Come Back Soon, Your Majesty.

Chapter 7: Concerns.

A long and tense silence remained even after the pinkette left. Breaking the thick and stuffy atmosphere, Lied coughed; "Alright, new topic."

Tapping his nails against the long, wooden table, he continued; "What is up with Azz-azz?" he asked with a raised brow.

"I think the answer is obvious," said Allocer, sighing whilst hinting at the very sensitive, very unspoken topic among them. Even an idiot could see the reason behind Asmodeus's outburst.

"But that doesn't explain why," said Lied. "Why is he acting up only now? Usually, he wouldn't let his emotions get the best of him like this. So why? Why only now?" the blonde questioned, scratching at his head.

"When you bottle up your feelings, it's bound to overflow one day." Allocer, ever the poet said. He looked at the ground, his expression somewhat pitiful. Albeit the pity was not for him. "-and Asmodues-kun is overflowing. Although he's done a good job at keeping his feelings at bay for the last three years, he could still explode. An example is how he did just a few moments ago."

"You're always so scientific with your explanations.." the blonde murmured. Not that it wasn't anything he wasn't used to. They've worked alongside each other for the last five years, after all.

"I understand Azu-azu's feelings," said Clara with a sullen tone, causing the attention of the room to shift toward her. It was always worrying considering Clara Valac of all people was feeling so disheartened. "I... I miss.. him too." she clenched her fists together, looking down towards her lap. She couldn't bear to even utter his name, a single mutter alone enough to bring tears to her eyes.

Again, the mood in the room seemed to dampen. It was an especially sad topic to mention. A topic that the Misfits, as soulmates and friends agreed to never bring up unless the utmost necessary. Lied clenched his fists, gritting his teeth.

"Let's.. let's not get off-topic." Kerori was fortunately logical. Well, her words at least. Her body language has a completely different response. She rubbed her elbows to her shoulders, seemingly upset and anxious as the air around her grew colder.

Andro nodded. "Right. About Azu-kun." he huffed, tapping his chin irritably. Whenever Asmodeus was in a bad mood, there was only one person who could ever help him, but that person was...

The demon sighed. He wasn't going to mention that. It would only make things worse. Taking upon the 'big brother' title amongst his fellow friends, he felt the need to brighten the mood.. but how was he supposed to do that when he, himself was feeling like shit?

Gaap and Agares glanced at each other worryingly before turning back to their fellow Misfits. Agares simply huffed loudly, burying his head into his cloud with an exhausted expression plastered on his face. Whereas, Gaap frowned, staring at his friends with a mixed expression of both anxiety and fear. They were both, also upset and worried about their rights.

Although Camui was known to be a man who would would 'never miss the opportunity if given the chance', he wasn't going to engage now. Right now was a serious topic that did not require his usual shameless endeavors.

"I understand where he's coming from," amidst the silence, said Sabnock with closed eyes. He opened them and continued speaking, "He.. was amongst the closest to that man. Even before the start of our high school lives and the present, Asmodues had and always will remain loyal to him. It's only understandable he'd want to maintain his reign as a great king. And.. although I'd hate to admit, we haven't been doing that recently."

"We haven't had the energy." spoke Lied, pushing against the table and leaning into his seat. "We haven't had the energy since Iruma went to o sleep." he sighed.

"Lied!" yelled Kerori, turning to look at Lied.

"We can't avoid this topic forever!" he retaliated, his fists clenched. "Whether we like it or not, Iruma isn't here, but we can't just not.. mention his name like he's dead! He's just asleep, so why is even the mention of him taboo?!" he yelled, his words resonating through the room.

And again, silence prolonged.

There was a sigh. "We're getting off-track." sighed Allocer, rubbing his temples. "We should call it a day. Go home and discuss this some other time."

Elizabetta sighed sadly, caressing her chin. "Unfortunately, I have to agree. I'm late for an appointment."

"Right, we're all busy," said Allocer. "Let's continue this some other time. We all have our jobs to get to, don't we?" he asked, met with nods throughout the room. He clapped his hands, "Then, this meeting is done. I'll see you all next meeting." he stood up, sighing loudly for everyone to hear.

The others did the same— standing up and picking up whatever hidden snacks and games they had brought into the room. It was as if a class had just finished— like they were still in high school.

But they weren't.

They weren't as close as they were before, they couldn't have full discussions anymore without having a job, meeting, or appointment to go through..

They've grown apart.

And nobody, not even them would admit it.