Chapter L – Set in Stone

"Lana was kidnapped?!" Ryu couldn't believe his ears. He and Xekuto were now back in the defense attorney office. Ryu was shaking slightly and shocked to the core by the news. Xekuto seemed to be taking this a lot better than him and sighed knowingly, his saddened eyes fixated on the floorboards. The piece of paper he had been holding was crumped up in his fist.

So much for bringing up some good news…

Mia was still trembling slightly but had a very determined expression on her face. The other day will be the last time I will cry over things like this… if I'm going to be a good lawyer, I have to develop a proper backbone…!

Diego wasn't really sure how to feel, so he concealed his feelings by hiding his face behind his coffee mug as he drank from it.

"And now Tigress wants Xekuto as bait? God…she's such a…!"

"No, Ryu. We're not letting that happen." Mia suddenly said determinedly, silencing everyone in the room. She sighed deeply and walked over to Xekuto who looked up from the floor at once, confused. She took his hand in hers and gazed at the rest of the group with a sharp glint in her eyes.

"We're not letting Tigress keep Lana…but nor are we going to let her take Xekuto from us. There has to be a way."


"What is the meaning of this?!" Lana awakened in a metal chair which included cuffs that restrained her arms, legs and neck from moving. She was sitting in a dimly lit room with only a light bulb flickering in and out now and then.

She flinched as the rest of the room was suddenly lit up by a strong glare of light and found herself to be staring into the eyes of the kidnapper.

"Now, what should I do with you whilst we wait for Zoren to get here, I wonder?" Tigress snickered, clearly enjoying Lana's supressed panic.

"You can just go to hell, along with the rest of your damned guild!" Lana snapped back bravely, her eyes narrowed and her body trying its best to stay still and not tremble at the situation she was currently in.

"Heh…'Go to hell'? Where do you think I came from, Prosecutor Skye?" Tigress murmured, nearing her tied up prey with her ice-blue eyes glinting, as if they were hungry for Lana's flesh.

"…Why did you go through the trouble of kidnapping me anyway?! You could have just hunted down Zoren yourself, and more efficiently completed your job, right?" Lana didn't really understand why she sounded so inconsiderate of Xekuto's fate.

"Well, now. That wouldn't be very fun. I wanted to test your little group of friends' limits." Tigress replied, an iron grip suddenly on Lana's shoulder, causing her to flinch a little. "People are vulnerable to temptation, you see. When they are forced to stand on the hellish precipice of despair, they will unfailingly take any route out of it that appears before them, no matter what kind of web it tangles them in, no matter what kind of person they are… it really is laughable if you think about it."

"…The ones who take advantage of that and taunt the victims are you demons, no?" Lana icily shot back, refusing to be in intimidated.

"Well said, Lana Skye. I always thought you were the most interesting out of the canon characters."

"…what…?" Lana blinked, the unfamiliar word lodging itself into her brain like a virus eating way in computer software. "C-Canon…? What the hell are you on about?!"

"…My bad, guess Shinume hasn't revealed that much to you yet, huh?"

"Just so you know, Shinume is no more." Lana smiled bitterly for the first time since she'd been taken hostage. "She has formed a soul with the other one, Shinjiko, I believe her name was… and now they are one being."

"Oh, really? Well, God save you then." Tigress laughed and turned on the spot to start walking back. She stopped suddenly and glanced at Lana's surprised face one more time before turning off the lights and leaving the room. "Now that her soul is complete, she possesses the full potential of Chihiro herself. And I've heard Chihiro can be very, very…scary."


"L-Let it play out..?" Ryu gulped slightly and restrained himself from shaking too much as he gripped the side of the desk.

"No, that's not exactly what I mean." Diego said stiffly.

They were still gathered in the same office, though they were now standing around Diego's office table, writing up plans and notes on the best way to save Lana Skye.

"What I was saying was that we should report this, and take the case to court. We'll use Tigress as the criminal and prove she's guilty of kidnap and countless murders. That way, we can get her and the rest of the damned guild behind bars too."

"…If only it were that easy…" Ryu looked sceptical but nodded at the proposal all the same.

"Whilst that is a great plan and all… I'm still very worried that Skye's going to be hurt in the process." Xekuto said quietly, massaging his temples slightly with two fingers. He was still recovering from the torture session he had experienced earlier and was sitting down at the couch, and the only one not next to the table.

Mia looked back at him worriedly, though her steeled tone of voice contrasted her gentle facial expression. "Don't worry about that. I trust that Lana will be alright. The only thing we can do in regards to that is to believe she will be alright."

"You said it, Kitten." Diego straightened up slightly after dotting the final full stop. "Now… shall we report this to the police?" He picked up the written accusation and proof read it speedily before standing.

"You two go, I'll stay here with Xekuto." Mia replied, a small smile on her lips. "Someone has to look after him."

Ryu nodded and opened the door. "Then I guess it's you and me, Armando." He said, finally managing to return to his usual cheery self. "I don't think we've ever had proper bonding time before. Let's get to know each other more."

Diego exited the door, his cocky grin stretching across his face. "Ha…! Don't expect too much from me, Seron. I still don't think I can trust you fully."

"I don't mind…!" Ryu sang, laughing slightly and ran ahead.

"…"

"You alright, Xekuto?" Mia lowered herself down and sat next to him on the couch. "You're not looking very well." She placed a hand to his forehead.

"O-oh…don't worry. I'm fine." Xekuto lied and ignored the dull ache in his heart.

Please… don't let this happen now of all times…

"Xekuto. I am wearing a magatama. Please don't." Mia said and leaned against him gently.

"R-Right…Sorry." He inhaled deeply, realising then that what he feared the most was truly happening.

Mia realised he was seizing up and gasped, her arms around him to support his shivering form at once.

"X-Xekuto…! What's wrong?!"

"I…I….!" He groaned in pain and fell onto her slightly, a hand at his chest.

"Does the cut hurt? Please tell me how I can help you, Xekuto!"

"J-Just keep calm…let it pass…M-Mia…" He whispered, another hand gripping her arm tightly.

"A-Alright…" Mia forced herself to stay quiet and let him lie against her as he panted heavily. She wasn't sure what was going on but she knew she would definitely keep her mouth shut until Xekuto was able to talk properly again to explain to her the situation at hand.

After a few heartbeats, he slowly straightened up and felt her embrace him gently.

"Th-Thank you, Mia." He managed weakly as her flushed cheek rested against his neck.

"Can you tell me what happened?" She asked softly.

"Y-yeah… Um, well… it's something which is hard to understand…because… you're not like Ryu and I…"

"Okay. I'll try my best to comprehend it."

"Well… there are key events that are set in stone, Mia."

"…Like my death, right?"

"…! Wh-what?!" Xekuto jumped to the point where it actually forced him to stand up. He stared at her with shaking pupils. "H-how did you know…?!"

"…I figured it out… There couldn't be another reason why you were continuously reborn and chose to stick with me every time you did, right?" Mia said tonelessly.

"…M-Mia…I'm… I don't really know what to say…I…" He gasped slightly and sat back down again, his mind racing with wild thoughts.

"…Don't worry. I won't let it bother me too much…"

"It's your death. How can you not…?!"

"Let's not stray from the main topic at hand." Mia breathed in deeply, not sure how she was staying so calm throughout all of this. Perhaps it was because she had been in a hysterical state for most of the past month…and she simply needed to withdraw from that approach? She didn't' know.

"Okay…the key event…no, events. They always happen, no matter what… though sometimes the time of occurrence does change." Xekuto continued as quietly as he could.

"…Right…?" Mia suddenly felt a cold chill in her spine, and turned towards him, her eyes now full of worry. "What is it, Xekuto?"

He coughed slightly, his hand once again at his chest as he gazed at her sadly.

"And one of the key events…is that at some point before everything ends… I will suffer from a heart disease… and most likely fall into a coma for a period of time." He said, the words heavily colliding with Mia's heart.

As she brought up a hand to grip his lapel, he leaned into her shoulder, holding her close to him. Xekuto wished with all his might that he didn't say the next few words. But it was as if it were a mandatory knee-jerk reaction which followed after the first selection of lines.

"And…sometimes… I don't wake up."


"No matter how difficult things become… no matter how foolish you look writhing and buckling under the weight of your burdens, you have to keep fighting… and living… for those that you love. That's what I believe, anyway." Jia Yun said quietly, Shinjiko's quill in hand as she continued the script.

She looked up after writing the last word of that sentence and gazed at the veils of purple mist surrounding the flat platform she was sitting on.

"We're halfway to a hundred now, right? That occurred sooner than expected. Not that I'm complaining. However…" She turned her gaze to another pile of scrolls and unrolled one of them to inspect the writing. "We are still only on the second act. I'm getting excited… what will the final ending be like… Chihiro?"

"…My, my. I didn't know you were capable of such heartbreaking plots… though I can see you gave this a lot of thought." Jia Yun sighed sadly and placed a hand over her green eye, so that Shinume's side saw everything clearly.

"And you were responsible for Xekuto Zoren's back story… so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised."

A lesson without pain is meaningless. Because gaining anything worthwhile requires sacrifice. But if you can overcome that pain and achieve your goal, you acquire an iron strong, undefeated will and heart… and those are irreplaceable.

"Heh. I couldn't have said it better myself…other me."