Foreword: So, welcome! Welcome, welcome, all to the third installment of "THE SUMMER TEASE!" …This prologue begins the story of Belphegor and Regina…a.k.a …the answer to each other's "prayers"…sorta. Lol, you'll see. ^^
Disclaimer: I don't own Katekyo Hitman REBORN! nor any of its associated characters. This will also be the first and last time I state this for the duration of this work. If you have a problem with that, you're welcome to…go skewer yourself on a wall of Belphegor's implanted knives. -_-
The Color of Passion
Prologue: Ask and Ye Shall Receive…
(April 2024)
Cereal
Milk
Ice Cream
Shoes
Dress
Tampons
Mousse
Cereal
Milk
Ice Cream
Shoes
Dress
Tampons
Mousse
Like a mantra, the list was repeated over and over in her head. It was uttered with such a mental urgency one might think the young woman was on a mission…and perhaps she was as she strutted down the busy street in low heeled sandals and a blue sundress, her dark hair hurriedly pulled into a makeshift bun.
Cereal
Milk
Ice Cream
Shoes
Dress
Tampons
Mousse
Cereal
Milk
Ice Cream
Shoes
Ezequiel
Dre—
She came to a sudden halt and with a snap that nearly sent her hair flying loose from its restraints she turned her head to the street at her left. There, perusing the damp ground with distaste while lazily picking his way across the roadway was a large charcoal gray cat…and further down the road, speeding towards his current location, was a car. "Ezequiel!"
Without a moment to waste or even question her actions, she darted out into the road and with a grunt snatched up the weighty beast, although her eyes widened as she wobbled in her shoes and she feared for just a moment that she'd topple over into the puddle at her side. She heaved a sigh of relief when she instead regained her balance. Her sigh, however, was premature as a moment later the car that failed to flatten Ezequiel sped past, it's passing hailing a wall of water and with a look of dread, both she and the feline were drenched but a second later.
The cat hissed in protest. The sound shifting to a growl that faded out as the creature stared blankly at the woman holding it aloft. Returning the blank look for just a moment, her expression quickly soured into a glare as she let out a hiss of her own, "Ezequiel…"
A low rumbling purr was the only response she received as the cat placed a heavy paw between her eyes. She glared harder. He started to make a noise of protest then and in her annoyance she gripped him tighter. The feline growled then and started to squirm and struggle with all the force of a mad demon….a wet demon at that. Ultimately it was the slippery fur that led to her losing her grip—the animal leaping from her arms gracefully as she fell over herself while trying to compensate for the loss of weight as it abruptly shifted her balance. …She failed, however and with a heavy splash, landed in the puddle.
She sat there for several seconds, staring off into the distance at the cat that had abandoned her in favor of running off somewhere to the east. She tried to focus on the cat and only on the cat…and not the fact that her underwear was now soaked with rainwater and god only knows what else…
She tensed as she felt stares and heard whispers. Fuming silently, she quickly dragged herself to her feet and with careful steps so as not to slip in her wet shoes, she hurriedly crossed the street—fleeing back to her apartment with unshed tears in her eyes. She wouldn't cry because of her stupid cat….stupid stupid stupid cat. Stupid Ezequiel. Probably running off to fish market…again! It wasn't as if she didn't feed him! It wasn't her fault she couldn't always afford the expensive brands! But what difference did it make? He was still getting fed! But no!...stupid cat would always run off to the docks to scam a few fisherman out of some scraps.
She cringed as she felt water slither down her thighs and her lips curled in disgust. She was going to have to change clothes—not to mention shower—and go back out, all because her stupid cat couldn't stay in the house like he was supposed to! How did he even get out? She was positive she shut all the windows. She rolled her eyes as she approached her door. What did it even matter at this point? She supposed she should just be thankful he wasn't flattened into road kill. No…she'd be more grateful, she thought with a snort, if she was able to make it to the store and back before her evening classes started. …the store. She came to a halt at the entrance of her home. That's right…the store…what was she going to get again?
Milk
Cereal
Ice Cream
Dress
Shoes
…
…
…
Damnit! With a quieted scream she kicked off her shoes and threw a miniature tantrum in her living room—one that was immediately stilled as her neighbor paused with a trash bag grasped in hand to stare silently at her. A nervous chuckle spilling past her lips, she stepped forward and with a creak pushed her door shut. Stupid cat! She should've just let him get run over!
…And thus….such is the daily life of one, Regina Rosalez.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Her hands smoothing over the material as she placed the dress in the closet, she released a heavy sigh. It was a lovely dress. And she'd gotten it for a good price, too. Unfortunately, she still wasn't sure she'd make proper use of it. She fought against the frown that threatened to show and instead turned away from her wardrobe and hurried over to her desk. She paused only to shoo away a dozing Ezequiel—who took his time removing himself from the furniture, scattering numerous papers as he stretched. Grumbling to herself, Regina sat down and immediately reorganized her bills with painful dedication.
She was poor. No doubt about that. Sure, she wasn't on the street yet, but that was because every penny she earned was carefully calculated and directed to a specific funding project: food, bills, toiletries, dance supplies, and the seldom used clothing category. Today had been the first time in nearly three months that she'd dug into her clothing cache. Ironic given that she could technically burn through a pair of heels in a few weeks. Being a dancer did that. And unfortunately that's all it seemed to do lately. She'd like to say it was paying the bills too, but it hardly did that. She taught dance classes a minimum of nine times a week...but it wasn't making the money that she'd hoped. There just weren't enough participants.
There was no doubt in her mind that she wasn't a decent teacher and a good dancer, but that wasn't enough when people wanted to see awards and the like. As far as they were concerned she was just a nobody—a young inexperienced nobody at that. The few people that weren't turned away by that, generally chose otherwise when they learned that she'd never had any successful performances on top of that and the miniscule bit that did stay just barely kept her afloat. Her budget was so tight that even a shift in just eight euro could bring everything crashing around her. The framework that her finances balanced on was just that fragile.
She sighed again as she crossed out another number, watching money slip through her hands before she even held it. It was depressing. She was going nowhere…and she didn't know how to fix it. She wanted to dwell on it, but knew better. Still, she stared at the sheet of numerical scribbles, her vision dulling as she drifted in thought, it would all be so much easier if she didn't have to worry about money. Just the mere notion was enough to bring a wistful smile to her face. She'd be free to do so many things. …shame she couldn't just win the lottery or something. And then her smile slid right off as reality crashed in. She wasn't that lucky. A part of her just wanted to dream, wish that she could be that lucky, but even then she felt she couldn't afford to even do that. She'd had a dream once and look where it got her: a studio apartment with thrift shop décor, an ungrateful house cat, and a paycheck to paycheck existence. She could hardly remember what her dream was at this point. And yet…a small piece of her, the part that dreamed, would always wish that somehow….things would get better.
She fell asleep at her desk that night—after spending an extra hour recalculating her earnings several times over. She'd been depressed to learn she was fifty euro short.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Regina fell out of the chair at the impatient knocking that hammered into her flimsy door and with bleary eyes, squinted at the digital clock on her night stand. 7:30AM An oddly precise number, she didn't dwell on it too much longer and stumbled to her feet. "I'm coming…" Her call went unheard and the rude knocking continued. "I'm coming!" She paused to straighten her pajamas and finger comb at her hair, though she knew it changed little, she only hoped she didn't look as bad as she felt. Still, she yanked open the door to her apartment with little thought to who would be paying her a visit so early on a Sunday morning.
That was until she saw the man on her doorstep. Blonde, unusually so. She'd never seen such an intensely dark shade, but it was only made stranger by the long layered style in which it was worn—she couldn't even see his eyes! Of course, the hair was nothing compared to the silver crown perched on his head as if it belonged nowhere else. He was dressed…well…his clothes weren't odd in themselves…it's just that they were an odd combination for street wear. She couldn't recall the last time she'd seen someone in that much leather…multi-colored leather at that. His skin was pale and from what she could make of his face, flawless—a stab of jealousy prodded at her before she brushed it off. Of course, none of that explained just why he was on her doorstep at 7: 30 in the morning.
She then took note of the displeased scowl on his face and though she couldn't see his eyes, she was quite positive she felt his gaze roaming over her form. It took all of her will power not to cower behind the door. "…uhm," she began but was interrupted.
"Regina Rosalez?"
She blinked and straightened at her name, "Yes."
The scowl lingered on his face for a moment longer before fading as a strange laughter fell from his lips lowly, "Congratulations, you get to be my bride."
"...Que?"
Afterword: O.O …I need sleep now. XD
-S.T.