Now that I've finally failed all the exams, I can go back to posting all these chapters that had been written for like four months now. I hope you're all well. I was at my grandmothers last year and there was some village nearby called Hrebenne, so I stole the name and it became a Canadian town with Wizards in it.

So many words!

Mia forgot her dream even before she woke up, slowly blinking in the twilight allowed by the dark blue curtains. She listened to the old pendulum clock tick for a while, enjoying the rare feeling of having slept well.

They let her sleep in, which was nice, she thought. She wondered briefly if walking to breakfast in her pyjamas was going to earn her a nickname, then realized that it didn't matter anyway because she didn't actually know the way to the cafeteria. Wondering the halls, lost, in her pyjamas, was going to do wonders for the Branch's first impression of her.

Even so - surprised that she cared - she threw on her uniform, leaving her flannel pyjama shirt under her coat because it was warm. Deciding to wear boots for safety's sake, she also pulled on some socks, expending a pointless amount of effort to find a matching pair.

Mia scooped Evariste up into her arms and nervously took a deep breath standing in front of her door, noticing an imperfection on the top left corner. She just about managed to read the graffiti scratched roughly into the wood; it said Caitlin.

She found that the corridors weren't as empty as HQ, which was a little counterintuitive and made her wonder whether there was more going on here just because Komui was too far away to shoot down unethical research ideas. Scientists rushed past her every minute or so, not giving her a second glance because obviously no-one would want to talk to her. It was easier on her conscience if she didn't have the opportunity to offend anyone too many times a day.

She was really looking for Nathanael. Ever since their goodbye yesterday, Mia had become unconsciously obsessed with becoming his friend. She decided that he was the only person at the branch that she remotely respected, and right now she needed such a person to show her the way to breakfast.

"Hey! You!" Someone called. She continued to walk, assuming that it wasn't directed at her. A lot of people here were shouting anyways, there was no reason-

"Exorcist!"

Maybe Sokaro is here… but it is unlikely that anyone would use that tone with a general… crap. She stopped and added annoyance to her already grim face before turning to see a white-coated official power-walking towards her. She hugged Evariste to her chest.

"You're Koretnaar, yeah?" The woman asked, not even looking at her over her clipboard and ignoring Mia's carefully prepared expression.

"Yes."

"Great." She checked something off on her clipboard. "Come with me, please."

Mia took a step forward when the official turned her back, but then remembered to be annoying.

"Where?" She asked, like she actually wanted to know. The official turned back to face her, twisting her mouth in a grimace. Her hair was cut short and plain, except for a small brass clip holding back her fringe and revealing a forehead ruled with worry lines. Mia couldn't tell if she was older than she looked or just incredibly tired.

"Chief Epstein wants to see you."

Mia accepted that as a good reason to walk and followed the official, trying and failing to be attentive to what she was saying. She was probably introducing herself, but Mia had already decided that she disliked everyone here (except her guardian angel Nathanael), so there was no need to listen for names. Hearing the word 'breakfast', though, she snapped back into focus.

"What?"

Ev sank his claws painfully into her arm. She stroked his head.

"I said, have you been told where the cafeteria is? Would you like a map?"

Mia swallowed her hate down because at that moment in time a map was something that she was ready to beg for.

"Um, yes. Please."

This sincerity will cost me. The woman smiled quickly and continued to walk at Mia's running pace, until they reached the Chief's office, hidden among desks of scientists hard at work, and their tall monuments of science equipment. The smell of coffee wafted through the air, keeping everyone at their preferred level of zombie.

The scene was not unlike the one at HQ.

"In here," her guide indicated, opening the heavy door unceremoniously, shooing her in and disappearing - giving her a good opportunity to run - but Mia braced herself and took the few steps inside the office.

Renny Epstein looked her up and down and sighed.

"We ask for an Exorcist and they send us a toothpick?"

Mia froze, the words slowly repeating themselves in her head.

We. Ask. For. An. Exorcist.

And. They. Send. Us. A.

Toothpick.

The last one raised in pitch, like a question.

She felt something twist inside her, even before the implication of that simple sentence hit her. It wasn't even the fact that it was difficult to not be scrawny when one was fifteen and malnourished by grief and misery. It was mostly that she hadn't asked to be made into a weapon in the first place, and now they had reduced her to a tiny, disposable object. Toothpick.

Evariste scrambled from her arms.

This is what they think of me, so this is what I am.

She was out of the room in an instant, biting back tears. Kicking the door shut so hard that the lights flickered, she had to cut through a heavy silence to get past the science division. Olivia had been wrong – she wasn't ready for this fight. She would never be. The very soul inside of her felt disgusting, laced with the poisonous crystal that God had cursed her with. Her body didn't belong to her because she was only carrying it around for the sake of the Black Order.

She scratched at her skin but it stayed intact and the shuddering sound of her screaming wasn't loud enough because she was an object and objects couldn't make sound.

Latin words filtered through the wooden door of her room, enveloping it in a ghostly, echoing atmosphere. Mia inadvertently gazed at an iron cross adorning the east-facing wall. The figure nailed to it was being lulled to death by the singing, she saw it swaying to the melody.

She recognized the voice as Nathanael's, then dismissed it as wishful thinking. A Finder had other things to do than comfort a spoilt, broken teenage girl, therefore the lullaby was most likely a figment of her insanity. Her brain indicating that it really was damaged.

She continued pretending to herself that she was about to fall asleep, enjoying the imaginary orchestra and the pain inflicted by Ev snatching at her hair.

When her brain snapped back to reality, Mia was standing at the gates to a grim-looking Canadian town where gargoyles returned her curious gaze with a silent threat. She hissed at them, making Nathanael stiffen beside her.

"They've been known to attack people, you know."

"Good."

For the first time in three days, Mia was aware of her surroundings. Suddenly and incredibly aware, even of Nathanael's barely visible reaction at her rough voice, unused for so long. The heavy scimitar strapped across her back was all at once not a weapon but an apology from a Chief. She searched through her memories for the one when she received it but it was like digging through mud to find clear water.

She noticed Nathanael frowning and asked what was wrong.

"This place doesn't feel right – look how happy everyone is," he pointed out thoughtfully. Confused as to why he was being so negative all of the sudden, she felt an obligation to be contrary.

"People aren't supposed to be sad all the time."

Had he planned this? Was he smirking because he got her to say that sentence out loud? His expressions were a mystery. They walked past a group of laughing youths, dressed eccentrically with a neat streak but it was only when a middle-aged man skipped past them with a hum of a melody that she had to admit that the Finder was right.

"I'm not expecting them to," he said with condescension, "there is something between happy and sad you know."

Mia was about to say emptiness but decided that she was done letting people know how she felt. She looked back at the stone gargoyles for inspiration on how to stay cold-hearted, but they had turned their winged backs on her.

"What's wrong with this town?" It sounded a little less stupid than why are we here? Nathanael gave her another look that she couldn't read and shook his head.

"Do you ever actually listen to what people say?"

Mia considered how to reply so as to not make it seem like she was feeling sorry for herself. True, she'd been dealt some crappy cards lately, but didn't everyone at the Order feel that way? The only difference was that she couldn't deal with it. Wouldn't it be easier not to be a weakling?

She pushed her emotions aside an decided to pay attention. She was making a lot of life-altering decisions today.

Nathanael sighed because she didn't offer a reply.

"Sorry." It was like he apologised out of spite. "A group of masked wizards is trying to take over the town."

She almost laughed out loud but covered her mouth at the last second to hide a grin.

"Can we join them?"

His eyes turned her way quickly so she raised an eyebrow and then tried not to look away. He indicated a sign for a pub some ways down the main street and she nodded.

"I'm sure that was a joke, but going undercover is a plan you could consider."

"Oh," she realized, "you're not a wizard."

Nathanael flinched and her first feeling was anger. She set her feet down a little heavier on the ground, scuffing her boots with dirt. He wanted this? After it ruined my life and so many others, he wants his freedom taken away too? Then she thought that Nathanael wasn't her and that he probably wanted, more than anything, the power to protect those he cared about and possibly the world.

Mia shuffled through her feelings for the fleeting wisp of empathy then tried to amplify it. If I'd known that Akuma existed, if I had known that Ethel was going to die, wouldn't I have sold my soul to save her? It was when Ethel turned to dust that her synchronization became redundant.

Then this is how he feels. Sad, powerless and angry. I should probably avoid mentioning it again.

"Mia?"

"Huh?" She'd completely missed everything he'd been saying, despite her best efforts. Managing to look apologetic, she forgave herself because she knew that it would take time and was already quite proud of the empathy practice round.

"I was saying that you can walk through walls and are invisible anyway, so you don't need to go undercover."

Mia shook her head, her thoughts already questioning whether the street was too dusty to skateboard down in the empty silence of night.

"If they're accommodators they–"

"AAAAAAH!" a child screamed.

Whooooosh - a giant bird flew overhead.

The sky was sparkling and on fire. Mia's heart panicked but she ran towards the smoke, activating her Innocence and shouting something incomprehensible to the Finder. Those were definitely Akuma where the explosions were happening, their souls glowing miserably.

Despite the yelling and fire, people seemed to be running towards the commotion, rather than away from it, which made getting there difficult and finding a safe place to leave her body even more so.

Nathanael grabbed her hand and pulled her through a door to the pub they'd been heading to. Someone tried to elbow past her so she stuck her foot out and tripped them over, making up for all the efforts at niceness from earlier.

She immediately felt better, but donned an innocent look of fear just in case the guy was planning to get revenge, pretending that she couldn't see him sprawled on the sidewalk and cursing.

"You can go," Nathanael let go of her hand as soon as they were sitting at a table, "I'll keep you safe, you should go."

He wore a look of such earnest concern that for a moment she thought that he must be lying.