Miku cried throughout the service. The last time Miku had been to a funeral, it was for her grandmother, and Miku had been eight. She couldn't cry then, not for a woman she had only met a handful of times, but this was different.
This room wasn't filled with a bunch of rich people too prideful to cry. No. There were many people in the church of multiple statuses – Miku didn't fail to notice the handful of Juliets wandering about not as servants or someone's escort, but as fellow mourners with the men, Cinderellas, and Alices in the room – and more people were bawling their eyes out than not crying at all.
Even the minister who led the service had to take a few moments to recompose himself on the pulpit. Gakuko was very loved, and it was painful for Miku to see just how everyone she had grown up with had been crippled by her loss. In a lot of ways, Miku felt like an imposter sitting in on a service for someone she didn't know as well as the others in the room did.
Luka must have felt the same, for after the service had concluded, she leaned close to Miku and whispered, "I can't imagine how any of these people took the news when they first heard what happened to Gakuko."
Unable to respond, Miku merely nodded her head. She tried to swallow, but the lump in her throat was too big. Turning around, Miku saw Rin and Merli sitting in the back, away from the crowd.
However awkward I felt, Miku thought as she stood to her feet, it can't be anything compared to what those two must have felt the entire time.
As Miku and Luka were walking back to their respective escorts, two men stopped them in their path. They each had the same lavender hair and purple eyes Gakuko had. They were the same age as her, too.
It took Miku a second to connect the dots, but she knew who they were. Yukito and Io. Gakuko's triplet brothers.
"We're so glad you were able to make it today," one of them – Miku couldn't tell them apart – said.
"Gakuko told us a lot about you two," the other added. "She really loved you both. Often said she couldn't wait for us to meet her new friends. Such a shame she isn't here to see it."
Luka smiled sadly and replied, "Well, I'm sure Gakuko is looking down on us from the afterlife, watching this bittersweet meeting."
Both boys frowned, and it was the first one who stated, "Gakuko was an atheist."
Face turning a deep shade of red, Luka stammered, "Well, uh, what I mean is—"
Covering her mouth, Miku hopelessly watched the flustered Luka try with no success to recompose herself and recover. Miku couldn't think of anything to say to take the attention off Luka. All she could do was watch until Luka sighed in defeat and said she was sorry to the brothers.
Then they smiled, and then their smiles turned into chuckles. The first looked apologetically at Luka as the other said, "We were messing with you. Gakuko was more religious than the two of us combined, even if she mostly kept her beliefs to herself. We're sorry to have thrown you off like that."
For a moment, Luka looked at them with narrowed eyes. She silently huffed and flipped her hair over her shoulder. Crossing her arms, Luka looked away as if she thought that as long as she couldn't see the brothers, they were no longer there.
Not sure what else to do, Miku merely curtsied and introduced herself. "As you might already know, I am Hatsune Miku from the Venus District. It is a pleasure to officially make your acquaintance."
In return, the boys bowed. "I am Yuzuki Yukito," the first introduced as the second said, "Yuzuki Io, at your service."
Eyes trained onto Luka, Io insisted, "We really are sorry to make a fool out of you. My brother and I, um, have never been the best in tense situations."
"You can say that again," Luka replied, still refusing to look at either boy.
"So, uh," Miku held her hands together, "we are truly, truly sorry for your loss. I can't imagine what it must be like for you two to lose not only a sister, but a triplet sister."
"Gakuko was our better third, that's for sure," Yukito said, his and his brother's eyes downcast. "We still almost can't believe it happened."
"We tried to talk her into coming back home, but she wouldn't listen," Io added. "We should have just flown over there personally and dragged her back by the hair. Gakuko would have been furious with us, but at least she would still be alive."
"You couldn't have known this would be the outcome," Miku tried. "What happened isn't your fault."
"We know that." Io's eyes narrowed, and his brows tightly pinched together. "Whoever shot that arrow is at fault, and the fact that person is still roaming free is the biggest insult of them all."
Miku's spine went rigid. When questioned what happened shortly after the Cinderella Academy Attack, Miku was too emotional to give a coherent answer. Her concern over Rin took captive every single one of Miku's thoughts. All Miku could supply was that it was one of the academy's Juliets. It didn't occur to Miku until much later, after they had settled in Miku's home, that perhaps Rin knew which Juliet killed Gakuko and then tried to kill her.
Nobody considered asking Rin for her side of the story. If not for her own injuries, Rin might have been arrested and questioned as a criminal simply for her tattoo. Everything Rin knew about that day still remained unspoken.
Thinking this, Miku turned her attention towards Rin. The blonde made eye contact with Miku, and she frowned. Furrowing her brows, Rin silently asked what was wrong. Miku subtly shook her head. Before Rin could do anything else, Merli whispered in Rin's ear, and the two walked out of the church sanctuary.
"Is something the matter?" Yukito asked, frowning.
"Yes. I mean, no. I, um—" Miku shook her head. "I regret that I wasn't able to save her. I told Gakuko that she wouldn't die. I wish I hadn't been made into a liar."
"You were there, were you not?"
"I was," Miku answered, her arms coming up to give herself a small hug.
For a moment, Miku was sure the boys were going to ask Miku what she remembered happening and if she knew who ended their sister's life. Then Miku realized they planned to do none of those things. If anything, Io and Yukito both looked as if they felt sorrier for Miku than they did themselves.
"We must be going," Io said after a while. "There are quite a few guests here to honor Gakuko, and we want to make sure to thank everyone for coming."
"It was an honor meeting you two," Yukito added, bowing.
"The honor is all mine." Miku curtsied, and Luka managed to mutter a simple, polite farewell.
After the boys had gone, Luka turned to Miku and said, "I wish to go now."
"So do I. How does lunch sound? Are you craving anything?"
Luka sighed. "I don't know if I can eat."
"I don't know if I'll be able to stop," Miku mumbled. Due to her mother's restrictions, Miku couldn't emotionally eat much anymore. A small part of Miku wanted to take the opportunity while it was presented to her, but she decided to not force it.
"After we change, how about a walk through town so we can clear our heads?" Luka suggested.
Not having any better ideas, Miku replied, "I don't see why not."
Rin chewed on her lower lip. She didn't like the way those guys – Ms. Yuzuki's brothers, if their similar appearances meant anything – looked at Miku as if she knew something she refused to share. It wasn't Miku who knew anything, but Rin. If anyone asked Rin who killed Ms. Yuzuki, it would have become immediately clear that Rin was at the very least acquaintances with the culprit.
All the selfish parts of Rin were glad nobody questioned her about what happened. Once her connections to Cul were confirmed, it wouldn't have taken too much digging to find out all the other crimes Rin committed. Rin would be as good as dead if the truth ever came out.
Yet seeing the way those guys watched Miku as if she were the guilty one, Rin knew she would have gladly sacrificed herself if it ever came down to it as long as it meant keeping Miku safe.
"Rin, what's wrong?" Miku, who sat across from Rin, asked as the four of them traveled to a nearby restaurant. Nobody was really hungry, but they all agreed to getting something to eat for the sake of some form of normalcy. "You have been acting strangely since, well . . ."
Although Miku trailed off, Rin knew what her mistress meant. Since they reunited after the attack. Not that Miku had acted completely like herself either.
"Everything is fine, Miku," Rin said, offering a faux smile she hoped was convincing enough. It must have been, for Miku nodded as if she bought it and returned to her conversation with Ms. Megurine.
Tuning the Cinderellas out again, Rin returned to staring out the window. Merli sat by Rin's side, her eyes trained on the pattern she sowed. In a lot of ways, Rin was glad to see Merli again. In others, Rin didn't know if she should trust this woman. Merli and she lived vastly different lives back during their friendship in the village, and those days had long since passed. Neither was the same person anymore. Rin didn't know if Merli was someone worth trusting.
Then Rin felt a hand on top of hers. At first she thought it was Miku's, but looking down, Rin saw that the skin was a dark brown. She slid her gaze towards Merli, who still kept her eyes firmly locked on her pattern. Then Merli's hand slipped away. Tucked into Rin's palm was what felt to be a folded sheet of paper.
Certain nobody watched her, Rin slid the folded note into her dress pocket.
Since nobody else cared to make a suggestion, Miku told the carriage driver to take them to a noodle restaurant. After they entered the building and were seated by a window, Rin kept her fists planted firmly on the table to keep from reaching into her pocket to make sure Merli's note was still there. Her tightly curled fists must have raised some concern, for Miku placed one of her hands on top of Rin's. Slowly, Rin relaxed that hand. A second later, and Miku wrapped her fingers between Rin's and held the back of Rin's hand.
If Ms. Megurine or Merli had any thoughts on the tender touch between Cinderella and Juliet, they didn't comment. They certainly noticed, but both women acted as if they didn't. In a lot of ways, Rin was grateful to not be questioned on this simple form of affection.
There were lame attempts to make light conversation or small talk. When the waiter came to take their order, everyone requested what she wanted. After the orders were placed, silence again covered the table like a heavy blanket.
When an appropriate amount of time passed, Rin excused herself to use the restroom she had been searching for the moment the four women entered the restaurant.
Once inside the ladies' room with the door locked behind her, Rin pulled the folded sheet of paper Merli had given her from her pocket. Releasing a heavy sigh, Rin unfolded the paper with shaking hands. She held her breath as she read.
I have to talk to you about something extremely important. I don't know if or when you and I will be alone and we can speak with each other in private, so we might need to make such a situation happen. Keep an eye out as well. Something's going on. Something big, and I don't like it.
That was all Merli's note said. Rin swallowed past the lump in her throat. Something big is going on. Merli had no idea.
Lunch consisted of everyone going through the motions. Only Miku ate every bite of her meal, and the others opted to put their leftovers in a bag for later. Not that Rin planned on eating later, but perhaps Miku would want to try what she ordered.
As the four made their way to the carriage, a shout echoing through the streets halted them in their tracks. Rin felt her heartrate skyrocket. There was a crowd forming a few yards away.
"What is going on?" Ms. Megurine asked nobody. In return, nobody answered.
Before anyone could do anything, Miku lurched forward. Ms. Megurine called after her, but Miku kept running towards the crowd. The instant she processed what was happening, Rin gave chase after Miku.
"What are you doing?!" Rin shouted when she was close enough for Miku to hear her. "You shouldn't rush into potentially dangerous situations."
"Someone's in trouble!" was Miku's argument as she entered the crowd as easily as a spoon dipped into pudding.
Rin had no such luck. Try as she might to slip past some of the onlookers, Rin couldn't pass any of them. It was as if everybody knew without seeing her wrist that Rin was a Juliet and unworthy of witnessing whatever had attracted such a crowd. No matter how much Rin yelled, "Excuse me!" and "I need to get to my mistress!" nobody relented. Huffing in irritation, Rin dropped to her hands and knees and crawled between the legs of everyone as if she were once again a small child.
When she came to the front of the crowd, Rin's heart stopped. Her mouth suddenly went dry. She dug her nails into the ground as if to anchor herself as she watched what she knew she was about to witness.
"Leave me alone!" shouted a dark-skinned girl with pink hair. Her red eyes, wet with tears, were locked onto the trio of men surrounding her.
The men snickered, coming in closer like predator to prey. With the crowd now formed, this girl no longer had anywhere to escape. Nobody did anything to help her as it became clear these men weren't interested in playing nice with her.
"You must think you're somebody if you have the nerve to tell us what to do!" one of the men sneered. "Don't think just because those Juliets attacked that school you're suddenly somebody special."
"I had nothing to do with that," the girl insisted, her gaze traveling over the faces in the crowd as if to plead with someone, anyone, to come to her aid.
"Sure you didn't," another of the men replied. "But what if you could have joined? Would the story be any different then?"
"Look," the girl tried, "I just want to run errands for my master and go home. I don't desire to cross anyone."
The last chuckled. "You crossed us plenty already just for having that tattoo on your wrist."
Rin didn't need to hear anymore. "Stop it!" she cried as she pushed herself to her feet and rushed towards the Juliet.
However, someone grabbed her from behind. Before Rin could process who had yanked her by the arm, she was thrown back to the ground. Her head hit the pavement so hard Rin blacked out for a moment or two.
Although Rin couldn't see or move, she could still hear and feel. She felt the blood pooling in her mouth and dripping down her cheek as the side of her face was pressed against the rough pavement. Somebody, most likely Miku, called Rin's name. Rin's head was picked up and placed onto something soft. Gentle fingers stroked the loose strands of hair from Rin's eyes.
Then the Juliet screamed. The crowd roared, but Rin couldn't figure out why. When Miku sucked in a sharp breath, Rin felt her blood turn to ice.
It was then her eyes started working again, and Rin forced herself to move. Pushing herself upright away from Miku's lap, and ignoring Miku's protests in the process, Rin turned around to see the crowd growing deathly still. Deathly quiet. The sounds of someone trying too hard to breathe were just barely audible from the inside of the ring.
"Rin, what are you—" Miku began, but Rin didn't stick around to hear her finish the question.
Crawling back under, Rin again scurried to the center of the crowd. When she could see what was going on, Rin froze without crawling all the way out. Her breath caught in her throat.
One of the men had his hands wrapped around the Juliet's throat, and the other two each held one of her arms back. The Juliet was crying, her lips slowly moving in a silent plea. Her chocolate dark face grew paler and paler. Her lips turned blue. Nobody did anything to stop this senseless violence.
Before Rin could cry out again, all three men simultaneously let go of the Juliet. Her body fell to the ground as if she were nothing more than a lifeless ragdoll. When the Juliet didn't try to move from the cold, hard ground, Rin knew that this girl now really was not much different than a ragdoll.
Snapping her attention this way and that, Rin saw only two reactions: horror at the crime just committed and approval of one less Juliet roaming the streets.
Eyes returning to and locking on the now dead Juliet, Rin sucked in a sharp breath. The girl's lifeless red orbs stared into nothing. Her colorless lips were still parted in one of her unheard pleas.
"Rin, let's go!"
Both Miku and Merli grabbed each of Rin's arms at the same time and lifted the blonde to her feet. Rin neither helped them haul her away nor resisted, instead letting her heels drag against the ground. Yet no matter how far away Rin was pulled from the scene, she could still see that Juliet's soulless stare gazing into her very being.
"We need to get going, now!" Ms. Megurine shouted as she helped the other two pack Rin into the carriage.
Once they were all inside and the carriage was off, Miku grabbed Rin by the face and demanded, "What has gotten into you? Why did you just sit there? Rin, some of them were talking about killing you next!"
It was a solid minute before Rin processed Miku's words. "They were?"
Nobody could verbally confirm Rin's question. Miku and Merli sadly nodded, and Ms. Megurine kept her attention firmly locked on the window.
Although Rin knew what she had seen and had no questions about it, she still found herself asking, "They killed that girl for no reason other than she was a Juliet?"
Miku looked everywhere but at Rin. "They, um, yes, they did."
"She had done nothing wrong?"
"I don't think she did anything except go out to run errands."
"They really were going to kill me next, weren't they?"
This question Miku did not answer. Hands traveling down from Rin's cheeks to her shoulders, Miku pulled Rin into a hug and held her close. It took Miku's trembling against Rin's chest for the Juliet to realize that Miku had begun crying.
Rin slowly returned the hug and buried her face into the crook of Miku's neck. After what she had just seen, Rin didn't want to see anything else the world had to show her. It would have been okay if Rin didn't have to see anything again for a long, long time.
However, Rin could still hear. That was something Rin could not block out no matter how much she would have wanted. It was why she was able to hear every last word Merli spoke to Ms. Megurine.
"This senseless murder won't go unnoticed. It's not going to be ignored. I . . . I fear that it's start of something we won't be able to control."
This had to be some kind of sick joke. Or perhaps this was her punishment for peeing in the temple fountain when she was sixteen to spite the goddess. Either way, Meiko refused to relent to this plan. There was no way she was going to do it. Meiko refused to enter the Cinderella Academy under the guise of Ona's maid.
"You act as if I'm going to make you perform unforgivable tasks while in the public eye," Ona said as she and Meiko sat in the upper part of the shack. As above ground was colder and less sightly than the headquarters hidden beneath, it wasn't a bad place to go if Meiko wanted to speak with another privately.
"Well, for one," Meiko began, picking the lint off her sleeve, "you seem exactly like the type of person who would do such a thing."
Ona neither confirmed nor denied this, choosing instead to simply grin at Meiko.
"And another," Meiko continued, "I have the kind of pride you can pave a path to the moons with. Do you honestly think I can pull off pretending to be your personal maid when I don't know how I'll manage to get myself into the uniform in the first place?"
Laughing, Ona leaned back in the old, worn couch and replied, "You seem to be a convincing actress. I don't see why you can't pull this off if you're really determined to. Besides, I'm sure you would look cute in that silly dress."
"There is nothing about me that is cute."
"I apologize. How does 'mischievously adorable' sound?"
"Much better, thank you."
"At least you don't have to pretend to have some sort of condition that leaves you unable to care for yourself." Ona threw her head back and closed her eyes. "Despite Tonio's insistence I pretend to not be all there, I would much rather pretend to just be lame. A sharp mind is too good a thing to waste."
Before Meiko could respond, Kaito walked up the stairs and said, "You wouldn't be wasting your sharp mind, Ona. You would just have to pretend you don't know where you are half the time. You can still get the highest scores in the class."
"I could," Ona mused, "but I won't. If everyone knew I'm this gorgeous, funny, and smart, they would cry at how unfair the world is."
"They're a bunch of Cinderellas." Meiko rolled her eyes. "Someone should give them just the smallest taste at how unfair everything is. A dose of reality never hurt anyone."
"It seems to me you say that from experience," Kaito muttered, sitting next to Ona and tinkering on his tablet.
Raising a brow, Meiko said, "Um, come again?"
"I mean, you are an Alice," Kaito said as if Meiko could somehow forget about the tattoo that was forced onto her wrist when she wasn't a day over five years old. "Your destiny is to work for everything. Sometimes you prevail, and sometimes you don't. At the end of the day, Fate has picked its favorite, and there's nothing you can do about it."
"Those words would have been acceptable if their tone didn't tell me that you approve of every one," Meiko growled.
"The caste system exists for a reason," Kaito argued, just barely lifting his eyes from his tablet.
"And what is that reason?"
"Your destiny was foretold by the stars, and there is no escaping it."
"And what about your destiny, huh, little lord?"
"I'm a man, and men can forge their own destiny. Women, however, cannot. Your job is to be what the goddess wants you to be."
"The goddess, or society?"
Now Kaito looked up. "You dare challenge the legitimacy of a deity?"
"Kaito," Ona cut in, "you're not even religious. I know as well as you do that you're fighting on the side of societal norms."
"And you're one to talk?" Kaito challenged. "Are you also not fighting to keep Artemis the way it has been for centuries?"
"Careful, Kaito," Ona narrowed her eyes, "you don't know why I signed up for this."
"Yes, I do," Kaito argued. "You wanted to try to find your cousin."
"That was a main reason, yes." Ona said nothing after that. Meiko could feel the unspoken words left hanging in the air. However, they were too out of reach for the Alice to grab.
"Why are you even here?" Meiko asked Kaito, her fingers curled into tight fists. "Do you really hate Juliets so much that you truly desire to tear them down so thoroughly that they could never hope to stand again?"
Kaito didn't miss a beat. "Of course."
Remembering the story she heard from that academy about a Juliet being caught with a Cinderella and the Juliet being beheaded while the Cinderella got to walk away without suffering any consequences, Meiko growled, "It's people like you that make me empathize with the Juliets."
"And rebellious women like you are the reason Artemis isn't the perfect world it can be," Kaito remarked. "If all you stupid women just accepted that your tattoos tell you what your worth is in this world and stuck to fulfilling that role, then maybe just—"
Before Kaito had the chance to go any further, Meiko screamed and lunged towards him. Ona jumped off the couch and stood a good distance away, watching Meiko pounce onto Kaito like a lioness pounces onto its prey. Lucky for Kaito, Meiko did not have any of her knives on her lest one of them would find a new home in Kaito's porcelain smooth white face.
"You absolute bastard!" Meiko shouted as she pounded at Kaito with her leather clad fists. "The fault of society aren't women like me! It's snot lickers like you who have their head so far up their own ass they wouldn't know fresh air if they breathed it that is the reason things have continued to decline! Nobody gets to tell me what to do and who to be! Not some stupid tattoo, and especially not somebody like you!"
Meiko had a lot more she wanted to say, and if she could have said it – and kept beating her fists against Kaito while she was at it – she would have. Yet before she could go any further, someone grabbed her from behind and threw her off Kaito, sending her to crash land on her butt a few feet away. The hands were off her waist just as fast as they took a hold of her, but Meiko knew immediately that it was Big Al who was both stupid enough and brave enough to dare make physical contact with a woman lashing out like a wild animal.
"That's enough, Sakine!" Big Al roared as Meiko glared at him from the ground.
"He deserved it!" was Meiko's childish argument. She turned her attention from Big Al to Kaito to see the man covering his face, blood gushing from his nose and leaking through his fingers. Good.
"If I could have you thrown in jail right now," Kaito began, but Meiko interrupted him.
"But you can't, little lord! Nobody else is here to hold your hand when you get a boo boo. You're playing with the big kids now."
"I said that's enough!" Big Al sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. To Ona, "Why did you let Meiko jump Kaito like that?"
"Meiko wasn't wrong," Ona replied. "Kaito did deserve it."
"Whose side are you on?" Kaito asked, prompting Ona to answer, "The side that isn't stupid."
"You three better start acting like adults before you go off for this mission," Big Al warned. "I can't believe I actually have to remind you that this isn't some little game with no consequences. This is a life or death mission if you get caught, and you most certainly will be caught if you can't get your acts together!"
Nobody said anything. Meiko looked at Kaito to see him watching her. Narrowing her eyes, Meiko promised without words that this wasn't over. Kaito's barely audible growl was the sign that he got the message. They might have had to work together, but Meiko and Kaito both knew that didn't mean they had to like each other. Not that such was ever going to happen in the first place.
"Good thing Hio will be joining you." Big Al sighed into his hand. "He's the only one I can trust to keep you all from killing yourselves."
"I thought Luki was leading the team?" Kaito muttered through his fingers, his nosebleed having yet to slow.
"Luki will be laughing his butt off as he watches us kill each other." Meiko pushed herself to her feet. "I'm going to bed now."
"It's six o'clock."
"Early to bed, early to rise. Besides," Meiko took one last look at Kaito, and she could sense all the negative thoughts he had about her just as she had her fair share for him, "I'm going to need all the strength gathering I can get if I'm going to be working on this mission with such a classist bastard."
"If we fail this mission, it will be because of you," Kaito felt the need to say.
Meiko didn't need to reply for Big Al was already onto Kaito and telling him to shut up, but that didn't stop a comment from rising up. However, Meiko pushed it back down. Pushing all the thoughts and feelings back down, Meiko slowly turned away and descended the stairs. Hio saw her and asked what was wrong, but Meiko didn't answer. She simply collapsed onto her mattress and didn't get up again, not even to eat or use the restroom, for the rest of the evening.
Special. Chosen. Blessed.
Those were the words used to describe Gahata Meiji. They circled around her head, trying to convince her of their truth. However, Meiji knew what being chosen truly meant.
Selected. Inanimate. Whore.
Many of her Sisters looked at Meiji with envy in their eyes when she was the one from their generation chosen as Mother. Little did they know Meiji would have given up that title to any who wanted it in a heartbeat. Yet she couldn't, because the All Mother had proclaimed that it was the goddess's destiny for Meiji to be chosen to help preserve the Sisterhood through her womb.
Well, Meiji thought, looks like the goddess and I have different plans.
It took far too long in the summer days for the sun to set. Meiji didn't like the wait, especially since it guaranteed that her anxiety would continue to grow until the fateful moment finally arrived. Though when it finally came, and everyone within the Sisterhood had retired for the night, Meiji found that she couldn't leave fast enough.
"Careful," Ian, her brother and only full sibling, whispered as he took Meiji's hand and helped her descend the mountain.
They did not take the paved pathway. If anyone was awake and on the watch for trespassers, or someone like Meiji looking to escape, they would expect to see someone sneaking around on a path that did not promise a broken neck if anyone took a wrong step. This way meant either fleeing the Sisterhood or die trying.
For Meiji, death was better than becoming Mother.
"What if someone catches us?" Yukari, Meiji's best friend and favorite half-sister, softly spoke into the night air.
"They won't," Meiji replied. What she didn't add was, "I would kill myself before I let them get a hold of me."
Yukari, however, was insistent. "But what if they do?"
"We run," Ian stated. "We are not going back. I refuse to turn back."
Yukari didn't say anything, but she did make a sound that seemed to indicate she wasn't sure of this.
"You can turn back now," Meiji said, stopping in place. Her brother stood just in front of her, their hands tightly holding the other's. Yukari was too far back for comfort.
If Yukari turned back, she wouldn't have to live life on the run. However, the Sisters would know Yukari was aware of what became of Meiji and Ian. The things they would do to extract this information from Yukari—
"No, I'm coming with you." Yukari bounced forward, almost like a graceful deer on those loose rocks. The Sister-in-Training was as fleet-footed as she was precise. Nobody other than Meiji knew Yukari liked to dance alone in her room after everyone else retired for the night.
Now that she stood next to Meiji, Yukari stated, "I want to escape my fate just as much as you want to escape yours."
"Your second thoughts suggest otherwise," Meiji pointed out.
Nodding, Yukari replied, "Well, no more. I would much rather run away with my sister and brother now than stay behind and be forced to learn how to draw roses, butterflies, and crowns on a child's delicate flesh. Now, let's go. The further away we are when someone notices we're gone, the better chance we will have at getting away."
As they continued to march forward, Ian said, "There will never truly be a 'getting away.' The Sisterhood has eyes all over the continent. Even if we flee to another, that continent's Sisterhood should be able to locate us as well. We're going to have to spend the rest of our lives watching our backs and sleeping with our eyes open."
"As if we weren't already doing that before," Meiji muttered. Ian squeezed her hand. She returned the gesture.
Under the cover of the night, the three slipped away from the only home they had ever known to escape to a new life. A Mother who didn't want to have bastard children. A Sister who didn't want to read the destinies written by the goddess for other girls. A boy who no longer wanted to be a slave. Despite their entire lives telling the three that there was no escaping fate, the three of them all took their chances to run away from the lives they were born into.