The next night came fast. Yukina, Sayo, and Rinko were in a small clearing. Rinko was finally trying to test her capabilities again. Lisa and Ako were off shopping for supplies.

"Alright. First let's start with your wings. Try them out." Yukina said.

Rinko nodded and slowly unfolded her wings. She stretched them out and took a deep breath. This was the first time in ages that she's flown. Hopefully she could still do it. They did not hurt at all when she moved them. But, that didn't mean they wouldn't hurt once she took to the air.

Rinko slowly got herself up into the air. She couldn't get too far up. She also didn't last long. One wing bucked slightly and she fell. They didn't seem able to hold her weight that well.

"Are you okay?" Yukina asked.

Rinko nodded, "I-I'm fine..."

"Well, it seems that you'll have to strengthen your wings." Sayo stated, "If you train them a bit every day I'm sure they'll get strong enough for you to fly with again."

"I see..."

"What else do you wish to try out?" Yukina questioned.

Rinko thought about it. She needed to test a few things. What should she try out next?

"I'd like to try navigation." Rinko said.

"Alright. How should we do this...?" Yukina appeared to be lost in thought.

"Why not do something simple? Maybe try and just have her follow someone around the forest?" Sayo suggested.

"Is that fine with you?"

Rinko nodded. That seemed simple enough. At least she wouldn't get lost. That was the thing mainly holding her back. She didn't know this terrain at all. It made her nervous to even think of being out alone.

"Sayo, you can do that." Yukina nodded to her.

Sayo nodded. She walked up to Rinko.

"I'll go slow. Just let me know if it's still too fast." Sayo said.

"Okay." Rinko agreed.

Sayo glanced over at Yukina for a second. She looked back at Rinko and then made her way into the forest. Rinko followed behind her.

Sayo made sure to keep herself listening to Rinko's movements. The last thing she needed was her getting hurt or lost. So, Sayo knew she'd have to go at this quite cautiously.

"How confident do you feel just walking through here?" Sayo asked as she stopped and turned around.

"I'm a little... nervous..." Rinko whispered, her eye looking at the ground, "I'm still not used to... having less vision..."

"Is it hard to focus because of how much you're trying to take in?"

Rinko nodded, "I want to know my surroundings, but I get a little lost trying to do that."

"There isn't much I can really suggest. I guess you'll just need to learn to use your other senses to figure out your surroundings as well." Sayo said.

Rinko didn't reply. She was constantly glancing around the area.

"Are you still... wary of me?" Sayo asked.

It was no surprise that Rinko hadn't ever been very comfortable around her. Things seemed like they had changed a bit. Rinko did improve in how she faced Sayo, but maybe she was still cautious around her.

"Yes... a little bit..." Rinko nodded.

"I... understand why. I promise I won't do something to you again. But, I guess I can't make you believe that easily."

They fell back into an awkward silence again. It was tough. Sayo wasn't sure if there was anything she could do to show Rinko that she wasn't going to hurt her. Considering how long it's been since she had attacked her, Sayo didn't have much hope. She would just have to keep doing what she was doing and hope eventually Rinko would come around.

"Shall we continue then?" Sayo said.

Rinko nodded. Sayo went slightly faster this time. She added a few turns in but only on the right. She wasn't quite ready to try and make a turn on Rinko's blindside.

Eventually she had to. Sayo stopped after that. Rinko had to pause and look around to locate her.

"Perhaps if you focus on sound you may get better as identifying which direction things go in." Sayo suggested.

"Okay..."

"We'll head back now. I think this is enough."

They soon made it back into the clearing. Sayo quickly explained to Yukina how it had gone.

"Alright. Anything else?" Yukina asked.

"Um... testing my strength..." Rinko mumbled.

That was the one she was the most wary about. She was going to have to fight someone to see how she did. She wasn't confident with it.

"We can have a brief sparing match." Yukina agreed, "Who would you want to fight?"

Rinko didn't really want to fight either of them. She decided on Yukina. That wasn't that much of a surprise.

"You can start it. I'll just be blocking. I won't relatiate." Yukina said.

Rinko nodded and took a deep breath. She hadn't really fought since... back then. She didn't want to think about it.

Rinko tried to land some blows on Yukina, but all were easily deflected. Rinko found that her stamina was not very good. She was already starting to get out of breath. She tried one last time to get a hit, but Yukina caught her fist.

"I... I'm done..." Rinko panted.

"Alright. Is that all then?"

Rinko nodded. That was all she needed to try out.

"We can head back then."

The three of them made their way back to the base. Ako and Lisa were back already.

"So, how'd it go?" Lisa asked.

"Better than expected but, she still needs some time."

"Alright. Well, should we go and mark the borders?"

"Yeah. Ako, Rinko, you two are staying here. We'll be back later."

Sayo, Yukina, and Lisa left the house. There had been a few unknown tracks showing up by the border and they wanted to just be sure nothing was there. It wouldn't do well if someone was near them. Especially since they learned about the potential experiments that could be loose nearby.

"Are you okay?" Ako asked Rinko, "You seem a bit pale."

"I'm fine. Just... tired." Rinko replied, "I'm going to lay down."

"Okay!"

Rinko went to her room and laid on her bed. She felt strange. Her body ached a lot. It... reminded her of her past. The training she went through. She didn't like remembering it at all.

Rinko ended up dozing off. When she woke up, it was to a still silent house. That meant the three of them were not back yet.

Rinko got up and checked to see where Ako was at. She didn't see her in her room. Rinko went to the living room. Ako wasn't there either. That was... bad.

Rinko searched around the house, but Ako was nowhere to be found. That was extremely worrying. Ako was not supposed to be out by herself.

"Did she... go to the..." Rinko didn't like that idea.

Ako might have gone to the outpost. She had been told not to, but she was stubborn. It was likely that was exactly where she went.

Rinko gulped. She... she had to go after her. She couldn't just sit around and do nothing. But, she was horrible as navigation. She could easilg get lost.

Rinko eventually went out. She had to try. Ako could be in danger.

Rinko knew the direction of the outpost. The started running that way. She was struggling to get through the woods. She was constantly getting hit by branches she failed to see and tripping over roots.

Rinko heard a cry of pain. That wasn't a good thing. She tried to pick up her pace. It wasn't long before she came to a cleaning. The outpost was there. And, there was Ako.

Two demons stood over her. Ako was on the ground. There was blood splattered on the grass. Rinko froze as she recognized the demons. They were from the group she had left.

Rinko didn't want to go out and face them. She hoped they would just leave so she could grab Ako and go. Unfortunately, that didn't seem very likely.

The demons started kicking Ako. One clawed at her. Ako was crying out, pleading for them to stop. She couldn't fight back. She was just a punching bag in her current position.

Rinko had no choice but to go out and fight. She was scared to, but if she didn't try Ako was going to be killed.

"Get away from her." Rinko tried to sound firm, but her voice was anything but that.

The two demons paused and looked at her. They recognized her almost immediately.

"Well, look who it is. The little weakling." One taunted her.

"Of course you would hang out with someone like this." The other demon kicked Ako hard.

"Leave her alone." Rinko repeated.

"Make us." The demons challenged.

Both ran at her. Rinko barely had time to react. Somehow she managed to dodge them and get some distance between them. She had to fight them. But, could she do it?

"Not bad, but dodging is all a coward like you is good at!"

Rinko managed to dodge the next few attacks. It was tough. But, slowly she found herself getting into a rhythm. A very familiar rhythm.

Rinko still had the muscle memory of her training. It was coming in handy here. She was able to start landing her own attacks. And, by some miracle, beating them back.

Rinko sent one of them down with a hard kick. They didn't get up. The other was becoming unnerved by the sudden change in Rinko. Rinko had never shown that she could fight to anyone in that group. They were oblivious to her training.

That was useful. Rinko got the upper hand on the demon and ended up breaking their neck. She stumbled back as the reality of what she just did came to her. She had killed them. She... killed...

"Rinko?"

Rinko snapped out of her thoughts. She knelt down beside Ako and helped her into a sitting position. Ako looked pretty rough. There were a lot of bruises and a few scratches. The most notable being on her back. It looked nasty and was bleeding.

"You can fight really well. I... don't get it. You've never seemed like you knew that stuff."

Ako was very confused by what she had witnessed. Rinko very much seemed like she never learned how to fight before.

"It's... a long story."

"Please?"

"You... you can't tell anyone else about it." Rinko said.

"I promise I won't." Ako replied.

"Alright... So, I... I grew up in a town close to the organization's main base. They massacred the town to... extend their base. Some demons were... spared if they pledged loyalty. I... I did."

"You..." Ako was staring at her with wide eyes.

"They trained me to be a soldier, but... something happened that... traumatized me. I couldn't do it, so they sent me away. I ended up in a camp meant for lower workers of the organization. I... I was useful because of my training, but I refused to fight. And, they got fed up... so they kicked me out..." Rinko mumbled, "That's how I ended up all alone."

"Can I ask what happened?" Ako questioned.

"I... I was asked to murder a... a group of orphans..." Rinko whispered, her eye downcast, "I was forced to with another worker. It... really messed with me... having to... kill them..."

"That's horrible! I can't believe they'd make anyone do that." Ako was horrified by that.

"They were... orphans because their parents were murdered by the organization. They were too young to pledge and no one wanted to... raise them..." Rinko said.

"Rinko... I'm sorry you had to go through that." Ako hugged her, "But, now we get the chance to change that."

"Yeah... I hope we can succeed." Rinko nodded.

"So, you don't want anyone else to know about your past because, they might think you're a traitor?" Ako questioned.

"Not necessarily. I just... don't want them to... be wary of me. If they find out, they may not trust me at all."

"Oh... I'll keep it a secret, I promise." Ako said.

"We should... go back. They'll be worried... about us..." Rinko stated.

Ako gulped, "U-um... will... will they be... mad?"

"Yes. You weren't allowed to do this. Yukina will be very mad." Rinko nodded.

Ako started crying, startling Rinko.

"A-Ako?"

"I just... wanna show them I can be brave! I... I'm sorry... I didn't mean to... have this happen..." Ako sobbed as she clung to Rinko, "Yukina's gonna punish me! I don't wanna be punished again!"

Rinko wasn't sure how to comfort her. She knew Ako was afraid of Yukina in this regard. The last time Ako snuck out... Yukina had punished her as well. She had first ended up screaming at her and then did hit her. After that, Ako was locked in her room and not allowed out. The door was opened for food. She wasn't even allowed to talk to anyone. That lasted a week.

Rinko could understand her fear of that. Ako was messed up for a bit when it ended. Every small mishap made her jump in fear of another scolding. Lisa had actually had to intervene and make Yukina apologize for how she had handled the situation. It was unclear if Yukina felt bad about how she had punished Ako.

The rest of them had agreed it was pretty severe and the thing Ako had done did not warrant that much of a punishment. This was a lot worse than that first time. Yukina might definitely try and be even harsher now. Ako had ever right to be afraid.

"If... she does anything... outrageous again, I'll... talk to her about it, okay?" Rinko offered.

She was scared to do that, though. Yukina could be... intimidating. Rinko wasn't exactly comfortable around her yet. But, she needed to somehow reassure Ako things would be okay.

"I... I don't wanna go back..."

"I know... but we have to."

Ako shook her head and tightened her grip on Rinko's dress. She was terrified of going back. Rinko wondered now if she should ask Lisa to talk to Yukina about her harsh attitude. To have Ako be that fearful of her was not good.

"So, we were right. This is where you went."

Both of them froze. Looks like they weren't going to get the chance to head back before they had to talk about this.

Ako buried her face into Rinko's dress so she couldn't see them. She was really scared now.

"These two the only ones here?" Sayo kicked the bodies to confirm they were indeed dead.

"As far as I know, yes..." Rinko nodded.

"So, care to explain why both of you are out here?" Yukina was glaring at both of them.

"I... I'm sorry..." Ako whispered.

"Ako, you were told not to come here." Yukina's tone was harsh, "I've about had it with this disobedience."

"Y-Yukina, let's calm down." Lisa tried to mediate, "Ako is still young."

"I don't care. She should know better by now." Yukina shot back.

Rinko took a deep breath. She could only think of one way that might stop Yukina from being so mad at Ako. But, it was something she was scared to say.

"I... I'm at fault... not, Ako..." Rinko said.

"Huh?"

It was obvious that was confusing everyone. Rinko knew it wasn't going to be a very believable thing, so she better get talking.

"I... wanted to... try and do this... to prove I wasn't useless..." Rinko said, "I... asked her to come with me."

It was met with silence. Ako didn't dare say a word. She didn't want to mess this up and have them find out how big of a lie that was.

"Who killed them?" Yukina pointed to the two demons.

"I did..." Rinko said.

"Yukina, we should head back." Lisa intervened again, "Ako is injured."

Yukina didn't seem like she was ready to go yet.

"Yukina. There's nothing more here. Let's head back before any demons have a chance to find us." Sayo stated. She also wished to head back.

"Fine. Let's go then." Yukina walked away without another word.

Lisa chased after her, trying to talk to her. Ako looked up at Rinko, her eyes wide.

"Can you walk?" Rinko asked.

Ako shrugged. She didn't know that she could. Rinko stood up and helped her up. Ako seemed steady enough on her feet for now.

"Do you really think she believes you?" Sayo questioned, "It's obvious what you said was a lie. You wouldn't just do something like this."

Rinko gulped, "I..."

"It's cause Yukina is too mean!" Ako protested, "She was probably gonna kick me out!"

"I will admit... her punishments for you may be... too much..." Sayo couldn't argue with her on that, "But, what will you do if she does question you more? Can you keep up the act?"

"I... just want Yukina to... not punish Ako like... before..."

"Well, if she does I'm sure Lisa will definitely protest it."

"Would you?" Ako asked.

Sayo sighed, "Possibly. Now, let's get back."

They walked back in silence. Ako had her head down and was clinging to Rinko's side. She was still scared of what was going to happen to her once they got back.

Yukina and Lisa were waiting in the living room for them. They all took a seat.

"Rinko, I don't truly believe you would do that." Yukina stated.

"I... You don't know me that well." Rinko replied. It wasn't a lie. No one but Ako knew her well at all.

"I suppose that is true. But, you were struggling earlier and now somehow managed to get to the outpost and kill two demons." Yukina said.

"All these... scratches are from me... going through the forest..." Rinko mumbled, "And... I just... found myself remembering how to... fight in the moment..."

"Fine. Both of you are being punished for this, though." Yukina stated, "Neither of you are leaving this house for a week."

"Is that all?" Ako asked with hesitance.

Before Yukina could speak, Lisa cut in, "How about they have to do all the maintenance in the house?"

Yukina raised an eyebrow at Lisa, "Well... I suppose that can work."

Ako sighed in relief. That wasn't bad at all compared to last time. She could handle that. She was silently grateful for Lisa. Yukina definitely wasn't thinking about something like that.

"Lisa, why don't you take Ako and patch up her wounds?" Yukina suggested.

"Alright. Come on, Ako." Lisa stood up.

Ako followed her out of the room. Rinko was a little nervous. Yukina had asked them to leave for a reason, right? She was pretty certain about that part.

"Rinko, you're lying to me." Yukina stated, "I refuse to believe you told the truth."

Rinko stared at the ground. She didn't know what to say. She wasn't coming up with any good excuses. She was screwed now. She would have to come clean, wouldn't she?

"Rinko was just worried about how you'd treat Ako because of this." Sayo stated.

"So, what is the truth then, Rinko?" Yukina asked.

"I... I only lied about being the one to go... I... I went after her because... I was worried." Rinko mumbled.

"Fine. If I find out you're still lying to me, expect consequences."

"Yukina, I don't want to sound rude, but I believe you're being too controlling." Sayo stated.

"Is that so?"

"Yes. It doesn't feel like we're all a team. It feels like you're the only one with a say in things." Sayo nodded.

Yukina sighed, "We aren't making as much progress as I'd like. I'm getting impatient waiting."

"I'm sure soon we'll be able to do what you want. But, until we can get Ako to be... less incompetent and for Rinko to get her strength back, we are at a standstill." Sayo said.

"Why haven't you asked Afterglow to... assist you?" Rinko questioned.

"They are not that keen on being this illegal quite yet. But, they are slowly getting to that point." Yukina replied.

"I think we should stop for now. Rinko, shouldn't you get your scratches looked at too?" Sayo prompted.

"I guess that would be a good thing to do. You can go now, Rinko." Yukina agreed.

Rinko nodded and went to go find Lisa and Ako. They were in Ako's room. Lisa smiled and greeted her.

"Can you... check my cuts?" Rinko asked.

"Of course. Come sit." Lisa nodded.

Rinko sat down on the bed. Ako stared at her.

"Everything is alright, Ako." Rinko reassured her.

"Good. I was worried Yukina was gonna start yelling at you." Ako said.

"I'm sure she wouldn't do that, Ako. Not with Sayo right there." Lisa said, "She knows we haven't exactly liked how she treated you before."

"Well, I was still really worried." Ako huffed.

"She's still mad at us..."

"I'm sure it'll change soon. I know it may not seem like it, but Yukina does care about you guys." Lisa said.

Ako pouted, "She hardly acts like it."

"She just wants to get things going. It's tough when things are holding you back." Lisa explained.

"Does she think... she could have raided the organization already?" Rinko questioned.

Lisa shook her head, "No. But, she thinks we should be doing large scale attacks by now."

"Oh..."

"Don't worry about it too much. She can wait. As long as the organization doesn't suddenly step up severity with anything she won't care too much if it takes a bit longer to do things." Lisa reassured.

"I'm sorry I keep holding us back..." Ako mumbled.

"It's not your fault." Rinko said, "I'm the one who... is holding us back... because I'm not at my full strength yet..."

"But you were able to kill this demons so well." Ako protested.

"It was... because I was panicking..." Rinko said, "I can't do that normally. Only if I'm under a lot of pressure."

"Oh... sorry..."

"Well, you both are patched up. It's getting to dawn. Get some rest." Lisa smiled at them and then left the room.

"Rinko...? Um... will you... stay with me...?" Ako mumbled.

"S-sure." Rinko was not ready for that request, but she didn't see any reason not to agree to it.

Ako laid down on the bed, "Well, sleep well. And... thank you for saving me... both from those demons and from Yukina..."

"I... it's nothing..." Rinko mumbled, feeling embarrassed from the thanks.

"Well, I'm tired so, night..." Ako yawned as she closed her eyes.

"Sleep well, Ako."