"Michael! What...how did you know I was here?" I stood in shock at the ash blond male before me. He grinned, leaning in a robe in front of my room.
We'd finished our games at the amusement park; Christian picked us up. The moment we got home, I told Makoto to initiate our plan or what we called Operation – Hot Springs.
The goal was to get her and Daniel some alone time, which meant I was going to be the third wheel. I'd secretly let Jaxson know that I wanted to make sure everything went well.
Mako currently took a mini nap with Daniel, having fallen asleep during the car ride. I told Daniel the hot spring was reserved at eleven at night for them and he should wake Makoto by then.
When we arrived, he carried her to their room – the compassion and affection in his eyes when he looked down at Makoto's sleeping figure made my heart melt. I prayed they would work things out during this trip or hopefully soon. I knew how frustrating it could be to love someone, but not receive the same or know if they loved you in return.
I headed to the hot spring section I'd reserved for myself, having decided to enjoy some alone time with my e-reader when I slid the wooden door open to reveal Michael.
"Jax-In-A-Box messaged me saying our precious was alone at the hot springs," he explained, pushing off the wall and standing before me.
"You guys and your weird code names. And I missed you," I whispered.
His hand brushed my cheek; his lips landed on mine. I let my hands slide around his waist, pulling him close. We were so caught up in kissing we didn't hear the footsteps in the hall.
"Scarlet and a Daniel lookalike."
We pulled away, turning to see Makoto in a pink robe and wood slippers. I tilted my head, noticing her eyes were an interesting blue – midnight blue.
"Makoto? Your eyes are different. And Daniel look alike?" I questioned, looking at Michael who stared at Makoto.
"Not Makoto and that guy looks exactly like Daniel, but older, taller, and has longer hair than him. They have the same eyes and nose, though," she replied, giving Michael a long up and down assessment.
"You're not Makoto?" I asked, confused.
"Nope," she replied.
I noticed her voice sounded different, more toneless than Mako's cheerful voice.
"You're a spirit?" Michael pointed out.
She nodded. "Midnight," she introduced.
"Midnight? Ah, well your eyes are midnight blue. Is that where your name comes from?" I inquired.
"I guess," she replied.
"Um, this is Michael, Daniel's older brother. That's why they look so similar," I introduced.
"Where are your glasses?" Midnight asked.
"I don't need them as often as my brother. I'm wearing contacts, though," he admitted.
She nodded. "Hi," she greeted.
We stood there for a moment of silence.
"Midnight. Aren't you supposed to be with Daniel?" I asked.
"He's showering. He said he wants to be clean before going to the springs. I wanted to take Nightmare for a walk," Midnight replied.
"Wait. My brother's here?" Michael asked, shocked.
"Yes," Midnight replied.
"He came with Makoto. They need bonding time." I stressed.
Michael looked confused but nodded. "Oh. But he hates water," Michael pointed out.
"So do you," I retorted.
"That's...different. I promised," he admitted; his cheeks tinted a light pink.
"I'm running away. You can continue being lovey-dovey," Midnight announced.
I blushed. "We weren't being lovey-dovey," I argued.
"Uh huh. Anyways, Nightmare, let's go back," she called out.
"Nightmare?" Michael and I said together.
"MEW."
We glanced to our left, noticing something white pop out of the bushes. The creature jumped from the grass below onto the wooden floor, rushing to Midnight's side.
I gawked at the beautiful creature. She was white with grey markings and mismatched turquoise and silver eyes. What was most stunning was that she had not one, but three tails that rapidly wagged back and forth in excitement.
She brushed her head against Midnight’s leg; the once grey markings glowed a light pink as she began to purr.
"Is that your familiar?" I asked, still stunned by her magnificent beauty.
"Yes. This is Nightmare. Mako calls her Nighty for short," Midnight introduced.
"Mew." She walked over to us, sitting at my feet.
I knelt, petting her soft fur. "Well, hello beautiful," I hummed. I looked up to Michael who smiled down at us.
"Good evening, Nightmare," Michael greeted.
"Meow."
Wait a minute...
I turned my head to see Moonlight walking down the hall.
"MEW!" Nightmare beamed, jolting from where we stood to meet Moonlight. They circled each other, before rubbing their heads together – Nightmare’s tails glowed a bright pink.
"You brought your cat?" Michael asked.
"Nope. You know how he is. Just follows me around and appears out of nowhere," I commented.
"You love me first of all, and I didn't follow you," Risuki's voice announced.
I rolled my eyes. Ah. You came for Nightmare, didn't you?
"Leave me alone," Risuki mumbled.
I grinned, rising back up. "Michael, can you meet me at the reserved spring? I want to make sure they know I'm not bailing," I whispered.
"Sure, love. I'll see you there," he replied, leaning down to give me a deep kiss. He smiled at my red face before glancing at Midnight, who knelt and played with Moonlight and Nightmare, who bounced around her.
"Bye, Midnight. Nice to meet you."
"Hmm? Oh, Bye," she replied, giving a simple wave before returning her attention to our familiars.
She's very different from Makoto. Not in a bad way. It's also cute. Hmm.
"I agree," Serenity replied.
"Me too. She's a powerful spirit though," Aurora pointed out.
"She has the same aura as Ethan," Serenity admitted.
Does she? Hmm, I wonder what she is. I should ask Ethan what spirit he has.
"Hah. He'd probably make you struggle like Junho," Aurora revealed.
"All you need to know is it's a very rare spirit," Serenity admitted.
I frowned, trying to think of all the spirits we'd cover so far; none of them falling under the 'very rare' category. Guess I'll find out soon enough.
"You're a Starlight god, too," Midnight declared, petting Moonlight who sat in front of her; Nightmare sat next to him.
They literally looked like two halves of a whole; Nightmare and her white fur and blue eyes verses Moonlight with his black fur and matching eyes. Reminded me of Yin and Yang.
It took an extra second before I registered her words; my mouth dropped.
"Midnight. What did you just say?" I asked.
She glanced up at me with a blank expression. "Your cat is a Starlight god like Nightmare," she confirmed.
"How...?" I trailed off.
"Mako and I can sense their auras. Winterlya said I can't tell the others, but I figured you already know your familiar's a god," she disclosed.
"Um. Well, ya I found out recently. This is Moonlight. Or I guess I should say Risuki, God of Lightning," I introduced.
"Nightmare, Goddess of Destruction," Midnight introduced.
They both sat quietly, enjoying their moment together.
Midnight rose up, yawning. "I should go. Don't want the angel to be wondering where Mako went," Midnight confessed.