As usual, most of the Mekakushi Dan was doing their own thing. Kano was lying on the couch with an open magazine covering his face. Kido was cooking with Konoha looking over his shoulder, the boy hoping for some negima to eat. Hibiya and Momo were arguing as they played a video game. Shintaro was trying to open an app on his phone, but Ene kept getting in his way. Seto and Mary were refilling the flower vases with water until Mary's hand slipped.

The resulting crash caught everyone's attention, and shards of glass littered the floor.

"Mary-chan, are you okay?" Momo asked worriedly.

"Y-yes." The glass didn't touch her. Seto had made sure of that.

"O-oi, are you sure you're fine? That's a lot of..." Shintaro trailed off. The sight, the smell, and the word itself made him nauseous. However, he wasn't talking to Mary.

"It's fine, it's fine. You're overreacting," said Seto, waving around his hand as if it was no big deal. That very hand was full of cuts and some glass.

Mary stared wide-eyed at him. "I'm sorry!" she quickly cried, bowing her head multiple times.

"Its fine, I said. It doesn't hurt one bit." Pretending to be strong got him nowhere. "It isn't Mary's fault at all. Don't cry." He ruffled her hair with his uninjured hand.

"Here. Give me your hand," Kido requested, a first-aid kit next to her. Seto readily complied, letting her clean and dress the cuts as well as take out the glass. He flinched when the first piece was removed. Shintaro hastily turned the other way, not wanting to see blood.

Minutes later, Seto's right hand was wrapped in bandages and the glass was cleaned up. However, Mary holed herself up in her room, not wanting to see anyone.

"She probably blames herself for hurting Seto," Kido explained to a crestfallen Momo after the blonde tried to coax Mary out.

"But, he said it too. That it wasn't her fault," she argued.

"Mary cares too much for her own good," Kano said simply with a slight smirk.

"What are you smirking for?" Kido jabbed him in the abdomen.

"Nothing much," he replied.

~()~

Seto knocked on the bedroom door. "Mary? It's me."

"What?" asked Mary from inside. Her voice was almost emotionless, save for a hint of regret.

"Can you open the door? Even if its just a bit?" He looked down at the mass he carried, his eyes shining red for a split second.

"No. I..."

"It wasn't your fault. Besides, it will heal eventually."

"But..."

Since he couldn't see her face, Seto couldn't read her mind. However, he could more or less guess what she was thinking.

"You aren't a monster, Mary."

"But, I hurt Seto. I hurt Seto," she repeated, sniffling.

"You didn't hurt me. Hmm. Think of it as a knight protecting a damsel-in-distress. Sure, they get hurt, but it's worth it if the damsel is healthy and smiling. So smile. I love your smile the most." He was being sincere.

The door opened enough to see a pink eye, slightly swollen from crying, peering at him. He smiled and let go of what he was carrying. Mary was surprised to feel something soft rubbing against her leg. She looked down to see a small, brown puppy. It's tail wagged back and forth, and clear blue eyes stared at her softly.

When it barked, she suddenly thought of a strange thought. Mary inhaled sharply and jumped back. "P-please leave. I will—"

"You aren't going to hurt it," Seto assured as he crouched down and offered the dog his left hand. The dog licked his fingertips.

Mary inched ever so closer. "Really? I won't hurt it, right? It won't avoid me, right? Will it really be okay?"

With a light-hearted chuckle, Seto answered, "Don't worry. This guy likes anyone who likes him. Come and pet him."

One step. Two steps. Three steps. Four steps and she crouched down. "Um..."

With a bark, the puppy turned away from Seto and walked over to her. Hesitantly, she stretch out a hand, half-expecting nothing to happen. However, her expectations were turned over as she felt a tongue touch her fingers. It moved up and down, left and right. Speechless, she watched as the puppy pawed her legs, as if wanting her to sit. The moment she did, the puppy climbed onto her lap.

"Eh?!" For someone like her, who had never interacted with animals like this for at least a hundred years, tears once again pricked the corners of her eyes.

"Are those tears of joy?" Seto asked, even though he already knew the answer.

Mary petted the puppy's head before answering. So soft. The tears fell to her dress as a smile started to form. "Yes."

Seto smiled along with her. "That's good."

Seeing this, the others, who were crowding around behind a wall, smiled at each other.

~()~

Knights get hurt when protecting a damsel-in-distress, but it's worth it if the damsel is healthy and smiling. That was what you taught me, right? I'm not smiling at all. I'm not healthy at all. How is this protecting me?! No! No! Don't kill him, please! Don't kill my knight!

~()~

The next day, Seto and Mary walked together to return the puppy.

"Um, was it really okay for you to borrow him?" Mary asked uncertainly. She held the puppy in her arms, occasionally petting it.

"Yeah. I used to work part-time there, so I know the store owner well. When I asked, he let me take any of the animals," he explained.

"Seto really is amazing."

He laughed. "I'm not that great. We're here." He stopped in front of a pet store. The small bell attached to the door rang to announce their arrival.

"Oh, Seto! Back already?" asked the man sitting at the cash register. "You could've kept the pup for a while longer, you know."

"Yeah, I know. But once Mary found out that it wasn't a stray, she wanted to give it back," he replied.

Mary flushed when she heard her name mentioned.

"Okay." The man stepped away from the cash register and walked up to Mary. "So you're Mary. I'm the owner of this place, Makoto. Nice to meet you."

"Ah, nice to meet you, too. Here's your puppy back."

"Thank you. It seems he was treated well." He was the one who carried the puppy now. "Well then, come back anytime."

"Okay," said Seto. He turned to Mary. "Let's go back."

The two left the store to go back home. Along the way, they talked about trivial things. Occasionally they laughed, and occasionally, they stopped to sight-see.

Mary spotted a man with several piercings and a tattoo on his arm. He looked scary. She avoided looking at him as they walked past each other. However, their shoulders bumped.

The man suddenly made a pained cry. Mary and Seto stopped and turned around. He was gripping his shoulder, the very one that bumped into Mary's. When they made eye contact he glared.

"You broke my shoulder! What are you going to do about it, huh?" he outraged.

"Eh?" Her mind swirled. She hurt him? Was she so scared that she subconsciously did something to hurt him? Then, she really was a monster. A monster that everyone avoided. Tears streamed down her face, and she wailed.

"Mary?" Seto looked at her. Their eyes met, and he understood everything.

"Oi, if anyone should be crying, it should be me! Hurry and fork over the money for the medical bill!" the man demanded.

He made Mary cry. He made Mary cry. Those words echoed in his head.

"Hey, don't you think you should stop faking it? Your shoulder couldn't have broken just because of that!" he pointed out.

"Aah?" The man glared at him. "You don't believe me? It really is broken, you idiot! And did you think that those red contacts make you look cooler? How lame!" he taunted.

Red contacts? Mary quickly looked at Seto's eyes. They were indeed red.

"Shut up, Ishimoto Genji." Seto's voice had an edge in it.

The man, Genji, froze. "You, how do you know my name?"

"Eighteen years old. Dropped out of high school. Unemployed. Hobby: extorting money. Drinks even though underage. Has been sent to juvie multiple times." He watched as the man grew paler and paler with every fact he listed. "I can see why your family gave up on you. I can't believe you've had a girlfriend, though. Four of them to boot." He could go on and on like this.

"Se...to?" It was the first time Mary ever saw Seto like that. He was scary. Was that really him?

"And now you've run out of money. Hmm? You were planning on robbing a bank next week. Good luck with that, you trash." After uncharacteristically saying such harsh words, it seemed he was done talking.

Silence reigned for a moment.

"Haha. Ahahahaha." The man let out a deranged laughter. "I get it now. You were hired by some cop or detective that wanted to get rid of me. That's why you know so much." He reached into a pocket and pulled out a certain object. A knife.

Mary gasped, fearful of Seto's well-being. However, Seto simply stared at it as if it were nothing.

"You won't be able to hit me." Because Seto could read what he was thinking, he knew what the man would do. He stepped forward. "Are you planning on killing me with that? Do you have the guts to?" He could tell. The man was trembling.

"Shut up!" The man charged at him, aiming for his arm.

Seto didn't run. He held out his right hand and grabbed the knife. Fresh blood leaked onto the bandage. He was faintly aware that Mary squeaked. He took the knife from Genji's hands and threw it to the side. Red dripped down on the sidewalk.

"Leave. Leave and make sure I never see you again." It was a threat.

The man backed away slowly before turning around and running away. For a moment, the only thing in Seto's mind was the fear Genji felt towards him. His eyes returned to their normal color, and for once, he had to fake a smile as he turned to Mary.

"Are you alright?"

"You're Seto...right?"

Mary had also been afraid. The thought stabbed through his heart. He remembered what happened the first time he got mad like this. He used his power to peek into the person's life, choosing to say only bad things. The ones who saw him called him a monster. He, too, called himself that before he was adopted by the Tateyama family.

Enough about that. He shook his head to get rid of the bad memories.

"Yeah. I'm Seto."

"Um..." She was still fearful. Seto couldn't quite hide the sadness in his eyes. "Tha..." Hmm? "Thank you, Seto. For helping me." She closed her eyes and smiled.

Ah, he was an idiot. Mary lived with the fear that she would turn people into stone for one hundred years. The fear of him was nothing compared to that. He could tell she was still afraid from the trembling of her hands. Even so, she was facing her fear like he encouraged her to do when they first met.

(Even if you close your eyes, I can still tell what you're thinking. Mary, you really are strong.)

"You're welcome," he replied. He smiled more naturally this time.

"Um, we need to get your hand treated," Mary reminded.

"Oh." He'd forgotten about it. Now that he remembered, it really hurt. And it was bleeding a lot.

Mary hurriedly ripped off a strip of cloth from her apron and wrapped it around his hand. "Your bandages are increasing," she noted.

"It'll heal." He looked at his hand. "Well, if I get a scar, I can say it was from protecting my princess."

"P-princess?!" she cried incredulously.

"You aren't a monster, Mary. You should know that by now." He patted her head with his left hand.

"I got it," she said softly.

"Do you want me to carry you?'

"N-no. I can still walk," she protested.

"Okay. But tell me when you're tired, okay?"

"Yes!"

~()~

I...can't breathe. I...Am I dying? Again? It's scary. I'm afraid of dying. ...I'm scared, but I'll face it, that fear. That's why, Mary, don't be afraid of being alone. And to you who is another side of Konoha, I know your reasons for doing this. So let me say this: You are not a monster that will destroy huma...ni. . . t...y...—

~()~

I'm tired. I'm tired of repeating this over and over. No matter what you do, you cannot stop me from killing them, so why do you keep resetting this? You will only see your friends die again and again.

…

Hey, can we stop now?

...I guess not.

~()~

As usual, most of the Mekakushi Dan was doing their own thing. Kano was lying on the couch with an open magazine covering his face. Kido was cooking with Konoha looking over her shoulder, the boy hoping for some negima to eat. Hibiya and Momo were arguing as they played a video game. Shintaro was trying to open an app on his phone, but Ene kept getting in his way. Seto and Mary were refilling the flower vases with water until Mary's hand slipped.

"That was close. Are you alright?" Seto asked, the vase that she dropped in his hands.

"Yes. Thank you," she replied.

"You're welcome." He set the vase back on the table. "Hey, Mary, do you want to go to a pet store with me?"

"To buy food for Hanao?" she asked.

"Well, there's that too, but I figured you'd want to play around with the animals," he answered.

"Is that really okay?"

"Yeah. It'll be fine!" assured the boy.

She smiled. "Then I'll go!"

As the two walked to the door, Konoha stared at them with gold irises.

(You will never have a happy ending. Even so, you still waste your time like this. How foolish.)

"Konoha, are you spacing out again?" Kido asked.

Konoha blinked, his eyes back to being red. "Probably. Is lunch ready yet?"

"Not for another hour. Wait. Why are you chewing my hair!?"

"It smells good~" Konoha replied blissfully.

For how long would these days continue? No one could tell, but it would be nice if they lasted forever.

Let's see... EchoInWonderland suggested Seto being cute and cute animals being cute.

lyfaeon suggested a fanfic where Seto uses his eye powers on someone because he got angered/offended/needed to do it or something like that.

So, I put the two together since they where both Seto-centric...and it kinda became angsty. I'm sorry! It's because August 15 was coming while I was still procrastinating, so I made this my fic for August 15, and...this is what happened. August 15 is not a happy day.

Anyway, we better not make Seto mad ever again. I shall call it Dark!Seto and leave it at that. Okay! *nods to self* You are free to try and hunt me down because of this. I deserve it.

And so, before the bloodthirsty fans get here, let me elaborate on my theory on Kuroha. To me, Kuroha is like Azami and Kenjirou: someone who we thought was an antagonist, but really was just a victim. He kills the Mekakushi Dan while Mary kind of resets the timeline. It's like Kagerou Daze. I don't want to think that there's a part of Konoha—yes, he's a part of Konoha no matter how you look at it, and if Jin proves me wrong, I will not be happy—that is sadistic enough to kill them over and over again—I'm ignoring the lyrics for Outer Science here—so I believe that he was programmed to kill them. Thus he is tired, and wants to stop, either by someone stopping him or Mary stopping to reset everything. Well, this theory is definitely nonsensical since I love to sugarcoat things, but I praise you for actually reading it all. End of Theory Time.

Well, for those who are unsatisfied with how I wrote their suggestions, you're free to make me rewrite it. But I'm not taking yaoi. The ShinKano was a one-time thing.

And I'll see you some other time.