A.N: Before you read this chapter, I need to warn you about one little thing. There is one line in this chapter that refers to what I call "involuntary homophobia" which is in this case a (young) character who was taught that being attracted to people of the same gender isn't okay and never had anyone to tell her that it's perfectly okay. I won't say more so it doesn't spoil, but I feel it's fair that I warn you all beforehand, in case some of you could be triggered by it. I tried to handle it with as much tact as possible!

Chapter Three: The Girl From the Spirit Village

Mia never really had made many friends. She didn't think she was unfriendly, but her childhood in Kurain Village had never allowed her to befriend anyone. For this reason, she was most often on her own ever since enrolling at law school, though she was okay with that.

She never missed a day of classes, and today, she had decided to attend the lectures meant for the third-year students. Mia expected to quickly fall behind since she was only in her first year, but it happened that she managed to take notes of everything that had been said and to come out of class more knowledgeable than she was before.

Besides, the young woman had been lucky enough to take her seat next to a kind and hard-working girl named Lana Skye, who was pursuing the detective path. Lana had offered her help with her notes if she had missed anything, and even if it turned out that she had not needed it, Mia was still grateful.

All in all, this had been a good idea. Mia had decided she would attend these classes more often from now on, with the objective of passing the bar exam as soon as possible to progress her investigation into her mother's disappearance.

More than satisfied, Mia had gone to have lunch at a local burger joint, where she and her sister Maya always went whenever the latter was in the city. Little did she know that after going back on campus and to the library to review her notes, she would meet Lana again, who had come back for the exact same reason.

This gave her the chance to learn more about Lana and her little sister Ema, as well as the tragic circumstances revolving around their parents' death in a car crash. Mia felt guilty about this, but she didn't have the heart to tell Lana about her background and the case her mother was involved in.

In the end, the two young women ended up studying together for a few hours before splitting up only a couple of minutes ago. Mia wasn't sure if they could be considered friends, but Lana was definitely someone she was glad to have met. Maybe they would not cross paths again, but Mia had the feeling it wasn't the last she had heard of her.

Besides, she wanted to. Lana just seemed like the perfect study partner, and not getting a chance to bond closer with her would be a shame in Mia's opinion.

The ride back to her apartment on her bike was as relieving as it always was. Mia always enjoyed feeling the wind blow away her worries, even if that sometimes came along a speeding ticket. The sense of freedom was liberating, especially on stressful days. This wasn't one of them, but it was still pleasant.

Mia entered her apartment and sat on the couch, taking a few minutes to relax. She turned the TV on, checking the news for anything interesting. Her apartment was all a struggling student such as herself could afford, but it was good enough for her.

She reached inside her purse and grabbed her cellphone, calling her most recent contact. It picked up on the second ring.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Maya?" Mia said, hearing her little sister on the other line. "It's me."

"Ah, Sis!" Maya beamed. "How are you today?"

"I'm fine, Maya, thank you," she replied, smiling as she could imagine her sister's happy expression. "How are things going in Kurain? Is your training going well?"

"Well, Aunt Morgan just came to get me from under the waterfall, so I'm done for the day," said Maya. "I'm not sure if I'm improving or not, though…"

"It'll come with time, Maya, don't worry," the older girl assured her. Maya often doubted that her training would ever allow her to channel spirits, but Mia always made sure to help her with her self-confidence. "Hard work is always rewarded, and I know that Morgan has you working hard."

"Yeah, that's right!" Maya confirmed, making her sister chuckle. "I dunno if she'll make Pearly work as hard as me, but I hope for her sake that she doesn't!"

I sincerely doubt this… Mia thought, sighing. Pearl Fey was the three-year-old daughter of Morgan Fey, Maya and Mia's aunt. The older Fey sister had never met her cousin in person and wasn't sure if she would ever since she had no intention of returning to Kurain Village. But based on Maya's description, Pearl was a sweet little girl. Mia only hoped she would not be corrupted by Morgan's goal-minded personality, although she knew it was wishful thinking.

Morgan was the older sister of Misty Fey, the former Master of Kurain and Mia's mother. Usually, the oldest sister was supposed to inherit the position of Master, but in this case, the younger Misty had been privileged thanks to her much greater spiritual power. Everyone in Kurain knew that Morgan had never gotten over it.

"Anyway, I'm glad to know you're doing well, Maya," Mia said with relief. "I miss you, you know? Do you think you could come to pay me a visit in the city soon? My next school break is in not too long, so I'll be available for a little while."

"Sure, I'd love to, Sis! I really miss you, too!" exclaimed Maya. "I just don't want to bother you while so you're so busy studying!"

"Don't worry about that, Maya," she told her, shaking her head in amusement. "I never could consider you a bother, ever. Besides, even if my studies matter to me, you matter way more than that. If you ever want to visit one day unannounced, I'll happily miss class to see you, Maya."

"T-Thank you, Sis…" the youngest sister stuttered on the other end of the line, sounding cutely embarrassed. "I really, really miss you… It's never really been the same since you left Kurain Village, you know…?"

Mia looked down to the floor of her apartment in shame. Whenever she heard Maya, her baby sister, being sad because of her, the young woman felt ashamed. She wanted to be by her sister's side at all times, but Mia knew that getting away from Kurain Village would save her a lot of trouble in the future.

Of course, pursuing a career in law had been her first motive for leaving Kurain, but there was also another: Maya's future. With two sisters, daughters of the Master, if Mia didn't manage to find a clue as to where Misty was, another conflict would eventually begin, and she wanted to avoid this at all cost. Mia's family had been torn enough in the past for her to let history repeat itself.

"I… I know, Maya…" Mia told her, voice full of guilt. "But I promise that it'll be okay. I'll do what I need to, and then we'll have all the time in the world to catch up, and I'll be able to come back to the village from time to time, okay?"

Her promise was genuine, and she wanted Maya to know how much being separated from her hurt. Mia might have been the older sister, but she still felt a lot of sadness whenever they would see each other and that Maya would have to go back to Kurain eventually. That's why she always tried to make the best of these moments, to treasure them.

"Okay, Sis," Maya said, and Mia could just see the smile returning to her face. "But tell me more about your school! I wanna know everything that's happening!"

"O-Oh well…" Mia fiddled with a strand of her hair. "It's kinda boring, for the most part, you know? I mean, there are some pretty interesting classes, but it's still a lot of time spent reading law books and reviewing notes. It's still really theoretical," Mia chuckled. "I'm sure you'd just fall asleep out of boredom if you were in my shoes, Maya."

Maya giggled, making her sister smile. "You're probably right about that, yeah," she paused and laughed again. "I could never take any interest in what you do, that's for sure! Law sounds like it's for old geezers!"

Mia rolled her eyes and shook her head. Maya could really say the silliest things sometimes, but it was what made her, her. And while Mia wasn't a defense attorney yet, she had to admit that her sister was more in the right than she was in the wrong, at least.

"Well, maybe you're not entirely wrong, but I'm sure there are also plenty of younger people, too," she paused, smiling to herself. "For example, I've attended a class for third-year students this morning and met this really kind girl. We were able to chat a bit and study together this afternoon."

"Oh, really?" Maya sounded interested. "What's her name, Sis?"

"Her name's Lana. Lana Skye," Mia told her. "She wants to become a detective, and we've met by total chance. I'm glad we did, though. She seemed a little shy, but she's a kind and hard-working woman."

"Ah, that's cool," the younger Fey said. "Is she like… your study partner or something?"

"Well, I don't think so," Mia answered, pretty unsurely. "She was able to explain to me everything I had not understood very clearly, so I wouldn't mind, but… she probably already has a study partner. Besides, she might have been kind to me today, but I'm sure she's got other things to do than to help a first-year student, Maya."

"Hey, maybe she doesn't, Sis!" Maya suggested, and Mia could almost see her shrug through the phone. "I think you should ask her, just in case."

"I'll keep that in mind," she relented, knowing how persistent Maya could sometimes be. "I'll need to see her on campus again before I ask her that, though."

"I'm sure you'll see each other again, Sis. You were attracted to one another, after all!"

"W-WHAT?!" Mia exclaimed, her eyes widening in surprise. "M-Maya!"

"I meant intellectually attracted, Sis!" Maya explained, sighing. "I know that a girl can't be attracted to another girl, thank you very much…"

Mia frowned worriedly. This kind of speech had Morgan written all over it. Kurain Village was very conservative, and Morgan was known to be even more. In the minds of many villagers, being attracted to someone of the same gender was a sin. It exasperated Mia to no end, and she knew she would have to discuss it with Maya one day to set things right.

After all, Mia herself had felt very offended by these comments from villagers during her teenage years when she realized she felt just as strongly for both girls and boys. She had no idea if Maya would be the same, but she wanted to protect her, should it happen.

"Right, moving on…" Mia said awkwardly, trying to change the subject as quickly as possible. "Did I tell you that Lana has a little sister, too?"

"Really?! That's so cool!" Maya said with excitement, making Mia sigh in relief. "What's her name? Is she older than me?"

"No, I'm pretty sure Lana told me she was turning 11, so you're a bit older, Maya," she didn't know if Maya felt the need to be reassured, but she was, anyway. "And her name is Ema. Apparently, she's really into science and wants to work with her sister when she's older."

Mia knows that Maya is just as inexperienced with science as the other kids in Kurain are. After all, they are raised to believe that there was nothing beyond the mountains, so of course, science isn't the main focus. Just mentioning the word seems to completely overwhelm the poor girl.

"That's… interesting, I guess…" Maya said, definitely not following anymore. "Do you think you'll introduce me to your friend one day, Sis?"

"You mean Lana?"

"Yes."

"Well, as I told you earlier, I'm not even sure if I'll ever see her again, so…" Mia trailed off, letting her sister finish the sentence for her. "If we really become friends and she doesn't mind, then sure. Perhaps you could meet Ema, too."

"Yeah, I'd love that!" Maya cheered, visibly liking the idea. After a couple of silent seconds, Mia heard her voice again. "Well, I'm sure you have a lot of work to do, Sis, so I won't take any more of your time. Besides, I think Pearly's calling me, so I have to go."

"Alright," Mia said, nodding. "I'll talk to you later then. Take care, Maya. I love you."

"Love you too, Sis! I'll talk to you soon!"

With that, Maya hung up, leaving Mia to stand up from the couch and giggle.

Ah, good old Maya… You really are the best little sister anyone could ask for…

To be continued…

A.N: I don't know if Maya will be getting a ship in this story yet, but I needed to make sure that Mia has planned to talk to her about what Morgan has taught her in case I ship her with Franziska for example. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter between the Turnabout Sisters! Please leave a review and I hope you have a nice day, everyone! :)