Kyoko was unaccustomed to staying stagnant. No matter what life threw at her—backstabbing childhood friends, incarceration, murderous Accursed—she pushed back and found a way to move forward. So then why should she let a little sickness stop her?

It was kind of cute, really, that Cain thought she was going to stay in her room all day and rest. He knew her better than that. Hell, Kanae knew better, which was why Kyoko hadn't been able to escape until the following day. Not that she was alone. No, never again would she be alone it seemed. Today Maru and Dorr were her guard of honor as she ignored their every insistence she go back to bed.

"Please Lady Kyoko, Kanae will kill me," Maru plead, actual tears flowing from his eyes. "What if you get hurt?"

"Then you didn't do your job properly," said Kyoko, brandishing a dropper at him. "Now hush, I'm trying to concentrate."

He whimpered but thankfully stopped pleading. They sat inside one of the many research rooms, the familiar scent of antiseptic comforting as she perused the research reports sprawled before her. Hiroaki had discovered the rotten root only the day before and they'd already discovered so much about it. Thanks to her status as Cain's "wife", no one refused when she'd asked for their research notes. A few hovered nearby pretending work while watching her every action closely.

It worked in her favor as it gave her ample opportunity to pick their brains, so to speak. It did help that a few of them had been there when she'd defended Hiroaki from Sozen. Turns out, valiantly standing up to an Accursed as he threatened to kill your boss was enough to raise people's regard for you. Who knew. In a few hours, she was almost up to date with all their experimentations.

"What about moonright's balm?" said Kyoko. "Have you tried spreading it on the rotten part?"

The nearest assistant pointed mutely. A container sat at the edge of the room, stuffed between other similar looking and labeled containers. Ah, they'd already tried. And it looked like nothing had changed.

She tapped her mask – a precaution in case the disease was airborne- in place of her lips as she thought. "That's right, it didn't help with the Shueman's rot either. But that didn't mean it wouldn't help the tree. The two still haven't been definitively connected."

Which was causing an all-out internal war in her brain. While the analytical researcher in her cautioned against the dangers of jumping to conclusions without hard scientific fact, the other part of her just knew that the Shueman's rot and the ill fig tree were connected.

"They're not?" said Maru, forgetting his nerves as he blinked slowly. "I thought the sick fig tree is what caused the Shueman's rot."

"Already been tested," said Kyoko. "If anything, it's the rot that's killing the tree."

Maru turned to share a look with Door, but the man wasn't paying attention. His focus kept moving around the room, eyes on the other researchers in the room, the door, the windows, or under her seat. He seemed to be taking his job as bodyguard seriously. Except for the part where Kyoko was supposed to be in bed.

"While the tree did deteriorate quickly, the Sheuman's rot was around a little bit before that" For the past hour she'd been using Maru as her sounding board. He still hadn't caught on, and she was happy to have someone to bounce ideas off of. "Because it was so easily visible, people assumed the tree had withered first and the rot came second. But further research and witnesses show that it was the other way around. The Shueman's rot came first, then the tree lost its leaves. It didn't help that Sozen tampered with most of the early medical histories, no doubt trying to spread more misinformation."

She left her workbench, prompting Maru to let out a sound as if someone had deliberately stepped on only his pinky toes. He dogged behind her until she sat down at a different bench, this one occupied with other researchers. They carefully avoided making eye contact, shakily continuing their research without disturbing her.

Kyoko pointed to the two roots laying on the desk. One, a mildly healthy looking dark brown. The other, a withering husk that looked like all the insides had been sucked out of it. The dark splotches just made it look worse.

"They're too similar," said Kyoko. "The marks on this rotten part of the tree and the Shueman's rot."

"Trees can get diseases?" said Maru. The cute innocent battle mage. He probably had almost no knowledge of botany. He'd struggled the most with the anatomy lessons during their cleric classes back at the palace.

"They can," said Kyoko. "But they're having trouble determining which part is caused by the stimulus or if it's all the body's natural defense system freaking out. Which has been the big problem we've had with the rot. Whatever it is that's either attacking or affecting the system, we haven't been able to detect it. Is it a virus, a bacterium? Or is it pure magic?"

Maru was lost again, blinking at her slowly with a hint of awe. He then dissolved back into panicked pleas to come back to her room and rest since everyone else was obviously doing just fine researching all this without her.

She blocked him out as best as she could, staring at the root samples she'd been given.

If the rot was airborne, then it made sense the tree could be infected. It also explained how easily the disease spread. But why the fig tree? Why not literally any of the other flora or fauna in the area? Heck, not even any of the wildlife was infected. Maybe the tree was the cause of the disease? Maybe it had started rotting earlier but had not been visible until much later.

Or maybe it was like asking if the chicken came first or the egg. It might not matter, not unless they were connected, which nothing but the timing had shown them to possibly be.

The world wavered.

Kyoko blinked hard, her ears buzzing as everything shifted back into focus. Maru's nervous titter returned and she just caught the tail end of his current rant.

"-tie me up and use me as an example for all future recruits."

"Moko-san is not going to kill you," said Kyoko, rubbing her eyes. Shoot, that was the third time in the last hour. "It's not like you could stop me short of picking me up and carrying me away."

Which is exactly what Maru would need to do, and neither he or Dorr had the guts to do so. She wouldn't be able to get away with this with anyone else. Kanae would have no problem doing so, and Kyoko had too much respect for Hikaru to make him to it. Once Horiuchi got better, he'd probably find an excuse to do it just to humiliate her, and Yuki would gleefully watch. Now was the time only to show everyone she was fine. She could do this.

Her attention shifted to an experiment one of the physicians was conducting. He held a gloved finger to a sliver of rotted wood, then slowly poured light magic into it.

Immediately the wood crumbled to ash. The other men took notes, measuring the input of magic versus the area affected.

That was yet another crazy thing about the newly rotted part. Any light magic poured into it at all would cause the whole thing to crumble away and die. Kyoko would think of a dozen reason that wasn't good.

I wonder if the same thing would happen if dark magic was transferred into it. She'd need to convince Cain to come here and try it out. Or maybe she should leave him be. The man had enough going on as it was.

She was just about to mention her idea when the door opened and in walked a very disgruntled Hikaru.

He looked much better than before. Healthy after a good rest and back to wearing a soldier's garb. His head was uncovered, letting his light hair fly carefree as he stalked toward her. Even when frowning he had a good-natured aura.

"Lady Kyoko, you weren't in your room," said Hikaru. "I thought something had happened to you."

The concern in his gaze managed to make Kyoko feel a twinge ashamed. She hadn't meant to worry him.

"Sorry, I'm fine." She patted the necklace around her throat. "I'd have called for Cain if something had happened. But check it out. I've been looking at the current research on the tree and rot. There have been some fascinating developments in just the past few days. It helps that we've had to assume that everything we knew was garbage thanks to Sozen, so literally every experiment has produced different results from before. But it has also put us massively behind."

"Lady Kyoko—"

"If only we knew where Sozen's base of operations was. His private study didn't show any evidence of manufacturing the rot, but I'm positive he's to blame for this. They did find lots of notes on which experiments he was watching closely, so we knew to check those our first."

"We? You're not—"

"Wait! Don't throw the ashes away. We need to check its properties. See if the aura has changed. Do they still radiate the same amount of dark aura?"

The researcher who had been about to throw the ashes away paused.

"Uh, we're not sure."

"Get an LDMS over here." Kyoko gestured to one of the men who obeyed her command. It wasn't the first time she'd bossed them around today. "Sheesh, the last thing we want to do is improperly dispose of—"

"Kyoko."

It was the lack of a title that stopped her. The last time Hikaru had addressed her like that had been, well, right after Ruriko had exploded the Colosseum. His immediate discomfort bled into the others, making them flinch as if the informal address offended her.

"You're supposed to stay in your room," said Hikaru, his voice low. "You need to rest."

While she appreciated his concern, she would not waste away in her room. There was no reason to.

"I'm fine, Hikaru," she insisted. "At least here I can do some good. And no one expects me to be here, so, it actually makes it safer than my room."

He held her gaze for a moment. Then worry broke in favor of a fond laugh.

"You just have to cause trouble wherever you go, don't you?" he said.

"But it is helpful trouble!"

He shook his head but did so with a smile. It eased some of the guilt and she felt herself smiling as well.

"So can I stay?" said Kyoko.

"Of course not," said Hikaru. "You're going straight back to your room."

He placed a hand on her back, gently but firmly leading her away from the table. He shot an apology to the researchers while ignoring her arguments. She let him, if only because she felt bad. Maru and Dorr followed as well with their own muttered apologies to Hikaru.

"It's fine, I'm used to it," he said, earning an elbow jab from Kyoko. "Ouch."

He kept a hand on her back, as if afraid she'd run off without his guidance. They got quite a few looks, but no one dared stop them.

"You know, I've been wondering," said Kyoko as they walked. "When did you switch from a spear to a sword?"

"Oh, right before I was transferred over here," he said happily. "I'm still better with a spear though, but only just. They made me switch when I took a higher position."

"Hmm, not a bad reason to change."

"No, and it's much easier to move around without carrying a spear."

"They just look so cumbersome. I know the reach is nice in battle and all that, but I don't know how Kanae does it."

Hikaru gave a light chuckle. One that lowered her guard to his next statement. "She's really worried about you."

The comment felt like a punch causing Kyoko to slump in dismay. Things were still weird after their initial disagreement, and Kyoko couldn't find a way to reconcile everything that was in her heart. Which of course, just made her feel worse for making Kanae watch over her anyway.

"I know," she muttered. "She's always fussing over me."

"No, I mean, Cain told us," said Hikaru. "About why it's so important to keep you safe."

Kyoko snapped from her slump, eyes searching his for the recognition and finding it. So he knew about Rosa. Though most of his attention remained on their surroundings, the twisted twerk of his lips told her he could feel her stare.

"We're all worried," he said. "To be honest, I'm terrified."

"Oh."

And if that didn't make Kyoko feel absolutely horrible, nothing would. Her eyes returned to the ground, wishing she could reassure him somehow. That she could promise all of them she was perfectly alright.

"I'm sorry for troubling you all."

Hikaru shook his head. "I know you don't do it on purpose. And it's not like it really changes anything for me. I just have to keep you safe like I always planned to."

The fondness in his conviction helped push down her guilt. It still felt so nice, even after all this time to have friends that worried about and loved her. She looked behind to the other two trailing guards.

"Do you guys know as well?" she said.

"About the prince?" said Maru.

Hikaru interjected. "No, they don't. Only Hiroaki knows, and that's to find an... uh, solution to the problem."

"Makes sense," said Kyoko. "This is something we should keep on the down low." Which meant the fewer people that knew about it, the better.

Maru immediately went into a pout, complaining about being left out and overall looking like he'd just been kicked. Dorr actually did that, shifting Maru's wailing to him instead. Their good-natured banter filled the space until they finally made it back to Kyoko's room. Hikaru opened the door, letting Kyoko inside.

She didn't expect to see people already there.

Three men waited, each dressed like Hikaru in matching military vests with sashes girded about their waists. Two of them looked to be in their late thirties with the other appearing to be only a few years older than Kyoko. Based on their lack of response to her entrance, they were expecting her.

The others filled in behind Kyoko, Maru raising a surprised brow at the men. "We really are doing a bad job of protecting Kyoko, aren't we?"

Hikaru laughed at his words. "Not to worry, I invited them here to introduce you. They're going to help us guard her."

"What?"

Not that she wasn't happy for more help, but she had no idea who these men where.

Hikaru waved them forward, introducing them as Chisa, Allen, and Wakasashi. They were polite, saluted properly and inclined their head toward Kyoko at her introduction. The perfect example of military decorum.

"Um, Hikaru, not that I'm complaining about more help," said Kyoko. "But isn't this kind of, out of nowhere?"

"It's not," said Hikaru. "We've been looking for more people to help guard you and they volunteered."

"Yeah, but…" Could they be trusted? She didn't want to question Hikaru's decisions, but she felt the need for some sort of explanation or reassurance.

Hikaru sensed her question and answered as if she'd spoken. "I'm almost as surprised as you were. After yesterday I went to speak to my old platoon and some of them came out and offered to continue following me. Cain came by and instructed me to look for people I trusted. People that were loyal to me and ask them if they could watch over you. And well… we actually had a lot more people volunteer but these three were first to help me when I was in a pinch in the past."

At this, the oldest of the men, Wakasashi, scoffed. "You mean when you nearly got yourself killed playing the hero."

He was not-so-subtly elbowed by the man beside him who adopted a scandalized expression. "Apologies, Coronel."

Hikaru waved it away with a familiarity that spoke volumes.

"I trust them with my life," he said. "And they're strong. They'll keep you safe."

The warm hum of pride radiated from the three men.

It was said that to understand a man, you must look at those around him. Observe how he's regarded by his peers, his superiors and most importantly, those under him. That alone can tell you a lot about the quality of the man. And yet again Kyoko was seeing the evidence.

She held out a hand to the first man, prompting him to do the same. She clasped their hands together, letting her soul sense the person before her. She felt his strength of will, his pride, his emotions and magical power. But most importantly, she sensed no ill will or dark power. They were not Accursed, nor were they cursed with any dark magic that she could sense.

Ever since her encounter with Sozen she'd been wondering about the Accursed and how they avoided detection. An Accursed radiated a powerful dark aura, but Sozen had been all but impossible to detect. She'd only noticed it because of proximity, experience and probably luck. Someone had to have an ability that hid auras, it was the only thing that made sense. Otherwise, Masato wouldn't have been able to fool the king for years.

She repeated her assessment on the other two, finding them equally clean and memorizing their souls. Hopefully, with this, she wouldn't be fooled by any nefarious magic if the men were targeted.

They watched her do this in silence, their thoughts their own as she finished.

"You have my gratitude," said Kyoko, pulling from her old lessons to curtsey formally despite not wearing a dress. "And while I trust Hikaru's judgment, I'd like to hear with your own words why you'd agree to guard the… wife, of an Accursed."

Two of them immediately looked uncomfortable. Wakasashi, the outspoken one from before simply answered: "Because weird shit is going down and I trust my Coronel."

Kyoko blinked, the other men chastising his use of language in front of a "Lady". Huh.

"And you two?"

The youngest appeared sheepish. "Well, you're the one he's always talking about, aren't you? The concubine that helped save the prince? The one that was falsely accused of poisoning the prince and then saved him with Coronel Ishibashi"

Now that was a blast from the past. And a detailed account of it too. She gazed at Hikaru, eyebrows raised. "I am no longer a concubine. The harem was dismissed a while ago, though, I didn't realize you talked about me Hikaru."

His smile was subdued in his suddenly self-conscious state. "The story might have come up once or twice,"

Wakasashi snorted. "Try every other sentence."

"Come on, I wasn't that bad, and you guys kept asking."

As the four squabbled over the dramatic retelling of Hikaru's story, her unease shrunk smaller and smaller until it vanished with a pop. If they were going to take risks of trust, then she was happy to start with these three.

Kyoko discretely sunk onto the bed, laughing at the exaggerated and untrue bits Hikaru was desperately trying to correct. No one noticed that she was subtly shaking.

All things considered, Cain was pleased with the progress they'd made in two days. He'd finished the assessment of the wall's defenses starting on their repairs and Hikaru had managed to find competent men he could trust with Kyoko's wellbeing.

Unfortunately, that was where their accomplishments ended.

The rot around the tree had spread. Despite Hiroaki cutting away the infected part, more rot had appeared, spreading quickly when left alone. They had half their team of guards spending their days walking around the tree roots, searching for newly infected sites. Not only that, but other troubles had started. Troubles Cain had expected to eventually appear but not this soon.

"Can you imagine, my daughter courting him? A commonly born traitor. I've tried talking to her, but she won't listen."

Cain turned a corner. Ahead he saw Duke Momose speaking to one of their Coronels. The man's name was Koga, a young but honest looking fellow. His manner was easy as he assured the Duke.

"She is a young maiden in love, there's not much you can do about it," said Koga. "I can talk to her if you'd like."

"Yes, please. I'd much rather she spend time with you than that—"

The duke saw Cain, cutting himself short. He glared openly even as he was careful to stay behind Koga. Neither said another word until Cain had passed, their voices lowered to hushed whispers.

This reaction was common at this point. People would stop speaking the second they saw him, starting their conversations again once he was out of earshot. If their goal was to alleviate their worries, they were doing the opposite. Having a constant hush accompany him as he walked through the city hall was more than a little creepy.

Cain reached General Kuresaki's study, not bothering to knock before entering. The man himself was inside. He didn't look up as Cain entered, waving a hand at the chair in front of him.

"I'm almost done, have a seat."

Cain took the seat, waiting a few minutes as the general made a few more notations in his ledger. The General had been a surprise asset, following most, if not all of Cain's orders. Why he was doing so, was another mystery entirely, but Cain was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Kuresaki finished his note, setting the ledger aside. Only then did he lace his fingers together and direct his upturned weary eyebrows at Cain.

"What is it?" said Kuresaki.

"Your progress reports," said Cain. "I've come to review them."

His dark eyes remained fixed on Cain, heavy with judgment and caution. He'd changed since the first night Cain had taken over. No longer a jumpy paranoid mess of nerves. This was likely who he was before holding a relic for three days straight; Possessing an authoritative pressure on those around him without needing to speak a word.

That focus changed, now directed at Cain's stomach.

"What is that?"

Cain looked down, only now remembering the hole in his shirt and the blood around it.

"Had an unfortunate encounter with a scythe," said Cain.

Which was his own fault, really. He'd been patrolling the area again, gaining both attention and fear as he walked through occupied streets. An older farmer had succumbed to fear and lashed out on Cain. While it had been a shallow wound that healed almost instantly, the blood and tear in his clothing remained.

Kuresaki didn't respond to Cain's attempt at humor. Instead, he took a scroll from his deck and placed it before Cain.

"A full report of our current military strength," said Kuresaki. "Along with a few of my own personal notes regarding them."

Cain picked the scroll off the desk, opening it right there to review its contents. He scanned their numbers, grimacing at the dip in recruitment and number of casualties due to illness.

"Not nearly enough," said Cain, his voice a frustrated growl. "At this point, new recruits will cause more chaos than help. We'll have to work with what we have." This was the true weakness of their military. With their experienced soldiers dying from rot, the bulk of their men were now both inexperienced and poorly trained.

"Close recruitments to all but experienced fighters," said Cain. "Focus efforts on training those we have. I'd rather had a hundred trained men than a thousand pieces of cannon fodder."

Kuresaki nodded, the action slow as he considered. "We'll incorporate some basic arcane training as well. Enough to give them an edge against beats with magical armor."

"It's not already a part of their training?"

"Not initially. They first have to pass certain benchmarks before we start those lessons."

Which was the protocol back home as well. Training with arcane magic was draining if one wasn't used to it, and the first months were spent strengthening the new recruit's body and mind. Better to give the soldiers a strong base before draining their energy. A solid strategy, if you had the time for it.

He scrolled through the rest of the reports, commenting and adding changes as needed to their strategy. Kuresaki would comment on occasion but mostly stayed quiet. When finished, Cain handed back the report.

"Do you have a team ready for tomorrow?" said Cain. "I'd like to leave as soon as there is light."

Tomorrow was the day Cain left to take back the northern outpost. Normally he wouldn't have gone personally to monitor the group, but conditions beyond their walls were almost impossible to asses. They had no idea if the area was flooded with monsters or empty of all life. Which was exactly why it was so important for this mission to succeed.

The Northern outpost was not only the tallest, but it was also located right where the line of hills curved to encase the Shaded City. Unless the Accursed planned on sending their army of monsters hiking through the mountains, they'd have to pass right by the outpost to attack Mosall. The scouts could see the invasion coming, issuing a warning with time to prepare.

"We do," said Kuresaki. "But the men not happy about the assignment."

"I don't if they're unhappy about it," said Cain. "They just need to do their job."

Kuresaki's brows lifted as if he were disappointed with Cain's answer. "You should. Fear will only control everyone for so long. Especially if you allow just anyone to stab you without consequences." He nodded toward the torn clothing.

"I do not wish to quell their fighting spirit," said Cain. "We'll need it when the time comes. And it's not as if much has changed for most people. They'll continue to follow orders as long as the dangers don't hit close to home. They'll grumble, but we won't be here long enough for anything to come of it."

"Then you will abandon us when the fight starts." He stated it like an inevitable truth.

"I don't know what will happen," admitted Cain. He knew what he hoped would happen. But he also knew a fight without casualties was impossible. "The King and the champions will arrive eventually to take command. At that time, there will be no need for me to remain here."

A few months ago, Cain had fled from his home and family. He wasn't sure he could do it again.

Silently, Kuresaki grabbed another scroll, plopping it before them. Cain took it, scanning its contents. The further he read, the narrower his eyes grew.

Inside was a detailed report of him.

It started with his encounter with Murasame and continued up to his current actions. Witnesses statements, statistics and even theories on his behavior were within. While some of the lies had been sifted through, little bits and pieces of information were completely inaccurate.

"I should have done this the second we arrested you," said Kuresaki. "But it didn't matter much at the time. You were an Accursed. You were to be executed."

"I don't exactly disagree with that stance," commented Cain coolly. "Only when it involves innocent others who are not contracted with an evil being."

Kuresaki ignored Cain, continuing as if he hadn't interrupted. "It is my obligation, Cain, to command this city's army and protect its people. No man but the Duke has more power than I in this position. And with it, I am obligated to assess and dispose of potential threats to this city."

This didn't sound good. Cain kept his heart still, willing himself to remain calm despite the growing sense of unease. Even with a few good night's sleep, his magic was erratic.

Kuresaki motioned to the report, continuing. "This report, while detailed in some cases, is better used as firewood. I can ascertain nothing of who you are from this."

"Who I am is not important."

"It is if you want to keep your wife safe."

Cain stilled. His magic burned with the desire to surface.

"What are you trying to say, General?" said Cain. "Surely you are not threatening my wife, are you?"

The creases in Kuresaki's eyebrows depend, casting a dark shade around his eyes.

"I am," said Kuresaki. "I have a group of men waiting for my signal. They're more than enough to kill the small group you have protecting her. If you walk out this door before I can retract their orders, they will kill your wife."

Cain's calm snapped.

The chair fell with a clatter as he jumped to his feet. Armor appeared around his relic, snapping into place and running halfway up his arm. The gaps between the seams hissed as they glowed with molten power. His arms shook with the efforts to keep the panic down. To suppress the urge to dig his fist into this maggot that threatened his Kyoko.

"You touch her," hissed Cain. "You place a single blemish across her skin, and I will destroy your very essence."

In the face of true fear, most people panicked. They flinched, stumbled, cried out or remained frozen, dumbstruck and unable to move. And while Kuresaki did none of these things, the man was obviously terrified. No color remained in his face, expression grim.

"Sit down, Cain," said Kuresaki. Only the hint of a tremor betrayed his underlying fear. "I will not do anything unless you give me a reason to do so."

Those were not the words Cain needed to calm himself. Another series of cracks wrapped up his shoulder and across his back, white hot with power.

"Retract your men," said Cain. "Now."

"I will not."

"Do it!"

"No."

Fog was clouding his mind. Cain grabbed the table, wood cracking as he leaned forward and pushed his anger down. It was so hard. So difficult to resist the urge to let free and rip this man's head off for hurting Kyoko. The desire was making him dizzy.

Cain swore, banging his fist against the desk, disintegrating most of the wood. He wheezed through the dust and haze, straining for more control.

"She's your trigger," came Kuresaki's voice. "She makes you lose control."

A pause.

"Then what is it that helps you keep it?"

Cain closed his eyes.

Her memory appeared, growing as his breathing slowed to steady gasps. The darkness around his mind retreated. Fled from her image.

An ache seeped into his muscles. He pushed himself away from the broken desk, swaying from the sudden lightheadedness. The relic around his wrist still smoked with darkness, but the armor had fully abated.

Kuresaki was no longer seated in his chair. He stood several feet back, light sword raised to Cain's chest. Through his haze, Cain noted that Kuresaki had just had the perfect opportunity to attack but hadn't. He just stood, gazing at Cain with an odd expression.

Eventually, he spoke.

"Three days," he said. "That's all it took to twist my devotion into selfishness. Sometimes I still have nightmares about the dark things that were whispered without my knowing. Removed from the relic, I now recognize those promptings for what they are. How… do you keep that distance? How come you didn't fall?"

Cain's jaw creaked as he fought to unhinge it. "I did," said Cain. "She pulled me out."

And gods, had he fallen. He'd rampaged and killed and wouldn't have stopped.

The light blade flickered, retracting as Kuresaki straightened. His hostility was gone as he stared with understanding and something else.

"You were once like me, weren't you?" he said. "A soldier. Commander. Someone with experience leading. You fell during the attack and Kyoko pulled you out."

"Yes."

Kuresaki closed his eyes, pain passing through his calm as he gathered himself.

"I wonder if I would have been like you," he said, voice low. "If something would have pulled me out, or if I'd have-"

He stopped, and Cain understood what imagined horrors tormented him.

"Depends on what motivated you," said Cain evenly. "Anger, sadness… boredom. That is what the relic takes and amplifies."

"I see." Kuresaki frowned. "Then it's a good thing that lad was there to knock the thing from my hands."

His eyes snapped open, his moment of vulnerability gone. He stalked to the desk, tossing something inside and slamming the drawer with a snap.

"I lied," said Kuresaki. "There is no team standing by to hurt Kyoko. I'll do my best to keep it that way."

As he turned his back, Cain understood the dismissal.

He took the opportunity to leave, lest he allow his still present anger return.

This was the problem with the current situation. People were testing boundaries, pushing the limits of Cain's reach and patience. Whatever Kuresaki's motivation had been to test Cain, the fact was he had done it. People were acting out, attacking him in the street, disobeying orders. And Cain couldn't stop them. Not without turning into a real villain.

He just hoped their fear-based obedience lasted long enough.

Checking on Hiroaki was next on his agenda, which was a good thing. Cain could use the lack of hostility to let his nerves calm. Hiroaki didn't notice as Cain sat next to him, passively observing the research room. Two other physicians lurked in the room, but they gave Cain a wide birth.

Hiroaki was hunched over his desk, papers Cain recognized as the inhibitor plans scattered around him. He had a thumb to his teeth, muttering as he scribbled on a separate paper. It was covered in different diagrams and notes, a book on herbs propped by his elbow.

"What are you working on?"

Rather than jump like Cain had expected, Hiroaki reached over and handed him a leaf of paper without breaking his attention on his notes. Guess he had noticed him come in then.

Cain scanned the paper, unsure exactly why a break down on the pollination of plants was important.

"You're trying to grow a garden?" said Cain.

"What?" said Hiroaki, distracted. "No, uh, sorry wrong paper. Here, this is the right one."

Cain took the correct paper, this one covered with an assortment of diagrams. It seemed to be highlighting the protective attributes of the inhibitor, mixed together with notes on several potions.

"And what is this one supposed to be?"

"Plans for a new tincture." Hiroaki shoved some of his notes toward Cain, talking excitedly as he pointed to the text. "I've been working on transferring the protective properties of the inhibitor. It's still in theoretical stage right now, but when combined with these herbs and potions, I think I may have a temporary solution to warding off the aura at the base of the tree."

"Really?" said Cain, peering at the books with greater interest now. "When will it be ready?"

"Assuming it works, maybe a few days?" Hiroaki finally looked at Cain, eyes widening. "Cain, you're bleeding."

"The wound has already closed." That did it, it was time to change into clothes that weren't bloody from random citizen attacks.

Hiroaki was distracted now, his previous steam lessening. "Was there an attack on the city?"

"No, don't worry about it. It's not the first time." Nor would it likely be the last. He pointed to the book, wanting to get back on topic. "This tincture, you said it would be temporary, yes?"

"Ah, yeah. Um, we've yet to find a solution for the rot, but the aura around the tree is easy enough to bypass now that we have the plans for the inhibitor. I'm confident that a fully operational one would successfully shield us from the aura, but…"

"Time," said Cain. "We don't have enough of it." That was the problem to all of their troubles.

Hiroaki nodded. "This should at least allow some of us to pass through the weaker levels without consequences. At least, that's the hope."

"It's wonderful news," breathed Cain. Finally, something else going right. "I'm leaving tomorrow to take back the outpost. If I'm not back by the time you're done, proceed with the expedition without me."

"I'm sure we won't be done before then." His lips twitched, as if he wished to smile but couldn't muster the energy to do so. The thin-faced man looked tired.

"Can I ask you a question?" said Hiroaki suddenly. He hurried on before Cain could respond. "When Kanae and her men arrived, they told me that you and Kyoko were here to find a way to break the contract on your relic. Is… is that true?"

How had Kanae known that?

The other researchers weren't nearby, busy with their own work rather than his conversation with Hiroaki. It was private enough for a true answer.

"Yes," he said, "Along with a way to revive the Phoenix."

"Did you find a way? To remove the contract, I mean."

Cain held up his arm. "Do you think I'd still be wearing this if I had?"

"Ah, right. Sorry. I just sometimes, forget."

He tapped a finger against his knee, frown drawn as he gazed at the ground. Something was on his mind, and the man was taking his time to spit it out.

"What is it?" said Cain.

"Do you think… What I want to do is— Could my dad chose to help us like you are?" The question burst from him like a long-held secret. He thrust his hopes on Cain, watching with wide eyes for the truth to drop.

Cain considered, seeing Hiroaki in a new light. He'd forgotten that the man's father was an Accursed. Mostly Cain remembered him as the man who had created the inhibitor.

"I don't know," said Cain truthfully. "I fought him beside my dad at the palace. He didn't seem interested in listening to us, but that may have been because he was overwhelmed with his thirst for knowledge."

"Oh." Hiroaki shrunk in on himself, wilting like a flower in the dry sun. "That's… I guess separating himself from the relic really is the only solution."

He wants to save his dad.

The truth hit Cain with sudden clarity. This was why Hiroaki was helping them. He was looking for a solution to his father's betrayal. If Cain could be helped, tamed and repress his darker impulses, then maybe Hirotaka could as well.

Cain's voice was as gentle as he spoke. "I don't know if we can help save your father. The only reason I am here is because Kyoko snapped me out of my rage. Hirotaka has been working with the Djinn and other Accursed for a while now. Snapping him out of his frenzy will not be an easy thing."

"Yes, I thought that might be what you would say."

With no other words to exchange, Hiroaki returned to his research. It was a sad fate, but Cain couldn't see Hirotaka turning his back on the Djinn. During their fight, the king had nearly killed Hiroaki, and that hadn't been enough to bring him back. The man was likely gone. Despite this truth, it wasn't Cain's place to take that hope from Hiroaki. Not when most of the hopes he clung to had much thinner strings.

Thanks for reading

Sorry for posting a day late. I've been working a lot and my body tried to kill me in three different ways in the past few weeks. Yay. (Twitter will keep you informed when this happens again. Which it will, we all know this.)

Ohmygosh. Fiiine. i convinced Imouto to post the april fools chapter. It is now up on her profile for those that didn't see it. XD

Speaking of Imouto, she is back. Yay!

Thank you all so much, those that took the time to review and send me messages of encouragement. They saved this chapter as I regained my enthusiasm for the story. I am still working on getting back to a few of you but i just wanted to give out a general Thank you all so much! You're all beautiful!

-Blushweaver

'Ight Blushweaver convinced me, so you can mosey on over to my page and read the chapter should your heart desire it. Hope you enjoyed the chapter! And thanks for all the well wishes!

Rejected titles: "P.S. Good Luck Naming the Chapter."