When I woke the next morning rain pattered on the rooftops and windows, soft and consistant. It ran down the glass in trails, leaving little droplets of water scattered about like transparent stars. Their edges shone a slight gold, the product of the Church's Holy Lamps. It was the only source of light on an otherwise bleak day, with angry black clouds fogging up the skyline and blocking out the usual merry sun.

I hate rain.

The thought was sullen and bitter as I stared out the window. As Judgment Knight, I suppose I should feel a kinship to the dreary weather. After all, it reflected my role quite well. Both dark, unwanted and carrying the same image of helplessness. As good a Judgment Knight I was, I still couldn't force myself to like this horrid weather.

"Stop looking so gloomy!" The sentence was accompanied by the slap from somebody who was, obviously, impartial to the weather. She was grinning widely, teeth white even in the ambience of golden Holy Light. Her hair shone even brighter with the added light, a blinding mass of gold.

I knew for a fact that I, on the other hand, was still my usual dark self. It was like my clothes repelled the golden light, staying black in an almost defiant manner. Another reason that I hated the rain. When it was dark out the windows reflected images much clearer, startling the hell out of me whenever I caught a glimpse of myself. Every two minutes I'd see a mass of black out of the corner of my eye and have to stop myself from drawing my sword.

Who thought up the clothing design for the Judgment Knight anyway? I grumbled the thought to myself, but tried to appear a bit livelier to avoid getting slapped again.

"You should probably stay with one of the other knights today," I said patiently, glad that the room was deserted so that I could speak freely, "I have... business to attend to."

Interrogations.

She immediately began pouting, her bright blue eyes going even wider in what I had no doubt was a conscious effort to appear innocent. In a pleading voice she said, "I don't want to. I won't bug you, so let me come with you?"

"Why?" I asked, resisting the urge to bang my head against the stupid glass. She was always so difficult. The moment she wasn't allowed to do something, it was all she wanted to do. She was like a child.

"You're the most amusing," She said seriously, her thin brows drawn.

...

"You mean I'm the most fun to mess with, right?" I asked suspiciously. When she nodded seriously I resisted the urge to bang her stupid head against the stupid glass.

I can't believe I'm going to have to live out my days until retirement working under this idiot. It's going to be torture... sob.

"Why can't I?" She grumbled, crossing her arms and glaring at me defiantly, "I bet you're just slacking off, and you don't want me to know!"

"I told you," I rubbed my tired eyes, sighing and wondering if Grisia had chosen her as his student in an attempt to be even more annoying, "I have... business. It's... important..."

I couldn't muster up the courage to tell her I would be spending the day interrogating criminals. She seemed normal now, but any minute now she could change her mind about me and go back to looking at me with those terrified, disdainful eyes. It was a miracle that she had managed to tolerate me in the first place, and I wasn't keen on jeopardizing the friendship we seemed to have.

"You're too boring," She complained, "What else am I meant to do the whole day, then?"

I thought for a moment, not quite sure myself. On days like this few Platoons chose to train, and even if they did... I didn't hold a grudge against them, and couldn't bring myself to inflict the natural disaster that was Kadence upon them. Anastasia was notorious for sleeping in, and I certainly didn't want to unleash another disaster upon the Temple by waking her. I had heard stories of what happened to people who woke her earlier than she wanted, and they weren't pretty.

Come to think of it, I've never heard of her getting angry at Caelan for waking her. I know for a fact she did, when they were children... Knowing Anastasia, she probably took it out on Grisia rather than get angry at her closest friend.

"Go hang around with Metal?" I suggested hopefully.

"He said the same thing as you!" She complained.

I ran through the other knights in my head, wondering which would be suitable for babysi- supervising Kadence. Without the restrictions of being the Sun Knight she generally did whatever she wanted, which could prove dangerous. Should her identity be revealed... I resisted the urge to shudder, I don't think there was anything that could be said or done to fix the situation, should that happen.

Ice and Earth are out, then. They don't have enough resolve to stop her. Cloud is definitely out, too. He's too nice to be able to deal with her brash nature for a whole day. Leaf? No! She'd kill him for sure. Hell? I wouldn't even know where to find him...

"You realize I'm going to come with you, whether you like it or not?" She asked, interrupting my train of thought.

That's true, but...

"It's not... something you can see," I explained slowly, "My position means I have to... interrogate criminals... It's not pleasant."

She clenched her jaw, eyes fierce. I knew what she was thinking, without asking. She wanted to protest against my position. Call it stupid and then act even more rash than usual.

"I'm still coming with you," She said stubbornly.

You're so difficult! I take it back, you should definitely have been Stone!

"On one condition," I said seriously, knowing that I didn't really have a choice in the matter at this stage, "You don't come into the room. At all. You'll have to wait outside for however long it takes, no wandering off."

She looked thoughtful, her brows knitting together until she finally nodded, "I can do that."

"It may take hours," I said tightly, wishing she'd just yield already and go play with one of the other knights for the day. After all, Grisia should be returning soon.

"I don't mind," She said serenely.

I sighed, nodding and starting to leave the room. Kadence followed happily, almost skipping and reminding me of something else I had to take into consideration.

She can't just sit outside the interrogation room, right? She'll distract the other Platoon members… urgh.

"Do you mind sitting in a bathroom?" I asked as I pushed open the door.

"Of course not," She laughed.

"You were serious about that?!" She asked incredulously as we entered the deserted bathroom. It was always deserted, no doubt thanks to its' use over the years by Judgment Knights. It was an off-white, which I considered to be a design flaw. Every time I came here I would be smeared in dark blood, and it inevitably found its' way to the white surface of the room. I would try my best to clean it, of course, but most days it was to no avail and only spread the blood further. Yet every day I came here it was as white as if there was never any blood.

"Well, yeah…" I said, feeling a little bit embarrassed.

She sat on the floor, rolling her eyes at me and stretching with a yawn. She drew her jacket closer around herself, grinning at me and saying, "Have fun slacking off."

I left promptly, hoping that I could get today's interrogations over and done with quickly. She had said she would stay put, but I didn't believe that for a second. She was reckless to the point of fault.

"Captain," Ignal approached me, saluting seriously, "The interrogation room is all set up."

"Thank you," I said in a calm voice, bracing myself for what I was about to face as I opened the door to the interrogation room.

Interrogations were hellish. They were full of screaming and blood, the gory image intensified by the dreary weather outside. Inside the interrogation room was chilly, my robes doing little in the way of warding off the cold. It might have been because of the horrid weather, or because they noticed my less than ideal state that my Platoon informed me that there were no other criminals set to be interrogated today. I knew it was a lie, but I didn't dispute it. I'm sure the interrogations were as difficult for them to watch as they were for me to conduct.

Years of training held me calm until I reached the bathroom, appearing indifferent despite my stomach turning. As soon as I pushed open the door I moved to one of the furthest stalls quickly, trying to keep quiet lest she come in and see me throwing my guts up into the basin. The sight of my hands gripping either side of the porcelain bowl, flecked with red blood only made me vomit more. My skin was clammy, despite the chill and my hair stuck to my forehead in an uncomfortable manner. It continued until I had nothing left to throw up, leaving me breathing heavily and feeling like falling down. It was difficult to breathe whilst vomiting, and always left me feeling lightheaded.

I breathed deeply, blinking to clear my eyes and hoping that I didn't look like too much of a wreck. When I felt a bit more stable I pushed open the stall's door again, stepping out and moving to one of the sinks. The chilled water hit my skin, stinging slightly but a relief nonetheless. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Kadence, leaning in the corner of the room with her mouth slightly ajar. Her eyes were closed, but she was frowning. Her jacket had fallen off and I rolled my eyes at her sleeping form.

You're going to catch a cold, idiot.

I picked up the cloth, draping it over her and wondering if I should wake her.

I don't have a death wish.

Instead I followed suit, sitting against an adjacent wall and wiping blood off of my clothing using a wet handkerchief. I had gotten into the habit of carrying it around, a trait acquired from my teacher. He reveled in cleanliness and order. I had no such desire, not minding dirt. Entirely understandable for somebody who grew up on the streets.

"I want cake…" Kadence mumbled suddenly, making me jump slightly. She was still asleep, frowning a little.

Now who's talking in their sleep?

I resisted the urge to laugh, not wanting to wake her. I tilted my head back, looking at the roof with a small sigh.

Grisia and the others should be back soon, right? I wonder what's going to happen after this. She'll probably finish her Sun Knight training. Urgh. That means Grisia is going to have to stick around for a few more years… Maybe now that I've become a full Judgment Knight he'll stop forcing me to drink with him. And Teacher isn't with the Temple anymore, so I can't be roped into 'Training' him either. Maybe it won't be so bad after all…

Suddenly the door flew forward, breaking off its' hinges and hitting the wall next to me. Grisia strode in, obviously holding back laughter when he saw my face. Behind him stood Pink and the Aunt. I stared at the door, broken in two places, with a growing feeling of agitation. Now that it was broken somebody would have to fix it, and I had no doubt that Grisia would leave it to somebody else to do, despite it being his fault. What was the point of blasting the door to start with?!

"The doorknob was stuck," He said seriously.

… You obviously just wanted to annoy me, right?

"Pfft," The Aunt sauntered in, flicking back her dark hair and speaking in a lilting voice, "Your face looks stupid."

"Aww," Pink crossed her arms and snorted, "Don't pick on the poor little Judgment Knight."

Three really annoying people have shown up.

"Hey," Kadence yawned loudly, rubbing her eyes and blinking blearily around at the room, "Don't bully Seriph. He can't help having a stupid face."

…

What did I do in my past life to deserve this?