"How's she been?" Erastus asked, poking his head into the room.

Sebastian, sitting on the floor with a whole array of blocks, looked up to his twin, and his good eye underlined by a rather large, bruise-like bag blinked blearily at him. Ava clanked two blocks together in front of him, and Sebastian swallowed, swaying a bit.

"She hasn't tried to get out of bed. It's been about... oh, two days," Sebastian said, yawning halfway through his sentence.

While they had expected issues during Magnolia's convalescence, they hadn't expected her sleep walking.

The doctors had tried to explain that it was possible that Magnolia was randomly 'waking up' almost, and her subconscious mind would try and do the things she habitually did, like undress, brush her teeth, make breakfast, and go to the training room. Unfortunately, that meant that if she was left unattended for too long, she would very suddenly disappear from the room. For the past two weeks, she had had to have a rotating guard of family members and friends to ensure she wasn't out and about, attempting to go down stairs with her eyes closed.

While the first time they found her trying her best to make eggs near naked off of a medical cart using bedpans and a newly-extracted kidney stone was hysterical, her deepening sleep rhythms were less funny. Every one of her sleepwalking episodes seemingly sent her into deeper and deeper heart rhythms, until - by this point - her heart was going at the slowest it could possibly go without falling to a dangerous level or needing medical assistance. It was obvious that they were quickly losing time.

"Looks like you could use some sleep, then. Here - I'll take over," Erastus offered, coming to sit next to him.

Ava offered Erastus a blue block with a 'B' and she pointed to a tower she was making.

"It goes there. It's a big meanie," Ava stated.

Erastus smiled and did as he was told, while Sebastian leaned back against a thick chair behind him, closing an eye.

"You can go back to your room if you want," Erastus said, "I'll be fine here."

"Nah, I can sit with you. If I go to sleep now, I'll wake up at two in the morning, and I'll never sleep normally again," Sebastian sighed. "How're Lily and Violet?"

"Lily said that she hates that she had to leave so soon, especially seeing as tomorrow Maggie's getting the procedure done. There's not much that even Komui can do about her mission placement, though. It was a pretty specific case. Violet's beating herself up hard about getting put in lock-up," Erastus answered.

"Again? What is this, the third time in as many months?" Sebastian groaned, pressing the heel of his hands into his eyes.

"Hey, you know what happens when she gets stressed. She steals everything in reach. I don't think she even knows she does it," Erastus muttered as he placed another block on top of another tower that Ava was building.

"What? You really believe her?" Sebastian asked incredulously, looking over at Erastus.

Suddenly, Ava stood up and kicked over the tower viciously, shouting 'Raaaaah!' as she did so, flinging blocks in all directions, and the two boys flinched away from the abrupt tirade.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Ava, calm down!"

"Hey, stop throwi- no fire indoors, ya li'l-"

The two managed to corral her away from the object of her discontent, and she pouted sullenly, going off into a corner to cry and sulk as she was denied her enemy. Erastus frowned and peered over at Sebastian, and the other twin did the same, the sound of a shrieking toddler quickly drawing stares from nurses and doctors passing by.

"What's the matter with her?" Erastus muttered as he went to pick up a block that had managed to end up on Maggie's bed.

"I don't know. I guess maybe she can tell something's really wrong. We haven't really explained much to her," Sebastian said, putting the blocks in a cloth bag nearby where a large assortment of well-worn toys were packed away, ready for further abuse. He tried to reach a hand towards Ava to calm her, but she almost took a chunk out of his palm. The eye-patched twin yanked his hand back as Ava curled up into herself, crying. Sighing, he looked over to his brother to retrieve the other wayward blocks.

Sebastian was surprised to see Erastus grimacing, wide-eyed as he stood staring at his older sister upon the bed, and Sebastian asked, "What's the matter? Rusty, is something wrong?"

Erastus' grimace transformed into a slight smile with gritted teeth, pointing at Magnolia's face. Sebastian walked over to see what had happened, and to his dismay, he saw that there was a large, rather distinct 'S' on Magnolia's forehead where a flung block had hit her square in the middle of the face. No doubt, it would bruise (she bruised like a peach) and when she woke up, she was going to be... upset was an understatement. The twins could only imagine the shrill, near-inhuman screech she'd have in store for them when she found out she was going to have to wear an 'S' on her forehead involuntarily for a week after recovery.

"Oh man, we are in deep," Sebastian muttered.

"Why?"

The two whipped around to look at the newcomer's voice, surprised that they had another visitor, and they shuffled to hide Maggie's face. Kanda stared at them with suspicion. He was dressed in his usual training gear - sleeveless shirt, black pants, sword at the hip - and carrying a mug of something steaming hot. He glanced at the carnage around the room, then finally to Ava in the corner, throwing her small tantrum. He raised an eyebrow at them and sighed.

"I don't know what I expected," he muttered.

"What are you doing here, anyway? We haven't seen you at all in the two weeks we've been watching her," Erastus huffed as Kanda set his things down on a chair.

"You're not always here. Don't judge. I've been busy."

"With nothing," Sebastian muttered under his breath.

It was no real secret that the Valdis family had not taken to Kanda, especially not with the frosty way Magnolia had treated him after his return to the Order some time after her own from Montreal. The fact that the family was a bit insulted by being snubbed as Maggie's medical proxy had only put salt in the wound, and they had no problem letting Kanda know he wasn't very welcome around their oldest sibling. The only person who tolerated Kanda's presence in the least was Lily, but that was because Lily could get along with a crocodile suffering a toothache - which probably had a better disposition than the man standing in the room. Whatever the case, Kanda was not their favorite person at present.

Kanda flashed a quick look of warning at Sebastian for his near-silent rebuttal before taking a sip of his drink.

"I'll take care of her," he mentioned, pointing towards Ava.

The two were agog, glancing at each other in affirmation that they had both heard the same thing. If there were any two things that did not mix, it was Kanda and small children. Sebastian, if he was honest, gave a bit of a sigh as he realized that he was released from the duty of watching over his energetic, somewhat morose toddler of a sister. Erastus was likewise relieved, perhaps because he had seen the destruction Ava usually wreaked and was not at all delighted to have to take care of that after a long session of training with Allen. To have someone take over for a bit would be a blessing.

Even if it was Grouchface, to use Maggie's 'pet name'.

"You sure? She can-"

"Get out of here," Kanda ordered, jabbing a finger at the door.

The two quickly hustled towards the exit. For all their dislike, they weren't about to risk the samurai's wrath- at least, not while he was armed. Only heaven knew why he was still lugging around a sword in the infirmary, and the twins didn't want to risk a swift journey there to ask. As they walked out into the hall, they pondered the sudden turn of events.

"This is weird," Sebastian murmured to Erastus as they both looked over their shoulders to the room.

"Beyond weird," Erastus commented, locking eyes with his brother. "You think it's because the procedure's tomor-?"

"Hey!"

The two froze in their tracks and looked over at the voice. Kanda was leaning out of the doorway, his head cocked down to look at the two from under dark eyebrows. He narrowed his gaze, and the twins each bit their bottom lip respectively in anticipation. Nurses bustled around them and they patiently waited for Kanda's words. The twins, by this point, were cringing.

"I'm telling her the S was your fault."

Both of them deflated and looked at Kanda with near-offended expressions before stalking off.

"He is such a git."

"Yeah. Such a git. I don't know what Maggie sees in him."

"Well, she doesn't see anything right now because-"

"Come on, Bastian, that's dark."

"It's true though..."


I woke up abruptly, sitting straight with a start. It seemed like that was my world lately, waking up rudely.

Waking up rudely in a rowboat though... not quite what I expected. I tried to think of the last thing I could remember, but I turned up a blank, other than the vague suggestion that I was looking to buy a toy. It wasn't terribly helpful to me in my current situation. I looked around me in a bit of a panic, realizing that I was surrounded on all sides by an ocean. I didn't bother looking straight down, seeing as I didn't think it was worth scaring myself over finding out there were sharks beneath me.

What was curious, though, was the rope I hit my head on. It was strung up, as if it ran between two posts, as far as the eye could see. I grabbed a hold of it and stared at it. What kind of madness had I gotten myself into?

"Maggie," someone sang across the water.

I whipped my head towards my feet, eyes wide as Wedgwood platters. I swallowed hard and found myself staring at another boat ahead of me, maybe a couple of yards out under the same rope, and in that boat sat my mother. The woman who'd raised me looked at me with sad eyes, shaking her head. Her hair was gray, her eyes lined by age, and she was far more slender than she had been when I remembered her. She rested her hands in her lap and cocked her head with a quirked eyebrow.

What is going on?

"Maggie, honey... come here," she said, and I felt a strong, deep tug within me.

I wanted to, and I wanted to badly. I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen my mother's face, or held her. It had been so long - almost four years. Yet, there was a little voice in my head, one that sounded suspiciously similar to a certain grouchy person, who questioned this deep-seated need to go towards the apparition of my mother in a rowboat on top of an endless ocean. Something about this did not quite add up to a full deck of cards. I licked my lips and called back to her.

"Maman! I'm right here!"

"Maggie, you've got to come closer! I can barely hear you! You were always a mumbler."

"But... Maman, why don't you come here to me? And I do not mumble!"

There was silence, and I felt my shoulders slump. Even a small part of me, an insane part of me, wanted this to be real. I'd rather be lost in the middle of the ocean with no supplies or heading in a tiny rowboat with my mother rather than be on flat land with the rest of my family... and I could safely say there's something unhealthy about that. I wrung my hands as I considered my surroundings. It was a lifeboat meant for quite a few people, and I was sitting at the aft, furthest away from my "mother". To the other end I could see nothing. The sun was high in the sky, but it was only a bit warm, not the beat down I would expect at high noon on water.

Perhaps I was in some kind of trance or dream or-

It rushed back to me, then, all at once. The toy shop, seeing the girl, stopping her, and then, the whirlwind of sights, sounds, colors, and immeasurable confusion. My brain had been twisted into loops that would make a German pretzel baker swoon. Lavi had told me about her dreams, that he himself had been taken by one once. The experience had apparently left its mark. He'd not said much about the details, but the look in his eye had been enough to tell me I wanted absolutely no part of that.

Unfortunately, it looked like I had no choice in the matter. I'd managed to dive feet first into one of her dreams. I rested my forehead against the gunwale, flecks of peeling paint coming off in my hair as I groaned and rubbed my head against it with frustration.

"Maggie-"

"Don't try it! You are most definitely not my mother!" I shouted over my shoulder, a bit of a twinge striking me in the chest.

Even if she was just a figment of my imagination, it felt almost sacrilegious to yell at Maman, especially as her favorite weapon of choice was the wooden spoon when dealing with wayward mouths. Violet ate splinters regularly as a child.

"...So you've figured it out," said the apparition from across the water. "That didn't take you very long. Ah, well, it isn't as if you'll get out of here. Your time runs short as it stands. You were always bad at managing your time, rushing at the last minute."

"What do you mean? What am I supposed to be doing?" I asked her, scrambling over to the other end of the rowboat, which rocked under my weight.

"That's for you to figure out. I could have helped, you know, but you decided to stay over there. Why must you be so stubborn…?" my mother said with a sigh, leaning her head into her hand with disappointment, a gesture with which I was familiar.

"Why do you want me over there so badly?" I asked bluntly.

Sometimes asking direct questions yields direct answers, even if that wasn't terribly sophisticated, but I was getting impatient and the uncanniness of the thing's voice sent jitters up my spine.

"Why not? You're my daughter. I want you to come home."

"Home...?"

She patted the seat next to her, and it was then I finally realized that she was beginning to drift back and away from me, following the guide of the rope at head level. I shook my head at her. As much as I wanted to sit with her and hold her hand, try and recreate old times, I knew better than to give in. There were five children somewhere who needed me, and I couldn't leave them behind to stay here, wherever "here" was. I looked over her head and behind her, and I saw that the rope disappeared into some kind of mist far off into the distance.

That was obviously the wrong way out. I looked up at the rope next to my head, and I tugged my boat forward. It lurched a bit, sluggishly, and I grunted as I heaved again.

"Where are you going, Magpie? You don't want to sit and talk with your Maman? And here I thought you missed me," she shouted across the expanse.

A blade cut its way through my chest as I heard her voice crack.

"Wait... Come back. You come back here, Magnolia Frances Valdis!"

I ignored her and kept pulling the rope, heading in the opposite direction. I didn't know exactly where I was going, or what was going on, but I knew that staying here was not an option. No - the longer I stayed, the more likely it was that the idiot part of me would decide that sitting with the apparition of my more-than-likely-dead mother would end up getting me killed, or worse. As much as she looked like her, and sounded like her, and acted like her, I couldn't give in, and that meant pulling away at the bizarre lead in front of me.


Violet set her tray down violently enough to cause the plates and cups on the whole table to clatter. Kanda barely moved his head to look up at the girl who had conquered the seat in front of him, the Valdis youth plopping into the seat with undue force. He took a sip of his tea and wondered what fresh new hell was this. The second youngest sibling took hold of a croissant and roughly tore it apart - was that supposed to scare him? - before dunking the pieces in her coffee and eating them.

"I don't think you know my sister well enough to be her medical proxy," Violet said through half a croissant, leaning back in her chair.

Magnolia would've choked had she seen the girl in front of her be so rude, but of course that was probably the intention. Kanda's expression didn't change as he stared at her.

"Get out," Kanda breathed, glaring under hooded brows. "That's your only warning."

Violet's eyes widened as Kanda went back to drinking his tea.

"No, no, no, before you get to start making any big decisions, you've got to prove to me you know her," Violet said, leaning forward and jabbing a finger in Kanda's face. "I'll contest. I know how. I asked Komui."

The man looked like a vein was about to burst in his temple, his mouth set into a rictus. Half the cafeteria was watching the carnage over their shoulder, doing their best to look like they weren't staring while obviously ogling the goings-on. Lavi poked his head over the crowd with gritted teeth, realizing that Violet vastly underestimated Kanda's patience. The girl was going to end up bald at this rate.

"Fine," Kanda grit out. "Quiz me. Ask me anything."

"Favorite music."

"The polka. It's overly complicated and pretentious."

"Favorite food."

"Chocolate."

"Worst nightmare."

"A roach-infested bathroom with slime, mold and men's underwear."

"Dreams for the future."

"She wanted to be a dancer who lived in an upper floor apartment in Paris."

"Middle name."

"Frances."

The two stared at each other, steaming. By that point, the other siblings had also come to watch the show, though Lily looked like she was about to intervene while the twins were more upset that they hadn't brought a camera from the Science division to record the debacle. Violet and Kanda were nearly nose to nose as they stared each other down.

"First pet."

"A mouse. She named it Lucky."

"First kiss."

"Probably some farm boy because she wanted to get it over with and she didn't enjoy it."

"Our oldest sister's name!"

The room went quiet as several people realized that the Valdis family even had more members - six was already quite a lot - while Lily had her face in her hands shaking her head, the twins wincing, and Lavi biting his lip with anticipation. That was an extremely, unfortunately, horribly touchy subject where Magnolia was concerned, one that even Lavi had felt unnecessary to broach on his own. Kanda stared at Violet with blank eyes, his face deadpan, and the room went completely silent. Violet smirked somewhat triumphantly, as she leaned on the table.

"Rose," Kanda said quietly, taking a final sip of his tea.

Violet's eyes were wide with disbelief, looking back at her siblings as if to ask whether or not they'd told him, and they all shook their heads. None of them had spoken that name in years, and it was unlikely that any of them had even let it slip.

"Let me ask you something, then," Kanda said, glancing at Violet. "Why won't Maggie let people touch her?"

Violet flinched at the question, sitting back in her chair as Kanda stood up with his empty mug, walking out of the dead silent cafeteria.

"Wow. Even I didn't know half of that," Erastus muttered, before Lavi's elbow connected with his solar plexus, knocking the wind of him.

"Alright, guys, nothing to see here, just... go back to your coffee and your gossip!" Lavi said, waving the rubbernecks away from the scene of the crime, Violet sitting in a daze at the table.

He glanced at the other siblings who approached, and he shook his head, making a cutting motion across his throat as he stood behind Violet. The twins quickly picked up on this gesture while Lily stood there confused, the twins resorting to leading her away from the distraught teenager. Lavi plopped into a seat next to the girl who had her face in her hands.

"How did he know all of that? Like, that was every single intimate thing I know about Maggie, and then he throws that curveball out of thin air!" Violet lamented, throwing her hands up.

Lavi sighed, "Well, he's been working with your sister for a long time. They've risked their lives for each other on plenty of occasions. You're bound to talk about a thing or two."

Violet shook her head and stressed, "But she told him all of that! She said to him what her dreams were, and what she hated, and what she wants to do in life! She doesn't even like him!"

Lavi winced, leaning his chin into his hand. It was difficult to explain that sort of trust to someone who'd never really earned it. Violet, for all her ability and vivacity, had yet to really get close to Allen and Lenalee. She was already so close to her brothers, but they had known each other their whole lives. That trust was implicit - not gained. The thought that Maggie could be close to someone who wasn't family seemed alien to her. For so long, she and her brood had been the focus of Maggie's entire attention. It wasn't easy trying to think of her in terms other than "big sister", as someone who, for all intents and purposes, was very lonely once her family was removed from the picture.

For years, they were the only thing that kept her together, and without them, she would have had nothing.

"Just... trust me on this. She knew what she was doing when she chose Kanda to be her liaison. She trusts him, and that means you should, too, shouldn't you?"

Violet pouted a bit, rolling her shoulders before answering, "I guess."

"Good! Now, do us a favor, and stop harassing him. She'll kill me if I have to explain to her that you ended up half beaten to death because you wouldn't stop pestering him."


I pulled for what seemed like days. The water remained the same, just a blank near-black sheet that stretched on either side. I was about to go mad from boredom. I'd sung every nursery rhyme I knew, which were quite a few seeing as I usually had a toddler in tow, and I was all out of music to hum. The sun didn't budge an inch, still a lukewarm ball of light that maddeningly stayed overhead. I had no way of tracking time, but seeing as I'd sung every tune I could think of, I was going to guess I'd been pulling along this rope for at the least half a day.

I hung my head with a groan. I didn't even know where I was going, much less whether or not it was doing me any good.

Suddenly, a peal of thunder cracked overhead and I stared up in surprise. What had once been an endlessly blue sky was now, unexpectedly, a storm cloud over the whole ocean. Even in this dreamy hell, I couldn't catch a single break. I groaned as the water came down in a single sheet of rain. I was drenched within seconds, and I grumbled as I resumed pulling on the rope. Of course, I had to complain about being bored. Well, I certainly wasn't about to be bored now.

I looked ahead through the rain to see, to my horror, a ten foot tall wave cresting overhead, and I gritted my teeth.

"No... no, no, no, no, no, no," I muttered as I grabbed a hold of the rope with both arms, and my seat with both legs.

The waves crashed over my head, and I was lost in a whole nimbus of green, blue, and black. I coughed as seawater rushed down into my lungs, burning my eyes and nose. Well, it was no wonder why I hated going out on boats.

"Good lord, you're stubborn. Let go already, would ya? You're better off drowning anyhow," a voice said behind me, and I glanced back as the waters receded.

A man's upper torso was sitting in the back of the boat with me, and I stared in surreal wonder. He had no legs, his face pale and pinched in disgust. He looked like he was probably middle-aged, the picture of a drunkard, and rightly pissed off. I flopped my mouth open in awestruck confusion, trying to piece the whole, strange collage together.

"How did you-"

"Not important, love. For your next question: I'm the man you didn't save the first time! Betcha don't even remember me! Belfast? New Year's?" the man asked, taking from some undefined space a whole bottle of gin, downing it as a wave crashed over us both while my back was turned.

As I coughed up half the sea's water, the man shrugged his shoulders and said, "Look, it'll do you no good. Just drown already!"

It took me a few more seconds of staring to recognize him. He was, indeed, a man I knew - the first man I'd ever seen die. He'd been unwittingly standing too close as an Akuma burst out of a storefront, me chasing after the God awful thing with my whip. The Akuma's speed had shredded the man clean in half. I didn't find him until after I'd dispatched the Level Two in front of the shop, and he'd cursed the church during every last second of his rudely shortened life, recognizing my uniform as I tried to figure out a way to stop the bleeding. He'd expired in my arms, holding a fist full of my hair and whispering hate in my ear.

I hadn't slept for nearly a week after that for all the nightmares. And, lucky me, here was a repeat performance.

"I do remember you," I coughed as I did my best to hang on to the rope, shouting over the rolls of thunder.

"Oh, do ya? Be honest - we all blur together in yer mind. You never can seem to figure out who's who after a while. I mean, there's so many dead. What're you gonna do, cry over every one of us?" the man asked with enough bitterness to kill a full-grown bull elephant.

He took a swig of gin before offering the bottle to me. I hesitated before shaking my head. The man shrugged and put the bottle down just as another wave doused us. Lord, the water stung my eyes. I could hardly see in front of me, the water was so dark. Every time a wave crashed into the boat, my hold on the rope lessened. Somehow, I managed to hang on. Yet, the waves seemed to be laced with guilt as I considered his accusations.

The faces do blur together. Eventually, they're just bodies. You can only care so much after seeing someone decapitated for the fifteenth time.

"I... I try. I try to remember you," I rebutted. "Would you rather me mope and let everybody else bite the dust? That sounds sort of counterproductive, doesn't it?"

"Tch. That's my point, ya whelp. For every one person ya save, another fifteen meet God, after literally getting dusted. Admit it - it ain't the best use o' resources. Even your famed swordsman can't save to a one-to-one ratio."

"I wouldn't have pegged you for an accountant," I yelled over the rush of water.

He rolled his eyes dramatically.

"Oh, just let go already. Save yourself the trouble, whore of Babylon," the man griped, his words nearly drowned out by another wave.

I hacked up more seawater and sagged on the rope, squeezing my eyes shut as the storm continued. I couldn't deny that the man had a point. The civilians who died to the Akuma were never remembered for their misfortune. They didn't get statues in their honor, or great speeches attributed to their lives. They just died, usually brutally, always awfully, and we Exorcists weren't exactly handed a very different ticket, either, when we finally punched out. I stared over my shoulder through streamers of water at the man, his red nose seeming to glow like a beacon in the dark, stormy air as he took another swig. I scrunched up my face as I stared at where his legs used to be.

I shuddered and said, finally, "No. I'm going to keep on."

"Oh? You're just gonna keep running this fool's errand, are ya?" the man asked sardonically, leaning forward to lean his arms on knees he no longer had.

He fell into the boat, which even I had to admit was a little funny, given the shocked look on his face. Just like that, a wave crashed over us-

-and in its place, was warm, calm, flat water. There was no sign of a storm, no ten foot high rollers, no half-torn man shouting abuse at me. I stared, still shivering and wet as a drowned cat, at the abrupt change of scenery and whispered to myself a couple of words my family would've choked at. Well, I was trapped in my own head- I could afford a curse or two.

Still, I was getting the hang of the theme to this. Self-doubt seemed to be the name of the game, and if this went the way I think it would, things were going to get much worse from here on out.

I continued to pull on the rope towards whatever new horror show awaited.


The Science Department's medical section looked more like an office than a lab, despite the many rows of cages. Kanda leaned against a desk as an egghead shuffled papers, looking nervous. The swordsman was well aware that his public relations could do with a shine-up, but at present he figured his somewhat fearsome reputation was serving to grease the wheels. Tiedoll had tagged along, sketching a rat that was in a bank of cages, the old man whispering to the rat now and again how good of a model it was.

Tiedoll most definitely was not here because Kanda had asked. Rather, he invited himself, much to the swordsman's chagrin.

"Um, well, we, ah... we have some good news and some bad news-"

"Bad news first," Kanda snapped.

The scientist, mousy as the rats in their cages, straightened up and handed over a few sheafs of papers.

"The serum survivability rate is still somewhere around twenty-five percent. The rats who survived did suffer from impaired heart function afterwards, along with muscle weakness, hormonal problems, insomnia, and in some cases complete cardiac failure. Survivors have a significantly higher chance of suffering heart attacks and other heart problems. Seven of the survivors died of acute heart failure within two weeks," the scientist said as Kanda dumped the papers on the desk next to them.

"Good news?"

"Those rats that do wake up seem healthy for the first few days and make a full recovery. We only started to see real problems after the first month or so," the man told them, his words trailing off as his eyes bounced between the two Exorcists.

Tiedoll glanced up as Kanda remained silent, arms crossed over his chest with head bowed as he considered the offer.

"I'll, uh... I'll let you think on it," the man said, hurrying off to tend to the many lab rats littering the desks.

"You seem torn," Tiedoll stated, going back to his sketch.

Kanda continued to stare at a space on the floor, his mind racing. Twenty-five percent. That was a measly chance of survival. It was less than a coin toss, and even then the side effects of the treatment could potentially cripple her. It was unlikely she'd ever be in fighting shape again. Was it worth the risk?

"I understand the dilemma. You don't want to make the wrong move, potentially harm her," Tiedoll mused. "I have had my fair share of difficult decisions regarding our team."

"And?"

Tiedoll looked up at the man sitting against the desk near him, the boy's body language a brick wall. He had known Kanda nearly his entire adolescent life, and he rarely saw him so conflicted. Kanda was a decisive person by nature, making the most cost-effective choice possible for the least amount of effort. Others might call him callous, but no one could say he was ineffective or unsure. Yet, now, with this single person's life in the balance, he seemed tugged in two directions as he stared at the floor. His single response spoke volumes, in essence if not form.

Tiedoll drew the eye of the rat before him and stated, "I always considered what you would want. You were most confident fighting in long, narrow arenas. Daisya preferred a whole field. Marie was most comfortable at long range. If I had to split the team, I always sent Daisya on his own or with me- he was too reckless around you and Marie, and he'd chafe the two of you. But sometimes, there was no way to make a right decision. And even if I did make the right decision... there are just things you cannot control."

An image of Daisya, hanging upside down, flashed in his mind. No, sometimes you could make all the right decisions, and things would still spiral beyond your grasp.

"You never made our decisions for us," Kanda muttered.

"Not that you knew of," Tiedoll said with a slight hint of mischief, and Kanda glowered over his shoulder.

The man sighed to himself as he straightened up, looking over Kanda's head at the rows of cages. He tapped the notebook in his hand, thinking.

"I believe you know what she wants better than you think."

"I don't want to kill her."

"Oh? That's high praise, my son."

"Quit calling me that," Kanda groaned as he rubbed his face wearily.

Tiedoll chuckled as he put his finger between the bars of a cage, letting the curious rats sniff his hand. The two stood in companionable silence as Kanda thought hard about what their next move would be. After ten minutes passed, Tiedoll glanced at Kanda with concern. It almost never took him this long to consider what he should do himself. He didn't even hesitate this much while Finders were on the field. He was quite seriously uncomfortable with the situation placed before him. Tiedoll could sympathize. Sometimes none of the cards dealt were a good hand, and one had to play what they were given.

Twenty-five percent and crippled with heart problems, or zero percent and not a life at all.

"Do you think she'll die? If you refuse?" Tiedoll asked.

The samurai put his hands over his face, and Tiedoll was taken aback by the momentary show of emotion. He was, by no means, crying or growling or seething or snapping. No, he'd merely put his hands over his face to escape the world for a moment. It was an incredibly telling gesture, and Tiedoll swallowed. Perhaps Magnolia had chosen poorly. Perhaps, it was not fair to put such a weight on the man's shoulders. Kanda moved his hands into a prayer position before his face, and then finally placed his hands down in his lap.

"She'll die," Kanda stated. "But this is the kindest death she's likely to get. I won't wake her up just to tell her she'll have two weeks to live."

Tiedoll stared at him, realizing that it was not only Magnolia's death he was courting, but the ire of her many siblings as well, who would, no doubt, loathe the man for letting her go, however peacefully.

"Kanda..."

"Let me find the egghead," he said abruptly, walking at a fast clip to go and hunt down the scientist piddling around with his rats.

Tiedoll watched him go before putting away his notebook and leaving the lab. The decision had been made, and there was not much more that could be done for it, God help them.


A/N: God help them indeed.

Thank you so much karina001 for both your input and your betaing prowess! You're amazing, and this story would be nowhere near as good as it is without you!
And to stardancer1000, haha, I'm so glad that there's a ship going on! Personally, I consider Kanda and Maggie to be much closer to being friends, as well as teacher-student - not to mention Magnolia is less than pleased with him. Still, I'm quite happy that you've grown on Violet and Maggie, and hopefully this character development will most definitely help!

More to come, very soon!