Sitting in the middle of a snowstorm to watch a nest filled with not-too-friendly people holding my brother as a prisoner should be fun, very fun indeed.
=oOo=
The building we were supposed to keep an eye on was still a couple of kilometers up the mountain but despite the steep slope, it was a distance the three of us could handle on foot, even with the uncooperative weather. We didn't bring much for the trip – just bags with our own pairs of binoculars and thermoses – and all the while, we were using Zetsu. Even if someone was monitoring the area with En, it was practically impossible for any one person to extend their En up to five kilometers, which was the approximate distance of the town from the mansion.
Unless they were that good, but please.
Never seen anyone that good and I was sure as hell that no one in the Schede was superhuman, or a monster. I knew. I read the files on the flight to Palyra, the considerably warmer town at the foot of this cruel, cold mountain.
I pried my eyes away from the next to non-existent, not to mention near invisible, path up the mountain when Hibiki tapped my shoulder and I looked over to him with a raised eyebrow. "What is it?"
"Your phone's been ringing for the past minute, sweetcheeks," he told me, pointing a finger at the pocket of my jacket I wore. In this weather, I had to bring the thickest sweaters I owned, which wasn't a lot, really, so I had to wear layer upon layer of clothes, plus my hoodie. But it wasn't comfortable being a walking cocoon so I either had to deal with the cold in a different way, or deal with the added baggage. I decided to risk frostbite.
Better lose a limb to the cold than lose my life just because I was too slow.
"Now, love, if you plan on ignoring your caller, then you should better turn your phone off before we get into any trouble because of it."
"And if you are going to answer, make it quick. Do not give away anything. You never know who could be listening," Ylana quietly added, and I nodded as I fished out the device with my cold, gloved hands. My eyebrows shot up when I saw the caller ID.
Oh, so now he calls me.
"Mina, what is this all about?" Kurapika asked as soon as I picked up, and despite the howling winds, I was pretty sure I could hear a bit of irritation in his voice. But then again, if he told me he was going on some trip that involved a practically evil group – cough, Phantom Troup, cough, cough – I'd be pretty upset too.
"Hello to you too, Sunshine," I grumbled. Hibiki shot me a curious look and I just shook my head. "It's exactly as I told you, but you know, now isn't exactly the best time to have this conversation."
"…You're working, aren't you?"
I frowned a bit. I didn't like the way he asked that. It bordered worry and frustration and I had a vague idea why he was acting like this. "Sort of… yes."
"You owe me an explanation."
"I know," I replied softly. "And you'll get one. I'll call you when I get back… Love you."
"I love you too. Be careful," he said before the line went dead. My frown deepened and I shook my head as I set my phone on vibrate and slipped it back into my jacket. I sighed. Truth be told, I was a feeling a bit worried about how that conversation went.
Kurapika was a sharp person. He should know that I wouldn't say something like that unless I had a good reason. He, of all people, should be able to understand.
"Why don't you ever tell me you love me?" Hibiki whined and I couldn't help but roll my eyes. Typical.
"It's because I don't."
"I'm jealous."
"Of course you are," I huffed, forming a nice cloud of mist in front of my face.
At the same time, Ylana stopped walking, stretching an arm across to keep us from moving any further. "This is as far as we go," she said. The woman's gray eyes scanned the area and I ended up doing the same thing. We had a clear visual on the mansion. Well, as clear as it could get in the middle of this blizzard, that is. Compared to the patches of trees around Ornido, the gods had decided to bless this area with a lot less trees, not enough for substantial cover. Out here, we were exposed, vulnerable. I didn't like vulnerable.
=oOo=
Poke.
Poke. Poke.
Poke. Poke. Poke.
An eyebrow of mine twitched. "What is it now, Hibiki?" I quietly hissed as I lowered my binoculars and glared at the older man. "And don't you even think about arguing whether or not Ylana's human." For the past several hours, we had been keeping an eye on the mansion, just as we were ordered to. But Hibiki – gods knew what was running through that man's head – decided to focus on other things. Like how Ylana didn't even shiver in this weather while Hibiki and I had both of our hands trembling thanks to the cold.
Hibiki was taken aback, not because I was being snappy – who wouldn't be if they were being pulled away from something important just because of a stupid question like that? – but because I believed Ylana really was human. For the love of humanity… This guy needed some help. "There is a reason why people call her a 'cold, heartless witch'."
"Only you call her that," I answered with a straight face.
"Regardless, that's not what I was gonna talk to you about," he stated and had me raising an eyebrow. "When you get your brother back, what do you plan to do after?"
"Find my mom," I automatically replied. It was a no brainer, really. I mean, come on. I was doing all of this just to find her.
"And what if she shows up now?" I blinked. Didn't expect that to come from him. "Rianellie came to us for help, and given the situation, there is a chance that she'd make an appearance soon. You'd be able to get everything you've ever wanted… But what happens next?"
I just stared at the blonde. Honestly, he was freaking me out a bit. This was some deep stuff Hibiki was talking about and I had never heard the man approach a topic like this. Just to make sure, I gave him a good whack to the head.
"Ow! What was that for?"
"No reason," I chirped before turning back to my binoculars. Good. Nothing seemed to have happened back at the mansion… Though thanks to Hibiki, my thoughts started to wander. What was I gonna do after this? A long time ago, I would've said that I'd ask her my questions, about what happened, about what we had before. But with my memories back, there was no point in doing that anymore, so what was I supposed to do when I meet her after all this time?
"You don't think about stuff like that," a familiar voice hummed.
"You just press on and see where the road takes you," another continued. The two voices were similar, identical even, but just by the tone, I knew who was which. I turned around and a wide smile spread across my face. "It's nice to see you again, De-… I mean, Mina," Suki sang.
"It's nice to see you too, Suki, Yuki."
"There should be an 'aunt' there somewhere," the older twin huffed and Suki gave her sister a playful punch to the arm.
"Oh stop being such a grouch," she chuckled. "I know you don't like feeling old."
Yuki flicked a lock of her pale blue hair away from her face and scanned the area. "Is that the place?" she asked, gesturing to the lone building standing this far up the mountain. As if on cue, Ylana dropped appeared from behind them and truth be told, that was creepy. Especially since it had already gotten dark.
"Yes," our temporary leader replied, crossing her arms. "In behalf of our team, I thank you for your help. We're glad you can-"
"Aren't you freezing?" Suki suddenly cut in and though I knew Ylana would've seen what Suki did as rude, she shook her head as an answer. "Really?" My superior nodded. "Weirdo. Are you superhuman or something?" From the corner of my eye, I could see Hibiki fist pump. Yuki shot her sister a reprimanding look, but Suki was determined to turn this into an argument. "Sis, a person cannot just-"
"She can, and she will," Yuki stated with finality. "Back to more important matters, where's Ranno?"
"Back in Palyra," Ylana told them. "He is waiting for Rianellie's call. The moment she contacts him and gives further instructions, he will make his way up. At best, he will arrive at Ornido tomorrow noon."
The twins made a face and it was kinda amusing how identical and in sync they were. The only thing that told them apart at this point was their clothes. "That's another nineteen hours," Yuki pointed out. "How long have you been out here?"
"Seven hours," Hibiki quickly answered. "There hasn't been anything big going on inside, but at this distance, we can't be entirely sure."
"Seven…" the older twin echoed softly. "Ylana, why don't you and your team head back to the village and warm up? Suki and I can handle it from here." Said woman nodded and thanked the twins before gesturing Hibiki and I to leave. "Oh, wait. Before you go… Here, take these."
Yuki pulled out three small boxes from the backpack she had and each handed us one. "Yuki and I aren't entirely sure about the reception around here, so we brought along a few of our toys," Suki explained. As soon as I got mine, I opened it and found an earpiece. "It's a secure line and is effective within a ten mile radius of each other. We'll contact you if we pick up anything fishy."
"Again, thank you," Ylana hummed. "You are aware of the minimum distance?"
The two nodded at the same time. "Five hundred meters," they replied in unison and with Ylana satisfied, the three of us headed back to Ornido for warmth.
=oOo=
Just like Ylana had predicted, Ranno arrived around noon the next day. Yuki and Suki had already switched watch duty with us by then, so it was them who got to meet up with the man first. Last night, I started thinking up freaky scenarios – Aster might be being tortured in there somewhere for all we knew – but Ylana and Yuki had managed to convince me otherwise since there hadn't been any weird happenings in the building throughout the night. Still, I didn't get decent enough sleep. Who could? My 'long lost brother' was 'so close, yet so far'.
Gods, I just really wanted to get this over with.
To our surprise, when we finally saw Ranno – accompanied by the twins, of course – someone else was with them. And judging by the frowns on Hibiki and Ylana's faces, I could tell they had no idea who she was.
The woman had lime green hair that reached her jaw, eyes that were a darker shade of green and an expression that bothered me a whole lot. Even Yuki and Suki didn't look all that comfortable standing with the stranger. "Everyone, this is Nadine Bietta," Ranno began. "She is a friend of Ria's and is willing to help us." The frown on Yuki's face grew deeper while her twin shifted her weight from one foot from another. If the twins were reacting this way, then they must've known her to a certain degree. "She's a member of the Schede and knows everything there is to know about that building."
This… Nadine Bietta smiled and nodded. "Ria and Ranno have filled me in. Aster is a good man. He's just mixed with the wrong people," she evenly said. Nope. I had a strange feeling about this woman, and I didn't like how I couldn't place it. I could've sworn I knew her from somewhere, but I couldn't wrack my brain for anything. The woman as a whole was a complete stranger, but she gave off some kind of nostalgic feeling.
Nope. Nu-uh. There was something off about this lady, but now wasn't really the time to be bothered by that. Focus on Aster, Demina.
"For several reasons, Ria can't join us," Ranno continued, "so it will be just the seven of us."
"Then what's the plan, boss?" Hibiki chirped.
My boss opened his mouth to answer the question, but one of the twins beat him to it. "She wants us to go all out on this," Yuki stated. "Make a mess, practically. Blow stuff up. Shatter some glass. Burn some wood. Destroy the place."
"The idea is that we separate into three pairs," Suki said, picking up from where her twin had left off. Pairs? "Two pairs would be in charge of the chaos at opposite sides of the property. One pair would handle picking up Aster. And the person who ends up being alone would take care of the surveillance cameras."
Ylana raised a hand. "You mean to have someone go off on their own?"
"Don't worry about it," Nadine reassured us with a smile that bordered arrogant. "I'm already in the inside, so I'll take care of it. The higher ups won't notice it if I slip out for a bit and I can take care of anyone in the way."
Suki then hooked an arm through her sister's. "By default, Yuki and I make one of the pairs."
"How do we know we can trust you?" Ylana asked, her eyes narrowed at the green-haired lady. Obviously, she didn't like the idea of relying on a member of the Schede, especially when Nadine's job was taking down the cameras. To be honest, I was having second thoughts about it too. If she didn't do her part right, then we'd be down before we knew it.
"Believe me, we can trust her," the younger of the twins answered and right beside her, Yuki nodded.
"You've worked with her before?" the black haired woman continued.
"Sort of," Suki answered, but that didn't satisfy my superior. And when Ranno saw that Ylana wasn't gonna budge, he stepped in.
"Ylana," he quietly said. "As the twins have said, we can trust her." Now that Ranno had said it, Hibiki and I knew Ylana couldn't argue anymore. The supposed ice lady wasn't too keen on following rules, but she was fiercely loyal to my uncle. "Are we clear on that?"
The woman nodded. "Crystal."
"As for the remaining pairs, Hibiki and Mina, you'll storm the building from the front. Yuki and Suki, from behind. Ylana and I will look for Aster. The six of us will have to wait for Nadine's signal." We all nodded. "When you're in, you take down everyone." That was a light way of putting it. "Nadine will make sure to erase every footage she finds and keep anyone from recognizing us. It's imperative that no one recognizes us, and that no one recognizes them when we're through."
"You mean…" I didn't have the heart to finish that statement.
Nevertheless, Ranno understood and he nodded. "Kill everyone in that building and do so in a manner that would make it impossible for anyone to identify. Any questions?" No one spoke up. "Good. Then one last thing…" The man pulled out a photo. It was a man that had long black hair and striking blue eyes. "Aside from Aster and Nadine, this man should also stay alive. If you cross paths with him, you may engage, but you absolutely must not kill him."
"Can we at least know why we should spare him?" Ylana asked. Well now. She wasn't in the best mood today. Actually, I was pretty sure she was pissed as hell right now, but she was just that good at keeping it in.
"Ria didn't say," was Ranno's simple reply. "But that is her request."
"If it means anything, that's Sergio," Nadine supplied. "He's one of the five most renowned people within the Schede. The reasons why they're so special vary from each person, but they're considered the strongest of us."
"Are there any more questions?"
"I have one," Hibiki answered and the older man gestured for him to go on. "Just to make things clear, we can use any means, as long as everyone inside drops dead as an unidentifiable corpse?" Ranno nodded. "Alright then."
"If everyone's good, then I should head back to the mansion," the green-haired woman stated. "I'll give Aster the heads up if I can. And just so you won't get lost, the man's in the basement, at the end of the hall."
"Don't risk it if you can get caught."
Nadine nodded. "I won't, Ranno."
"We'll be waiting for your call."
=oOo=
"Do you really think she'll pull through?"
"…I have my doubts, but my gut's telling me she can handle it," I honestly replied as I continued staring at the front entrance of the mansion. We were still five hundred meters from the building, but we had already gotten ourselves into position. Hibiki and I in front. Yuki and Suki from the back. Ylana and Ranno from the right. None of us knew when Nadine would contact us, so we were all alert, but we were careful not to let our presence be felt by anyone.
From the corner of my eyes, I could see Hibiki shake his head. "Where does Ranno pick up these ladies?"
I had to shrug at that one. "I'm as clueless as you are."
"Don't you think it might be a little too convenient that your mom knows someone from the Schede?" he continued asking and it was only now that it became evident that he was very troubled by this. Hell, I was too, but Aster was waiting inside. I couldn't afford to be distracted.
"Like I said, I have my doubts," I repeated.
My partner then fell silent. For a moment, I thought he had finally shut up, but he ended up asking something again. "And you? Will you be alright?"
Hibiki surprised me with that one. He was awfully being friendly for the past few days that it was suspicious. I felt the urge to whack him again, but I decided against it. Instead, I answered his question with a question of my own. "What do you mean?"
"It's been a while since you've seen or been in combat," he quietly began. "I'm no doctor, but your memories were shocked back into you and I'm not entirely sure if the sight of blood would be good for you."
Somehow, that actually made sense, but it was only adding to the distractions around me. It was bad enough it was freezing cold and that Aster was in there somewhere, probably beaten badly, and now, Hibiki's questions were poking me the wrong way. "Can you just keep your mouth shut until this is over? I'll do whatever it takes to get him back… Besides, it wasn't like I was a saint to begin with." The man didn't bother me after that and after a few cold, quiet hours, our earpieces buzzed to life.
"Cameras down. It's show time, people."
As soon as we got the message, Hibiki spread out his arms and a ball of light steadily began to grow. "Ranno said all out, right?"
Scowling, I nodded. "Just… don't bury my brother alive."
"Wouldn't dream of it, sweetheart. Well, you heard the lady. It's show time." Hibiki sent the ball of energy flying towards the mansion and it was a direct hit.
