"Pretty" was a word that Haine could never quite grasp – something he would never be able to understand.

He wasn't stupid, oh no.

If one could put it simply, he had never come across something pretty in his entire life. He definitely came across many other words - words such as bloodthirsty and cruel, savage and horrifying.

Those were words that could correspond to his life best. It was rather sad to think that this was true, but he was not the kind to dwell in his own pity and misfortune.

Still, the book he was currently reading was far too flowery for his own good. What kind of fantasy fairytale crap was this? Damsels in distress, balls and dresses, kisses on hands? He would much rather shrivel up and die than flip to the next page.

The bishop had put him up to reading this and Haine, being the idiot that he was, had (regrettably) accepted.

Hm, there were definitely much better-

Laugher suddenly resounded through the church, interrupting him from his thoughts.

"No, no, not like that!" Naoto had protested, followed by more hushed laughter. "…There, that looks much nicer, doesn't it?"

Haine looked up from the page of his book, and glanced at the two girls sitting a few pews away from him. They were playing with a piece of string – no, a ribbon – and were taking turns tying it in each other's hair.

It was Nill's turn to do Naoto's hair. She untied the ribbon from her long blonde locks, while the other girl sat down and patiently waited. The two girls had known each other for barely a few weeks, yet they were already very fond of each other.

He may have held his gaze on them a tad too long because he suddenly found that Naoto's cold eyes were on him.

"What are you looking at?" She asked coolly.

It was shocking - how quick her expression could change. Even if her gray eyes still contained remnants of light-heartedness, it was almost as if a steely barrier had been put in place now that she was looking at him.

Nill stole a glance over at Haine from behind the girls head and gave an encouraging smile at him.

Huh.

"Nothing." He snapped and slouched in his seat, arms crossed.

He was about to flip open the book and continue reading but then he cringed in disgust, remembering that he did not want anything to do with it anymore.

By now, the young girl already seemed to have completed styling the blade-wielder's short hair.

Naoto, with eyes shining in admiration, held onto a little mirror and examined her new hairstyle.

"Ah, I like it. It's very pretty."

Nill beamed like a flashlight and made little claps with her hands.

Haine on the other hand, couldn't help but roll his eyes.

Pretty?

Girls were a wonder. It seemed that they came across these kinds of things all the time.

For some reason, he found that pretty meant something much bigger, something unimaginable – almost impossible. But there they were, throwing the word around like it was nothing.

Come to think of it, Mimi had once even described Naoto as exactly that. Pretty.

He never saw her for that, though. She was much more.

The winged girl suddenly looked at him then, as if she were asking for his approval.

Naoto questioningly raised her eyebrows at Nill, and then peeked over at him as well.

Haine was at loss for words.

She looked different than from what he was used to, which was typically with her dark hair in disarray, bangs casting shadows over her eyes.

Now it was up and neatly braided on the sides of her head and tied together with a big bow.

He did not know why, but he was having difficulty meeting her eyes.

"Y-yeah, what she said."

Perhaps pretty things were always right under his nose; he just never took the time to recognize them.

WOW! Okay, I never thought I would get around to writing another fic with this pairing. Yet after the latest chapter update, I got this giant spark of muse and I just had to. It's real short and perhaps even a tad shallow, but oh well!