Ball of Nothing

The tea room was a very small room furnished with only the bare basics. It had practically nothing and no servants were allowed inside the room while the meeting was in session. Shittomi sat on the opposite end of the table while Baal sat beside Zero with his back straight, looking every ounce of regal. Zero tried to copy that posture initially but gave up after his back started hurting and opted for something less rigid but maintaining the same dignity.

"It has been some time since I last saw you, Lord Baal. You've grown."

"Indeed, it has. I owe it all to both yours and Lord Lucifer's guidance."

Zero was mentally shocked at the complete change. Was this the same sloppy Demon Lord who refused to do work and would never change out of his sleepwear? The young doctor had a hard time processing it. If meeting Solo was life-changing, Baal's perfect acting was world-changing.

Shittomi smiled as if Baal's behaviour was the norm. They waited in tense silence as the tea slowly came to a boil in a small teapot on top of the tealight candle burner. Slowly but surely the leaves in the water began to swirl and the colour of the liquid started to change. The fragrance filled the room, easing some of Zero's tension but not his guard. After what he heard about Shittomi from Baal, there was no way he would think that the snow queen only wanted to share a cup of tea with them.

"Alright, showtime's over!" Baal announced loudly startling Zero.

Shittomi then waved her arm and had tight gown completely changed into what looked like woollen sleepwear. Her waist-long hair was now pulled into a neat ponytail and there was a pair of round wire-rimmed glasses on her nose. Baal transformed back into his 'energy-conserving' form in his usual nightie.

Zero's brain couldn't process the change fast enough and gaped like a fish. Shittomi raised a brow at Zero who was now the only person dressed in formal wear. the show was over, why wasn't the kid changing? Baal followed Shittomi's line of sight and snickered at Zero's dumb expression.

"Are you going to continue and stare at blank space or change into your tracksuit?"

Baal's voice snapped the young doctor out of his thoughts. "What's going on?"

Shittomi yawned and snuggled into the table. Ever since the introduction of kotatsus, the icy queen couldn't stay away from it for more than an hour. Baal was certainly one of her favourite guests because of it. While Shittomi was known to be a very unsociable butterfly to outsiders, the people in her inner circle knew how much of a cat she was. The ice queen loved warm places, enjoyed food and sleep more so than average people and just wanted to spend her free time lazing in bed with a good book in hand. That icy persona was built by Lucifer who thought it would benefit the snow ghost who was often easily taken advantage of. Her kindness made it easy for people to worm their way in and hurt her.

"Don't be so sulky... that was all for show. You can relax now. So, tell me more about Half Moon village. My sister left me behind so suddenly, I'm still very sad that she chose to walk the path of humanity. What did the last few centuries of sisterhood mean to her? If it wasn't because of your meddling to absorb sins, I wouldn't have to take in so many baby foxes!"

Zero didn't know what to say when Shittomi started to blabber away. He didn't know when she pulled out a bottle of alcohol but he was more stunned at the sight of Baal refilling her empty cup. What happened to the tea?

"Hic-! Qian Qiu is such a vixen... hic! What does sisterhood even mean with men in the equation? Hic! All males should simply perish... I should have a castle full of adorable girls and none of those stinky men around to taint their beauty... hic! What's so good about men anyway? There are only trash and secretly trash- hic!"

Zero didn't know how to respond to that verbal vomit. He looked to Baal for help who only shook his head and handed her a handkerchief while the snow queen cried ice balls. She didn't have anything to wipe away with how all here tears were turning into the most beautiful ice crystals. All he picked up from that was something about sisterhood and Half Moon village.

"Can I ask, who is this Qian Qiu person? Does she reside in Half Moon village? I could pass them a message if you want..."

Baal smacked his forehead literally when Zero said that. If the teen kept his mouth shut, the storm could easily have passed with just some tears, drunken drama and all would be well. Leave it to Zero to point out the elephant in the room as always.

It took Shittomi some time to process what Zero was saying and the results were priceless. The tears stopped, the gloomy weather outside cleared and there were at least five rainbows in the sky now. From the outer town, some undead had to hide indoors again. Others wondered what happened to make their queen so happy. Rumours were beginning to circulate but Zero wasn't privy to their details. He only paid attention to Baal's face that looked as if he just swallowed some fish bile.

"Do you really mean it?"

Zero was suddenly unsure if he should say yes. After two moments of hesitation, he nodded his head and Shittomi squealed before jumping over the kotatsu and launching herself into his arm, nuzzling into his neck.

Baal rolled his eyes as Zero yelped at the sudden attack. If he thought that the last visit would progress smoothly, he should've known. Shittomi was going to be a real handful and now Baal felt like he had to babysit two children.

"What did I do to deserve this?" he sighed and watched as Shittomi stuffed the half-emptied bottle of wine in Zero's mouth. At the sight of an intoxicated Zero, Baal threw his hands up and walked out. He wasn't going to deal with them until they were both drunk and out of commission.

***

Shiro glanced at the teenager who was the reason why their leader chose to abandon them. Hatred bloomed in her heart but she suppressed it. Queen Shittomi did say that they will be given a chance to test and torment him after all.

Baal noticed the intruder's presence but decided to pretend to be asleep. Thankfully, she had enough sense to leave without trying anything funny. He did promise Shittomi not to cause trouble for her but if anyone tried to hurt Zero, blood will be spilt.

Once the fox spirit left, Baal decided to leave the room. Shittomi was many things but a fool she was not. Most important discussions would never be held during the day, that was merely a show to fish out the traitors and those who weren't loyal.

"You're here," Shittomi greeted as Baal closed the secret wall. They were in her library and Shittomi poured Baal a cup of snow flower tea.

Baal nodded in greeting and accepted the tea gratefully. It was still freezing despite the temperature regulating magic. In the Envy domain, Shittomi's area effect was very powerful. Not even Lucifer would remain unaffected if he chose to stay in the domain for more than a week. The melancholic chill starts to seep into the soul after a while.

"What are you planning?"

Shittomi smiled. She heard a lot about Baal's special friendship with Zero. The teenager didn't appear to be much at first but after a brief tea/alcohol session, she knew could understand why Baal and Qin Yun were so charmed by him. Shittomi had to admit, Zero was the light that the Great One could never become. It was funny how fate worked.

"Nothing much. I'm just using him to sort out the mess left behind by my dear sister."

Baal felt his eyebrow twitch. He didn't like how Shittomi admitted to using Zero like a tool so easily. Of course, the snow queen meant nothing bad by it but Baal still bristled at it.

"Don't be so worked up, have some faith in the young doctor. The fox spirit village reveres Qian Qiu as their leader a lot. For her to pursue her dreams and leave them all behind can be quite the shock. I am happy for my sister and friend of many years but she could've given us more warning. While I'm not interested in the business collaboration you and Mammon have, I am keen on borrowing that connection portal to Half Moon village from time to time."

Baal rolled his eyes. "What are we going to do with the foxes? You do know that the option to travel to and fro Earth will be implemented at the later stages right? Lucifer does intend to open up options of inter-plane travelling. Zero's terraforming plan would require all the helping hands we can get. Our economy needs a severe boost."

Shittomi looked slightly offended at that. "Of course, I do! Even Amon has started training demon warrior to be more mercenary-like. I'm just training my girls to blend in with the Earthlings more. It's all coming together nicely... These foxes just need a little more easing into the dealings, you know?"

Baal wasn't buying it but didn't call her bluff outrightly. Shittomi sulked. "You're no fun!" she declared.

"Alright, I'm only doing it because the girls want to test Zero themselves. If he passes their tests they have a favour to ask him."

"And if he doesn't?"

Shittomi shrugged. "I guess we'll just have to find out, won't we?"

Baal made a face but let it drop. He would find out tomorrow for himself what these girls wanted.