Alas I have returned.

"Blah" — Speech

"Blah" — Speech in another language

'Blah' — Thoughts

[ Blah ] — Text

*Blah* — Sound effects in speech

(Blah) — Author's notes

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of Love Live! School Idol Project. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

First Counter Strike

"...It has been weeks since Nico Yazawa's capture and there is still no news—"

"—The Prime Minister is pressuring—"

CLICK

Nozomi turns her head to the front car as the radio was switched off. Umi turns her head to face Nozomi and Eli, "We're here."

Nozomi turns back to the window as the car gradually stops in front of a house. Nozomi and the others step out of the car; the purplenette looks up to the sky as the sun sets in the horizon. 'Never imagined coming home like this.' Nozomi sighs as she jogs to the house to catch up with the others.

As the crew reach to the front of the house they spot a SUV driving up to them. A couple of suited men steps out of the car and one of them steps up to the Muse guards, "Ms. Hoshizora?"

Rin raises her eyebrow, "Yes?"

The guard gestures to the SUV, "Miss Nishikino is waiting for you."

"Eh?" Rin tilts her head to get a better angle, "Maki?"

"Get in Rin." Even though the voice was muffled it was clear the doctor is in the car.

Rin looks back at her team; Umi tilts her head to the car. Rin gets in the car and then the driver steps out of the car. Umi turns to Nozomi and Eli, "I will stay here with Rin. You two should go inside."

Nozomi nods, "Got it."

The both of them walk to the front and Eli knocks on the door, "Mrs. Yazawa?"

Nozomi sees the lights turn on, "Be right there." She hears shuffling inside the house for a few seconds before the door opens to reveal Junko. "I thought I told you to call me Junko."

The blond dips her head, "Sorry."

The older Yazawa weakly smiles, "It's good to see you two again."

Nozomi smiles back, "Same."

Junko steps back, "Come in. I'll get some tea ready."

"You don't have to." Nozomi and Eli follow Junko inside the house. "We won't be here for long."

"Oh." they lapse into silence.

Nozomi starts to fidget and look around the house, "Where are the kids?"

Junko looks back as they stop in the living room, "They're staying late at school to help out the festival." She sighs, "It's good that they can focus on something else."

Eli furrows her brows, "Has anyone been giving you trouble?"

Junko shakes her head, "It's better now."

"Now?"

Junko sighs again, "It was difficult to get out of the house ever since... ever since Nico was captured."

Nozomi grips her elbow while Eli averts her eyes.

"Stop it." They flinch and look back to Junko staring back at them, "I don't blame you two. What happened has happened. What matters is that we have to be there for Nico when she comes back." The guards nod and Junko leans back on the sofa. "Anyway, the reporters would harass us all day until men in suits came by and scared them off."

'Maki's security.'

"I asked them who they were and they just said their boss is Nico's friend." Junko shrugs, "The reporters stopped harassing my kids and that was enough for me. But enough about me. How are you two doing?"

Nozomi glances at Eli who nods back, "We're doing fine. We just wanted to check on you and the kids."

The older Yazawa smiles, "Thank you."

Ding

"Sorry." Nozomi bring out her phone to see a message from Umi :

[ We should go. Plane is ready at the airport and Rin is done on her part. ]

Nozomi looks up to Eli and nods at her. She then looks at Junko, "I'm sorry to cut this short but we have to go."

"You're doing something aren't you?"

"..."

"..."

"You two don't seem the type to sit still." Junko closes her eyes, "Whatever it is I don't care. Just please bring my Nico home."

Nozomi and Eli bow their heads, "We will." They start walking to the door and Nozomi hears a soft Thank you from behind her. As the duo gets out of the house they see the car gone and the rest of the squad waiting. Nozomi turns to Rin, "How did it go with Maki?"

Rin chuckles as she averts her eyes and scratches her neck, "She wasn't too happy about me going against terrorists. But I' not gonna back out."

Nozomi pats her shoulder, "She's just worried for you so give her time."

Rin nods, "Yeah."

"Right." Nozomi looks at everyone, "Let's go to Greece shall we?"

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The cool breeze is the first thing Nozomi feels as she steps off the jet and walks down the stairs. Once on the ground, the guard drops her luggage and stretches her arms as she scans the area. 'It feels like most airports had the same designer.'

"Hello!"

Nozomi and the crew turn toward the sound to see a dark-skinned woman with sunglasses on top of her brown hair walking toward them. As she comes closer Nozomi makes out small Sphera logo on her khaki shorts and a pistol holster attached to her waist. The woman stops in front of them and smiles, "You must be Muse correct?"

Umi is the first to start the greeting, "Yes we are."

The woman smiles and holds out her hand, "Great! I'm Iris. I'll be the one in charge of this op." The guards shook her hand and gave their respective names. After the introductions Iris claps her hands, "Alright! Welcome to Greece! I'll drive you to our base." The brunette tilts her head to the side and began walking in that direction, "C'mon the car is close." There is a jeep not far from the jet.

The party picks up their luggage and jogs after Iris. They drop off their luggage and piled into the car; Umi is in the passenger seat while Nozomi, Eli, and Rin are seated in the back. After everyone buckled their seat belts, Iris starts the car and drives off. The car falls into silence as the airport disappears from behind them. After a few more moments of silence Nozomi tries to break it, "So Iris," She waits until she has the driver's attention, "How did Sphera get a base here?"

"Oh well..." Iris pauses as she turns a corner, "It was a really complicated situation so I'll keep the story simple. Greece was really in a rough situation about four or five years ago. But Sphera came in and offered a solution. The government took the deal and we get..." Iris pats her holster, "Special privileges."

Umi turns to Iris, "Has the deal made any noticeable changes?"

Iris shrugs, "Too early to tell but I think so."

"How so?"

The brunette grins, "I got this job. Oh!" She points behind Umi, "Look over there."

Everyone looks in that direction and Rin gasps, "Oh my god!" She pushes her face against the window to get a better angle. "That looks amazing!"

'Agreed.' Even though Nozomi already saw it, the Parthenon still takes her breath away. She leans closer to Eli, "We should take Nico here sometime."

Eli nods, "We will."

For the rest of the drive Iris would point at various buildings, "...The chef over there makes some delicious gyro. I should buy some for later. Oh!" Iris slows down as she passes through a gate and stops in front of a building, "We're here."

Nozomi steps out of the car and looks up to the building; it looks like a compound with a three-story main house and other houses around it. The guard looks around to see tan walls surrounding the buildings.

A couple of Sphera operators walk over to Iris and salute to her. They spoke in Greek but it was too fast for Nozomi to follow. After a while Iris nods and turns to Muse, "C'mon!" She waves them to the door. "Let's go to the back."

They pick up their luggage and follow Iris as she leads them to the back. As she opens the back door Nozomi sees around twenty Sphera members lounging around in the backyard. Most of them seem to be natives while some of them are not from Greece.

Umi turns to Iris, "Is this everyone?"

"The rest are on patrol and scouting the area."

'It's almost a platoon.'

"Hey boss." That catches the operators' attention.

Iris claps, "Alright we got big news. We just got word that Bishamonten is here." The operators started to murmur among themselves.

Rin tilts her head, "Bishamonten?"

Iris turns around, "An arms dealer. She uses myths in the country she was last seen as her moniker. Her last sighting was in China."

Eli walks closer, "Did you find out where the deal is taking place?"

"So far no." The brunette waves at one of the members, "Get me a map." The person runs inside the house while the other operators clear out the table in front of them. A moment later, the operator comes back and lays the map of Athens on the table. Iris points at the docks, "We believe that the Brotherhood is using ships to carry the supplies so I have scouts stationed at each port to report anything unusual."

Umi nods, "It makes sense."

"So for now I will assign a small team to tail Bishamonten."

Nozomi joins in, "So what do we do?"

Iris turns to Nozomi, "Unfortunately you four will have to stay here." Rin opens her mouth but Iris quickly elaborates, "The Brotherhood will most likely recognize your faces. Not only that..." She looks at each Muse guard in turn, "You ladies won't blend in very well with the neighbors."

"Hey boss." One of the mercenary pipes up, "Who's our guests?"

Iris slaps her forehead, "Oh right," She gestures to Muse, "Everyone I would like you to meet Umi, Rin, Eli, and Nozomi. They were sent here from HQ."

'So much for teaching Rin about Greek.' Nozomi sighs, 'Might as well get to know them.' She and the rest of Muse greet their fellow operators.

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. . . . . . . . . . . .

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Three days later...

Nozomi sighs as she places a map down on the table and rubs her eyes; it was possible plans of action on every port. 'How much longer do we have to wait?' She looks to the side to see Umi watching over Rin as the young guard dissembles her pistol. She turns to the other side to see Eli hunched over staring at pieces of paper on the table. Nozomi was about to stand up when the door opens.

"We got a location." Iris and a couple operators stride into the room.

Everyone stops and Eli stands up, "Where?"

Iris walks over to the map that is hanging from the wall; she taps at one of the docks. "Here. My scouts reported men acting unusual there."

Umi walks over, "How so?"

"The suspects are just walking around the docks. We checked their faces and they weren't dock workers."

"The Brotherhood?" Eli asks.

Iris nods, "We believe so." She then points to an area close to the docks, "My other team reported that Bishanonten and her personal guards are on the move." She looks at everyone, "The deal is going to happen soon. Maybe during night time. Gear up."

Everyone scrambles around the room to grab their gear.

Thirty minutes later...

Nozomi peeks out of the window to watch numerous people walking out of a ferry. After a while she steps back and sits next to Eli as a few operators check over their G3; She looks down on her Glock 17 in the holster attached to her vest. 'A shame we can't use anything heavy-hitting.'

Nozomi turns her head as the door opens to show Iris walking inside with bags in her hands. "Got some Gyro while we wait." She places the bag on the table, "Dig in."

Night time...

Nozomi peeks out the window to see the port mostly empty with a few workers here and there. She then hears one of the operator's voices on her ear, "We have two vics coming to the entrance."

Nozomi looks back to see Iris with her hand on her ear. "Alright the arms dealer is coming to the docks."

The guard picks up a binocular and scans the area. After a few moments Nozomi sees two cars pull up to the entrance. Nozomi follows the cars as it stops in front of the cargo containers. The doors open and five people step out of the cars. Nozomi zooms in on the woman with black hair that trails all the way down her knees. 'So that's Bishamonten huh?'

Nozomi hears Eli's voice, "It seems the Brotherhood is planning to betray her."

'Huh?' Nozomi scans the area again and her eyes widen; there are several men holding assault rifles and hiding from the arms dealer.

One of the operator's voice filters through the comms, "Boss do we keep to the plan?"

Nozomi looks back to see Iris with one of her hands on her chin.

"Boss we got two more vics coming in."

Nozomi looks into her binoculars to see two SUVs pull up and stop some distance in front Bishamonten's group. The doors open and Nozomi could not hold her gasp; One of the men has his left arm in a sling. He seems to be in command as the other passengers in the car came out of the car and form a perimeter around him. She immediately turns to her partner, "Eli..."

Eli's binoculars creak under her grip, "It's him."

Iris looks at them, "Who?"

Eli sighs but she stays in place, "The man was one of Nico's kidnappers."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." Eli hisses.

Iris taps her ear, "This is Olympus to all Titans. We have confirmation that the Brotherhood is here." She looks over the scene with her binoculars. "Change of plans. We will mark Bishamonten and her group as allies. We will prioritize securing the wounded man with the sling. He will be designated HVT."

"ROE?"

"Weapons free. We only need the HVT alive."

"Copy."

Nozomi looks back at the scene to see the two groups discussing to one another. Throughout the deal, Bishamonten opens one of the cargo containers and brings out a box. She opens the lid and brings out an assault rifle. The HVT inspects the weapon and nods at the arms dealer. Bishamonten puts the gun back and they walk back to the center.

Bishamoneten smiles and thrusts her hand out. After a few moments, she repeats her action and Nozomi can see the arms dealer's guards tensing. The HVT snaps his fingers and the hiding terrorists pop out of their cover. The guards had their guns out but froze in place; it is 3 to 1 in the Brotherhood's advantage. The HVT starts walking away as some of the Brotherhood makes their way to the container.

Nozomi shifts to the entrance to see Sphera SUV and hears one of the operators speak into the radio, "In position."

"Execute."

The men on top of the containers drop dead and the SUVs accelerate through the entrance.

The Brotherhood are in a daze at what just happened. A white-haired and silver-haired bodyguard sprint to Bishamonten and drag her back to their car. The rest of her guards provide covering fire.

The Brotherhood reacts as some of the men drag the HVT back to their car. The HVT just got into the car as Sphera stops behind them. The HVT speeds off to the other side of the port but it suddenly swerved into a stack of containers; one of the snipers must have shot the tire.

Nozomi hears the door open behind them and turns around just in time to see blonde hair disappear. "Eli!?" She takes off and chases after her partner. Behind her she hears Iris calling them but she ignores her. "Eli!" She catches up to Eli as they run to the damaged car. They took their pistols out and scan the area; the doors were open with no sight of the HVT.

Eli moves to the stack of containers, "I'm going in. Cover me."

Nozomi follows after Eli as they make their way into the maze. Just as Eli reaches to the corner a hand latches onto her wrist and pulls her forward.

"Eli!" Nozomi tries to get a angle but she feels something tackles into her side and slam her into the container. The force knocks her gun off of her hand and leaves her dazed. In her peripheral she sees the HVT running away.

BANG

Nozomi looks to the side to see Eli's attacker lying on the floor. She uses the distraction to swing her head backward and it slams into her opponent's face. "Go Eli! He's getting away!"

"Got it." Eli chases after the HVT.

Nozomi turns around to see the man gripping his broken nose. Nozomi dives for her gun and turns to her opponent. "STOP!" The man froze and had his hand almost behind his back. "Don't do it." The man grips something on his back and Nozomi pulls the trigger twice. The man falls to the ground and a knife clatters to the ground. 'Damn it.'

"ARGH!"

Nozomi turns around and runs to the direction Eli ran off to. Nozomi turns around the corner to see the blonde kicking the man in the ribs. "Eli!" Nozomi holsters her gun and pulls Eli away. "Eli we need him alive."

"He needs to pay!"

"I know!" Eli hesitates as Nozomi squeezes harder, "But we must save Nico... at any cost." Nozomi looks at Eli, "Remember?"

Eli stares for several seconds and she relaxes. "...You're right. I'm sorry."

They then hear footsteps, "Muse! Titans coming on your six!" Four Titans round the corner and form a perimeter around the HVT. One of the operators checks his pulse and then taps her radio, "HVT secured." She then turns to the duo. "Olympus wants you two at the meeting site."

Nozomi finally notices that the gunfire died down. She nods at mercenary, "Thanks." They jog to the site. As they got closer they see all of the Brotherhood members dead on the ground. Off to the side they see Iris, Rin, and Umi talking to Bishamonten.

They catch the conversation, "...Thanks for the save Sphera. I owe you one."

Rin leans back, "Eh? How did you know?"

Bishamonten raises her eyebrow, "You guys are the only ones here with all the high-tech gear."

The white-haired bodyguard walks over, "Hey Ka—"

"Oi Oi no names."

White-hair sighs, "Bishamonten—"

"You know what? I'm going to change the names now. I was planning to do it after the deal..." She looks at the dead terrorists. "Now's a good time. Refer to me as Zeus."

"...Seriously?"

"Yes. Now shush Athena."

The newly-dubbed Athena huffs but stays silent.

Iris speaks up, "Zeus, can we cash in that favor now?"

"Well that was fast."

"Can you tell anything about the Brotherhood?"

"Sorry. My policy is not to talk about my clients to strangers."

"...Even when we saved you?"

"Yup. Gotta keep my policy." She shrugs, "It's how I keep a lot of customers."

Iris stares at Zeus for some time and sighs, "Alright."

"Ah," Zeus turns around and waves the silver-haired woman over. "Artemis."

Artemis is quick to adapt to the name-change and walks over, "Yes?"

"Remember that ship you told me about?"

Artemis raises her eyebrow but answers anyway, "Yes."

"It was really weird how it came here yesterday. It was also weird how it was green and had 'ARNDAS' written on the side."

Artemis chuckles, "I'm surprised you listened."

"Hey! I listen."

"Psh." Athena turns around and clasps her hands behind her head, "More like sleep through them." Zeus glares at Athena and slaps her ass, "OW! What the fuck!?"

"You're so going to get it when we get back to the hotel."

Athena blushes, "The fuck are you saying in front of strangers!?"

Iris looks back after relaying the info to the team, "Thank you for the information."

Zeus tilts her head to the side, "What are you talking about? I was having a loud chat with my employees."

Sirens are heard from the background.

Iris looks at the direction of the sirens and then to Zeus, "I would suggest now is the good time to leave. I'll pretend you were never here."

"Thank you so much. Also," She points at the containers, "Would it be alright if I can hide my guns?"

Iris shakes her head, "Unfortunately no. The cops will most likely find it."

"Awww. Oh well." Zeus and her guards make their way to the cars. "Oh," She turns around, "Be sure to save Nico alright? I do love her music." She walks back and they get into the cars to make their escape.

"Now you." Iris turns to Eli who has her head bowed. "That was really reckless Eli."

"I apologize for my reckless actions."

"But you did capture the HVT so there's that." She sighs, "You're really lucky Miss Murgatroyd vouches for you."

The sirens are getting closer.

"Right. It's time for you ladies to go back to the US with our guest."

Eli looks up, "What? But what about here?"

"We'll take care of this and the ship so go."

One of the operators starts to usher Muse to one of the cars and Rin looks back at Iris. "How are you going to explain the Brotherhood being here?"

"What are you talking about?" Iris smiles, "We just took down pirates."

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Four days later...

Nozomi closes the door behind her and walks up to Eli. "Has he said anything?"

Eli shakes her head as she stares at the computer screen, "No. He's a tough one."

Nozomi watches through the screen as the lights turn on and off and 30-second intervals in the room. When the lights turn on, loud music blares through the room and Nozomi can see the bags under his eyes.

"This should get interesting."

They turn around to see Tsubasa walking up to them.

"What do you mean?"

"The next phase."

They turn back to the screen to see the man escorted to his cell. In the next room there are two people dressed as the two Brotherhood member they captured here. They also have some device strapped around their throat. Nozomi points at it, "What it that?"

"A modulator that lets the person imitate voices. It'll help our specialists there for the next act." The liaison points at the vents. "We also 'installed' vents so our friend here can listen."

The specialist starts speaking, "Hey how have they been treating you?" The man with the sling perks up and looks around. Their voices sounded exactly like the prisoners' voice.

"Very well. I can't believe how nice the beds are here."

"Yeah it's soo much better than the caves we had to sleep in."

"...So did you think about their deal?"

"It is a tempting offer."

"I really do think we should take it." The wounded man starts to shake as he 'listens' in.

Tsubasa looks at the clock, "That should be good enough." The cell door opens and the injured man is escorted back to the 'room.'

Nozomi looks at Tsubasa, "What kind of specialists are they?"

"They specialize in mimicking their target. While you were gone our specialists have been talking to the prisoners and learning their manners. With a little bit of tech they can copy anyone... except for the faces. We haven't gotten there yet."

After 20 minutes of the light treatment they escorted him back to the cells. This time the prisoners are in there as well.

Tsubasa has her hand on her chin, "Let's see how he'll react."

They look back at the screen to see the man screaming at the other men. After several moments of arguing, the man starts slapping them. One of them did not expect the strike and fell down. Before it could escalate, the guards came in and 'stopped' the fight. They escorted the wounded man out of the cell as one of the interrogators checks on the prisoners.

After making sure they are alright, the Sphera man makes his way to the door. He was stopped by the prisoner's voice, "Wait." The two prisoners look at each other before the first one looks back, "We want to talk."

"Sure." The interrogator gestures them to the door, "Let's go somewhere else." They reach to a more comfortable room and sit down. The interrogator opens a file, "What can you tell me?"

"...Is the deal still viable?"

"Yes."

"Can we add another condition?"

"Let us hear it first."

"We want total anonymity."

"Hold." The interrogator waits.

Nozomi turns to Tsubasa, "What kind of deal did you offer them?"

"A new life here. We'll be watching over them of course."

Nozomi hears the door open behind her and turns around to see Honoka, Rin, Umi, and an employee walk inside. "Hey."

Honoka nods at them, "Hey to you too."

The employee walks up to Tsubasa and gives her a folder.

Eli tilts her head to the folder, "What is it?"

Tsubasa scans the contents, "Data from the ship Iris found."

They were interrupted as the interrogator nods, "We can add that." He leans forward, "Now where is Nico?"

The two prisoners looks at each other before the one who was slapped turns to the interrogator. "Egypt."

Tsubasa nods, "It checks out. The ship manifesto shows us the ship has made numerous visits to Egypt."

The interrogator scribbles down on the paper, "Where exactly?"

"Do you have a map?" They wait for a few moments before an employee walks in with an enhanced map of Egypt. They two take several seconds and one of them points at a part of the desert. "Here. We use these dunes as reference points."

The interrogator slides a piece of paper over to them, "Can you draw a layout of the cave..."

'Yes!'

"Yes!" Nozomi turns around to see Rin with her fist outstretched. "This is it! We are so close."

Nozomi shakes her head as Umi scolds Rin but she feels her heart beating faster, 'Don't worry Nicocchi. We'll bring you home.'

"...Could you tell the reason for the capture of Ms. Yazawa?"

One of them shrugs, "Not much. Leader wouldn't tell us."

The other turns his head to his friend, "Didn't he get worked up when we saw a video of the idol in front of that TV station?"

"Oh yeah. One of the recruits was watching that video."

The interrogator clears his throat, *Ahem* He gets their attention, "What is the leader's name?"

"Anton."

"Nothing else?"

"He only gave his first name."

"Anything to distinguish him?"

The prisoner taps his chin, "He has a scar on his ear."

Gasp

Nozomi turns to Eli as her fist trembles. "Elichi?"

"...I need to go back training." Eli quickly turns around and exits the room.

Nozomi and the others stare at each other for a few moments. Nozomi then walks to the door. "We'll come back later."

Five minutes later...

'Hopefully she's in here.' Nozomi opens the door of the dorms. "Elichi!?" The room was trashed and the blonde is sitting on the bed with her head in her hands. Nozomi rushes to her partner, "What happened?"

"It's my fault."

"What?"

Eli continues to mumble in her hands, "It's my fault it's my fault."

Nozomi hugs the blonde, "Eli." She tenses, "Breathe." Nozomi waits as Eli takes deep breaths and calm down. "Elichi what's going on?"

"I know him Nozomi." Eli looks up to stare at Nozomi, "I know the leader of the Brotherhood and it's my fault Nico got captured."

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Fin for now.

Not much to say but I'll be busy again; why do I do school?

-I apologize for my bastardization of military lingo.

YAY we hit 5k views! I am truly thankful to you my readers.

Until next time.

Thanks for reading

Constructive criticisms are appreciated

Bravo Tango out.

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A day after the incident...

Nico blearily wakes up to find half of her vision blacked out. She reaches with her hand to the left side of her face and feels some kind of cloth covering her eye. She hisses in pain and draws her hand back.

"Don't touch the wound."

Nico looks to the side to see the old man sitting on a chair. She slowly looks back at the ceiling.

"I do apologize for his behavior."

"Hm."

"..."

"..."

Nico thinks about yesterday, 'I wonder...' "How do you know Eli?"

"She was my student."

Nico whips her head to the side, "What?"

The older adult sighs, "I was a mentor of a military program back in Russia. It was there I met and taught Eli."

"...So what about the other guy? What's his deal?"

"Anton and Eli were in the same class year. They would always compete to reach the top rank." He sighs again, "Anton did... something and they both had a fight. The government found out and he was kicked off the program."

"Ha..." Nico trembles, "Haha..." Nico couldn't help herself, "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" 'Are you serious? All of this for revenge?' Nico's laughter peters off as she lies in bed.

"Has she gone crazy?" Nico and the old man turn around to see Anton with his black beret at the door. He walks to stand next to his teacher. "How is she?"

The old man opens his mouth but Nico jumps in, "'She' is doing fine Anton."

Anton scowls and glares at the older man, "You told her."

The ex-teacher shrugs, "She deserved to know."

"Tch." Anton looks at the older man tilts his head to the door. After giving Nico one last glare, he leaves the room.

The older man stands up and nods at Nico, "Try not to touch the wound." He leaves.

Nico sighs as she sinks back into bed. 'Fucking hell.'