She whispered in the man's ear and said sweetly but almost viciously, "Break my heart and I'll break you in very inspired ways."

Zane was a bit nervous. Was he better at this kind of thing than he thought? Perhaps he was denser than most. While he certainly knew he was flirting with the girl, he wasn't expecting things to go so well so quickly. His self-confidence was very clearly lacking in many departments. He seemed very clearly intimidated at her last whisper, fearing just what would happen if he did end up crossing her or hurting her feelings in any way. Out of all the wacky and crazy situations Zane had found himself in over the years in Fiore, this was definitely one that was near the top. "O-oh, haha, don't worry..." He sheepishly said, failing to try and hide how scary Raina's words sounded just then. In truth, Zane felt as though he could probably take her in a fight. But he didn't want to. Considering she had no qualms planting her foot into dozens of security guards back there, having to deal with her anger being directed towards him was something Zane didn't want to have to deal with in any circumstance. Maybe he should've listened to Beelzebub earlier. Maybe Zane's heart really did fall too easily to pretty girls...

Wait, wait! Look on the bright side. He actually did manage to make this pretty girl like him, right? Maybe a bit too much, but it was a success either way. Zane just had to accept the situation he had created, right? Clearing his throat, Zane hastily thought of places they could go. "I have a hotel room nearby where we can dry off, I think." Zane's mind took a moment to process what he had just said. It took him another moment to double-check that he processed it right. He internally yelled in his head at the realization of what he had just suggested. He couldn't believe he had just said that! Regardless of his actual intention, it was most likely that a lot of people would view that kinda suggestion as something wayyyy different! His face turning red in embarrassment of his stupidity, Zane quickly corrected his mistake, hoping that Raina would not take this chance to be mad at what he had said earlier. He had forgotten that he was threatened just a moment ago when he said that. "Uhhh, kidding of course, haha! Err, well, there's uhh.. a restaurant nearby I know of. They have nice pasta." Zane didn't know of a restaurant like that. Still, there was probably a pasta restaurant near them, right? And they'd let two people who were absolutely soaking wet and dripping water all over the floor in, right? Zane's heart pounded extremely quickly in his chest as he wondered how the girl wrapping her arms around him would react, his eyes avoiding hers for the time being.

Raina was surprised that this man could be so forward. Her face lit up with a deep crimson as it filled with frustration and searing anger. "What... what kind of girl do you take me for!" She bellowed at the man, full of rage. She could not believe he would already suggest that she go to his hotel room with him! The man seemed to catch his mistake and offered to go get some food at a nearby restaurant.

"Food... food sounds good." She continued as she looked at the ground clearly embarrassed now. The wind seemed to die down slightly as it sweetly blew the strands of her hair in front of her face. She crossed her arms against her chest as she started walking towards the nearby restaurant. She did not while she felt drawn this man, but she sure was going to enjoy teasing the hell out of him. She smiled slightly as she walked, enjoying the breeze and the water droplets that hit her skin, causing them to glisten in the light on the night.

"Try to keep up, Zane. Do I need to drag you there by force, cause I can." She said as she turned her head looking over her shoulder and winking at the man.
{Exit!}

The anger on Raina's face that was present for a moment was enough to make Zane resign to his fate. Maybe this was where he died. In the middle of a carnival ruined by rain. It would be a more interesting death than he was expecting, actually. Wouldn't be bad. At least the person who killed him would be attractive. Unfortunately, Zane wasn't allowed such an interesting death. He would most likely have to wait a bit longer for that. Raina seemed more than content with going to the restaurant. Letting out a sigh of relief, Zane happily nodded. "Arighty, let's get going."

As Zane feared for himself at Raina's comments as he walked towards the city with her, Beelzebub chimed in through Zane's head. "Mankind is stupid. You've gotten yourself into this situation simply because you couldn't control your primal urges. Ha! Thankfully us demons would never be so simple minded." Zane rolled his eyes at Beelzebub's comments. "Yeah yeah, whatever you say. You freak out about any material possession, buddy. Don't act like you don't got primal urges too." Walking forward, Zane looked towards Raina. He wondered if this really was something that could work. Was he better off just trying to skip town and avoid her? Or should he give her a chance, despite the fact that she was kind of crazy and scared him just a little? Hmmm...

He didn't want to think about that right now. These wet clothes were really cold. It was time he got to that restaurant before they died of hypothermia. He'd just go with the flow for the time being - as he had been the entire evening.

EXIT