ShadowRoxz

"Okay! So-first thing’s first, we're gonna do some target practice! Just so you can get a feel of holding a bow and loading arrows. I've grabbed about ten in total, so we’re gonna have to hunt them down after they’ve been shot. Thankfully though, I replaced the fletcher feathers for neon reds and pinks before we left. Easier to see with a light and to the common eye while sticking to today’s holiday theme!"

Giving this explanation, Emilia shuffles and purses through the inside pockets and straps of her case, pulling out the bow, arrows and quiver in efficient succession before gently placing the arrows into the hip quiver one by one with care. Clipping the quiver's belt around Ronin's waist, the experienced huntress laces the actual hip quiver onto his side securely, all the while trying her best to keep her small hands from shaking when she feels his dark, X-targeted eyes on her that simply watch and wait.

Emilia then quickly grabs her adjustable compound-recurve bow from its spot from the ground. Taking in a deep, frosty breath of woodsy air, she works in adjusting the weight and height distribution to better fit Ronin's build and stature. The crimson bow goes up from the thirty five pounds she normally keeps it at to a heavier weight extension of forty-five pounds; an adjustment that she rarely uses unless it was needed for more powerful shots. Letting the weight of it hang heavy within her hands, Emilia slowly gets up from the ground and offers the bow to Ronin, as if presenting it like one would formally do to an ancient Greek legend. Their hands touch briefly as the devilish boy takes the bow from the sheepish girl's hands.

"Alright, let's get started ‘Nin. Time for some practice shots!"

For the next two hours, they both take shots at a paper target that Emilia secures to a nearby tree to practice and warm up on, trading the optimized bow between each other. While Emilia’s shots hit the bull's eye dead-on most of the time, Ronin's shots graze the edge of the target and often either sink into the tree's bark or land on the rim of the bull's eye. After more and more practice shots, with Emilia angling Ronin's feet and shoulder placements every once in a while, Ronin eventually pierces an arrow into the the middle of the target within the very next shot, and nearly every shot after that.

As she answers the Butcher’s inquiry, Emilia feels a blush rise upon her cold face as she rubs the back of her neck to avoid Ronin's gaze, her own eyes dashed back and forth to follow a sudden movement within the brush before a pair of small shadows pop out from the thicket. There, just a few small feet in front of them standing within the treeline, were two extremely large white and brown rabbits.

"Wow…I'm surprised, ‘Nin! It took me a while to get that good using that forty-five pound beast. And yet here you are, getting bull's eyes only after a few hours. Then again… I really shouldn't be. You are the devil, after all." Emilia absentmindedly comments as she retrieves the arrows from the paper target and stump to return to Ronin, As she does so, Emilia tilts her head up to see Ronin swapping the bow in between his hands, as if judging the weight of it. A small frown paints his features briefly before he answers back.

"'Eh, It's somethin' to deal with, that's for sure…hey, why did ya give me this one, darl’? Why not keep it to your usual specs for me to start out?"

"Easy, you’re taller and stronger than me. Besides, if I lowered the bow to my normal thirty-five for you, it would've risked putting damage on the bow and it wouldn't do anything good for your joints but strain them out from using a smaller bow with a more limited draw. And I would hate to be the reason for that to happen to you, Ro-Ro."

"’Nin, Get down low and stay quiet."

Emilia hushes quickly with a tug to Ronin's sleeve, pulling him down with her as she crouches closer to the frozen ground. Ronin huffs as he stoops his limbs down towards Emilia's own height and was quietly watches as Emilia quickly takes the bow from his hands and adjusts it. Proceeding to lace the notch of the arrow from the quiver into her hands, she takes slow and quiet steps toward her timid targets, still distracted by the berries they’ve been gorging themselves on this evening. Just as she was gearing up to take the shot, eyes locked onto her prey, she breathes as quiet as the wind to pull the bowstring back near her cheek when-

"Hi there!"

Emilia jumps at the sudden high-pitched voice that shakes her out of her concentration, causing her to miss the shot as the rabbits scamper off back into the brush. The arrow sinks itself into the trunk of a nearby redwood as both her and Ronin turn their heads at the noise. Running up to them and scaring some squirrels and other smaller game birds away was a woman with black hair knotted in a large ponytail, the ends reaching down to her mid-back with a mixture of a red and purple ombre cascading while the top of her hair was bound in two sharp pointed tip buns. She wore black combat boots with these odd pink fishnets that do nothing to hide from the February cold, A black and red sweater with a deep neckline paired with a lacey mid-thigh skirt that was sure to get caught by the trees and brush, and a cross necklace clear on display.

"Oh my God, I'm like so, so, SO happy to see other people about! I kinda got separated from my party and I was so, so worried about getting lost in this place. I'm not used to being in the woods."

Emilia felt a small pang of dread in her heart as she heard this woman's plight of being lost. Getting up from her crouched position on the ground with Ronin's help and after brushing off her clothes that picked up a few twigs and a very light dusting of snow, they both approach and meet the woman halfway from their spot, stepping carefully over the protruding roots and dead vines along the forest floor with the resounding crunch of snow underneath their boots cutting through the quiet winter evening.

"Oh no! I'm very sorry to hear that, miss…"

"Ebony! Ebony Ravenway."

"Miss Ebony, there should be a ranger station who can call in your group not more than.. I wanna say about thirty miles west from here, last I checked my maps before losing signal?"

"Ugh, I was hoping it was closer…now the guys aren't going to want me within their group anymore, so stupid…"

“I'm actually his girlfriend." Emilia pipes out with a glare at the woman in front of her, gripping Ronin's right hand a little tighter within her own as she does so. Feeling threatened for some reason, Emilia’s expression begins to match with Ronin’s as Ebony looks her up and down with a small look of annoyed distain. But after a moment, that look gets plastered over by a fake smile that strains and cracks her black painted lips with a shaper tone in her voice.

Emilia watches as Ebony's eyes widen, as if this woman was suddenly hyper-aware of the people in front of her, Almost in a flash, Ebony saunters into the couple's personal space without any warning. Ronin instinctively laces his arm over Emilia's shoulder and neck as his hand lays over her other shoulder protectively, pulling Emilia closer to him just before she gently taps his hand twice to reassure him. As he reluctantly drops his arm down towards his side, Ronin watches with a weary glance as the woman in front of them starts cooing and fawning at Emilia's height.

"Oh my God, she is so tiny! That is sooo cute of you, taking your little sister out for some quality time. I always love seeing families and people bond like that!"

"Oh really?! Wow, you’re just so...tiny and adorable! My mistake, it's really sweet that he's teaching you how to shoot a bow and arrow. Ya know, other girls usually hate stuff like this and get so catty about having to do it. I mean, that's why I normally hang out more with guy friends when it's for things like this."

"Actually, I'm teaching him how to shoot. It's his first time doing something like this and I wanted to share my hobby with my boyfriend today. Given that it’s Valentine's Day and all." Emilia responds in a clipped tone as she grips her bow tighter in her hand.

"Oh no, please don't get me wrong! It's honestly so cute to see like yourselves out and about together! I just mean, most girls that look like you just seem to prefer much more feminine things.

Like baking or crocheting while watching those old timey murder mystery cop shows. Not really hanging out in the woods with all the bugs and dirt like a boy would. Or a...what was that term again? A prude? Tomboy? Or wait…like those people who claim to be plants, and that's why they like nature so much! That's the term!"

"Well, I just personally have always liked nature. Me being ace has nothing to do with it, not that it should matter to you anyway. The woods are just more naturally quiet and helps me relax, especially when the city and people get too loud, Not to mention annoying when some folk don't know when to leave others alone, say for instance while on a private date. Also there's nothing wrong with being a tomboy, there is a thing called ‘function over fashion’, ya know."

Hearing all of this being directed at his girlfriend, Ronin instantly wanted to tear this woman apart limb by limb. His right hand slowly reaches down into his right jacket pocket to grab his pocket knife's handle, ready to rip out this girl's heart right now and give it to Emilia as a surprise Valentine's gift.

But Emilia, being the more level-headed of the two of them along with having to deal with this kind of harassments from her college classes every so often, squeezes Ronin’s hand again to calm him down before she steps in front of him. Despite how oddly hoarse and broken it sounded from the dry mid-February cold in the air, somehow she finds her voice to speak up.

"Yeah, sure…anyways sorry, but if you're done with-" Emilia quickly gestures to the inept woman in front of her before continuing her thoughts,"-this whole schtick, my boyfriend and I are going to get back to our date, I truly hope you find your group and wish you luck." Emilia attempts to pull Ronin and herself away from the woman and back towards her case to gather everything up and walk away. But before they can even make it a few feet away, Ebony hurriedly steps in front of Emilia and bumps her to the side, knocking her away from Ronin and landing her foot into a small hole within the ground to make her trip. Just as Ebony moves closer into Ronin's own personal space, she traces a chipped black nail over his leather-cladded shoulder while blocking him from trying to help Emilia up.

"Yeah, I guess…but still, it's better if those plant-loving sluts could just stop with all that complaining they do about being straight with extra steps. Same with those bisexual guys who date girls. But really, I'm not surprised that people like that get annoying to deal with along with the rest of the crowds in the city constantly. I actually feel bad for their partners if they have one. They’re just always at risk of getting traded up for someone who isn’t scared of pleasure and monogamy. Honestly, I don’t think anyone should have to settle for people so plain or someone who's going to inevitably cheat on them, If you catch my drift?”

"Y’know, can I just say I absolutely love your look? Gothic fashion is always such a fascinating style that I personally don't think most guys can pull off so amazingly, And the ones that do…usually aren't 'real men', if you get what I mean?"

"Whatya sayin' by that?" Ronin asks as he tenses up, his grip tightening harder on the knife that's kept hidden in his jacket pocket as his knuckles crack around the handle loud enough to echo through the fabric. His eyes subtly turn colder while directly down looking at the woman in front of him. Oh, if looks could kill alone…

"I mean.." Ebony trills as she quickly steps back a tiny bit from the man in front of her, still running her mouth as she rubs the back of her neck awkwardly. Suddenly, she feels a deep sense of dread running down her spine.

"It's just that real men normally don't enjoy the make up and the styling that it takes to make the whole gothic look work, I'm just saying that I'm really surprised to see a guy like yourself take to the style in stride and it look fantastic on you! I don't mean anything by it."

"Yeah…sure ya don't."

Emilia couldn't help but watch on. If she raised the bow right now at this hag right now, she risked hitting her love in the head along with this wench. Though it couldn’t be denied that it was tempting for the huntress to aim her pink-tipped arrow at this obvious pick-me girl who continues insulting both her and her boyfriend directly to their faces while passing it off as normal conversation.

"I just didn't know you were one of…those people, with those extremely tacky bracelets on your wrist."

Just as Emilia considers her other options in getting ride of this woman and getting back to her date as soon as possible, Ebony suddenly looks down at Ronin's wrist and spots his rainbow and trans bracelets peaking out from his jacket. Her eyes widen in horror as she shuffles quickly away from Ronin.

"Oh, I thought…n-nevermind."

"No, c’mon with it. What's runnin' through that head of yours?" Ronin clicks his pierced tongue as he shoots Emilia a sidelong look that reads, ‘are you thinkin' what I'm thinkin' darling?’ before his focus returns to the ponytailed woman in front of him as she wipes her hand on her skirt where she had touched Ronin with disgust.

"Those people?" Ronin mocks back as his bracelets crackle against each other when he places his right hand on his hip, as if waiting for Ebony to give him more ammunition to use in convincing Emilia to fire an arrow straight through this girl's throat the second she got a chance to do so.

"Oh you know, those freaks who just can't admit they're confused, claiming they're not in the right bodies they were born into. Those fake men and women playing pretend when we all know the actual truth. They're never going to be real people in the eyes of society, unlike actual women like myself."

Ronin's jaw tightens as Ebony sneers at him and Emilia, looking between them both before pointing towards Emilia as if trying to make a point.

Ronin, however, breaks the cold silence in the air with a raspy laugh. One that starts as a quiet snicker before raising in volume, reaching its peak and bordering on near insanity while clutching his stomach. His cocky smirk returns and his canines peek out from his maw as he straights up to his full height, shooting daggers down upon the dense woman like she was prey to the slaughter.

"Hah! Is that the reason you’re with the stumpy girl over there? Because you just couldn't come to terms and say you’re just a lesbian and rather live a lie?!"

There was nothing but dead silence after that, save for a stray caw of a crow flying overhead as Ebony smirks as she looks at Ronin triumphantly, acting as though she won a fight.

"Wow…to think I would have to deal with this today, of all damn days. New record, really! Been a while since I'd have to teach someone some fuckin' manners." Ronin sneers as he rolls his neck a few times, cracking the joints within it before his focus points back onto Ebony like a target. His voice cold and smoky as dry ice as it dips lower into an callous cadence with each syllable he speaks, his devilish smirk still plastered naturally upon his face.

"News flash, doll-the only freak here is little ol' you. Actin' all holier than thou, better than others girls bullshit. Heaven forbid other people exist and don't fit your evangelic ideals, huh? Quite the pathetic display, an't it? Hell! Even the way that your breathin' is annoying and fake, just like those ombre extensions. But the thing is, at least I know who I am, grotesqueness and all. Simply the devil himself and the monster I carved myself into. Unlike you and your washed-out boring as sin pick-me personality, I actually love who I fuckin' am and I don't need to change my rot for anyone else. Now if the maggots squirming in your skull have any sense, you'll get the fuck out of here before my darling behind ya fires an arrow into that oh-so-pretty brain of yours."

Emilia's bow creaks as she slowly pulls the string back, the arrow loaded and aimed at Ebony's head. The lamb’s eyes lock straight onto her, as if temping Ebony to really try something.

Ebony clicks her tongue, walking past Emilia as she shoulder-checks her with a middle finger directed at them both. "Whatever! You freaky prep losers fucking deserve each other anyways!"

After helping to ease Emilia’s leg out of the snow-coated hole, the couple simply watch hand-in hand as the hag stomps away from them, muttering under her breath about 'freaks and sluts like them ruining everything for girls like her to get noticed by actual men.' All the while, she makes her way toward the direction Emilia gave her beforehand.

After a moment, the quiet atmosphere returns to the area around the pair, But now, there was a fire burning deep within Emilia’s heart. And with it, an overtly saccharine grin that seemed a tad too wide grew across Emilia's face as wicked ideas begin to form in her head. She breaks the newly formed silence while stroking the back of Ronin's hand with her thumb, unable to keep her thoughts contained from the Butcher.

"Hey, baby?"

"Yeah. darlin'?"

"Didn't her hair buns look like a couple of rabbit ears?"

Ronin smirks widely at the idea that Emilia implies toward as he looks down at her, watching her hands twitch ever so slightly as if to vainly quell the bloodlust growing within her tiny frame.

"Actually, I think those little buns look more like deer ears, shortcake."

"I thought so. Well, we are out here for a hunt…and I don't think anybody is going to miss a TERF pick-me, are they?"

"Nope." Ronin answers with an emphasis on the P, popping it playfully with his lips, "I know we won't."

"Hmm…in that case, could you go get the coffin case for me please, my Butcher dearest~?"

Ronin simply nods and saunters over, grabbing the archery case from its resting spot from the base of the redwood tree and dragging it over to Emilia's feet so she can kneel down and pop it open. Quickly taking out the lined compartment of the case where the bow and arrows would lie in wait, Emilia reveals the hidden chamber underneath and there-lying as if tempting her into reveling in the sins with the devil overlooking her shoulder-was her frayed cloak, her voice-modifying choker, pair of black, claw-tipped gloves, and her ram skull mask. The eyes unlit and still, the skull’s hollowed holes look back at her as if she was staring into a dark void or a black hole. As Emilia presses her forehead against the mask's own rounded, bleached forehead, a heavy sigh puffs from her lips, as though to make peace with the form she was about to take on this night.

Meanwhile, Ronin looks on at her with half-lidded eyes, a dusting of a blush on his pale cheeks and a small but genuine smile resting on his face as he listens to how obsessed and possessive Emilia was becoming over him. His darling saint truly wanted him irrevocably, just like he always wanted her to be on her own accord.

"So, the Ram's finally donning on her horns again? 'Bout time ya did, sugah. Was starting to think you didn't love me enough to bloody your hands on this aorta-decorated day."

Emilia gently places her mask next to the coffin case as she finishes zipping up her cloak and fastening her voice modifier around her neck before looking up at Ronin with a cheeky grin on her lips.

"Oh please, of course I love you. If I didn't, why on earth would I let that whore live after insulting both me and my boyfriend while also trying to flirt with him? Oh, like hell I'm letting her walk away with an intact skull after all that." Emilia couldn't help but let a small growl reverb in her throat as she grips the torn sleeve of her cloak, balling it in her fist as she tries to keep herself calm while donning the last bits of her serial outfit.

"Absolutely not. It's still going to be a corpse in the woods either way, honey. Besides…I want to see how well you handle dealing with an actual moving target after working with a non-moving one this evening. And to see just how good you've gotten with the bow overall."

"Glad to hear it."

Ronin helps Emilia up from her crouching position in front of the archery case. As he bends down and takes her ram mask into his hands, he places a kiss upon her forehead before lacing the strap of the mask behind her head and pulling it up so that it rested comfortably on top of her hair. as While the Butcher carefully adjusts and tightens the mask on her head, Emilia looks up at him a tender smirk painting her lips. In that moment, she comes up with another tempting as the Huntress hands him her bow.

"Actually, how about you kill her, pretty boy? My little way of making it up to you for keeping quiet for so long before you grilled into her."

"You don't mind me taking the kill from ya?"

"Please, you just wanna see the Devil's Butcher work his muscles so you can drool over me."

Emilia rolls her eyes at Ronin’s remark but couldn't hide the smile growing on her face nor deny the accusation as she raises up her arms to wrap them around his neck, reaching as high as she can on her tiptoes due to her smaller stature.

"Heh still, I want you to enjoy yourself today in whatever way that makes you happy. And if it's gotta include a little blood spillage, then so be it. Even if you’re right about that…last part."

Emilia blushes as Ronin cackles at her affectionate and morbid response, bringing his free hand up to boop her nose with a smirk on his face with the slight peak of his small canines poking out like the fangs of a vampire.

"You really know how to spoil my fuckin' ego, don't ya little lamb?"

"Why of course! Only the best for my love."

The Devil's Butcher and The Ram of the Woods saunter strategically through the brush, with Emilia tracking the footprints and signs of where Ebony has trudged and stomped through. Her tracks indicate how she’s been wandering aimlessly within the area, destroying everything in her path as she somehow deviates further away from the designated pathways for hikers and hunters alike. Even after Emilia gave her correct directions, it seems her haughty pride and putrid hatred overrode her sensibilities. Meanwhile, Ronin lugs the coffin archery case upon his shoulder like a pallbearer would, marching close behind his ram.

It was a beautiful night to hunt some 'seasonal' kind of game. When it comes to the Devil's Butcher, there's always a slaughter waiting to happen around the corner. Like a luring call, deep within his bones that reverberate through his grotesque form. And what a sight it was, for The Ram Of The Woods to grant her darling devil the glory of adding to the blooming decay of her sanctuary. Anything to happily please her creator and patron god of rot. Hours pass as the sun's lingering rays finally give away to the nightly eerie greens and haunting purples.

The sounds of the woods come to life, more than it's ever been since they started the snow-drifted evening. Owl hoots and raven caws cry and echo through the thicket, becoming it's own cacophony of noises. Coyotes and wolves howl in the distance while the full moon glows high above everything, making the snow shimmer and decorate the decayed veins of the forest floor.

"God, I can't wait until we get rid of this wannabe pick-me girl for saying all of that crap about you, ‘Nin."

"Sweetpea, I'm used to that shit and could care less. But I ,for one, will be beyond ecstatic to see the light go out her eyes as we rip it out of her. 'Sides, She had no right talkin' to you like that."

"Well, that’s easy to figure out. You're not lyin' to yourself anymore, Emilia. You've dropped that stupid mask ya kept tryin’ to maintain all your life and finally let the rot bloom from the decay ya left to fester. 'S your own grotesqueness takin' a hold of you. Slowly sure, but it is. And I couldn't be more fuckin' proud of ya, my writer darling."

"It's fine, she isn’t the first girl to ever talk down to me and she won't be the last. Given the way that I look and how I function, I’m used to it." Emilia grumbles as she crosses her arms over her cloaked waist and attempts to walk ahead, only for Ronin to take her by her shoulder, stopping her in her tracks while walking up next to her.

"Fuck those assholes, baby. You're absolutely divine to me, that's all that should matter."

"I know, it's just…for some stupid reason, the words are just hitting me worse now. More so now I’ve been taking more classes on campus and have to hear so many bad takes from people while having to keep my mouth shut. I thought I was over people who spread hate like that all the time. Because I know I'm loved for who I am and who I love. But somehow it's still affecting me for some reason?"

Ronin's gaze softens as he gently holds her soft cheek in his hand, caressing it as if it was something precious to him.

Just as Emilia starts to feel her eyes tear up, her sight catches the glow of something ahead of them as she looks over Ronin's broad shoulder.

"Wait ‘Nin, hush…look." Emilia takes a firm hold of Ronin's arms and turns him around while she quietly turns on the red, pinpoint LED lights and infrared viewing in her mask, allowing her eyes to take in much more of the scene below them via heat signals before pulling her mask down over her face with the pointed tip of her gloved hand.

No more than roughly twenty meters away from where they were perched upon the high hill overlooking the forest, Ebony Ravenway waves and curses at her phone for having no signal as she stands alone in the snow, completely unaware of the death circling her like a vulture peering down at a putrid hunk of carrion.

Ronin quickly nods to Emilia as he pulls out and sticks the blade of his pocketknife into the tree's bark, shaking it a few times to dig it deep into the old wood before stepping his foot onto it and sticking one of the ten arrows into the wood. Creating a makeshift stairway up to the branches above the pair, the Butcher climbs partway up the thick redwood near them.

"Ya comin with me, little lamb? Or shall I to have to revel in this kill alone?"

"’Nin, are you sure the arrows and branches can hold us together?"

"Trust me, baby! I wouldn't be doing this if I wasn’t sure we won't get hurt. 'Sides, we're not going to far up. Maybe only ten maybe fifteen feet up? If you’re worried that you’ll fall, I'll catch ya. Devil's honor."

"And why, pray tell, are we climbing up a tree?"

"Vantage point, can't make a decent shot without one. Especially from this height."

Emilia stays quiet for a few moments before she takes Ronin's hand and climbs up the tree, watching as he slings the carrying case by its thick bag strap like a reverse messager bag on a nearby branch on the way up while the bow is hooked over his chest and shoulder.

As soon as they reach one of the more thicker branches, Emilia carefully pulls out at least three arrows below them and wedges her foot within one of the concaved notches of the tree's bark. Meanwhile, Ronin moves Emilia’s hand to hold onto his ankle before pulling himself onto a high and wide branch, pulling his darling along with him. Settling on the snow-dusted branch together, Emilia turns on her voice modifier while she unlaces her bow off of her serial boyfriend to fix it back to his settings before handing it back to him along with the three arrows. Setting himself firmly on the branch, Ronin hooks the quiver to the bowstring and begins to pull back, getting himself in position just like before while Emilia makes minor adjustments here and there to his stance and grip from behind him.

Ronin lets the arrow go as it sails through the flurried winds, cutting through the cold fast and embedding the barbed arrowhead right into the woman's calf. The pain hits the woman instantly as she screams in agony, causing her to stumble to the ground for a moment while her hot pink fishnets bleed crimson red.

The pair of killers set their eyes directly on the ombre-haired woman standing out in the pale snow, a prize for the taking below them.

"Line up the shot, my handsome devil. Wait until she's in the middle of your sights."

The bow bends and creaks as Ronin pulls back the string by the notch in his hand tighter while Emilia fixes his form the best she can before taking a small step back to watch the scene unfold, wanting to stay as hands-off as physically possible.

"Damn it! Thought I got her square in the lungs with that one." Ronin clicks his tongue in disappointment as he watches where his arrow lands, straight into Ebony’s leg before she mindlessly rips it out of her limb. Her breathing panics as she watches her blood begin to ooze faster and endlessly from the wound. Her head swivels wildly, trying to find where the arrow had come from before getting back onto her shaky legs and quickly limps towards the pathways, screaming and crying all the while.

"It's okay, dear. I forgot to mention earlier that the wind is a factor you’ll have to consider in your shots. Just take a deep breath and don't focus on anything else but the target." Emilia sighed as she gives Ronin a kiss on his cheek with her mask lifted up slightly for encouragement before he takes a deep breath and lets loose another arrow.

Just as fast as the first arrow, It quickly sinks itself into the Ebony's shoulder. Despite the scream that rips from her throat and the sheer pain, she keeps on limping while her injured leg continues to bleed out. Emilia couldn't help but smirk wickedly as she watches Ronin load another arrow into his grasp while hearing Ebony's desperate cries of pain far below from their vantage point. Just as she stops to lean against a tree to try and keep herself steady and standing, Ronin slowly pulls the arrow back.

Emilia steps closer behind Ronin and rubs out his shoulders with her clawed hands before he sets up his next shot properly, his smirk widening as Emilia readjusts his shoulders and arms for a final time. The Butcher turns the bow sideways, pulling back on the notch of the arrow with more finesse and closing his left eye before lining up the shot. Emilia gently whispers in his ear as she hangs onto his shoulders gently.

"Wonderful shot, ‘Nin! Try aiming for her head this time. I'm so curious if you can sever her brainstem from here."

"Consider it done, lover girl."

Emilia drops her grip on Ronin's shoulders and moves almost like a wraith as she dashes to the side to watch Ronin's final shot. Just as Ronin let out a small, ego-filled chuckle, he lets go of the bowstring and sends the arrow flying.

"Three…"

"Two…"

"One."

And in less than a second, the arrow soars from the over the snowcapped hills and cuts straight through bone and brains. The arrowhead cleaves complete through Ebony's skull, burrowing the arrow deep within her eye socket and through her head right into the bark of an elm tree. As the blood from her crystal blue eye drips onto a bloom of young spider lilies growing at the base of the tree, the woman’s body slumps limp against the bark and brush, turning the purest of white snow into sinful red.

"You got her straight in the eye, honey! I'm so proud of you, Ro-Ro!"

"The fuck can I say? Had a pretty good damn teacher to make my mark."

Emilia lifts up her mask from her face and pounces onto Ronin, forgetting that they’re both considerably high in the air. But before she could start peppering his face with congratulatory kisses, they both lose their footing and they go careening down the redwood before falling a snowbank. Ronin shields Emilia from both the fall all the while Emilia's case drops to the ground next to them, the sudden disturbance of their fall causing the case to slip from its hung perch.

Once they were both done checking to make sure they were both relatively safe and sound, Emilia goes back peppering his face with kisses while Ronin laughs and holds her close to him, turning off the voice modifier around Emilia's neck as he does so.

"Hell yeah you did! And now I can say I taught the Devil something new."

Emilia beams as she smiles brightly and looks down at him with a giggle, all while a simple smile graces Ronin's lips when he gently pulls her in by the neck for a kiss.

They stay like this for what felt like hours, just swapping kisses upon the cold forest ground before coming back up for air, quietly dusting themselves off as they rose to their feet. Ronin then moves to dust off Emilia's carrying case from the snow, wiping small bits of ice as they return to the ground lifting it over for her to take and open up.

Before Emilia closes up the coffin case fully, she carefully lifts the bottom of the lining again and pulls out her signature killing card: a small ram's skull similarly fashioned like her mask. Joining Ronin next to the body, she quietly yanks the arrow out of the dead woman’s head with bits of fresh brain clinging to the barbed tip and lets the corpse fully fall into the snow before placing the miniature skull over the cadaver’s gouged eye socket in a slanted position, as if to decorate the arrow's hole with something equally rotten. Before, rigor mortis can take over, Emilia works fast to pose the body in a sleeping position like it were a natural thing for her to do. Ronin watches Emilia's movements slow and steady as an appreciative blush rises to his cheeks and down his neck.

While Emilia changes out of her serial garb and packs up her bow, the Butcher walks over and quickly climbs back up the tree to unlodged the arrows from the redwood tree before climbing back down and placing them back into the case beside his darling huntress. Once Ronin was done with that he saunters over to inspect his newest kill, whistling as he does so, and all the while taking his phone out from his pocket to quickly take a photo to taunt the Slaughterhouse chat with later.

"Absolute divine rot…" Ronin muttered to himself as he waits for Emilia to finish posing everything for the perfect shot on her cell phone camera taking photos of the corpse on its own along with ones with both of them in frame as proof of it being a couple kill. Setting a timer on her phone to remember to send the pics into the #killershit channel later whey get back to civilization and proper phone signals, Emilia feels Ronin’s arms slip around her waist, gently squishing her sides as he pulls her closer to him. Smirking with gentle affection and playfulness, the Butcher places his chin on the top of the Huntress’s head, nuzzling into the soft curls of her curly brunette hair.

"Sorry about all this, Ronin. It wasn't exactly what I had planned for today. I just wanted you to enjoy yourself." Emilia say softly as she melts into Ronin’s embrace.

"The fuck are you talking about, darlin'? I loved it. Maybe I'll just have to tag along with ya on these little hunts of yours every once in a while, whenever I'm free or don't feel like hangin' out in my favorite gruesome alleyway."

Emilia turns and curls her arms around Ronin's own where they laid upon her waist, gently squishing them in her hands before she feels a small yet sad smile tugging at her lips.

"I would absolutely love that, ‘Nin… it does get lonely out here sometimes."

Feeling the mood shift suddenly, Ronin takes ahold of one of Emilia's hands and spun her around in place like a princess until she was facing him again before bringing her knuckles to his lips and gently placing a kiss upon them. He looks into her forest-green clover eyes as they glow bright within the pale night. Just as she looks back at him with a smile much cheerier than earlier, she pulls him close to herself and into a tight, warm hug.

And with that, as the moon shines down upon the couple, their lips melt together once again. As they kiss eagerly, Ronin pulls the final arrow from the corpse's shoulder, wiping the blood from the arrow's head and subtly painting an upside down cross on the bark of the elm tree that stood behind them with his thumb. The Butcher smirks as he feels Emilia deepen the kiss with him, glad that she was his and his alone. And he was hers for sure, wanting this shared rot to last into their next Valentine.

"Happy Valentine's Day, honey."

"Here's to makin' them more bloodier than the last, my fallen Valentine."

For Emilia Roselia, Hanahaki was never an issue in any aspect of her life. For the twenty five-year-old, 4'11 woman had no reason to ever be in love with anyone...until very recently.

While trying to research her book's protagonist, a morally gray serial killer, she found herself falling down the rabbit hole of gore and murder galore. That is, until she landed straight into a serial killer chat room created and ran by one of Elysium's most infamous serials with a body count number that only the devil himself could obtain: The Butcher.

She had always been somewhat oddly fascinated by the kills the Butcher created, however horrifying they were. It was a type of artistry that nobody could appreciate fully due to only seeing the gore and viscera that decorated the Purgatory's walls on a surface level, painted in scarlet for all to see as bodies laid torn apart in indistinguishable remains. A statement to some, but a display for all.

However, like many creative minds that wander among unseen corners of topics most tend to ignore or are uncomfortable with, she saw different meanings and aspects behind the kills and wanted to understand them more as a fellow creative. And...oh, who was she kidding? She really just wanted to understand Ronin, the artist who signed his soul in both blood and shadows. Who thrived within the city's decrepit alleyways, in the deepest and most demented sense.

That's how all of this started. A whirlwind of four months have passed now within the SlaughterHouse Loser's chatroom and Emilia holds to her hope that she and Ronin have gotten closer as acquaintances. Perhaps even close enough to be called friends, at the very least. Between the late night talks of trading long forgotten secrets, Truth or Dare games that either made her cringe or made her heart flutter, nicknames that turned her face redder than the crimson that decorated the #Killer_Shit channel every time. Even the cheesy puns they both swapped back and forth within their private chats and video calls made her smile.

She enjoyed the conversations they shared. It was intimate and cozy in ways that was hard to put into words-ironic with her being an aspiring writer and all. Outside the chaos that was her DM's with Ronin, she was shocked to find herself making new, genuine friends and connections among the killers that make up the SlaughterHouse Losers, all while she 'acted' the part of a serial herself.

After assisting both Luca and Feli with relationship issues and talking Misaki through their countless jobs at odd hours of the night and day, Emilia had hit it off instantly with The Monster of Maverick Bay and The Assassin as pals. Even going as far as naming the three of them together as 'The Gremlin Squad', much to the chagrin of all the other members of the server.

Currently, The Gremlin Squad's focus were all preoccupied with the stream being hosted by one ShadowedRose, or as the server now knew Emilia by her 'moniker' thanks to V's meddling: The Ram Of The Woods.

"Oh dude, on your right! It's a penguin thingy! Shoot it with like the shadow blade-wait wrong game..." Luka chimes in unhelpfully through Emilia's desktop speakers. "Bruh, she's gotta use a charge shot on that thing! They do double damage!" Misaki pipes in on a more helpful note with the softy creak of their computer chair sounding through the steam gently. "Bro, the charge shot isn't part of this one, you're thinking about the fourth game. That's what Feli reminded me on when she was doing research for a project about de-stressing from life and things like that for class." "Aw man, I wish I could've seen the project! I know Felicie goes to town on those-"

"Guys, as much as I love you both so much...as your friend, the murderous peanut gallery comments are. Not. Helping. Me!" Emilia sighs at the screen as her little blue guy she lovingly (mockingly) nicknamed Megan dies on the screen in little blue bubbles before the continue screen pops up while the music plays steadily through her desktop's speakers. "Sorry Em- I was just trying to keep track with the little guys like I do for Feli when she plays the series!" "Oh shit, we forgot that you were locking in--sorry Sheepy!"

Luca and Misaki have been in VC together with Emilia for the past couple hours watching her try and fail to beat a new little dare she got from Ronin when on call with him last night - beat all the classic Mega Man games within the next four days. Unfortunately, Mega-Man 3 was kicking her teeth in and now, after her ninth attempt at the same level, she needed a break from the mayhem.

Getting up from her computer and stretching every joint in her body, her bones crack like glow sticks as she begins to raid her kitchen for a small. sugary snack and a ice-cold glass of sweet tea, all while still talking with her friends via her desktop mic and speakers. "It's cool you guys, I keep forgetting how much this entry sucks in the series. I really think they need to remake it. Full stop." "Dude, I remembered when I tried to beat this one for Feli's project, you're for real doing good, man. I think it took us like 14 tries? and that was just between the two of us swapping the controls after each failed runs." "Oof, That had to be a nightmare to do for a grade." Misaki winces as they adjust themselves a bit in their chair again. "Misaki, you have no Idea the chaos that the game is, 36 bosses! I mean, who does something like that to their players?! Too cruel man." "The creators of the game. That's who, Sharkboy." Emilia chuckles at The Assassin's sarcastic remark as she sets down her snack and drink upon her desk before she moves to sit back down at her chair. Suddenly, just as she pulls her computer chair out, Emilia's lungs start to burn like fire. Something was wrong, very wrong. Every last gulp of air retreats from her lungs as her vision begins to blur a bit. She feels like her throat is closing up as she starts coughing and retching heavily, Drops of bright crimson pours from her mouth between the small breaths her body barely allows her to have. Before she knows it, her body forces her legs to lock up and drop onto the ground as a way to steady her now shaking frame. As her vision clears ever so slightly, Emilia could see the drops of crimson ichor dribble out from her maw, decorating her floor with the remains of what looked to be a few stained lily petals sitting ever so kindly within the chaos in front of her. When she carefully reaches her hand out to take a small handful of petals from the wooden floor, her hand is coated in flowers, spit, and blood. "Yo, Emmy...you good, dude?" "Yeah, it sounds like you're coughing up a lung or something." She stares at the bloodied white petals within her hand, her nerves nearly shot completely as she tries to pull herself up from the ground while gripping her desk with pure, ghost-white knuckles to reclaim her chair. "Well, you're not wrong on the whole coughing up a lung thing Misaki…because I think I've got Hanahaki." "For real?! Bestie, you're simping for somebody? Who is it? Come on, you can tell us!" "Dude…that's not good at all...I mean, good for you liking someone so much, congrats on that by the way...but bro. If it really is Hanahaki, you gotta figure out who it is and if they like, love you back. I mean, if it wasn't for you…I and Feli would've died months ago for real. With me spitting up marigolds flowers and Feli coughing up bee orchids, for crying out loud-" "Luca, you're rambling again." "Sorry." Luca's voice was surprisingly much smaller than before as he continues to speak his thoughts. "I just don't want to lose another one of my buddies. You're wicked cool, fun to hang with. and are just one of the nicest people I've chatted with. You honestly saved my life man, I can't ever thank you enough for that. You're a real ride or die friend." "Aw Luca, I think that's the sappiest thing I've ever heard you say… at least not directed at Felicie for once." Always the goof to try and lighten the mood, Misaki cracks a joke in hopes of trying to move away from the sudden tonal shift in the call. "It's true though." Emilia taking Misaki's hint in trying to add levity to a grim matter, she gently takes a breath in before she speaks on Luca's thoughts. "I know it is, and I do hear what you're saying buddy. I really do, but I'm scared that...if it's who I think it is, that he'll just turn me down and I know that would shatter my heart fully. I just don't want to take that risk...it doesn't end well, from what I've heard."

"Girlie, you're in a Serial Killer chatroom. If nothing from the past few months haven't scared ya off yet, then what's a little thing like this holding you down?"

"Huh, Very insightful of ya, Saki."

"I know, I can totally be big brain at times." Emilia could hear the smile within Misaki's voice. Leave it to the light-hearted Assassin to cheer up the Accidental Serial and the Greatest 'Serial' Actress. "Anyways, let's get our minds out of the graveyard, I've got a game to beat and a bet to win." Emilia sits fully upright in her chair, cracks her knuckles together, adjusts her headset, all before letting a small yet wicked smirk paint her features. "Sounds good, dude!" "Yeah, Let's lock the fuck in on this thing! Tenth time's the charm." "That's not the saying, but I'll let it slide ya silly goof." And so, the three of them focused back to the challenge at hand as the stage music starts up again in full force after Emilia keys the saved level code into the password screen so they can continue playing throughout the rest of the night.

Meanwhile, in another part of Elysium, lies the Uptown District where the Divine Deviances are currently checking up on each other, as they do every few nights when they're available. But sadly, the Devil himself wasn't feeling much as the king of hell and all of the Underworld lately, but rather a simple sinner who was finally paying for all of his sins.

"Ronin...you've got blood on your mouth..." Angel, the ever so sweet yet caring gunner who wields a pink shotgun against terrible monsters for the protection of her friends and the self sacrifice of her own wellbeing, is currently worrying over the man in front of her on her desktop monitor as he had a small amount of blood dripping from the side of his mouth. And yet, the ever sardonic Butcher that he is, Ronin plays it off like it was nothing to him.

"Daw, what? Is the saintly Angel actually worried about how the Devil's doing? I'm perfectly fine. I just bit the inside of my jaw too hard's all, nothing to worry your pretty little head ov-"

Ronin suddenly grabs his chest in pain, his lungs burning like hot coals for any grasp of air, all while the searing fire pervading his lungs drowned whatever reminisce of air remained within them. His whole frame began to shake as he coughed violently, trying in vain to clear his throat from the overwhelming hellfire taking over his airways. It wasn't until he began to taste the ever so familiar, addicting, and sweet yet bitter copper flavoring upon his tongue that he knew what was happening. Ronin quickly covers his mouth with his hand and turns away from the camera in front of him as the blood slips through his mouth and leaks through the spaces in between his fingertips from all the heavy coughing.

"Ronin!" Angel panics as she watches through her computer screen, horrified at the view that laid before her eyes. Her ex turned friend was in front of her, choking on his own blood as bits and pieces of what looked to be long, thinly curved petals of red began to pour out through his hands like sand and with his blood. And she felt helpless, simply because she couldn't do anything to help one of her friends from something destroying and hurting him from the inside.

"Ro...talk to me, please! You and I both know that what you're suffering from is Hanahaki. And from the looks of it, it's getting worse by the second." She looks directly at Ronin, really looks at him fully since being on call with him, as a frown begins to paint her light pink and glossy lips while she gazes over her friend's features. His eyes; The once black voids that echoed a vast, endless galaxy of possibilities within them, were slightly hollow and sunken in. As if the life was draining from him more it normally is. His frame started to look a bit lighter and thinner, despite him working with heavy machinery and tools during his day job for hours on end. His complexion was much paler than before, as if the man in front of Angel was fading before her eyes and slowly turning into a phantom by the day.

An awkward silence took hold of the conversation between the two, neither one of of them wanting to voice anything else. But Ronin hated the lingering silence that was growing within his domain, with only the hum of his PC and air conditioner barely cutting through the quiet. After a pause, he decides to finally acknowledge Angel's concerns about the apparent Hanahaki taking over him.

"Well, so what if it's getting worse? What if I don't want to act on these feelings and just finally be allowed to rot away for good?" His voice was both raw and extremely fried due to the coughing fit.

Ronin clutched his personal favorite slasher mask in his hands like a personal anchor, fiddling with the mask's strap and flaking off the dried blood from the kill he did earlier in the night. He casts his eyes down onto the mask to look away from Angel's piercing gaze. As much as he could read people like an open book, Angel was just as perceptive as he was when it came to her friend's emotions.

"Then you're killing whoever likes you back. And from the looks of it, I'd say whoever they are, they like you a whole damn much if the disease is affecting you this badly." Silence once again passes between the two for what felt like hours, before Angel breaks the very fragile hush around them this time.

"Is it because you feel like you're betraying Ther by liking someone just as much as you did them and...you're scared of possibly losing them like how you lost Ther?"

Angel knew Ther was a sensitive subject for Ronin, but he'll be damned if she didn't hit the mark that constantly plagued his ever bleeding heart. "...maybe." "If you want my opinion on it, I think...I think they would want you to be happy Ronin, really. And not... suffering from something that's slowly killing you right now." Angel gives him a small yet sad smile, hoping that her words were kind enough to get their meaning across to him. "It's not like this is the first time I've dealt with this sort of thing, Maria." "I know it's not. But last time I checked, there's almost no record of people recovering from Hanahaki twice in their lives. I'm just really scared for you, Ronin. I don't want to lose my best friend. So stop acting like a prideful son of a bitch and finally listen to that heart of yours." Angel hardly had a bite to her words, but she needed him to care about what was going on right now before this disease can destroy him. "Heh, of course. Who else would know the sorrows of hearts better than the cannibalistic Heartsick Angel herself?" "Ronin! I am NOT a cannibal! You know that!" "Cannibal says what?" "Shut up, you dork." A quiet yet calm atmosphere took over as both Ronin and Angel go back to talking about more mundane things going on within their lives, outside of kills of course. That is, before Angel finally brings up the question she wanted to asked since the start of Ronin's coughing fit. "Do you know what kind of flower it is? Maybe I can help... I'm kinda familiar with a bunch of different flowers, with how many I get from my fans." Ronin gently picks up the bloodied part of the plant that laid at his desk between his finger, turning it slowly all around and holding it up towards his desktop's camera for Angel to see better. "Knock your saintly self out." Angel leans into her camera just a bit as she studies the flower petal closely, her lips pursed up with focus as she takes in every last detail regarding the flower in front of her viewpoint. "Hm...judging by the petal...it kinda reminds me of a lily a little bit, but it's thinner. Like way too thin to even really count as an actual flower petal." The gears finally click in the Butcher's head with the conformation of it looking like a lily but not actually being one. "...it's a spider lily. 'Spose it's fitting, given everything..." Ronin wryly chuckles as he brushes a hand through his burgundy hair. Of course it had to be her. That lost lamb was able to see through and shatter all the smoke and mirrors he put up. The two of them flirted with death like it was an old friend, they matched each other for morbid turn of phrases like a twisted married couple. And of course, like the magnificent bastard he was, he already knew spider lilies to be her favorite flower. "I'll talk to ya later, Angel, I've gotta think a few things over 'fore I call it."

"You better take my advice Ronin, I'm serious-" Ronin smirks as he ends the call before Angel could read him the riot act. Stretching his joints and cracking his neck, he began creating a new spooky little bot message and private channel he's been wanting to surprise his darling writer with for a while now, before turning in for the night. 'New Channel in progress titled: Artistic License'

Month 5.

Emilia's body felt like an echo of itself, nearly hollow and empty. She had been hacking both flower and stems, one after another, since the start of the month. Her body was much thinner than before, her skin flaking off in scaly patches around her knees, like she was made of paper or porcelain. Her clover eyes dulled from the forest bright coloring they were normally, as if winter had taken on it's role early than expected and frosted over into a sheer cold. Her small frame kept on shaking constantly, so much so that not even the biggest blanket within her home could stop it.

She started to worry and fret about everything. Her friends, her family, her legacy as a writer. She even started to worry about the server and Ronin...just everything she was leaving behind if her feelings weren't reciprocated. Suddenly, a ringing noise rang out from her computer Speak of the Devil himself-Ronin was calling. Emilia carefully sat down at her desk, shaking as she placed her headphones on and connected her camera back up to her computer before hitting the answer button for the call.

It wasn't until she was fully connected with the Devil's Butcher at their usual witching hour did she truly see some of the effects that were nearly a mirror to her own issues.

Ronin...are you doing...okay? Ya look pale." Ronin was sitting wrapped up in his own oversized blanket, beanie off with his extremely messy wine red hair ruffled with cowlicks. His eyes were listless and hollow, unlike the looming yet shining void they normally are with a passion burning behind them. They were almost akin to the eye sockets of a skull. Even his outfit, instead of his leather jacket and usual attire coming straight out of a Hot Topic commercial from the early 2000s, were replaced as he was sitting in a black, oversized band T-shirt and baggy, dark maroon shorts. 'Seems as though he didn't go out for a murder tonight. That's odd for him...' Emilia thought to herself before Ronin shot her back a response after watching her think for a moment. "Could ask the same thing for yourself, darlin', though I'd say you look like a corpse. Maybe even worse than one." She couldn't help but chuckle dryly at the remark. Perhaps she truly did. A serial killer would know better of what a corpse looked liked, even after the light left it's eyes and it was torn apart, piece by piece, by the very man talking with her. "Hm, adorable as always Ronin. But at least I know why I feel this terrible." "Oh yeah? Why don'tcha tell the devil what's ailing your pretty little self then?" "Well, my devilishly handsome companion, It turns out that little ol' me caught Hanahaki." "Fucking hell, really?" Ronin face shifts to genuine concern for just a moment before Emilia jumps to answer his rhetorical question. "Yup...and not gonna lie, it's kinda freaking me out. Since ya know, flowers are sort of taking over my lungs and everything being covered in my own blood and all...it's kinda spooky." Emilia gives out a small laugh. Ronin pauses for a minute before he speaks, as if thinking about his next words. "Who is it?" "Hm? What did ya say 'Nin?" "I said: who is it? Who's the fool that took your aorta before I could?" "I don't know." Emilia shifts in her desk chair awkwardly as Ronin looks at her with a sharpened glare within his eyes, like he knew something she didn't. "The fuck you mean 'you don't know'? Darlin', if you're coughing up petals and other bits enough to make a flower shop, you know them personally. I guarantee it." "I mean...I've never really been super close to anyone at all in my life to feel like this, the most I have ever felt seen and actually enjoyed hanging out with people is here on the server." "Well, that narrows it down by a ton. So, what's the flower then?" "Well, it's a white flower, I think...a lily when I look at the petals? Though I know it might be another flower that's white, honestly. I'm not super familiar with flowers, besides a handful of them." Emilia giggled to herself, but Ronin's face was unreadable. As though he finally allowed parts of a puzzle to fall into their places. "Show it to me." "Show you what?" "The flower petal, darlin'. Or is the sickness affecting that adorable little brain of yours too much?" "Oh! Yeah sorry, give me a second." Emilia reaches over the desktop to a small jar where she was cleaning and collecting the petals of the flower she coughed up, keeping them as decorations, before picking the cleanest one out of them all into her fingertips and held it to her camera.

"Yep, that's a lily petal alright." Ronin began to let out a twisted laughter so intoxicating at what was in front of him that his eyes grew wide with a wickedly evil Cheshire grin painting his features. He then speaks the words he wanted to say to the woman for a while.

"Meet me in Purgatory. Twenty minutes." Ronin suddenly disconnected the call between the two of them before shooting her a location ping through their DM's and a lingering message.

'@ Goreboy: Don't miss the deadline, Darlin.' ''@ ShadowedRose: Ronin, what is going on? Why did you?-' Message failed to sent

Emilia sighs as she stares at her screen for but a few moments before she begins to put the location into her phone. She knew that if the Devil's Butcher wanted to meet up, she had to answer the call...less he tracked her down to her place and either bashed her head in with his crowbar or sliced her throat with a knife. Maybe she had finally lost all sense of morals and sanity to do this so late in the night. But hey, what's living without a little danger. Right?

Emilia quickly gets up from her desk and skulks to her room, dropping her oversized blanket onto her bed before moving over to a laundry basket that held the majority of her clothes within it. As she pulls out a red shirt, fresh undergarments, and a pair of black pants, Emilia swiftly gets changed into them. Before leaving, she grabs an oversized black hoodie as a way to keep the chill of the night off her and to hide her thinning frame better while she clings to the shadows. With a twist of her front door handle, she begins trudging out into the deadly night with her phone in hand, heart hammering away in her chest, and keys hidden within her hoodie's pocket for protection.

Fifteen minutes later...

She was terrified. No, terrified was an understatement...panic-stricken was more like it. Here she was, in the dead of the night, moonlight shining down on her as she currently navigates one of the shadiest districts in all of Elysium. Standing in front of the entryway of where hundreds upon hundreds of people have lost their souls while the neon red and pink lights around the alley glowed overhead, as if to tempt her into walking toward its bloodied, immoral walls.

Was she actually considering walking into the hunting grounds of one the city's deadliest serial killers? Why did her heart have to be so, so stupid to do something like this? Emilia took a deep, long breath in and out. She was already out here, there was no turning back now; either she was going to die by her body trying to kill her slowly and painfully within the next month or she could choose how she died, mainly by the hands of the person her heart was yearning for. It could be romantic, in a way, depending on who you asked.

"It's now or never..." Emilia grips her hands into fists, her knuckles and bones cracking slightly at the tight motion before she crosses the threshold of the entryway, turning her back to the light of the moon and the little safety it provided. As the sounds of her shoes echoed within the walls of the alleyway, she walks on and ahead with bated breath. The air stills around her the deeper she delves into the alleyway, every inch of noise that was common to hear at night muting with every step. The only thing that was making noise was her, her slight ragged breathing, the soft crunch of her shoes on concrete, the racing of her heart beat…it was unsettling, even with the little amount of glowing neon city lights that illuminate the surrounding area. It didn't help shake the uneasiness that was entangling her very being.

Was she expected to call out to him? Did she need to wait another five minutes for Ronin to show up? Was he just toying with her for his own sick kicks?

Her mind began to race with thoughts until she heard the sound of heavy boots walking down the alleyway with the soft pitch of a light metal scraping and echoing against the walls. The closer the sound gets, the scraping turns into tapping down the loose bricks poking along the walls, keeping in time with a whistled melody before stopping entirely just a few inches behind her. She didn't dare move from her spot nor turn around to look at him, but she knew exactly who it was.

Here he was, in all his pretty, grotesque glory. The Devil's Butcher, the self-proclaimed Antichrist, The darkly gothic saint of Uptown-Ronin Beaufort; the one her heart wanted to yearn for, holding a knife in his hands instead of his trademark crowbar. "Well, well...looky who's here early! Aren't you an eager little lamb to be slaughtered?" Ronin pockets his knife as he silently walks up to ad around the woman waiting for him within his favorite gruesome alleyway. "Eh, The classic saying goes: If you're early, you're on time. If you're on time, then you're late. And if you're late...don't even bother showing." "Heh, adorable. Nice to finally see ya in person, darlin'. Been waiting for this moment for quite a while." "Likewise Ronin, likewise." Her back was turned to him, but she felt him lace his hand into her messy ponytail ever so gently before he forcefully yanked her towards one of the walls. As Ronin pins his hands by her head, he traps Emilia within his arms, but not before shielding her head from the impact. "Didn't expect ya to be such a tiny little thing. It almost makes me not want to kill ya." Emilia couldn't help but shrink down a bit as she tried to hide the blush on her face when he says that directly to her. It was easier on a pixelated screen to hide it, but in person...it was mortifyingly in plain view. And of course it only made the wolfish grin on Ronin's face growing even wider.

She needed to speak, but her throat was threatening to close up from nerves. If she wanted to voice something, now was the time to do so before she can't breathe and goes into a panic attack due to too much adrenaline coursing through her. "W-why did you call me all the way out here, Ronin?" "It turns out I happen to know the cure for your little issue regarding Hanahaki." "Y-You do? Are ya going to tell me or is the cat too busy having his fun toying with me?" "Don't be modest, I know you enjoy me messing with ya. I would tell ya the solution, but I don't know if I should. Now the real question is; How badly do you want those answers, darlin'?" "Ronin, this isn't the time for games. My life is on the line here!" Emilia snarled through clenched teeth, a sudden rage overtaking her tiny frame as she tried (failed) to push back the man trapping her. But Ronin just leaned further into her space, dropping his head to her ear as he whispered. "Yeah? Funny. so's mine." "Wait…hang on, you're suffering from it too?" The initial fire in her suddenly burns out as she tilts her head up to get a better look at Ronin, trying to see if he was messing with her, only for him to pick up his head back up with his eyes closed in annoyance with a groan leaving his lips. "Baby, you can not be this dense. Come on…use that pretty little brain of yours and think about it. Really think about it for a minute." "Hanahaki's a mutual pining disease from what I've read, so does that mean..?" She trails off, hoping that she was hinting into the right direction Ronin wanted her to. "It does." His voice sounds softer than normal. He was telling her the truth. Silence began to make it home between the two as they stood in the shadowed alleyway, waiting for someone to finally ask the dreaded question that needed to be asked, unless all of this was for naught. "Ronin…what's your favorite flower?" Emilia's heart began to pound like a drum. She needed to know the answer to survive like she needed air, with the question leaving her voice before she could take it back. "Lilies, White lilies. And yours, darlin'?" Ronin shoots back with a knowing smirk. "You already know that, silly." A small frown painted her bright features, her face still colored in a crimson blush. Ronin couldn't help the small chuckle as it left his lips. "Just humor me for a minute, shortcake." Ronin stilled for a moment and put his forehead against hers as he felt his heart begin to hammer in his chest, just waiting for her response until he remembers a small quirk of hers...she held to her standards, one she wouldn't budge on, no matter what he tried. "Please." "Thank you…spider lilies." "See? Was that so hard to do?" "Hush…so, I guess that means we can officially say we're both pining for each other?" "It does, but it's up to you of where you want everything to go, because there is another way to clear these bastard flowers out from our lungs that people don't talk about." "There is? What's that way?" "I didn't bring the knife with me for absolutely no reason." "Wait… Y-you mean, by killing one of us?!" "Yup. Just like how the romantics do." Ronin gently laced his knife within her small shaking hands. She didn't even see him take it out of his pocket before she felt the weight of it in her hands. "The choice is yours, darlin'. I'll be happy with whatever you choose." Emilia looks down at the knife in her hands, then back at Ronin. As she looks into his eyes, she stares at those encircling black voids of shadows as if they had all her answers to her problems. All she wants is just for him to say something, to point her in the right direction of what to do. However, he just simply waited for her to choose. It was solely her own volition to decide their fates. "I...I can't kill you. It would shatter me entirely and I'm not going to hurt myself."

"Then what are you going to do, darlin'?"

Emilia's fire finally came back to her as she yanked Ronin down to her level and placed her lips against his own, sealing her fate as the Devil's fallen angel. Ronin just laughs into the kiss as he holds her tight in his arms, gently lifting her up closer to his own height. After a few beats, the both of them break apart for air.

"So, I take it this means we're officially dating?" Emilia couldn't help but giggle to herself as she presses her forehead into Ronin's again. "Ya damn right we are...and you're simply rotten yet divine..." Ronin says confidently as he gently puts her down back on the ground. But as he does so, his left hand starts to burn as though he put his hand directly into the flames of a fire. As the skin tears itself open, Ronin grimaces slightly.

"Ugh, I forgot how much this part sucked." A low growl left the back of his throat before the writer next to him let out a shrill yelp of pain. "OW! AH, WHY DOES IT HURT SO BADLY?!" Emilia clutched her right hand tight with her left hand with a slight tremor as her own skin began tearing open into a gash. She couldn't help but let the tears fall due to the harsh, sudden sensation of her hand burning before she nearly falls to the ground.

"Shhh..shhh, everything going to be fine, baby. It's how Hanahaki flushes itself out...it's going to be over soon enough." Ronin gently held Emilia to her feet with his tatted arm on the small of her back while he held both of their bleeding hands out to the side. Drops of blood left the pair’s hands, falling onto the ground in front of them as both of their blood pooled together on the alley's pavement. A pinkish glow took its place until there laid two flowers painted in both crimson red and stark white, with the red bleeding into the white like living veins.

"They're amaryllis lilies..." Emilia's voice, shaken and uneven, acknowledge the newly created flowers that laid next to the couple's feet. She carefully walks over to the concrete bouquet and picks up the two blossoms to hold them within her hands. "So's another lily...and yet not one, like your spider lilies?" "Mm-hm, both flowers seem really fitting, given that I'm not really a killer and yet I fell for you." "Heh, ironic isn't it."

"Yeah…it's also a flower meaning both pride and determination, from what I can recall."

"My, don't we have that in spades?" Ronin lazily slides his arm up and around her as he gazes down at her, a tired smile decorating his dashing features. "We really do… I like the colors." Emilia gently clutches them to her chest as a tiny smile tugs at her lips and she breathes in the floral scent.

"Yeah, they're really pretty… like you, sugar." Ronin lets his Southern drawl slip through as he calls her sugar, and Emilia couldn’t help but adore the man next to her even more so with a blush beginning to take root over her face. "Oh hush, lover boy. Where should we put these? I mean from what I've read, they say we have to put these things right where we both confessed or near it for the disease to be fully gone." "Right…it's been a while since I've done this, nearly forgotten that step." Ronin and Emilia look around his favorite gruesome alley before Emilia's eyes catch something shining within the small glow of red and pink neon lights. "How about that waterspout over there? It's got enough water for these things to survive and I hear that some plants thrive off of blood. So flowers from Hanahaki should be perfectly fine here."

"Aren't you a morbid, clever little thing?" Emilia giggles at Ronin's words as he gently pinches her cheek. They both get to work and began to interlace the flowers around the spout. as they do so, flower blossoms begin to bloom up the spout from the main buds in a rapid pace, decorating the entire wall in nothing but amaryllis flowers.

"Isn't that a sight.." Emilia gasped in awe as Ronin lets out a wolf-like whistle while they watch the short-lived floral display made only for and by them.

"That it is, darlin'...that it is. Can't say I really mind the new addition to my alley." Ronin crosses his arms and slowly tilts his head left and right like an artist analyzing a canvas, seeing if the newest pieces would interrupt or disturb his process in creating masterpieces. He stands there in silence for a moment before clapping his hands together and speaking. "Alright, let's get out of here. Don't wanna be out much longer than we really need to. Let's head over to my place. I'll treat that wound on your hand and then you can spend the night." "Well, aren't you such a gentleman for the offer." "The Devil always is. 'Sides, can't let my girl wander around in the dark...she might run into a serial killer." Emilia couldn't help but let out a cackle as Ronin begins leading the two of them out of the alleyway.

The two sinners, enamored within their rot, were locked hand in hand as they began bounding out amongst the shadows of the night and towards the killer's home. Happily secured with the knowledge that two lonely, rotten lost souls have finally found each other.