It was already winter on Earth. And not just any kind of winter. The entire forest was covered in snow. Even though nature was asleep, it was still beautiful. Not when you're standing in the garden in your ski suit. It didn't occur to anyone that the seasons change on Earth and that we weren't in Taiyo. We immediately went into our rooms and pulled out some warm clothes. I put on warm pants and a sweater over myself when someone knocked.

  "Next."

  "Iruko?" Shika appeared shivering in the doorway.

  "Yes? What do you need?"

  "You don't have any warm clothes? She didn't know..."

  "Yeah, I see." I interrupted her.

  "Sorry I didn't tell you much about Earth." I added and pulled out some warm clothes for her.

  Shika just nodded and then looked at me. I didn't understand for a moment when I realized that she wanted to change.

  "Sorry. I'll make you a really good earthly treat, do you want one?"

  "Sure!" She cheered.

  I just smiled and flew to the kitchen. I put some milk in a saucepan to boil and poured cocoa into a cup. When the milk was steaming, I turned it off and poured it into cups. I dug around in the dresser and found the last bag of marshmallows. I divided them up and threw them into our cocoa. I took the cups and put them on the table. I was about to go get Shiku when she came.

  "Here it is. Cocoa with marshmallows." I pushed the cup across the table to her.

  "Thank you."

  She smiled and sat down next to me. She sipped her cocoa and immediately purred happily.

  "That's delicious!"

  "Yes it is. And when there's whipped cream on top. Wow, it's like an aphrodisiac."

  Shika laughed and continued to sip. I, as always, gulped down the cocoa.

  "Do you like the snow?" I asked, so that there wouldn't be silence here.

  "Well, there hasn't been time to look at it that much yet, but they say that after Natsu takes a bath, he'll take me for a walk in the forest and show me how to control fire. So maybe there will be time to explore the snow."

  "That's great! Hmmm, I'll probably get Haru out and go build a snowman."

  "Haru's not here."

  "What? And where is he?"

  "He must have arranged something and then he went to buy me some things."

  "And why didn't you go with him?"

  "He didn't want me to go with him."

  "Hmm, that's strange..."

  "Yeah. Haru doesn't seem like a secretive guy."

  "Well, he doesn't. He always disappears like that every now and then."

  "Maybe he has a girlfriend."

  "Yeah, I thought about that too. I think he has someone." I laugh.

  "Yeah, I guess so..." He answers a little dejectedly.

  "What?"

  "Nothing." He shakes his head and finishes the rest of his cocoa.

  I take the mugs and go wash them. In the meantime, I hear a terrible thud. Natsu.

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  "Shikaa!?" He shouts at the whole house.

  "Here." She calls after him. He flies into the dining room and looks around for a moment. I lean against my fur coat and watch the two of them.

  "Excuse me... I just had a cocoa? Do I tell the right?" She looks at me and I just nod in agreement.

  "It's okay. I just wanted to tell you that we can go." He says in a nervous tone, even though he's trying to hide it.

  "Okay. Let's go." She says cheerfully and runs out after him.

  On the way, she grabs his hand and pulls him outside. I hear a loud slamming of the door. I walk to the window by the door and look out. It's starting to snow outside. Shika's eyes are like two stars. It seems like she and Natsu get along very well. They both look like they've known each other for years, even though it hasn't been very long since Shika joined us, but we've all started to get along so well with her, as if she's been with us since the beginning. I watch them there for a while longer before she disappears into the forest. I turn around and head to the library. I have to start training. If the members of the Nine are stronger than Azazel, I have to get stronger too...

  The smell of books greets me warmly. I leave the door ajar. I find my book and sit down at the table that is here. I opened the first page, I wanted to reread the story from the author of this book and the finder of dragons, but there was no sign of the letter. It had disappeared. I turned the pages and couldn't find it anywhere. All the pages were suddenly empty.

  "Where is everything I read? Where is it?! I need it! What power does it have?!" I started yelling at the empty book. Everything that was written here disappeared. I slammed my hand into the book. I was furious when the book suddenly burst into flames.

  "No." I was horrified and tried to extinguish the fire.

  However, the fire did not stop. The book continued to burn, but instead of turning into ash, various letters began to appear here. The letters looked strange. I did not recognize them at all. The fire increased in intensity and the letters glowed, and with the slowly fading fire, it was absorbed into the leaves.

  "What's going on here?!" Fuyu rushes over. I jump in shock and scream.

  "T-That book started to burn and... and... and then it stopped."

  I point at the book with a trembling finger. The white-haired man steps forward and looks at the strange characters. I look at them again and they start to dissolve into normal letters.

  "Oh... Oh my God!" I hold my breath.

  "What's going on?"

  "Didn't you see it? The characters have transformed into normal letters!"

  "No? I still only see those strange characters." I think I'm going crazy. What's going on?

  "It seems to be the language of dragons. And only you can speak it. That's why you can see it. I read about it when we were in Taiyo."

  He propped his chin on his hand and explained. I looked at him. His eyes were closed and he was still thinking. I watched him silently for a while. He didn't say anything, he just kept thinking with his eyes closed. I forgot about reality and just looked at his velvety white skin. He has such beautifully elaborate features. The angels took care of him. And those blue eyes... Wait, I see blue eyes?! Damn it, he's looking at me! I quickly flinch and turn to the book. I have to make up an excuse.

  "Where is Kenji...?" I asked.

  "I haven't seen him since we arrived." I continued, trying to change the subject. I'm actually very worried about him. He hasn't spoken to anyone since the ball. His behavior was different, as if he wasn't the Kenji we all knew here. The only thing he announced was his birthday. And that's tomorrow. I hope we can at least get an explanation at his house...

  "With Aki. They had to go talk."

  "Oh, I see...."

  "So what does it say in that book?" His tone of voice was no longer so icy, but rather inquisitive. I tore my eyes from the floor and began to read aloud.

  "Dragon Spells. Chapter One. Fire. Like fire, these spells are unpredictable. Fire spells are very powerful and effective for offensive strategy. However, I must warn you! Fire dragons are moody and furious, and therefore it is easy to invoke these spells if the guardian is experiencing a strong emotion. The darker the emotion, the stronger the fire, but therefore the more dangerous. Fire dragon spells consume a large amount of magical energy. To strengthen the energy mana, we recommend meditation for strengthening. PS: The fire dragon is untamable and can devour its guardian. Therefore, we recommend controlling your dark emotions."

  "So you must first strengthen your energy. Although your power is very strong and growing, you do not grow with it. So you must grow first."

  "If you haven't noticed, you won't make my six feet any bigger." I couldn't miss this sarcastic hint. He'd said grow a thousand times in his sentence, so how could I have a complex about that?!

  "You're an idiot. I mean energy..."

  Judging by his stony expression, he didn't take it very well. It wasn't funny at all. I'd like to hear him laugh at least once...

  "I was just kidding. There's a note here that says there are a few basic spells here. Like how to create a fireball and the like, but after that, your dragon would help you. And since I can't always talk to my dragons except in dreams. I need to hone this first."

  Fuyu looked me over with a fairly reasonable look. What's up with him lately?

  "Yes. We'll start tomorrow. I'll meditate with you."

  "What? No. I can do it myself and especially tomorrow is Kenji's party..."

  "Alone? Do you know how to meditate properly?"

  "Sure, I'll close my eyes and that's it."

  "Okay. Then you show me and then I'll see." I add, when his unyielding hard gaze doesn't change.

  Fuyu growls and finally relaxes his tense face a little. Whenever he's more angry, his cheekbones stand out. Lost in my thoughts, I suddenly feel someone ruffling my hair. It's that evil giant! I growl in disagreement and quite angrily. He just chuckles and walks away. Sometimes I wonder what's going on in his head.