A/N: I'M SORRY MY DEAR FANS, ARU! MUCH APOLOGIES, HERE'S THE NEXT CHAPTER OF ETERNAL! (I should really fix my errors in my past chapters, but…I can't!)

2 hours before the plan was to commence…(at Mao's house)

"Hey! Beryl!" Mao called, slightly limping. He made a half job to reach up to her, and then almost collapsed completely had it not been for Rif's support.

"Yeah Mao?"

"Well…I've been thinking, you need a snack before your big date!" Mao said in a kiddish teasing way. He emphasized the word date.

Rif just giggled and then let her arm slide under Mao's and draped her free arm over the same arm, patting it, then ushering him to sit down.

"Silly Master…you say date as you did as a child. Except then you used the word cooties."

Mao just blushed and looked away. Though Rif had the childish demeanor, it seemed that she could easily flaunt and flirt with someone. Raspberyl became a bit jealous, sure Rif did state that she liked someone else…but, it's not that it wasn't possible she may harbor SOME feelings for Mao.

Rif looked up and with the hand that was patting Mao's arm, she just place a bit of her hair in place. And then letting go of Mao completely. Mao looked somewhat sad at this though.

"Miss. Beryl…I'll just fetch some tea and sweets for you." Rif said bowing and then quickly running into a kitchen. Before heading out of Mao's room, and looked back.

"Master is there…anything you want?"

"Uh…get me a sandwich…"

"Anything special on it…?"

"…You know how I like my sandwiches!" in his excited voice, glasses fogging over.

"Alright, I'll be back in a bit.

Rif disappeared as soon as she said that, girlish high-pitched giggles could be heard as with humming. But the humming ended and thus, Raspberyl tightened a grip on a book she was carrying. And then released it by banging on the small round table.

"MAO! Tell me… how long… have you been… feeling like this…?" Raspberyl said, hissing with every word.

"Feeling like what…?" he asked sipping on some tea.

Raspberyl lunged onto him, and brought his collar of his shirt up to her face. Which in turn also brought his face with hers. Nose-to nose.

"Feeling oh-so lovey-dovey with your maid, is what!"

"Sometimes you just have to be nice to workers that have feelings-" Mao said though broken off.

"Almaz and the Prinnies have feelings."

"You never let me finish. Workers that have feelings similar to your own."

"How are they not similar to you then?"

"Almaz, he's always into Sapphire. The prinnies never really listen to me, and when I want them to go to somewhere far away, I have to pick them up and throw them. Even if they catch each other, they blow up and make a huge mess."

Raspberyl let go of her grasp and sat back down on the floor, her eyes piercing at Mao,

"With Rifmonica…she's so polite and innocent. She does whatever I tell her to do. She also faced several experiences of abandonment and lost of trust. Losing her parents, and now losing her siblings…"

(Mony note: Ai, if you didn't know; Rifmonica is originally from Summon Night Monogatari Hajimari no Ishi. She has no parents and lives with her red-haired older sister. But I think of her as having 2 siblings, the male lead-her brother- and her original sister. Just to clear things up. She lost her siblings, not by them dying. But because she is trapped in the Netherworld)

"How can I abandon a human like her, when she lost so much? She said she began losing her sanity when she was first brought to the Netherworld. If Almaz didn't find and save her, she wouldn't have lived in this harsh place. She said she felt comfortable staying in basements, so I let her stay in there for her convenience and likes. But lately she's been staying upstairs now." Mao locked eyes onto Raspberyl's

"This is the very reason, why I wouldn't want you to meet her… You'd think that how much I spend time with her is that I have feelings, when it's more of…a big brother instinct… She lost her friends and family and also her sanity, would you leave someone when they were like that? I don't experiment on her, I tease her. Just… don't think of it as anything romantic, it's just platonic love, if you will."

Raspberyl tilted her head and placed her hands on her lap.

"If you did have feelings for her…would you tell her…?"

"If I did, I wouldn't realize it. Plus, I want her to be happy. She'll probably die before I will, so it's no point then… relationship that won't even last remotely long. I have to deal with the fact she'll want to go back to her own world, and she'll die before any of us get slightly older. It's the same for Almaz and Sapphire. You realize this, don't you…?"

She didn't know what to say. Despite Mao's perverted nerdiness, it was even greater that he knew that life and death happened so quickly. And that only one person truly showed this to him. Then a pain brought her back to life. She remembered the day where he was tearing up when remembering his mother. Why didn't it occur to her earlier? He was in love with Rif, but only showed brotherly love because he knew that she'll die like everyone else in his life. She was saddened completely. How he faced this pain… she'd never know.

At this moment Rif walked in carrying a tray of the food stuffs.

"I prepared them the way you liked…and Miss. Raspberyl…"

"Yes…?"

"When you love something so much, you let them go. It's for their happiness. And if you let go of everything, you're really selfless. And when you begin losing yourself because of that. It means… that your love is boundless. When you truly love someone else…and then lose them for someone else. It's not selfishness of the mind and heart. It's because tragedies don't deserve to be in love stories. Though tragedies do exist because people don't realize love in the way the heart and soul do." she said placing food items in front of them. "I'll be changing into my clothes…for the date." she bowed and walked into the room next door.

On the date…

Raspberyl been in her regular clothes, as it didn't appear that it'd be important. Rif and Mao were hiding in the bushes nearby. Apparently Rif's clothes was actually just a pink coat with ruffles over a brown shirt, with a belt that held her white mini skirt, her white socks, brown shoes and ridiculously large pink hat.

Then all of a sudden Unknown appeared. Clad in the mask he wore on the dance and also a cape. Mao was almost about to scream, until Rif pulled her hand over his mouth, muffling him.

"My sweet Beryl…it's nice to see you are here…safe…I'm glad…"

"It's nice to see you too."

The two began having a nice talk, until Unknown bowed down for a dance which Beryl accepted.

Mao dug his fingers into the dirt. And Rif on the floor kneeling she whispered to Mao.

"I have a bad feeling, do you feel it to?"

"I do, I don't think this Unknown is as good as he claims…"

"That's why…I'm about to go out."

Raspberyl let go of Unknown's grasp and smiled.

"May I ask why you asked me to come here?"

"Why…It's a beautiful thing to have a beautiful demon-girl under a beautiful scenery with no one to disturb us…Which is why-" he said now taking out a knife "I'll be able to dispose of you quickly."

Raspberyl gasped and walked back

"You don't deserve to be here…You don't know the meaning of what it is, to love someone. You tear people apart…Let people be with who they should be!" he hissed

Raspberyl nearly walked off the cliff they were on.

No…No…! I didn't do anything wrong…I'm a good person! A delinquent! You can't…you can't…but…This is my ending isn't it? Goodbye my dear friends…I'll miss you…Mao, I want to say this…I'll say hello to your parents…Rif, to yours as well… I'm…I'm…

Raspberyls thoughts were clogged with her tears of farewell.

"Hyah!" came a voice and sparks flew.

Unknown stepped back from the axe-wielding little 13-year old.

"I knew you'd be here. You're always watching my moves."

"Why of course~ If I wasn't destined to be in the Netherworld, I'd be in my own world! I like it here, and I'll protect the people here!" She swung her axe at him, and it cut his cape and well part of the clothing he wore, showing blood seeping out from his arm. Unknown retaliated and sliced Rif across the neck letting watery red substance come out.

"You think slicing my neck is bad, how about stabbing me in the chest area? I still have scar…FROM THE LAST TIME YOU DID IT!" and Rif swung her axe at the mask, and Unknown grabbed his face, not showing his face.

"You were the type to forgive. But you won't forgive me…when I tried to kill Raspberyl the first time…"

"I stopped you, by getting rid of your weapons before the dance. I won't let you kill someone else important again! YOU HORRID PERSON MADE ME LEAVE MY WORLD…You made me the way I am. You stopped my sanity. You tapped into my whole subconscious. And you think I'll forgive you for that? No one else should be the victim of your acts again!"

Mao then rushed next to Raspberyl where both of them were shocked. Unknown was the cause of Rif's pain? True Hearts words haunted Raspberyl. Perhaps the reason why he looked so sad was the reason why Rif's pain was there. Rif must've never been there to see Raspberyl, Asuka, or Kyoko was because the fact that she visited True Heart. It made sense…didn't it? Unknown was an unknown monster because his pain only affected certain people who never showed their pains to people often. Rif was close to True Heart, a sole key part…It began adding up… Why…didn't she notice it earlier.

"JUST GIVE UP!" Raspberyl cried out.

At that moment Rif turned around until Unknown took his chance and made Rif slip off the cliff and then disappeared. Both Mao and Raspberyl rushed to see what happened to her. Rif was neither seen nor heard.

"It's my fault…Mao…I made you lose another person close to you…"

"It's fine…I don't think she died…she always comes a way with coming back. Just wait in…3-2-1..." Mao said, with the last comment he chuckled and Rif was on Raspberyl's back like a baby monkey and giggled.

"You don't think I died, didja? Well let's remember, I can craft things. It's even more fun with things from the Netherworld! So I made myself some stuff that transported me back. Like wings, perhaps…"

Despite Rif's cheerful giggles, Raspberyl could feel blood seeping through her clothes.

"Why don't you go get fixed up…?"

"I will…but I think you understand now, don't you?"

"I do…but why…I want to know why Unknown chose you out of the rest."

"Because I affect the people around me. I'm a perfect target… But it's more so…is that I'm a key role of Mao's…think of it."

"You don't look like him…"

"I'm not officially one, so I don't look like him. Rather…I'm his happiness. Notice how fast his moods change when I'm gone?"

"Yes…"

"Happiness…Happiness!"

"Happiness…"

Raspberyl began feeling happier herself. It made sense now. But the words that Unknown said that she shouldn't be in the way of other people's love…

"Miss. Raspberyl…you're loved…Unknown knows nothing about you. Be happy…!"

When she said this Raspberyl was happy. But the feeling of unhappiness clogged her whole body. Until Mao snuck up to both of them giving both the girls a huge bear hug that made them fall down.

Happiness…was so sweet…even in the most childish of ways…

A/N: Ana~ Don't think my story ended because of that, oh no it's much more stuff to include that it hasn't ended yet! Though some stuff to make you guys think about Mao's relationship to Rif and hers to True Heart and Unknown! Still no identity of Unknown still, I'm afraid. Though big apologies for month-late updates. I'm just revisiting my fan fiction stories! So expect some updates!