This was the first time she had seen Yoru display his powers. As soon as he activated his powers, his black hair turned into a vivid, dark violet color that had silver highlights which complimented his purple lightning power. 

“Lightning? Isn’t there already a God of Lightning?” Sen asked curiously.

“Yeah.”

“But there can’t be two Gods of Lightning, can there?”

“Of course not. But that doesn’t mean that Gods cannot share the same ability. It’s basically a first come first serve basis for their Godhood titles and domain. Depending on how the Gods overcome their divine tribulations, when they’ve overcome three, the Godhood title is bestowed onto them by the King of Gods, Rhalios,” Yoru explained as he stretched his body.

He was about to spar with his disciples, which were few in numbers.

As Yoru sparred, he leisurely asked Sen, “If Madam Ki is here all the time, who is managing your establishment?”

“My girls are more than capable. And plus, Yuri has not visited once after taking Hana in... How’s your progress with her?” Sen asked.

“It’s going quite smoothly. I definitely feel that our connection has deepened. What about you and Yuri?”

“...”

Dee just watched from the side.

“... It’s not quite where I want it to be. He still has Hana on his mind.”

“Such a pity.”

“... perhaps…”

“Sen, can I talk to you for a moment? In private.” Dee asked, but it didn't sound like there was much room to say no.

Moving away from the training grounds to a private hall, Sen slightly looked over to Dee.

“What’s the matter?” she asked naively.

Dee turned over and looked at her with scrunched brows as if he was in deep thought. “Do you truly like Celestial Yuri?”

Without hesitation, Sen answered, “I do.”

“Then why do you look at Celestial Yoru that way?”

Sen was slightly startled by Dee’s comment. “In what ways do I look at Yoru that makes you say that?”

Dee furrowed his brows. “Don’t play dumb. I’ve seen the way you looked at him. But he is just to dumb to realize because of his strange obsession with that one human girl that happened to have stumbled upon here by accident.”

“Haha. You must be mistaken, Dee. I only see him as a close friend,” Sen smiled softly.

“Drop that act! Doesn’t it bother you that he is trying to make someone else fall in love with him right in front of you?! Why are you helping him? Why aren’t you trying to make him fall in love with you?” Dee began throwing these questions at her. “Why are you so willing to help him? I don’t get humans!”

Sen gave him a soft smile. “It’s because I’m his friend first before being a simple human girl who has one-sided feelings for him... I’m willing to get rid of these feelings to help him.”

“But why lie?”

“If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be here today. Before this lie, we had no reason to interact. This has given me the chance to be by his side today. Don’t say anymore. Don’t take this chance from me, Dee,” she looked up to him with a stern and strained expression. “Please. Don’t say anymore…”

“Sen! Sen, come here! I wanna show you something!” Yoru’s voice resonated through the air.

Sen gave Dee one last deep look before retreating back to the training grounds.

***

It was the flower viewing season. In just a few months, all the disciples will enter The Hunting Grounds for a month before proceeding to the Colosseum of Champions.

Yoru took Hana out for flower viewing. They walked through the Valley of cherry blossoms. Across the valley, there were red, pink and white colored cherry blossoms. It looked magical as the petals dancing in the wind. 

As the two laughed and dined underneath the cherry blossom trees, hidden from their sights with her presence concealed was Sen. She watched from afar. The longer she watched, the more she saw relapses of scenes from her previous life. Although she could not hear what they were talking about, it clearly looked as though they were having a good time. Seeing how happy the two were, Sen’s heart softened. 

“Ahahaha, what else did she do?” Hana wiped away the tears from her eyes.

“She busted out laughing! I’ve never seen her laugh like that in my life!” Yoru responded. “Ah! There was this one time we had a wine drinking competition and she won by a landslide! And I swear, we drank at least 20 jugs of wine! Man, Sen can really hold her wine in that small body of hers, hahaha!” Yoru laughed cheerfully as he poured himself some wine. "I really thought I had the chance in beating her at that!"

“Here, have some of this! This was specially brewed wine by Sen. White Peach Blossom Wine,” Yoru’s eyes shined vibrantly as he poured some for Hana.

“Oh, there was also this one time where Sen…” Yoru’s voice faded as the smile on Hana’s face also dimmed.

After listening to Yoru ramble, she finally spoke. “You… you really like talking about Madam Ki…”

“Ah-,” Yoru stopped. “Am I talking about her?”

“Yeah… you haven been for a while now… but it’s not like today is the first time you’ve talked about her constantly.”

“Well, we are good friends. She’s quite amusing and a fun person once you get to know her,” Yoru went on.

You said you like me… but you don’t realize that the person you actually like is ….

“... It’s really nice being out here and all. It’s beautiful, really, but I think I should be getting back before it gets late or else Master Yuri will worry. He's been quite temperamental lately... very different from before... And besides, I should be training,” Hana said as she stood up.

Yoru looked at her with a dumbfounded expression. “I thought you said you weren’t going to participate. I told you, only one person can come out on top.”

“I’m not training to participate in that event. I’m training to broaden my horizons and strength. And besides, you really think Master Yuri would let me participate?” Hana slightly smiled.

Yoru understood immediately. 

“Shouldn’t you also be training your disciples?” 

“They are more than ready. There’s really nothing else I can teach them. They're naturals,” Yoru smiled as he stood up. “I’ll take you home.”

Hana nodded in agreement. Yoru held Hana’s fingers in his hands with a gentleman-like manner with no other thoughts in mind. Lightning sparks appeared around them as a transportation array glowed beneath them, then ZAP! They were gone. 

Sen arched a brow up in confusion. Their date’s already done? The sun has yet to set, she thought to herself. Shrugging her shoulder, she came out of the shadows and out of her disguise. Since she was already there, she might as well take a stroll through the valley. 

Those who laid eyes on her thought they had seen a fairy. She had such an ethereal aura surrounding her. Her glowing starlight hair and bright jeweled amethyst eyes was what caught their attention; paired with the cherry blossom scenery, it created the perfect picture, taking their breaths away. As the gentle breeze brushed the starlight strands off her shoulder, the scene tickled the hearts of those who witnessed the scene. Although the sun was out and spring had finally arrived, it was still somewhat chilly.

Suddenly, she felt something drape over her shoulders, engulfing her into its warmth. Turning around and looking up, she saw a familiar smile. She was quite surprised to see that Yoru was here… but why? She thought that he would’ve gone straight home.

Although she had hid her presence all this time, because Yoru was once a God, he was able to immediately pick up her presence despite her concealment. She was always there, watching from afar, making sure things went smoothly; she also made sure to not stand out too much to arouse any disturbances. She even went to the lengths to disguise herself! 

Yoru had known for a long time that she was there, following them. He thought this side of her was quite adorable, but he was not going to tell her that. 

“I wanted to come see the cherry blossoms once more before I left. Who would’ve thought I’d run into you here, Sen.”

Sen had an internal battle. Was this pure coincidence? Did I slip up somewhere? Did I blow my own cover?! Going along with the flow, Sen smiled lightly, “Ah, yes. I heard that this place was a must-see before all of the flowers are gone.”

Yoru’s smile deepened. “All by yourself?”

“Is there a problem with that?”

“Of course not. Not at all,” Yoru smiled. “But perhaps it might be better to go flower viewing with others.”

Sen raised a brow, “and that ‘others’, is you? Hm, not quite of an option.”

“I’m the only option you have. Seriously, you have like no friends,” Yoru chuckled.

“Ah, perhaps I should ask Dee,” Sen suddenly remembered.

“Dee? Why Dee of all orcs?”

“Because unlike you, he knows how to keep his mouth shut,” Sen smiled slyly.

“But if he keeps his mouth shut, who else can keep you entertained and would be willing to bicker with you?” Yoru smiled cutely as he cupped his own face.

Sen laughed at his childish act. “Definitely not you.”

Yoru’s eyes curved as his lips stretched into a satisfied smile. 

“Oh, that’s right. I heard there’s an inn further down the valley that serves some of the best wine and food to enjoy with the view. Let’s go,” said Yoru as he took Sen by her wrist and pulled her along. 

*****