Cain had assumed their troubles were contained to the caves, but apparently, he was mistaken. As they approached the entrance of City Hall, the scent of blood hit him hard.

He stepped quickly through the entrance, allowing the pull of the necklace to guide him to where she was. Kanae and Hiroaki hurried beside him, breaking off from the rest of their research party. The area was empty, devoid of the usual workers that flitted about the place. Another bad sign.

He turned a corner and saw the first sign of the battle. Broken frames, still smoldering papers wafting smoke into the air. The walls were a crisscross of broken and shattered stone. He saw some blood, but still no bodies. Those appeared at the next corner.

One physician, identifiable by their jacket stood over a man, healing him by the look of it. Three other people lay beside him, one dead by the lack of an aura. The moment the healer spotted Cain, he paled, scrambling back.

Cain ignored him and pressed on. They passed a few more bodies, physicians and their assistants treating the injured. Each of the bodies wore the red and gold colors of Ashuron. He recognized scenes like this. It was the aftermath of a coup. Soldiers sworn on the same side had fought one another.

It brought back old memories of the night he foolishly made that wish. The night Rick died. The aftermath had looked a lot like this.

Finally, Cain reached her room.

Two men stood guard. They didn't stop him as he pushed open the door and rushed inside. He was so quick that Kyoko barely had time to rise from where she was sitting before he had her in his arms.

"You're alright." He spoke the words like a prayer of thanks. Only now that he had proof of her safety did his vision finally clear, the restriction on his heart lessening. The world was instantly brighter, the dark around his vision retreating.

She gripped him back briefly. "I'm fine. Just, give me a sec."

He released her and she quickly dropped back to her seat. Only now did Cain see she was in the middle of patching up one of the soldiers. He had a nasty burn on his shoulder, Kyoko carefully lathering the area with some sort of medicine.

There were other beds with injured men, some currently being treated, others asleep. He only now noticed Maru standing beside them, a hand wrapped in a blood-stained bandage. He was watching Cain, twitching more so than usual as he regarded him.

Kanae appeared, squeezing Kyoko's arm in a brief gesture of relief. "The hell happened here?" she said.

In response, Kyoko glanced at Maru. He tugged at his collar, obviously not interested in explaining what had happened. Not that it took a genius to figure it out.

"You were attacked," said Cain. "And it wasn't a small battle either. It was a coup."

Kyoko grimace, hands continuing their work without pause. "They went after Kuresaki and Itsumi as well. I think they got a few others that had been sympathetic toward us… I'm not one hundred percent sure, but, yes. Their goal wasn't just to kill me. It was to kill or capture anyone who supported you."

"We heard the fighting from Kyoko's room," Maru supplied. "We stopped them fairly easily, but then we realized it wasn't just us. Colonel Hikaru and I got Kyoko to a secure area while the others went to help. We waited until the 'all clear' to come out and Kyoko's been helping with the healing ever since."

Kanae cursed, earning a reprimanding glare from Kyoko, though Cain himself felt like echoing her words. This was not what they needed right now.

"Did we at least figure out who was behind this?" said Cain.

"Not sure. I think it was one of the other generals. General Kuresaki has him holed up and is questioning him while we deal with the aftermath."

Cain needed to go talk to him. He also wanted to stay near Kyoko. The feeling of panic lingered in his cells, making it nearly impossible to wrench himself from her side. What if someone was still lying in wait to kill her? What if this had gone differently? Seeing the reality of the danger she was now always in was much more terrifying than he had expected. They were lucky he hadn't lost it the second he'd smelled the blood.

"Why didn't you signal a second time?" said Cain.

Kyoko blinked at him, apparently unaware of just how much this had unsettled him. He saw it register a second later, her golden eyes softening in understanding.

"The first fight was over quickly and I trust Hikaru and the others with my safety," she said. "I didn't want to disturb you."

"This is exactly the sort of thing you should disturb me with."

"Which is why I sent the first signal. I knew the boys could protect me until you returned."

She finished placing the last cloth on the injured man, squaring her shoulders as she stood to stare him down.

"I've told you before, this is what we do. You take the lead; I stay behind to heal. Even then, there are dangers, but I won't be the thing that holds you back from doing what you have to in order to protect the people."

The knot inside his chest lessened. Her words, strong against his worry helped anchor him, chase away the lingering uncertainty that urged him to take her in his arms and never let go. She'd never want that. Because she herself was strong, and her courage made him stronger in return.

She was also forgetting how important she was, not only to him but to the kingdom as well.

He reached up, pinching her nose with his knuckles. Kyoko let out a squawk, jerking back and clutching her face.

"Smooth words for a woman who claims she's not a politician," said Cain dryly. "Except you forget something very important. Your life is literally more important than anything else we do here. Everything else will likely be meaningless if you're not kept safe."

She opened her mouth, the angry and automatic retort so obvious he could practically hear her spouting nonsense about how she wasn't important or anyone of consequence. Then she froze, eyes widening as she probably remembered the Phoenix was resting in her essence.

She licked her lips. "I was fine."

"Sure, you were."

He couldn't see any injuries. No bruises or signs she'd been involved in the fighting at all. Some blood stained her hands and the hem of her shirt, sure, but he knew it wasn't hers. She'd been treating the wounded. He did notice the tiredness that rimmed her eyes and the incremental sag of her shoulders.

Cain nodded to Maru. "Can you take her back to her room?"

Kyoko protested as predicted. "I'm not hurt, I can—"

"Or at least, make sure she's lying down." He pointed to the burn victim. "If you're taking time with non-lethal injuries then any immediate medical aid has already been taken care of. No one will lose their life or limbs if you take it easy, Kyoko."

She pouted, as he knew she would. He expected her to keep protesting, but to his surprise, she didn't. Instead, she threw up her hand as if she were in class.

"Can Hiroaki come with me?" she said. "I really need to talk to him about the Shueman's Rot."

Well, at least she was bargaining instead of outright refusing. That was an improvement. "As long as you're laying down and safe, sure."

She grinned, shuffling to move past him. He caught her before she could, pressing a kiss to her lips. He needed the extra confirmation she was safe. The calm that only she and her touch could bring. It turned a bit more desperate than he'd intended, earning a pointed cough from Kanae. Indeed, when he moved away, Kyoko's face was bright pink, tempting him to go in for another kiss.

What the hell, he went for it anyway.

"Two signals," he murmured against her lips. "Anytime your life is in danger. Please."

Eyes bright and dusted with affection, she nodded.

Satisfied, Cain let her go. She shuffled up to Hiroaki who had been moving through the room and observing the other patients. He noticed with satisfaction that her cheeks were still red.

Kanae's scrunched her nose. "Next time, please wait until you're alone to engage in such… embarrassing demonstrations."

He chose to ignore the comment, as well as the stares he was only now noticing. The room was full of patients after all.

"Let's see what Kuresaki has found for us," said Cain. "Unless you'd like to stay with Kyoko?"

"No, she'll be fine. I want to hear for myself what happened."

They left, taking directions from the men standing guard. They turned out to be the men Hikaru had gotten to protect Kyoko. He thanked them for their help, prompting both to straighten in surprise.

"Uh, of course, sir," said the younger one. "Just doing our job."

They each saluted him, a gesture he returned.

The would-be usurpers had been taken to one of the prisons a few blocks away from the city hall. He was loath to be so far away from Kyoko, but the fighting was obviously over. Despite the crowded streets, Kanae and he had no troubles passing as people scrambled to get out of their way. Based on the whispers that followed, rumors of the resistance were already spreading. He just hoped they wouldn't morph into something worse than what was already said about him.

"They acted quicker than I expected," said Cain. "I thought we had at least a few more days before anyone did anything like this."

Kanae snorted. "I'm surprised it took them this long. It's not like they have a shortage of people who want us dead."

Maybe, but they did have some powerful people supporting them as well. When in doubt, people followed orders and kept to what they were familiar with. This would have been instigated by someone near the top if soldiers were involved instead of normal citizens.

His hand curled into a fist, fighting against the urge to let his anger manifest. Losing lives to the hands of monsters or opposing countries was one thing, but this? This was different. Did the man who led this not know what squabbles this did to people? How meaningless the deaths so often were? Men wearing the same uniform should never take each other's lives.

Once at the prison, a soldier greeted them, leading them to one of the interrogation rooms. He kept sending glances at Cain and Kanae, sweat dampening his brow. They were almost to the room when the nervous soldier spoke.

"You're not going to kill all them, are you?" he whispered. "I… they're not—My brother got tangled up in it because his commander ordered him to. He doesn't deserve to—"

The man snapped his mouth shut, hands twitching as if he wished to reach for the sword at his waist. He was clearly terrified. Not that Cain could blame him. Cain was bleeding wisps of anger from his relic as he tried to contain himself. He wanted to teach this man a lesson. Him and everyone that thought to brush aside the significance of their stupidity. They had attempted to kill his Kyoko. They knew his importance to her, even if they didn't know the rest. Did they not fear him enough?

The thought made his anger pause.

That… was not the path he wanted to take. It was exactly the sort he should avoid. Rumors were one thing. Proving them to be true was another. No matter how angry he was, he needed to keep it under control. But his blood was pumping so loud in his ear.

"Your brother," he said slowly, just managing to keep the worst of his anger from his voice. "And everyone else involved will be punished accordingly for what happened. People died. I can't let ignore that."

This time, the soldier did reach for his sword. The movement was slow, fingers shaking so terribly Cain doubted he'd be able to pull the sword from the scabbard. But despite the obvious fear, the natural reaction to flee and beg for his life, a fire of determination remained in the man's eyes. Ready to defend his family no matter the cost. It was a fire Cain recognized in himself.

"You have strength to try and stand again me," said Cain. "Put it to work somewhere useful. Unless your brother was working directly with the other Accursed or instigated this, there is no reason for an execution. I'd prefer if we can keep the bloodshed to a minimum."

The man froze in open shock, mouthing silently.

"Thank you for leading the way." Cain strode past, heading for the door to the interrogation room. Kanae flicked the man in the forehead, muttering something about idiots as she caught up.

No one noticed when they entered. There was enough yelling and egos being thrown around it was giving Cain flashbacks to the King's Councils. While there wasn't a long table, there were decorated generals, lavish noble robes and fingers pointed in ruddy faces. Most were standing, ignoring the chairs that had long since been kicked aside.

Cain approached Kuresaki, the man seething next to Duke Momose. The duke was being restrained by a single soldier, uncharacteristically assertive as he shouted, yanking on his restraints.

"He ordered us to use him, not be led around the nose by this monster!" the duke shouted. "You and the others gave us no choice. He's already gotten into too many heads. If we don't stop him now there will be nothing to stop him from claiming this city, and eventually all of Ashuron!"

"You're a fool," ground out Kuresaki. "That is not his goal. He's trying to—"

Kuresaki stopped, everyone suddenly realizing that Cain was there. The atmosphere shifted immediately, most quieting, other's bursting into muttered curses to their neighbors. Many were like the duke, bound with a single guard to keep them present.

"Is this them?" said Cain. "The men responsible for everything?"

"Yes," said Kuresaki. "Duke Momose, General Kent, and Colonel Watanabe were the leaders in this assault, along with a few other nobles. We are still investigating, but this is who we have caught so far. Most have already been led to the prisons."

"Then I suggest you take the rest of them to their cells as well. We don't have time to waste." Cain nodded toward the duke. "I also suggest you revoke these men's titles as a starting punishment for what they did."

The room erupted. Anger radiated hot off each man, red-faced and spitting as they swore at him. He didn't hide his own disgust as he watched their reaction. They had no right to be shocked. If he were the evil Accursed they thought him to be, they were lucky he hadn't dismembered them.

The duke shook with rage, threads of his braided beard coming lose. "Y-you! You can't do this!" he spat. "You have no right! You and you filthy wife sho-"

The Duke's words ended in a desperate gurgle as Cain's hand wrapped around his throat. "You," Cain's voice was level, face close to the deathly pale Duke's. "You tried to kill my wife. You and your accomplices are the reason that good men are dead. Every dark voice in my head is screaming to kill your wife in front of your eyes and then gut you. But do you know why I've not done that?" Cain asked as he relinquished the Duke's neck. "Because I do not serve the darkness." Cain turned to face each of the men, most could not meet his gaze.

"Most of you acted to save your country, I can not fault you on that. But I can fault you for the pointless death of good men. As for revoking your title." Cain's eyes fell on the gasping, but still defiant Duke "You're correct, I don't have that right." His eyes slipped to Kuresaki. "But as the head General, Kuresaki can. In circumstances such as these where nobility abuse their powers and rebel against the other leaders, he has every right to strip your authority and reinstate anyone he sees fit to take office."

Kuresaki met Cain's stony gaze with one of his own. Good. He looked about as done with this as Cain was.

"He wouldn't!" said the Duke. "Kuresaki! I command you to release me at once."

"I'm sorry Aizen," said Kuresaki. "But you have put me in this position, and I see no other alternative."

"You would betray your country?" Desperation obvious, Aizen strained against his restraints, fighting with both words and body. "Betray Ashuron to obtain power? I didn't think you were this hungry for more. I thought you were a good man. I should have figured. You almost let temptation get to you once before Kuresaki."

Kuresaki didn't retort and the Duke pressed on, no doubt thinking he had a foothold.

"Can't you see that he's manipulating you? He wants to control the city. To control us. He stole control from us first, and we were just trying to fight back. To reclaim what he took from us."

The soldiers holding the prisoners were starting to shift. Their loyalties wavering. Whatever Kuresaki was going to do, he needed to do it soon or else they'd have a bad situation in their hands. There are already been more than enough fighting today.

The duke continued, issuing poisonous words into the room with everyone witness to the assault of words. Neither Cain, Kanae, or Kuresaki spoke. The General seemed alone in the torrent of accusations, bearing its weathering with a quickly waning light. His form grew tired with each word, Cain able to feel the slow creep of it in the man's essence.

When the Duke finished, not a single man seemed to be on their side. The soldiers seemed more like guards of honor, ready to release the men at a single command.

Then Kuresaki spoke.

"Duke Momose, your words have convinced me."

Relief bloomed across the duke's face. Kanae shifted beside Cain, spells readying themselves as she prepared to fight. But Cain prepared nothing. He alone had noticed the regret in Kuresaki's eyes as they focused not on Cain, but on the duke.

"Thank the gods you have come to your senses," said the Duke. "Now, we should—"

Kuresaki cut him off. "You misunderstand. Your words have convinced me that listening to Cain is the right thing to do."

"What-!"

"As the head general of this city, I hereby strip you of your title and nobility. Please, escort Aizen Momose to his chambers where he will await trial for the rest of his sentence."

No one moved.

"Y-You can't do this!" sputtered Aizen. "I am one of the seven Dukes, appointed by and loyal to the crown. You can't just—"

Kuresak's hand shot out. He yanked Aizen by the collar of his robes, pulling so close they were almost nose to nose. His brows had shot up, shading his deceptively calm eyes with an aura of dread that couldn't be seen, only felt.

"Because of you, I was forced to kill five of my men with my own hand," he said, voice a deceptive calm of coming thunder. "They died in vain because you can not see what is in front of you."

"B-but it's not my fault," stammered Aizen. "Cain—"

"Has yet to kill or order the death of a single man, including the many that have already tried to kill him and his wife." Kuresaki shoved the man back into the arms of the soldier. His aura fluctuated, the grays and whites of his essence bubbling like a torrent sea. "Get them out of my sight! We'll deal with the rest later."

It was the power of his command alone that sent the soldiers following his orders. They pushed and prodded the unwilling nobles out of the door, the scuffle almost as loud as when Cain had first entered. Kuresaki didn't watch them leave, keeping his back to the door as they each filed out.

Then the room was quiet.

"Cain," said Kuresaki, the anger now gone. "Please tell me you found something helpful in the caves."

"No." He wished could give better news.

Kuresaki ran a hand over his chin, unsurprised but obviously frustrated. "We're hanging by a thread here. It's too much to hope that we caught all of the opposition in this one attack. There will still be others willing to fight us. To keep disrupting our commands from behind closed doors. Gods, I'm not cut out for this. I'm a soldier, not a politician."

"We only have to last a week," said Kanae. "And you got the duke, a few generals and others. That's a lot of influence snuffed out in one sweep."

"Yes, but there will still be others willing to risk another revolt no matter the consequences."

"What happened anyway?"

"Basically what you saw." Kuresaki lowered his hand, pacing restlessly around the discarded chairs. "The duke and a few others pulled together this coup and tried to wrestle back control. I heard they went after Kyoko but that she was unhurt. They went after a few colonels as well but looks like they came out alright in the end. It was messy, sloppy, and I'm grateful for that. As well as surprised. I expected better of our generals."

Cain hadn't. He knew some of the precautions Kuresaki had set out to prevent something like this. Trustworthy people were stationed at important points with sensitive information given only to certain parties. He had prepared not only for an attack on the city but for a silent infiltration no matter where it came from. Kuresaki didn't give himself enough credit. He's masterfully prepared for this exact situation, and they were left standing because of it.

"What are we going to do about their punishments?" said Cain.

"You're asking me? I'm surprised." Kuresaki's tone was almost mocking. "Considering they attacked your wife, I'd have thought you'd have an opinion on that."

Yes, Cain did. But he also knew better than to give in to his base instinct. That would end with a body count.

"We have magistrates to help with this sort of thing," said Cain. "But I'm afraid they'll let them off easy like with the men who attacked me on the way to the outpost." Those men had been given a small fine and then shipped off to eastern outpost. For attempted murder, it was more an insult to Cain than anything else. He'd have disputed the ruling if he hadn't a million better things to do.

Either way, this would be important. They couldn't risk releasing the men back out only to attempt something like this again. At that point, the army of monsters would practically be upon them. Fighting the enemy both inside and out was a sure way to get them all killed.

"Who is going to take Duke Momose's place?" said Kanae. "We can start there at least. They can help sway opinion at the trial. I think Morizumi Jouji was his advisor, so he'd be next up to take control until the Momose family choose a successor."

"He was in on the revolt as well," said Kuresaki. "No, I was thinking his daughter could take command for now."

"Itsumi, that brat?" Kanae's mouth twisted like she'd tasted something sour. "I'm not too thrilled with that idea."

"It's probably the best option we've got," said Cain. "We know she won't betray us."

"Maybe, but can she stomach the things we're going to have to do? The Duchess is a spoiled princess."

"She's pulled through so far, despite her illness."

His words did nothing to placate her doubt if that deepening scowl was anything to go by. But she remained quiet. Personally, Cain was already tired of trying to dish out punishments, especially when they couldn't afford to lose any more leaders, short as they were. They'd need to add Koga to that list of usurpers as well and find out if he had been working with them or of they had another group to worry about.

Itsumi knew the revolt had been bad. She'd heard the fighting from her room, cowered in her patient bedroom and prayed to Rosa that they wouldn't come for her. The presence of her guards had done little to ease her worrying. What she hadn't expected was that her dad had been behind the whole thing and that she'd been appointed to take his place as Duchess over the Broken Hills.

"But, why me?" said Itsumi. There was still so much she needed to learn. She hadn't expected to take dad's place for years, if ever. She still had her brother that could be selected to inherit the responsibility, even if he'd declined the appointment ever since he was old enough to know what it meant. Though, seeing as he wasn't here at the moment it would be hard for him to take the spot. Currently, Tsuyoshi was with the king's army, being one of the champions that had woken up after Duke Takarada had found the cure to what had been keeping them all asleep. She was eager to see him again, no matter the circumstances that brought them back together.

"It was Kuresaki's decision," said Kanae. The female guard didn't seem interested in placating Itsumi's doubts. It was obvious in her tone that she disagreed with the decision. "He decided a figurehead was better than a possible snake."

Itsumi's toes curled at the implication. She was not going to be just some figurehead! If she was going to be the Duchess, then she'd do it right!

…Which meant overseeing the trials of her father and friends, pushing for harsher punishments for their betrayal. Gods, that was so much worse than breaking Kyoko and Cain free. At least in that, she had been deciding her own fate and not the fate of dozens of others she knew and loved.

Itsumi looked to Kyoko for guidance. Her friend had gone through a lot of crazy things. Surely she could offer some sort of comfort or advice in this situation.

But Kyoko was still buried in deep discussion with Hiroaki. The two of them had been inseparable since Itsumi had fled to the clinic. Itsumi had so few friends nowadays as most were either too scared of her association with the Accursed or of contracting the Shueman's rot from her worsening condition. Kyoko was a much-needed source of comfort. Plus Hikaru was here, so, bonus.

Kyoko still had him cornered, conducting yet another experiment on the poor man. Assistants and other physician's flitted about, writing down results and notes with a hurried frenzy. Whatever they were doing, it was obviously a big deal.

Kanae suddenly growled, sharp almond eyes focused on Kyoko.

"She's supposed to be lying down," she hissed only loud enough for Itsumi to hear. "I swear, if I see her stumble one more time—"

Which she did, this time nearly taking a beaker with her. Kanae surged forward, taking Kyoko by the arm and hauling her none too gently into the seat next to Itsumi. The physician protested but didn't rise even after Kanae left to find a safe room to "store her in".

Kyoko pouted as expected, sending scathing looks at any who dared to glance her way. Even Hikaru only gave her a nervous chuckle from the other side of the room, pinned down by the latest experiment Hiroaki and his men were conducting.

"I thought Hiroaki didn't find much in the tunnels," said Itsumi. "but I guess I heard wrong; you guys look so busy."

Kyoko waved an impatient hand. "Oh no, it wasn't exactly the expedition. But it kind of was. It did help solidify my hypothesis. They returned with a pod that expelled a bunch of gas that they were then unable to catch, but some of the particles lingered enough to confirm our suspicions. Now it's just going to be a long headache adjusting all our expectations and experiments likewise. At least now we know exactly what we're dealing with."

"And… what exactly is that?"

Kyoko sent her a confused look. "The Shueman's rot." As if it was obvious. "It's not a disease. It's a poison."

Clearly, Kyoko thought this would explain everything. Maybe to a trained physician, but for someone like Itsumi that only knew the basics of medicine, it meant nothing.

Her confusion painted clearly on her face, Kyoko relaxed, offering a brief explanation. She did it with an authoritative lilt, professional and confident like so many of her colleagues. It was clear she was a true expert. By the end of her explanation, even Itsumi had a good understanding of why this made a difference.

"Hiroaki latched on to the idea the moment I suggested it," said Kyoko, still explaining as if she were a professor. "He'd seen the effects of that gas — Miasma would be a better word for it — and suspected before I'd said anything. And thanks to that pod, we now have samples of the poison which will make it much easier to track within the system."

"Any luck with that so far?" said Itsumi.

"Some. We learned the poison doesn't target one specific part of the body. Which makes sense but also makes it harder to pinpoint. I thought the poison might be accumulating in the marks, but that was a dead end. They're just manifestations of the body and essence giving out, which we already suspected."

Itsumi gripped her hands together, imagining the toxins circling through her own system. She'd never been fond of poisons. Her marks itched, the idea of something unwanted and foreign seeping through her veins making her want to throw up.

"But… this is good, right?" she said. "There is always a cure. We have spells and things that can draw it out."

"Presumably, but we haven't found one yet." Kyoko rubbed her eyes, slowly slumping in the chair as her strength finally gave out. "The poison is unique in the sense that none of our usual light or arcane spells seem to be doing anything. Even the drawing stone was ineffective. Doesn't help that the volume of this poison doesn't have to be much to have devastating effects. That makes curing it that much harder. Usually, it is impossible to completely eradicate the poison from the body even with the best spells and potions. We rely on the body to do some of the fighting for us."

Kyoko started mumbling, words like "light magic" and "Phoenix". At least the research on the rot would have some direction now. This was the biggest breakthrough they'd had since the rot had appeared. Yet Kyoko didn't appear to be happy about it. In fact, she looked twice as exhausted. Twice as frustrated.

"I'm sorry," said Kyoko suddenly. "Here I am rambling about the rot when you've probably got other things on your mind. I've heard snippets about what happened with your dad and the revolt. That must be hard on you."

"Oh." Something warm pressed on her heart, simultaneously comforting and aching. "Yeah. It is a little. They'll be appointing me as the Duchess to take his place." A fact she now felt ashamed for. Not only because of what she'd be expected to oversee regarding their trial, but because she'd been trying to complain to Kyoko about it. The poor woman had enough on her plate as it was.

But Kyoko reached over, placing her hand over Itsumi's which were still clamped together. She gave a comforting squeeze, eyes a warm amber.

"Don't worry, I think you'll be a great Duchess, and I'll let you borrow Hikaru as much as you want," Kyoko lightly teased. "He needs to rest up a bit as well. Maybe you can help."

Determined to show her maturity, Itsumi pulled her hands away with a huff. She was not embarrassed by the teasings. So not! "Calling the kettle black, eh Kyoko? You're the worst out of all of us."

"What? I get six hours of sleep each night."

Itsumi was going to let Kanae deal with that one. From what she knew, this ongoing battle against Kyoko's self-destructive health tendencies was a lost cause.

"As much as I hate to say it, I agree with Kanae," said Itsumi. "You need to be babysat. Then again, Kanae isn't a saint herself, still working like usual even after what happened."

Kyoko straightened in her chair, alert and more focused than Itsumi had seen her in a while. "After what happened? Did Kanae get hurt?"

"Did no one tell you?" Itsumi pointed to Hiroaki. "Koga broke Kanae's bracelet while they were in the caves. But unlike the other man who died when his bracelet was broken, nothing happened to her and no one knows why. Some people are saying she's an Accursed just like Cain."

"But she's not."

Kyoko looked stricken, the stress pulling at her eyes in earnest. Not that Itsumi could blame her. She'd heard what had happened to the men who had died in the caves. How others were sick twenty-four hours later even when wearing the bracelets. The likelihood that Kanae would become seriously ill or even die was high.

As if to deny these thoughts with her healthy presence, Kanae reentered the room, sweeping down on Kyoko immediately.

"Come," she said. "I've got you a secure room."

To Itsumi's surprise, Kyoko went quietly, following her friend out the door. Itsumi might have worried, except she recognized the expression on Kyoko's face. It looked like Kyoko wasn't the only person due for a lecture tonight. Now if only Itsumi could find some of that determination for herself. She drummed her toes against her sandals, sneaking a peek at Hikaru across the room. Maybe she should take Kyoko's advice and borrow Hikaru for the evening.

Thanks for reading!

For those not aware, this was late because I had a plot lightbulb which had to be properly ironed out. Also, next chapter will likely be a week late due to husband and I going on vacation next week.

Do not worry my friends. I have not forgotten about Sho being there.

Thanks again so much for reading and for those beautiful people who reviewed! I just hope I can continue to meet your (and my) expectation(s) as we near the second part of this last arc. NO PRESSURE! XD

-Blushweaver