Luju was gone before she had time to react. She just stood there alone on the grounds in stunned disbelief. Was she really home? The night was cold, it being Vermont in winter she was lucky there wasn't snow on the ground, but the chill in the air helped convince her she was home. she savored it for a moment, even though she wasn't dressed near warm enough for the weather. She didn't even have a jacket. Still she loved it. She was home, words could not describe her elation. Eventually, she went inside and surprised her parents. They were full of questions and she lied brilliantly. They'd had a joyful reunion, even though Nell was crying through most of it. Her parents took it as a sign of how truly she'd missed home.

A couple of days later, a bit of the disbelief had worn off for Nell. Though she was waking up nightly in cold sweats after having terrible nightmares of agents from Shokushu coming and taking her back. There was apparently a world of trauma she was going to have to recover from and for the most part she would have to do it alone. The only person who knew the truth of what she had experienced at school was Luju and she was still confused about her feeling towards him. She was grateful for what he had done but she was still in shock over the sudden change in his personality. She didn't know this Luju and she didn't know how to react to him. She'd have to figure it out soon because the couple of days he'd promised her were up.

She meandered around the garden on her own around noon and wondered when Luju would appear. She had turned down going shopping with her mother because she wanted to wait for him. When he didn't turn up the instant her parents both left the house she began to worry. What if Ria had caught him and dragged him back to Shokushu? What if he was being tortured by the administation for being a traitor? If he had been captured did that mean it would only be a matter of time before they came looking for her too and making her nightmares a reality? "Oh god, Luju, where are you?"

Once he had made good his escape, the demon had returned from the relative safety of the 'dream' he had created and into the dangers of the maze to confront his sister. It was an confrontation that left him in a much worse state than the maze had managed to achieve so far. But he had managed to establish some sort of uneasy truce between the two of them, getting her to get off his back in order to allow him his little game, and in exchange, he would have to do anything she asked for a while. There was also the added benefit of her being willing to allow the two of them out of the maze if he made it as entertaining as possible for her. That condition hadn't been too difficult for the demon to accept; it was precisely what he wanted, after all.

After that, he had taken the opportunity to rest up for a bit before returning to the illusion he had made for the student, watching from afar as she went through what she believed was her life before the nightmare that was Shokushu. It had been most amusing to explore the girl's memories brought to 'life', poking around and seeing everything there was to see while keeping out of sight. All too easy when the entire thing was entirely under one's control, after all. Then, there were the times where she would wake up in the middle of the night, frightened by nightmares or something. Well, it was just another thing to explore later on. He'd have to show up eventually, he knew. As fun as it had been to spy on Nell and the people around her, it was getting old rather quick.

So here he was, hanging out in the garden, hidden in one of the trees. He had been watching her move around the garden, after overhearing her turn down the opportunity to go out with her mother. He knew no one would bother them now, even with the parents out of the house. Well, now was as good a time as any, he decided. Plus, there was the fact, as amusing as it was, that she was beginning to look worried. Yup, that was Nell for you, one to worry about people. Even bastards like him. Ah, he had certainly performed well, hadn't he? It wasn't long before he dropped out of the tree, feet hitting the soft grass that felt so real even to the demon. "Right here, Nell."

Nell nearly jumped out of her skin when the demon suddenly lept out of a nearby tree and answered her question. "Oh god, Luju, you scared me half to death!" She stared at him quizzicially for a moment as though inspecting him for injuries. "You looking... better." A sudden awkwardness overtook her and she was unsure what else to say suddenly though there was at least one thing she really ought to say. "Luju, you...ummm... you left so suddenly the other day... I-I didn't get the chance to thank you..."

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." The monster looked around somewhat, scratching the back of his head, as if it was his way of seeming embarrassed. When things got awkward, the demon merely acted as if he found something else, like a bush perhaps, interesting at the moment rather than press the issue. Naturally, it was all part of his act, and he even managed to get a sort of nervous posture going, yet partially covering it up with the usual bravado. It was a disguise that anyone with as much experience with him would have noticed, and he was banking on that fact. "You don't have to thank me. This was what you wanted, right? I'm just trying to make up for it. Uh, is everything all right? Your parents didn't give you a hard time, did they? Ah, is it fine if I come around? I mean, I wouldn't blame you if you'd rather I didn't bother you again."

"No! I mean..." Nell hesitanted for a moment, unsure what to say. "Umm... What I mean to say is, I don't want you to leave. Y-you're the only person I don't have to lie to... Unlike my parents... I think they bought the story I told them about leaving school because I was home sick. The truth is far more painful and if you... If you leave then I'll no one to confide in. But... I-I don't know what sort of relationship we'll have... If we want to hide your connection with Shokushu then we shouldn't introduce you to my parents yet."

She paused and looked the demon over again. "You said that taking on you human disguise takes up a lot of energy right? I don't want you to have to burden yourself with that if you don't have to... I mean, it's okay for now. My parents are out for the day and the only servants who come out here are the gardeners and it being winter we have less need for those right now..." She paused again before asking. "Have you had time to recover completely?"

The monster listened, staring back at Nell as she spoke, amused at how she was going on and on like that about things that he hadn't really had any interest in but... Ah, women. For the sake of his little prank, he would play along still. Luju leaned back against the tree he had been chilling out in recently, still watching the student. When the student had assured him that there was no one around so he could drop his disguise, the demon thought it an odd thing but then supposed that perhaps the real thing was always preferable to a lie. The irony wasn't lost on him as he dispelled his human image, swapping it in for his true form. It hadn't really been all that taxing to use a human disguise but who was he to complain? "More or less, Nell. I recovered enough, I suppose. How about you, though? Six months isn't a lot to most people, but on that island... It's hell, I know. If there's anything you need, all you need to do is just ask me..."

Nell bowed her head shyly and shook her head. "I don't need anything..." Why the hell was she suddenly being shy? It must be the trauma. She sighed heavily and turned away from Luju. It was still hard to let him see her when she felt this vulnerable. "At least, nothing that you could really give me... You can't give me peace of mind. It's only been two days and this all still feels unreal to me. I'm still afraid... I..." She grasped for words to explain her unease. Some part of her was still not convinced that she was really home. She kept thinking that any minute now she'd wake up and feel a fool for daring to hope. She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. "I'm sure my fears will lessen in time but right now I... I just... I just wish I could feel safe."

"You're afraid that it's just a dream."

Luju smiled inwardly, amused at this turn of events, at the revelation of her fears. One would have believed her to be pleased to have escaped, and even Luju would have thought the same. But at the same time, he wasn't surprised. Nell had always been the sensible one, unless she had her buttons pressed. She was never one to let go of doubts that easily, he could tell. The demon merely left it at that for the moment being, allowing things to drag out a bit. No sense in rushing anything, after all. Doing that just might ruin it all.

Then he pushed away from the tree, making his way toward the student that had turned her back toward him. It was then, once he as behind Nell, that the demon closed his arms around her body, settling them in just under her own arms. Even in winter, a monster like him felt quite warm, which was probably obvious due to his origins. Still, with him acting the way he was, the heat would have felt reassuring."But it's not a dream, Nell." With her in front of him, he judged it safe to smirk a bit. 'No, more like a nightmare...'

The monster held her even closer, as if trying to prove through physical contact that it was all real. "You're home, I promise. I know it isn't easy to put everything that happened behind you, so I won't say something insensitive like just cheer up or look on the bright side. I know it was hard. But you made it through, didn't you? You've always been made out of stronger stuff, Nell."

"That's why I'm here now, though. It's not because I have nowhere to go. It's because there's nowhere else I want to be. It's because I'd rather be your knight, and because I'd rather you be my princess." Oh, if this kept up, he was going to hurl. And somewhere, he just fucking knew Ria was laughing her ass off.

Nell leaned back against the warmth of Luju's body and hugged his arm around her. "I never wanted to be a princess in need of rescuing. I just wanted to be a normal woman with a normal life." She turned around in his arm and twined her own around his waist and buried her face in his chest. "I'm afraid I can't have 'normal' anymore but I'd like to try for a close approximation. I don't want a knight in shining armor. I want to just be a simple woman with the one who loves her. Then maybe I can forget about all the horrors that came before this."

Well, there were times when you felt like an idiot, where the answer was dangling in front of your eyes and went ignored because your head was so far up your ass. This was one of those times for Luju. He supposed he should have seen it coming. Before coming to Shokushu, anyone might have great expectations for the future.

Once you had dealt with the hidden horrors of the accursed island, you would start appreciating all the little things, like peace or sanity. Even normalcy as well. The monster allowed the student to bury her face against him, slightly disconcerted with this sort of contact. He was far too used to being so dominant and not... nice. "Screw getting as close to normal as possible. We'll just redefine normal, Nell."

With that, Luju eased the girl back enough to have her look up at him. "Your parents aren't around, right? How about a tour? Or we could do something else. Whatever you'd like to do, Nell." The demon could see that it was at least something of a rough subject and one that wouldn't do well with further ruminating upon.

Nell shook her head. "There are still servants inside the house and if they see me bringing a strange man into the house they are sure to have question. It might even get back to my parents." Nell pulled away now and looked around for a moment trying to decide what to do. "We probably should get in out of the cold though. We could go to the guest house. No one is using it at the moment so it'll be safe to hide out there and it'll be warm."

"Strange man, eh? Well, I suppose the horns would seem slightly out of place..." The demon shrugged. He was liking where this was going now and saw no point in getting in the way of the student's thinking. "All right, the guest house it is then. Lead the way, Nell." Luju grinned as he held his hand out for her to take. It also felt refreshing as well for him to not be so corny now; he'd just have to relax and enjoy himself for the time being, as seeing as he was basically playing around in someone's 'dream' at this point.

Nell smiled and led Luju towards the secluded guest house on eastern side of her parents' property. In was quite small in comparasion to the main house but it was still bigger than most houses. The inside was dark and slightly chilled from the lack of use but Nell immediately set about turning on lights and the heater before settling down on the faux fur rug in front of the fireplace in the living room and being to start a fire. "The place warms up really quick." She assured him as she starting stacking wood in the hearth. "Go ahead and make yourself comfortable for now."

The demon allowed himself to be led, putting up no resistance at all.

Instead, the monster remained quiet as he was led to the eastern part of the estates, looking around as he realized that he hadn't actually explored around the area much, apart from brief glances around. Well, that in itself was a good thing, he supposed. At least, it meant that he wouldn't have to act surprised or interested in seeing anything the girl decided to show him.

Coming up to another building, Luju could see the difference in between the guest house and the larger building that served as home for Nell and her family. Still saying nothing, the monster followed her into the guest house.

It was chilly.

That was the first thing he thought as he looked around. Chilly enough, even despite his body warmth. He watched as she went about turning the lights and the heater on and started putting wood in the fire place, intent on warming the place up some more. Luju didn't complain. It would only set the mood up for him anyway.

Upon hearing the student telling him to make himself comfortable, the monster smirked. Instead of finding a couch or any sort of chair to seat himself on, Luju eased forward, settling down onto his knees just behind the student, his arms sliding around her stomach. The demon pressed himself quite close to his unsuspecting victim, smirking all the while.

Then he regained his composure. "Mhmm, very comfortable."

Nell shouldn't have been surprised really by the lust demon's seizing even the smallest window for a chance to get closer to her. But the intimacy of Luju's action did suddenly make her feel nervous. If she were being honest with herself she would have admitted that she had been half hoping something would happen between them when she'd decided to lead him to the secluded guest house. Still she hadn't expected Luju to make such a bold move so quickly. Though, granted, she probably should have...

She tugged his arm away from her waist and attempted to put some distance between them. "Luju, wait until I start the fireplace going." She started reaching for tinder to add to the fireplace.