All the drama at the end of that last chapter! For those unfamiliar, 'whodunnit' is a colloquial term (slang) for a murder mystery or suspense piece, usually following the perspective of the police. I'm curious to know if peoples outside of England use this term too.

Whodunnit.

Yao Wangs siblings rallied spectacularly at the news of his attack; Kiku came back from Oxford University; Yong Soo cancelled his long awaited trip to Korea; Mei even flew back in from Paris. There had to be a dozen of them sorting out Yaos insurance, taking control of his businesses, sorting out rotas and keeping all his employees calm in his absence. Needless to say, everything was closed in the immediate aftermath of the incident, although his staff couldn't really consider it a holiday under the circumstances.

The Chinnaty Club, understandably, was closed. As he worked there most, Yong Soo was technically in charge now, but he was less than keen to step foot on the premises, even without the police tape over the entrance and his brothers blood staining the carpet. For Arthur, explaining the goings on to the twins was the hardest part – even the adults weren't quite sure what was happening, how could they explain it to the children?

The police had no leads. All the staff, without exception, were being questioned, which was a little awkward for policeman Vash, since Lily was still a waitress at the Chinnaty Club – needless to say, she was exonerated immediately. There was no money missing from the club, no sign of a break in. The only things missing were a handful of security tapes, and not only from the night in question. After balancing the books, Kiku confirmed that no embezzlement had gone on, so the police were at a loss to what the possible motive could have been. Influential and well beloved businessman Yao Wang had no enemies.

Arthur chewed on the end of his cigarette, his fourth that day, as he stared blankly at the television. The stress of everything going on was too much for Matthew, who had gotten quite sick, and currently had his head on his brothers lap as they watched cartoons, wrapped up in his duvet. Alfred had taken the opposite track, playing up in frustration of events he couldn't understand to the point that Patrick and Owen had taken him away for the week to get away from it all. Matthew had been invited to go, but clung to Arthur and Francis as rocks in a confusing time. Jeanne demanded that her adult sons return home immediately until the perpetrator had been caught, and it had taken Francis hours to convince her that they weren't in any danger.

"Arthur." Matthew called quietly "That smells really bad."

With a huff, he stubbed out the cigarette, immediately wanting to light another one. Luckily for them both, he had run out. Back in the kitchen, Elizavetta pottered about, going oddly maternal towards Arthur and the twins since the incident, taking care of the house and meals while Francis was at work, despite the fact Arthur was more than capable of doing both.

Ivan wasn't handling the situation well – the old man was like a father to him for one, and for the other he knew well that it could easily have been him in the office that night. He was one of the first to be questioned, but as no motive could be found – not to mention his future was pretty much dependant on being on the old mans good side – he was ruled out as a suspect.

They hadn't questioned Arthur yet. He didn't know what to say – telling the truth would make him suspect number one, but if he didn't tell the truth and they found out later it would be worse. He was losing sleep over it, not able to think of any way this would end in his favour. He didn't do it, and he didn't know who had – he didn't want to think that someone he worked with was capable of stabbing someone.

With a light knock on the open front door, Antonio crept in.

"Hey, evening." he greeted quietly "How's our little man feeling?"

"He's not asleep." Arthur informed him, patting the boys fluffy blond head "And there's not really any change."

"Aww."

The Spaniard knelt down in front of the sofa so he was the same level as the sick child, taking his pale hand.

"I bought you something tasty to eat." he told Matthew "My mother made it when she heard you were sick, so it's super good for you as well. Are you hungry now or do you want it later?"

Matthew shook his head, snuggling it a little further into Arthurs lap.

"I'm tired." he answered quietly.

"Okay, I'll put this in the fridge for you."

Antonio stood and joined Lizzie in the kitchen.

"You want to go to bed for a while?" Arthur asked.

"Will you read me a story?"

"Of course."

Matthew was getting a little big to carry, but Arthur couldn't help but spoil him a little while he was sick. He sat with the child maybe an hour, reciting what he could remember from Peter Pan in a low voice until Matthew fell asleep. He was tired himself, but his mind was still reeling so he couldn't relax. He left Matthews door ajar as he went back downstairs to find the living room full – Francis had returned home and bought Gilbert with him. Stood in the foyer was Vash, in full uniform, along with another policeman in glasses that Arthur had never met. Vash wore his usual displeased expression as he spied Arthur at the top of the stairs.

"Good evening, Arthur." he greeted.

"My turn, eh?" he sighed.

"Afraid so."

Arthur sighed again, resigned to getting it over with as he slunk down the stairs. He still didn't know what to say.

"This is Cameron." Vash introduced, gesturing to his partner "He's new in town, so be nice. Cameron, this is Arthur Kirkland – former delinquent, you'll only have to deal with him when he's drunk. He's mostly harmless."

"S... should you really be telling me that in front of him?" Cameron questioned.

Arthur couldn't help but laugh – Vash was the one that needed to be nice to him, it seemed: his sheer bluntness took a while to get used to.

"I hear your little brother is ill." Vash said as Arthur got to the bottom on the stairs "Do you need me to to send Lily over to look at him?"

"He doesn't cope well with stress." Arthur admitted "He'll be okay when this is all over."

"Alright. Do you have a place we can talk?"

Arthur gestured to the sofa. Cameron seemed surprised when the other four adults made no intention to move from the room.

"Get used to that." Vash suggested "One persons cold is everyones cold in Hetalia."

Lizzie sat herself in the armchair, Gilbert perching on the arm. Francis sat on the sofa with Arthur, Antonio standing behind them while Vash took up the other armchair, Cameron standing awkwardly at the side.

"We'll keep this short." Vash announced "Did you attack Yao Wang?"

"Oi!" Antonio immediately objected "There's such a thing as too blunt, you know!"

Cameron cleared his throat in agreement. Vash huffed and changed tack.

"Where were you three nights ago?" he asked.

"With Ivan." Arthur admitted.

"No surprise there." Vash sighed "All night?"

"Until about 4am."

Vash raised an eyebrow.

"What happened at 4am? Did you and Ivan have a fight?"

"Nothing like that." Arthur said immediately "I'm on the day shift right now and he's working lates, so he's used to being up all night. If I want any sleep before my shift I have to leave early."

Cameron made a note. Vash examined Arthur closely.

"Do you usually leave around 4am?" he asked.

"Usually earlier." Francis answered for him "He normally gets back around midnight."

"Uh-" Cameron started.

"They're brothers." Vash interrupted "So why did you leave late that night?"

"We resent your implications!" Antonio growled, putting his hands on Arthurs shoulders "You have some reason to suspect him, come out and say it!"

Vashs eyes went to Antonio, and the two stared each other down. Arthur could feel Antonios hands tense on his shoulders as he got more wound up. Vash didn't back down.

"Mr Wang was attacked at around 4.15 in the morning." he admitted, soliciting a horrible silence from the group "Ivans place is around a 15 minute walk from the Chinnaty Club, isn't it?"

"More or less." Arthur grumbled.

"The Chinnaty Club is a 25 minute walk from here." Francis interjected "Arthur got home around 4.30."

"That doesn't add up." Cameron pointed out.

"There's a a shortcut over the river." Vash told him "You can't get to the Chinnaty Club that way, but you can get from here to the campus quickly. There's a security camera on the end of the bridge, so we'll know soon enough how long it took you to get home. By the way, would you mind holding this a moment?"

Vash pulled a shaft out of his pocket – it was wrapped in plasticine. What the hell was it? Arthur reached for it, but Antonio pulled him back.

"If you want his prints, do it the proper way!" he barked.

"We have his prints." Vash pointed out "After that joyriding incident."

"They should have been expunged when he turned 18!"

"25." Gilbert interrupted, earning him a glare from Antonio.

"The previous Chief of Police – his grandfather – extended the deadline for juvenile offenders." Vash explained "And his finger prints would be useless to us anyway – he works there, we'd fully expect to find his prints."

"Then what's the deal with that?" Antonio demanded, gesturing to the shaft.

"Humour me." Vash requested.

Before Antonio could argue more, Arthur took the shaft, holding it for a moment. Vash openly examined him.

"You have surprisingly large hands." he mentioned.

He took the shaft from Arthur while Cameron made more notes.

"Forgive me for asking Vash, but what exactly was the point of that?" Francis asked.

"This is the same size as the handle of the weapon we recovered from the scene." he explained "Whoever's responsible has fairly small hands – we found the prints of a thumb and all four fingers on it, but they were too smudged to be useful."

"Should you be telling them this?" Cameron asked "We haven't eliminated him yet..."

"Arthur didn't do it." Vash said certainly "We're only here for formalities sake."

"With all due respect, you don't know that!" Cameron insisted.

"He's not smart enough to have removed the security tapes." Vash knew "His hands and feet are too large to fit with what he found at the scene."

"You're saying too much!" Cameron hissed.

"So it was a woman?" Lizzie interrupted.

"Possibly." Vash admitted, causing Camerons jaw to drop open in disbelief "Or a small man. Arthurs hands and feet are surprisingly large for someone of his size, but if it was a man he'd be around the same height."

Vash turned back to Arthur, and again he felt Antonios hands tighten on his shoulders.

"Do you work with anyone around the same height as you?" he asked "Perhaps shorter?"

Arthur thought a moment.

"Any of Mr Wangs siblings." he supposed "Except Yong Soo. Lots of women work for him, so I couldn't say-"

"Lily has smaller hands than him." Antonio pointed out "She has pretty fucking small hands."

Vash openly glared at him. Cameron made more notes, glancing between the two of them.

"One more question." Vash promised, finally taking his eyes off Antonio "For forms sake: do you have any reason to dislike Mr Wang?"

"Of course he doesn't." Antonio answered for him "Mr Wang's a good man, and he's done a lot for Arthur. There's no reason at all to suspect him."

Antonios attitude wasn't helping – if anything, he was making Arthur more tense. Vash, however, seemed satisfied, and led Cameron out fairly shortly. Arthur was somewhat relieved – if what Vash said was true, he had never been a suspect. He hadn't had to come clean about... about the whole situation. Antonio practically slammed the door closed behind the officers.

"Nice keeping a level head there." Francis criticised "Piss off the investigating officers, why don't you?"

"There's no evidence!" Antonio snapped "They shouldn't have been here in the first place!"

"They were here because there was no evidence." Gilbert pointed out "It's just routine."

"It's bullshit."

"On the plus side, they've eliminated Arthur." Lizzie said.

"You don't actually believe that?" Antonio grumbled "You don't honestly think the size of his hands is enough to get him off?"

"Antonio, that's enough!" Francis snapped "You aren't helping!"

Antonio marched back over, grabbed one of Arthurs hands and measured it against his own.

"Fuck, you do have big hands." he grumbled "Bigger than mine."

"You said that doesn't prove anything." Lizzie reminded him sternly.

"Antonio, what's wrong with you?!" Francis demanded, getting to his feet and taking his friend by the shoulder "Why are you so wound up? Are you getting scared of being alone in restaurant at night?"

"No-one's got any reason to stab me." Antonio snapped, shrugging him off.

"You think someone had a reason to stab Mr Wang?" Francis gasped, clearly taken aback.

A heavy, pregnant silence filled the space between them. Francis looked between his friends and brother, none of which looked him in the eye. Knowing which buttons to press, he turned to the wound up Antonio.

"Toni..."

"It's nothing." he snapped again "But... whoever did stab Wang... well, I don't blame them."

"You know something." Francis knew.

"I don't know nothing."

"You want me to get Vash back here?" Francis threatened "After that crack about Lily, I'm sure he'd love to cross examine you!"

"I didn't stab Wang!"

"Then why are you so upset?!"

"BECAUSE I WANTED TO SLIT HIS THROAT!"

Antonios green eyes were ablaze, glaring at the floor as his shoulders heaved in frustration. Francis could only gape at him in confusion, Lizzie and Gilbert suspiciously quiet. It didn't take Arthur long to figure out – Gilbert had told him, and judging by Lizzies non-reaction, he had told her as well. Arthur glared at him, but the albino was more concerned about Antonio.

"I was going to go." he admitted through gritted teeth, still staring at the ground "And I might have stabbed him if I had. I might have slit his throat and cut off his hands and displayed his head on a pike, but I didn't. I never got there." he took a deep breath, exhaling slowly "Romano had a bad dream... he has these terrible nightmares... He was crying, so... I couldn't leave. I fell asleep, and when I woke up it was too late – someone else got there first."

"But why, Toni?" Francis implored, taking his friends shoulder and spinning him around "I don't understand why. Was he bankrupting you? Was he trying to take the restaurant?"

"You think I'd stab a man over money?" Antonio grumbled "It's none of your business, Francis, so just stay out of it!"

"Of course it's my business!" Francis insisted "You're my friend, and there's something clearly wrong! Why won't you tell me?"

"It doesn't matter."

"It does matter! A man has been stabbed!"

"It's more than he deserves!"

Lizzie stood suddenly, startling them all. She looked at them with serious eyes.

"A man's been stabbed." she repeated "He may yet die. The time for secrets is over – we can't handle this in isolation anymore."

She looked at Arthur, who couldn't help but jump a little under the hard stare.

"I heard Matthew shuffling around upstairs." she announced "Why don't you go see if he's okay?"

Arthur took the subtle kindness – he didn't want to be around for the talk, to hear his pathetic situation summed up for a third party. He left immediately, Lizzie closing the living room door behind him. He found Matthew coming out of the bathroom, wiping his eyes and yawning.

"Still sleepy?" he asked.

"My chest feels tight." he complained.

Arthur knelt down and checked his temperature – he was a little warm, his lavender eyes cloudy.

"Can you breathe okay?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Does it hurt bad?"

Matthew didn't answer, but pulled a pathetic face and put his arms around Arthurs neck.

"Can I sleep in your bed?"

Arthurs heart nearly exploded from how cute he was. He scooped him up and carried him into his room, tucking him under the sheets before wiping his fluffy hair out of his face.

"Do you want your bear?" he asked.

"Uh-huh."

"I'll go get it."

Arthur went to leave, but Matthew grabbed his hand and refused to let go. The big brother couldn't help but chuckle a little.

"You don't want you bear?" he teased.

Matthew just squeezed his hand.

"My chest hurts." he complained again "Can I have a hug?"

Arthur kicked off his slippers and lay down on the bed, putting a comforting arm around his belly (so as not to put any weight on his chest).

"When with Al be back?" the little boy asked.

"He'll be back on Thursday." Arthur promised "Knowing that brother of ours, he's going to bring you back all kinds of sweets and stuff."

"I don't want sweets." Matthew mumbled.

"You want another story?"

"'Kay."

"What kind of story?"

"A princess story."

"Okay. Once upon a time..."

The house was unpleasantly quiet. Arthur heard nothing from downstairs, and he wasn't sure if he liked that or not. Matthew had fallen asleep again, breathing lightly, but threatened to wake up if he tried to move his arm, trapping him on the bed. Not that he wanted to get up – he didn't want to face Francis, knowing what kind of face he would be pulling, looking at him like he was some pathetic creature.

When exactly had Gilbert told those two? Why had he told them? That being said, Arthur supposed it was inevitable: he had asked Gilbert not to tell Francis, but he said nothing about Lizzie and Antonio. He supposed it was only a matter of time. Everyone would know soon. He didn't want them to know. He wanted to curl up into a ball and forget it had ever happened. He shouldn't have told Gilbert – if he had waited just a week, the secret would have died with Yao when he was stabbed. Although he was still alive, but it was touch-and-go – men of his age didn't recover from trauma easily. He wanted him to die, and that knowledge killed a little piece of him. It was the only way this would be over.

The bedroom door opened. Arthurs back was to it, so he didn't see who it was. They stood there for a moment, just watching him, and he knew it had to be Francis. He was right – without a word, Francis walked over to the other side of the bed, kicked off his shoes and lay down on Matthews other side. Arthur couldn't look at him, concentrating on his little brothers sleeping face. He startled a little as when Francis touched his face, hooking a tuft of hair behind his ear, finally looking up at him. It was a difficult sight – he was pale, eyes bloodshot and pleading like he was begging Arthur to tell him it wasn't true. He looked back at Matthew. He heard Francis choke down a sob, palm shaking he he tangled his fingers in Arthurs hair.

"So all of you work for Mr Wang?" Cameron clarified.

"That's correct." Katyusha confirmed.

"That's not unusual." Vash told him "Mr Wang's the towns biggest employer, there are families with 3 generations that work for him. If you can't get a job with him or Nordics Frozen Foods, you can't get a job in Hetalia."

"Company town." Cameron muttered, making more notes.

"How's Natalya taking this?" Vash asked, sipping the coffee she had made for him.

"She's bereft." the lady admitted "This kind of thing just doesn't happen around here."

"Is it alright for us to question her?" he asked "She's technically a minor, so we can't question her without you or Ivan present."

Katyusha stole a look at Ivan – he sat slumped in the armchair, drink in hand, staring at the floor. He wasn't handling events well, and she was growing increasingly concerned. Natalya was no different – she rarely spoke, hardly ate, and locked herself in her room at any occasion.

"There's no need to question Natalya." she informed the officers "She was with Lily until late, then she came home – past her curfew. Our security system keeps track of when people activate and deactivate it, so I can give you the records if you need."

"That's not necessary." Vash assured "Lily told me very much the same. You handle the management of the entertainment chain, don't you?"

"I handle the restaurants and catering." she confirmed "But not the entertainment venues."

"So you don't manage the Chinnaty Club?"

"Ivan and Yong Soo were taking care of it – kind of like a work-study program."

"So you wouldn't know if anything was missing?"

"I'm afraid not."

"Do you ever go to the Chinnaty Club?"

"On occasion – it's closed during the day, so it's a good place to hold meetings with the staff and managers. It has the safest cash office, so a lot of our book keeping is done there."

"Does Natalya ever go there?" Vash asked carefully.

"Every now and then – she's not old enough to work there, but if she's in the area she may pop in and say hi."

Vash finished his coffee, which Cameron took as his signal to put his notebook away.

"We've taken up enough of your time." he apologised "We're sorry to call so late."

"Not at all – let me see you out."

Katyusha left Ivan where he was, showing the officers to the door. They all stopped awkwardly in the foyer.

"Do you... have any clues?" Katyusha asked.

"We have some leads." Vash admitted "But there's nothing to worry about."

They were interrupted by Camerons phone starting to holler. He apologised and took it outside, closing the door gently.

"We don't think there's a threat to the general public." Vash went on "But if you feel unsafe at work at night, we'd be more than happy to send an officer around."

"That's very kind of you, Vash."

"Goodnight, Katyusha."

Outside, Vash waited for Cameron to finish his call, examining the unhappy expression on the tall mans face.

"They've found something." Cameron confirmed as he hung up "At his house. You're not going to like it."

Vash glared unhappily at the whiteboard, trying to decipher secrets from the random words and names written upon it. The weapon: an ice pick – something many bars and restaurants have lying around, often in multiples. It was branded with the Chinnaty Clubs logo, so there was no doubt it had come from the scene. A crime of passion? Had his assailant grabbed whatever was at hand? It was someone he knew, someone who he trusted enough to let them into his office.

The forensics report made for a disturbing read – he had been stabbed 8 times, the first seven shallow and haggard, missing most vital organs . It was the eighth stab that did the damage – it was stronger, cleaner, aimed right at his heart, and would have killed him if not for a small metal staple left over from a previous operation. Had the assailant, in a blind panic or rage, stabbed him seven times before calming down sufficiently to stab him that eighth time and remove the surveillance tapes and their fingerprints? That didn't add up.

The time of the attack: 4.15am. Who in the town of Hetalia was up that time of night? The Chinnaty Club closed at 3, the staff would be gone by half past. The only things open 24 hours in Hetalia were the petrol station and the supermarket, but they did such a poor trade at those times that the locals wondered why they bothered. The security camera on the bridge confirmed that Arthur had gotten home when his brother said he had – it was impossible to get from the Chinnaty Club to that bridge in the amount of time without a vehicle.

He went back to the forensics report – that eighth wound... Would the first seven have killed him, or just left him maimed, able to identify his attacker? There were eight sets of prints in the office – Mr Wangs; Ivans; Yong Soos; Katyushas; Arthurs; Lilys; Berwalds; and one unidentified print. Lily was above suspicion; Berwald had a airtight alibi; Yong Soo had been the one to report his brothers attack, so it was unlikely to be him. Ivan had no alibi, but forensics was on his side – he was a big man, he'd have caused far more damage than was done, even in a panic. Katyusha was a highly respectable woman, so the likelihood it was her doing was remote.

Vash groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose. If his employment had taught him anything, it was that there was no such thing as a 'highly respectable' person. A bitter reminder was tacked to the whiteboard – photographs, found in Mr Wangs study. Photographs of one Arthur Kirkland. Vash couldn't stand to look at them, and if they weren't evidence he would probably burn them. He was the same age as Lily.

The door opened, snapping Vash away from his dark thoughts. Cameron entered, hands full of files and coffee, clearly tired.

"We tracked down Henry Kirkland." he reported "He's not even in the country: he went to Belgium a few years ago, runs a squalid backwoods dental practice. It seems he's under investigation from their inland revenue – they were pretty interested to know how much he owed in back child support."

"A fine example of a father." Vash muttered "What about the brothers?"

Cameron handed him the files, taking a sip from the clearly blisteringly hot coffee.

"The Kirkland boys all have files." he reported "Arthurs is by far the least serious – mischief and misdemeanours. None of it will stick. Owen's got a ton of traffic offences and a couple of assault charges from when he was a student, but his arresting officer very kindly described him as, and I quote, 'thick as two bricks.'"

"And twice as ugly." Vash agreed "I've met him. He might stab someone, but he's nowhere near smart enough to remove the security tapes."

"If you want smart, then what about the older two?" Cameron supposed, leaning against the metal table "An architect and a doctor."

"Angus is the tallest of the Kirklands." Vash knew "He would cause more damage than this."

"Maybe not." his partner disagreed "His son was premature and his wife is very sick – he's not at his physical peak. If he found out what Wang was doing to his brother, he might have snapped."

"If you want 'snapped', look no further than Patrick." Vash figured "He was nearly struck off last year for attacking the father of one of his patients."

"Wouldn't a doctor have done a better job? Or done something more subtle, like drug him?"

"He's a child psychologist – he doesn't need to know anatomy, and they can't prescribe anything they want. The amounts of drugs needed to kill a healthy adult man would be incredibly suspicious for him to prescribe or use. He is, however, the shortest of the Kirklands."

"So?"

"Small hands." Vash pointed out "Small, thin hands, like a womans."

"By that logic, we can eliminate Angus." Cameron reminded him "He's got big hands."

"Run the unknown prints." Vash instructed "I want to know how they compare to Patricks."

Cameron sighed wearily, but nodded, taking the file.

"There's nothing else to do tonight." Vash pointed out "Go home and get some sleep. Leave the prints to the labtech."

"Right. See you tomorrow."

Cameron left, closing the office door behind him. Vash turned back to the whiteboard – there was no doubt that Arthur Kirkland was the motive behind Mr Wangs attack. With no money missing, no other motives could be found. The question was, who knew?

He was certain Antonio knew, after how aggressive he had been during Arthurs questioning. He was certain again that Francis didn't know, or he would have come to the police immediately. It was very possible that the Kirkland brothers knew – their reappearance in his life of late was strange, especially considering the family history. If Antonio and Francis were involved, it was a safe bet that Elizavetta and Gilbert were as well.

Vash plucked the palm print from the whiteboard – it was far too smudged to be useful, except to note the size of it: small. Very small. Even his hands were larger, and he wasn't any taller than Arthur was. Who had hands this small? Elizavetta? She was tall for a woman, known for being... proactive. If she had found out, she might have done something about it. Gilbert? He had to tread carefully – he was the old police Chiefs grandson, he couldn't investigate him without evidence more concrete than the size of his hands. Antonio might have attacked Mr Wang – he had a temper on him for sure, but everything came back to the missing surveillance footage: if he was angry enough to try to stab a man to death, he wouldn't have had the forethought to remove the footage. Francis may have thought about it, but the idea that he could stab a person was absurd.

A thought struck him – could it have been more than one person? Antonio attacked, Francis and Gilbert cleaned up? Vash sighed – that didn't fit. Antonio was a strong man in the prime of youth – he didn't throw his weight around, but he was clearly toned. The wounds didn't match...

A grown man. The wounds didn't match a grown man. One of the twins...? He shook the thought away. How old were they now? Ten? They couldn't be out that time of night without anyone noticing, and what would they even be doing there in the first place? And what about Patrick? He was a grown man, but if memory served he was scrawny as anything. Mr Wangs siblings, the only other people with hands this small and access to the office, had been scattered to the wind at the time of the attack.

That eighth wound. It stuck out. Vash couldn't forget about it. It was stronger, surer. He thought back to his multiple attacker theory – were the first seven wounds inflicted by one assailant in a crime of passion, the final one by someone who had interrupted them and taken the attackers side? Someone older, someone calmer, stronger, but not any bigger than the original assailant? An older sibling?

He rubbed the bridge of his nose again, sighing deeply. There was nothing more he could do tonight. He would sleep on it, and talk to Arthur again first thing in the morning.

Katyusha covered her little brother in a blanket – the days when she could have carried him to bed after falling asleep in the living room were long gone. She set the alarm on the door before turning off the light and heading upstairs, taking a moment to knock on her sisters bedroom door.

"Natalya?" she called softly "Are you still up?"

"Go away." she heard from inside.

The lady sighed and opened the door, her little sister flinching noticeably at the sight of her. The pretty girl hadn't brushed her hair, and seemingly hadn't slept, dark bags under her panicked eyes. She was wrapped up in her baggy grey clothes, hugging her pillow desperately. With infinite patience, Katyusha sat on the bed with her.

"Have you slept?" she asked her sister "Do you want some pills?"

"I don't want any pills." Natalya muttered "I want to leave. This place isn't safe."

"We're perfectly safe." Katyusha assured "I'm not going to let anybody hurt you."

"Why did this have to happen? Why, Mr Wang, why?"

She started to cry again, small shoulders shaking uncontrollably. Katyusha pulled her into a tight hug, rubbing her back soothingly and shushing her like she had as a child.

"I'm not gonna let anybody hurt you." she cooed "I promise. It's okay. It's okay."

I keep thinking I've dropped mammoth hints, but my readers never pick them up, so maybe I'm wrong? Poor Arthur has been exposed - I haven't written much about his 'relationship' with Yao as I don't really feel qualified to pull it off, and it would be one hell of an awkward tonal shift. But as they say, it's what you don't see that scarier.

Vash hasn't had much of a part in this tale up to now - he's got a bigger role in 'Three's a Crowd', but if you recall in an earlier chapter I mentioned he was a policeman. And I should apologise for the lazy naming of Cameron (Cameroon, get it?). ba-dum tish.

Anyway, I love reading all your reviews (they sustain me!) and I love those of you who review every chapter (I know who you are!). Hint hint.