Kanae stood along in the darkness. The room was completely black, but she could sense three other presences in this room with her. She knew their direction and the distances. As she'd been told, she reached out with mind hands and touched each one.

"Very good, now defend," a strange voice said.

The first mind hands came at her. Kanae blocked these a good distance from her body. Another came at her forehead faster. She blocked this too. The hands came at her faster and faster, from more directions other than from where she sensed people were.. Soon, she had all ten of her mind hands out to keep the ones coming at her away. They came faster still, and instead of coming straight in, they took snaking turns, trying to slip past her own flailing mind hands. As she struggled to concentrate on the opposing mind hands, they became faster and more abundant. Six attacking mind hands turned into twelve, then more, making her flail harder at keeping them away. Twisting her own mind hands into frantic shapes, she grunted in effort to keep others away from her.

Then came the sting to her forehead, right between her eyes. Her mind hands vanished. Kanae covered herself with her arms and dropped to the floor, expecting an assault.

"Enough. Stand." the voice commanded.

"Not bad," Lady Himari said. "Do you know how one got through?" she asked.

Kanae's head was pulsing in pain from her efforts. "I didn't see it coming," she said.

"Perhaps like this?" Lady Himari asked.

Kanae focused, trying to block out her heart pounding in her ears. A few feet from her, she sensed a single, thin mind hand snaked along the floor. "I see it," she said. She really did see it. It was like a mental version of sight. Her eyes were blind, but the mind hand stood out in her senses.

"The thinner a mind hand, the harder it is to sense coming. For your first try, you did well. Lights."

Brilliant white light stabbed Kanae's eyes. She squeezed her eyes shut and threw up an arm to keep the brightness out.

"And now for another test."

.

The center was empty as Mariko and Hisoka sat beside each other on a bench in the entryway, holding hands. It had been a sad day for Mariko, she'd said goodbye to good friends who shouldn't be dead now. She also knew the day had been harder on his sister. Kanae wasn't even allowed to mourn. Was that the harshness Kanae faced by being a White Robe? Thankfully, their parents had agreed to let her wait for Kanae.

"Hey, Mariko?" Hisoka said thoughtfully. "I'm really glad it wasn't you."

"You mean me becoming a White Robe?" Mariko asked.

Hisoka gave her hand a squeeze and said, "No, dying. I don't know what I'd do if you died. I mean, I can't see myself living without you. I don't know when it happened, but it feels like you're part of me." Lifting his head, he gazed at her and said, "If you died, I think I'd want to die too, so I could be with you."

They shared a smile. Hisoka's face became serious again. "I see now why Kanae needs us," he said. "Those ladies who were buried today? They didn't have any friends. Their lives are the same, aren't they?"

"White Robes can't have families," Mariko agreed. Now more than ever, what that meant was hitting home to her.

"Then we will be Kanae's family," Hisoka stated. "You'll marry me, right?"

"Yes, I will."

"And together, we will make sure Kanae has a home. Kanae won't be alone, and if she happens to die, we'll be there to mourn over her," Hisoka said firmly.

"And we'll share our bed with her, raise her babies, and let them know that Kanae IS part of our family!" Mariko said firmly.

"Was that a marriage proposal I just heard?" a voice asked from behind them.

Mariko and Hisoka got up to face a green haired White Robe smirking at them. Seeing the smirk as her not believing their sincerity, Hisoka scooped Mariko's hand back up.

"I love Mariko, and I do want to marry her," he said.

"I am not doubting you, young man," the woman said with a smile, "I am only happy to hear your devotion to her and to her sister. I came to tell you that Lady Kanae will be out shortly. She might also benefit from a hug." The woman bowed to them and walked back the way she came.

Right after the woman disappeared up the stairs, Kanae and Lady Himari came down. Lady Himari carried herself as regal she normally did. Kana's face was drawn, as if she had just suffered terribly. Mariko and Hisoka met her together, and wrapped her into a three way hug.

"I will always be here for you, sister."

"Our home is your home, you'll never be alone."

Kanae hugged them both back. "Thank you," she said in a weepy voice.

Lady Himari let them hug for a moment, then asked, "Our home? Has someone decided to start a family?"

Hisoka slipped back enough to look at Lady Himari and say, "Yes. When we're old enough, Mariko and I are getting married. Kanae will live with us."

"Lady Kanae," Lady Himari said pointedly. "She has passed her test. You are now hugging an apprentice White Robe."

"Really?" Mariko asked. She gave Kanae another hug with a squeal of, "That's GREAT!"

"Congratulations ... Lady Kanae!" Hisoka said happily.

Kanae offered a brief smile in the face of their joy. Arm in arm, the three of the walked behind Lady Himari out the doors to find the rest of the family and Lady Chizu waiting for them.

"Well?" Mama Nana asked.

Hisoka lifted Kanae's arm in triumph and announced, "She did it! Say hello to Lady Kanae!"

.

A week went by, and the body of Akio was found in a remote area with a typed note saying how sorry he was to have committed the mail attacks before he took his own life. No one was convinced it was a suicide, and the media was screaming that Mr. Fujita had been set up. Media coverage was kind to the Yukaita sect, showing the sad funeral footage of whole families – slaughtered was the term one station used - and the pictures of the murdered white robed women 'who had done so much' for the community. The stations even played sad music as the photos and vidoes were shown. The police kept a close watch on the research team. There had been no search warrants yet, but those were sure to come.

None of this pleased Mr. Tenabe. He'd been called in twice for interviews by the police, and he was positive his phone and office had been tapped. Instead of lashing out in an angry reprisal, the diclonius of the Yukaita sect were guarding themselves and let the police handle investigations as hundreds of human well wishers laid flowers on graves and at the memorial site at the Yukaita community center. If anything, public support had rallied for the diclonius, not against them.

Mr. Tenabe noticed that Lady Himari was being well covered by the media and closely watched by her fellow diclonius. She was the primary one they'd missed. The young girl wasn't important, but Lady Himari had been vital in controlling the diclonius response. Missing her had been the plan's undoing. He also noted that now many White Robes had come in support of their kind. To attempt to kill them would most likely be futile, and point a blazing finger directly at him.

Going through all his notes, Mr. Tenabe had to find some way to destroy the public love affair with diclonius. He needed a single diclonius to run amok and slaughter enough people that the media would see them for the killers they were. Ironically, Mr. Fujita's notes were the most helpful. He didn't want to kill another diclonius, but someone close to them. Someone who's death would enrage a diclonius to the point of madness. The very man who had been sacrificed would also lead Tenabe to the one he was looking for.