Mashiro stirred in the morning. She winced in pain as the wounds from the fight starting pulsing. She opened her eyes and looked around. It seemed she was alone. She felt her chest. There was no indication of the surgery. But, the lump was gone.

Mashiro sat up. She was still in the same room, this time having a makeshift bed to use. She stood up and tested her strength. She was in good shape. There hadn't been too many bad hits on her.

She could hear talking coming from somewhere nearby. She wasn't sure if she should investigate or not? What did she have to lose?

Mashiro went to the door and tried it. It was unlocked. She opened it and stepped out into the hall. She followed the sound of the voices. They were in the living room. It was Yukina, Rinko, Aya, and Chu2.

Mashiro nervously walked into their sight. They all paused and looked at her.

"H-hi?" Mashiro was nervous. What if they hurt her for leaving the room? But, they had been nice to her. But she was the enemy.

"You're awake." Yukina said, "How are you feeling?"

"Alright... just sore from the fight." Mashiro mumbled.

"You can sit with us. You could be useful in this discussion." Yukina motioned to the empty seat next to Aya.

Mashiro nodded and took the seat. Aya looked her over. Mashiro felt unnerved by the searching.

"So, tell us about yourself." Yukina prompted, "What did you do at the organization before this job?"

"I... my name is Mashiro... I... I was a spy before this..."

"A spy. What did you do?"

"I... took care of traitors."

"You seem young. I'm surprised they'd let someone your age do that."

"The moment you can work, they'll make you do whatever." Aya commented.

"So, they made a replacement group for Pastel*Palettes."

Mashiro nodded, "Yes. We were given the name Morfonica."

"Who is in charge?"

"No one. We only just formed. We haven't decided who will be the leader yet."

"Tell us about the other girls in your group." Yukina requested.

Mashiro hesitated.

"We want to help you. If you all cooperate with us, you will be spared when we strike."

"I... I'm sorry... I can't tell you..."

"Very well." Yukina didn't like that answer.

"Yukina, she only got here. She's probably scared still. Give her some time." Rinko said.

"I suppose that's true." Yukina agreed reluctantly, "Mashiro, we want you to remain with us. It is dangerous for you to be alone now."

"I... I can't! My... my friends they..."

"They'll be ordered to kill you if you are alive. They can't risk a traitor in their ranks." Chu2 stated.

Mashiro froze, her eyes wide, "K-kill me?!"

"Yes. Anyone from the organization that sees you will have to kill you on the spot." Chu2 nodded.

Mashiro gulped. That was scary. She was wanted now. She never thought it would be her.

"It'll be okay. As long as you're with us, you'll be safe from them."

"I... I can't stay with you. Y-you're who they're after."

"But we haven't gotten caught yet." Yukina stated, "They have failed to locate us and aprehend us all. The times some of us were captured were... mishaps."

"They did find Afterglow, though. It may not be long before they do finally locate your base." Aya replied.

"Do you know how they located that base?" Yukina questioned.

Mashiro shook her head, "Not really. Just that they sent scouts out and located it."

"Hmm... well, I can't exactly force you to stay with us. But, I do believe it is in your best interest that you do."

"I... I'll think about it..." Mashiro still wasn't too sure about remaining with Roselia.

"Take your time. Feel free to voice any concerns you have."

"O-okay."

"So, you already lost one member. And to think it was arguably the most skilled one for the job."

When the remaining girls of Morfonica came back, they were greeted by the boss. He didn't seem very pleased.

"Sorry, sir. We... were not prepared for that many demons. Pastel*Palettes was with them and Roselia came to their aid. There were some others too. I'm not sure what group they may be in." Touko said.

"That is a lot to handle for your first mission, I suppose." He said, "I will be increasing your training. You will be prepared next time."

"Yes, sir."

"One last thing. If by chance Kurata lives, kill her on sight. We can not trust that she has not turned her back on us."

"Kill her? O-okay. If that's the order, then we'll do it."

"Good. Go get ready for practice. We start now."

A few days had passed. Mashiro had made up her mind. She wasn't staying. She couldn't. She was too scared to remain.

"Yukina, um... I've decided what I want to do."

"What is it?"

"I... I'm sorry, but... I can't stay."

"Very well. You are welcome to return to us if you change your mind." Yukina knew she couldn't talk her out of it. She would like it if Mashiro would stay, though.

"T-thank you."

Mashiro soon left the base and made her way deeper into the forest. She had no idea where to start. She just couldn't stay with them. She was probably at more risk remaining with them, wasn't she?

Mashiro sighed as she walked around. She should try and find a place to make camp. But, she didn't know much about living alone. This was going to be tough.

She started a fire and quietly sat down. She was on high alert. Who knew what might be out here with her? She couldn't take any chances.

"So, what do you think our next mission will be?"

"Probably attacking again."

"That means they're still searching for Roselia's base."

"Yep. I suppose that is where Mashiro would be at."

"I hope they're treating her well."

"Yukina? Where's Mashiro?"

"She left."

"Left?"

"She didn't wish to remain with us."

"Oh..."

"I wish I could have talked her into it." Yukina frowned.

"You tried your best." Lisa replied, "She seemed a bit overwhelmed by all of us."

"I hope she's doing alright."

"Yeah... it is a cruel world out there."

Mashiro was starting to regret leaving. She was scared, tired, hungry, cold. Everything. She didn't know where to go. She was lost.

She winced as more rain started coming down. Of course she'd get caught in the rain. It was horrible. She was disoriented, unsure if she was walking in circles anymore.

She paused as she heard talking. She quietly crept closer. It was some demons from the organization. She almost ran out to see them, but then remember what she had been told. They would kill her if they saw her.

Mashiro gulped and quietly backed away. Of course something had to go wrong, though. She slipped and fell on the wet leaves. That caught their attention.

Two demons stood before her now. The moment they realized who she was, their weapons were drawn. Two knives. They were inches away from her face.

Mashiro quickly backed away and jumped up. She was shaking. Where did she go? She hesitated too much and one of them came at her, hitting her on the face and slices down. She screamed in pain and covered her wound.

Mashiro took off running. She needed to lose them. But, how? She was already lost as she was. She was starting to get even more confused now. The wound on her face wasn't helping. It stung like hell.

She could hear them behind her, trying to catch up. She was losing ground fast. She had to find a way to dupe them.

Mashiro yelped as she stumbled down an incline. She groaned in pain as she landed face first into the ground. She pushed herself back to her feet and took off again. She had to keep moving. They were still behind her.

She vaguely started smelling the markers of Roselia's territory. That was good. They could help her. But, would she find them?

Mashiro made it onto their land, but not very far. One of the demons managed to catch up to her and tackled her to the ground. She was fighting again them as best she could, but it was not working.

She gasped as they wrapped their hands around her neck. She was thrashing around violently, trying anything to get free.

"Get away from her!"

Someone came out of the forest and knocked the demon off of her. Mashiro didn't remain conscious long enough to see who it was. Everything was quickly fading to black.

"Hey, are you alright? Can you hear me?"

Mashiro didn't have the strength to respond. She felt someone flip her over, and everything faded away.

"What happened?!"

The moment the two girls returned with Mashiro, there was panic. Seeing her beaten up like that was not a good sign.

"She ran into some organization members. They of course tried to kill her."

The two girls who had saved her had been Yukina and Rinko. They had been taking a walk, as Rinko had wished to talk to Yukina alone. They had heard the noise and went to investigate.

"She needs medical attention fast. Someone get the kit." Rinko ordered as she placed Mashiro onto a blanket, which Ako had already provided for them.

Lisa got the medical kit and helped Rinko start cleaning off the blood. Most of them gave them space to work. Only the rest of Roselia remained in the room for now.

"So... she got spotted." Sayo stated, "She couldn't have been too far away if she made it back to our territory."

"Yeah. That's true." Lisa nodded, "But, those demons are dead now. They can't tell anyone."

"Yukina? You seem troubled by something?" Sayo looked at her.

Yukina sighed, "I feel responsible for her injuries... I should have tried harder to get her to stay."

"It's not your fault. You did what you could." Lisa frowned.

"I didn't do enough." Yukina replied harshly, "Look at her. She could have been spared that if I had convinced her to stay."

"It's... in the past now. You can't change it." Rinko said, "Let's just... focus on helping her recover."

"How is she?" Ako questioned, "Will there be any permanent damage?"

"The cut here will scar. We can't fix it completely. She shouldn't lose function of anything, though." Lisa replied.

"That's at least good."

"Alright. I believe you should be trained enough to return. We know their bases must be close. You will search until you find it."

"Yes, sir!"

"I only want Minato alive. Everyone else is fair game to kill."

"Understood."

"Then go. Don't take too long."

And now they were back out. Sent to try and finish what they started.

"So... what's the plan?" Tsukushi questioned.

"Hmm... well, if Mashiro is with them, that means they disarmed the bomb. Maybe they'll take us in as well?" Touko offered.

"I don't know... it's risky." Nanami mumbled, "What if they're only keeping her alive for info?"

"Do you think that could be the case?"

"We can't tell. Let's just hope they're friendly to us."