XXII

A troubled Life

Glancing over her shoulder for what seemed like the millionth time, Ryou paid careful attention to exactly how Kyou was making breakfast for the others. She had of course offered to help more, but so far had been limited to the simpler tasks so that she didn't run the risk of messing anything up.

How she envied her older sister for being so good in the kitchen; no matter how hard she tried it seemed like cooking was just not the thing for her. She had her own qualities though, like being really good at taking care of Sei when her mother wasn't around or doing various chores around the house. In addition studying felt more like an exercise rather than a real challenge. Still, she did enjoy the time she could spent with others in the kitchen, as long as she was able to help even a little.

They were almost done anyways as Kouta, Yuka and Mayu had already left earlier meaning that the only thing left was really just making some breakfast for themselves and then cleaning the dishes.

"Onee-chan, would it be alright if I got started with the dishes? Given they have already left it shouldn't be a problem right?" Ryou asked, noticing that she was once again taskless. Well at least she could make herself useful by already cleaning those dishes that weren't used.

"Sure, just don't take too long because breakfast will be ready in about ten minutes or so." Kyou replied without diverting her attention from the food preparations.

Ryou made her way towards the dishes and worked for a few moments in silence before speaking again. "Onee-chan, would you like me to tell Nana-onee-san that breakfast is gonna be ready soon? I think she is upstairs seeing how the others are doing."

"Good idea Ryou, you go and tell her that first. Oh and also, did you hear anything about when oto-san or oka-san is going to pick us up?"

"Sorry onee-chan but I don't know either. I could go and ask Nana-onee-san to see if she knows something." The younger girl mentioned as she left the kitchen. Though she liked staying at Nana's, she liked being home even more. Of course if they had to spend the rest of the day there then she wouldn't mind either as long as she had the chance to finish that book she had borrowed from Nozomi.

"Nana-onee-san are you there?" She called once she got closer. She could hear soft whispers coming from the room, something that brought her more anxiety. "Nana-onee-san, are you in there?" She noticed that the door was wide open and that Nana was sitting next to the futon where Saeko was still lying all curled up. This scene definitely didn't make a good impression on Ryou. "… Nana-onee-san? Is she alright?"

Nana looked up as if she'd just been snapped out of a daze, though she didn't really seem startled. "She is, though I don't think she can go to school for the next few days. Is there something I can help you with, Ryou-chan? Is everything alright in the kitchen?"

Nodding in response Ryou felt proud to let the older girl know that they were handling everything perfectly. "Onee-chan said that it would be ready in less than ten minutes… Do you want me to also bring something up for our sisters as well?"

Nana gave that some thought, knowing that while both girls were probably too sick to have anything substantial, they should still get something into their systems. "Yes that would be lovely; just make sure it isn't too big of a big portion otherwise it might just go to waste. I'll come downstairs as well so we can have breakfast."

Ryou left smiling, planning to making sure that their portion would be well filled. She wasn't going to let her sisters starve. It pulled at her heart to see them like this, especially little Saori who had been sitting in the corner with her face buried in a pillow to try and hide herself. 'It's not fair that some of my sisters have to suffer. It isn't right... we deserve to be happy. Why do people like that ojo-san still resent us so much?'

She didn't know what she could do to make Saeko and Saori feel better, so in the meantime she decided to just help Nana out by doing an extra good job on cleaning the dishes. Afterwards she could try to cheer them up by telling them stories or combing their hair.

'It would still help them, my sisters are just as important to me as onee-chan. We should look after each other, we're all sisters.' She found strength in thinking that, and actually started to hope that it would be a while before either of her parents showed up because she wanted to spend a bit more time with them after all.

Mayu stood transfixed on the spot, not believing her eyes as she stared at Mei standing there all of a sudden. Was she just seeing things? Was her mind playing a cruel trick on her?

"Mayu-chan are you alright? You look like you've just seen a ghost! And besides, don't I get a nice welcome back from you? A hug maybe or perhaps even a cuddle would be nice," Mei asked with a kind smile and her arms held out in front of her.

Still uncertain what to make of what she just saw, Mayu cautiously approached the girl searching for any signs that she was just dreaming. She could only cry when Mei didn't disappear in a puff of smoke as they wrapped their arms around each other. It really was her. Mayu couldn't express how happy she was to see her friend again. "M-Mei-san I'm so glad... to see that... you're alright! I-I... was so worried... when you didn't... show up to school... anymore. W-Where have you been?"

But she slowly moved her head back when she noticed something odd. "Mei-san? Did you get hurt? Did somebody harm you? What happened to you?" She asked in rapid succession as she pointed towards a distinct eye patch.

"Ah this?" Mei simply giggled as she gently tapped it with the tip of her finger. "It's nothing. I was just a little clumsy with coming down the stairs and slipped. They had to take me to the hospital because they were scared that I might have broken something, but it seemed that all I had were a few bruises. Listen Mayu-chan, I'm really sorry for having you worry about me. It's just that I wasn't able to call you to let you know that I was fine. I'm so terribly sorry, I really am…"

Mei tightened her hold, pulling Mayu back towards her. "I totally didn't mean for you to get so worried. I had so wanted to call you and let you know but they-" She stopped in her sentence.

"Mei-san?" The abruptness of the girl's pause had been very noticeable, but Mayu didn't pay attention as she was just happy to see that Mei was back. "It is alright, I'm just glad to see that you are back safe. I even went to your house several times but there was nobody home."

"Of course there wasn't anyone there silly, we were at the hospital. I can tell you about that later, but first let's go inside or sensei is going to scold me for sure!"

The day was already starting to brighten up for Mayu, who was feeling better and better by the second now that one worry was gone. She couldn't wait to talk to Mei during their lunch break though first she would need to go and see if she could find these friends of Saeko. That shouldn't be too hard as they were all in the same classes and she knew which classes Saeko would have today. At the start of the school she had already memorized Saeko's roster just in case, who knew that already it was going to come in handy for her.

"Shall we go then? Oh and you need to catch me up on everything that has happened during my time off. Did anything special happen? And any new developments with that letter you got?" Sure enough Mei was as cheery and curious as she had been before disappearing. "No wait, even better; tell me during lunch. I so want to hear everything. See you soon Mayu-chan, bye bye." And with a wink Mei already set off on her own.

A quick glance at her watch told Mayu that she too needed to hurry up if she wanted to make it to class on time. Being late for class didn't bother her all that much though since she was more relieved to see that Mei was finally back.

"Here you go sensei, I got you an extra strong one," one of her assistants mentioned as she placed a cup of coffee in front of Mako. "It must have been a rough night for you, sensei. Is everything alright?"

Only catching about half of what the assistant was asking, Mako gestured that she could go and offered a thanks for the coffee as she waited for the office door to close. The whole day Mako was still feeling run down; it had just been a too busy day for her. She really could use a bit more sleep but there was no helping the fact that she had responsibilities to uphold. At least the coffee was definitely helping her out, though she was going to need much more of it to get her body out of its slumber. Well a second cup was definitely in order and that one had better be a lot stronger, maybe an espresso instead of what she had normally would do the trick.

Letting one of her assistants know what she needed Mako pushed herself on as it was just under an hour before she could expect her first scheduled patient to arrive, putting the file in front of her she started to study it as had been a while since this patient had last visited her.

Not that that was abnormal, far from it, if she only had to come now then Mako had good confidence that the treatment she had prescribed was working. It was a reassuring thought to her.

A knock on the door pulled her away from her thoughts and the file she was holding. "Come in," Mako said knowing that it was likely the assistant bringing her the espresso. "You can put it on my desk Hirai-san, and thank you," she remarked as she went in the room next door to get everything already set up for the patient.

"Ahem sensei." She could hear her voice, already she felt that something was off. "There is somebody to see you but I'm afraid she has no appointment with you, sensei. She says it is urgent though."

Coming out of the room Mako was surprised to see a young woman standing there, next to the assistant, although appearing far too old to be one of her regular patients Mako nevertheless studied her for a moment, at first glance she didn't seem to be wounded or to be suffering from an injury.

"Sensei? Should I have her make an appointment with you?" The assistant asked, seeming to be a little confused on what to do, the tone of her voice coupled with her near constant glancing back and forth betraying her nervousness.

"No that won't be necessary Hirai-san, I still have some time so if she makes it quick then it shouldn't be a problem. You may go back to your desk," Mako reassured the young woman and gestured that it was alright for her to leave the two of them alone.

Now it was just her and the young woman, Mako went to have a seat back at her desk and gestured for the woman to have one of the chairs as well. "So how can I help you miss?"

Making a bow the young woman returned the request as she introduced herself. "Pleased to meet you as well Takebe-sensei, allow me to introduce myself to you," she said in return with a smile on her face as she stood up straight again.

"I am Kakuzawa Anna," Anna announced as he her hand in front of her chest. "And yes you can help me Takebe-sensei as I have some questions that I believe you might be able to answer for me. It has to do with the work of my late father, director Kakuzawa, I'm sure that you have heard of him."

Her answer came like a thunder strike on a clear day. There was a knot stuck in Mako's stomach as she heard the name Kakuzawa being dropped, surely it couldn't be. This had to be some kind of sick joke. "E-Excuse me? Did you say your family name is Kakuzawa? I-Is the late chief Kakuzawa your father?" She asked, a lump at the back of her throat, as she found it hard to belief, she was also becoming concerned whether or not she had been found out. With the palms of her hands becoming sweaty she waited for the return answer.

Anna replied in a surprisingly polite manner. "Yes, he was. I understand you were one of the few employees who was on leave shortly before his demise. It would mean a lot if you could fill me in Takebe-sensei."

Not sure of what to make of it Mako for the moment remained silent as she silently wondered if this girl even aware of the crimes and atrocities committed by her father? Did she share his ambitions that had fueled his mad goals? Just what was she after.

Getting up from behind her desk the first thing she did was to make a bow. "My condolences for the loss of your father Kakuzawa-san." Before resuming back to her seat.

Anna returned the bow with grace. "Thank you kindly Takebe-sensei, I understand that you left the DRI due to a series of tragic circumstances of which you were a personal witness?"

So Anna knew already that much, well she would have to work with that for now. For now she would just stick to the story she had used against others as well. It made Mako rather nervous and she was struggling to retain her composure.

"You're right, I witnessed the outbreak of several violent Diclonius silpelits. I was held at gunpoint by the former head of that department Ritsuko-sensei who had gone insane."

"I see," Anna mentioned as she gave this some thought, she gave off the impression that she hadn't been of the finer details. "It must have been terrible for you. Having to go through such an horrible event Takebe-sensei. You have my sympathies, a lot of terrible things happened back then, my father was in part to blame for some of it."

Remaining uncertain on where exactly the woman's loyalty lied Mako wasn't planning on even mentioning the slightest bit about any escaped Diclonius, she would have to play dumb at those parts and simply keep on denying anything that was relevant to the matter. Off course that all depended on how much this woman knew of the escaped Diclonius. If she was fully aware of the four silpelits that had successfully escaped then there could be trouble, dammit where was Bando when she actually needed him. For once, as difficult as it was to believe, she actually found herself wishing for him to be here.

"If I may ask Kakuzawa-san, do you know yourself what happened to the institute? The only things that I know is what I was able to piece together through either the papers and the news or from what I was told by those who had survived its destruction."

"I do not unfortunately, for the most part I was away and it was only after those tragic events took place that I learned about it myself. I have heard many unpleasant stories about my father's work and I want to find out for myself if they are true." Even as she said that Anna allowed her eyes to face the ground for a moment, as if trying to avoid the inevitable gaze from Mako that she would attract. "I am painfully aware that some of the things that were done under his supervision were of a questionable nature, likely even criminal but I do not like to think that way about my father. I know that he was hated by many but I-."

A knock on the door interrupted their little conversation and as Mako looked at her clock she found to her own surprise that already an hour had gone by. "Ahem, excuse me sensei but Aono-san has arrived," the assistant informed them both, they little conversation was at an end for which Mako felt very grateful.

Getting up from her seat Anna excused her herself, made a gracious bow and then headed back to the door, but before she left she had one last question she wanted to ask. "Firstly my apologies for having taken up your time Takebe-sensei, it was impolite of me to come without an appointment. I just have one last request for you, do you know what happened to the silpelits that had managed to escape according to the reports?"

Mako grew nervous alright. "No sadly I don't," she lied. "Have a nice day yourself as well Kakuzawa-san and take good care." Another lie as already she had become suspicious about the young woman. Tonight she was going to discuss this with the others, action was in order. As the door closed and she was alone for a moment she let out a huge sigh of relief.

Sitting there on the rocks that lined the pond Ryou took in the warms raise of the morning sun, this was something she didn't get to enjoy at home as their little garden at home was all covered in shadows, not to mention that they didn't have a pond.

Giggling a little as she felt the fish nibbling on her toes Ryou couldn't help herself, she really was enjoying her time here. The dishes had been long cleaned and for the moment her two tormented sisters were sound asleep, that meant there was little for her to do now other than go and enjoy herself until one of their parents would come to pick them up eventually.

"… Oka-san, oto-san, please take your time. I don't want this happy feeling to end too quickly. I like being here with my other sisters," she whispered to herself as she looked into the sky, admiring the blue sky overhead. Life seemed so tranquil to her, almost peaceful and devoid of struggles and suffering, still she was aware that wouldn't last forever.

"… People are still scared of us, they fear us because they don't understand us…" she spoke the words even if there was no need for that, her older sister and Nana were inside enjoying a movie together.

"… I much rather be outside here, with the cute fishes and what Sawa-san gave me." Her right hand had been resting all along on the book she had gotten from Nozomi, it was one of her favorites and she enjoyed reading it.

"… I should see if I can finish it, Sawa-san would likely want it back at some point…" Letting herself lie flat on the rocks she picked up the book and began reading, there weren't that many chapters left so she would likely be able to finish it somewhere later this week.

The book had been a great help for her to understand and to improve her reading skills as well as understanding a written language.

"Onee-chan should try and read as well, it would help her a lot. I'd like to read it together with onee-chan, I'd love that," she said out loud even if she kept her voice down as she flipped another page. Well she could always try again and see if she could convince her.

"… All I need for onee-chan is just the right book, if I find a book that onee-chan would really like then we could read together… I'd love that…" The thought of that made her blush as a throbbing sensation stirred in her chest. Imagining if she could meet up as well with other people in the world who also loved to read, that sounded really nice to her.

"Ryou!" She could hear a call coming from inside the house, rolling over still with the book in front of her she watched as both Kyou and Nana appeared in the doorway.

"Ryou-san would you like some ice-cream as well, it is just us so I thought we should go and treat ourselves? I think we have vanilla and strawberry in the fridge-."

"S-S-S-STRAWBERRY?!" Ryou shot up straight at hearing the word, in her enthusiasm forgetting all about her book or for that matter that her feet were still dangling in the pond. With nothing to support her weight the sudden change in momentum she lost her footing and fell back, struggling to arrest her fall she make a loud splash as she fell.

"T-T-This... i-i-is c-cold!" she cried out as she lay there in the pond, her clothes soaking wet by the cold water. Her initial response once she became aware of what had happened was to cry and scream. "O-O-Oneee-chaaaannnn UWAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"M-M-M-MY C-C-C-CLOTHES, THEY'RE RUINED! UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! UWAAAAAAAH! UWAAAAAAAH!"

Spurred on by the cries of her little sister Kyou came rushing forward, any thoughts of ice cream lost to her. Nana already went back into the house in order to grab some towels so they could help her get dry again.

"Ryou?! Are you alright?! Say something?! Did you hurt yourself?!" Taking a single step forward Kyou launched herself using her vector, instinct propelling her forward as there was only a single overriding thought on her mind. Reaching out quickly she dragged her little sister out of the pond. "Ryou please say something to me?!"

Ryou just kept crying. "UWAAAAAAAH! UWAAAAAAAH! UWAAAAAAAH! UWAAAAAAAH! UWAAAAAAAH! UWAAAAAAAH! MY CLOTHES! … They're ruined! Uwaaaaaah! Uwaaaaaah! Uwaaaaaah! Uwaaaaaah!"

"I've got the towels!" Nana shouted as she came running back out of the inn, carrying a pile of towels in between her arms. "Quick let's get her inside so she can warm up again. Ryou-san can you walk?" She seemed a lot calmer than Kyou was but that was mostly due to Nana having been through this situation a few times already.

As she touched Ryou she already felt how much her temperature must have dropped because of the cold water, luckily as it was a warm morning it was likely more of a shock to Ryou than a real threatening situation. Once she was dry and had gotten over the initial shock then she was just going to be fine. "Ryou-san you can lean on us, now let's get you inside and get you some dry clothes, I don't think you want to get a cold or something."

Nodding and shivering at the same time Ryou leaned heavily on both her sister and Nana as they quickly guided her back into the inn, she felt so ashamed of what had happened.

"Isuzu-senpai?! Isuzu-senpai?!" Barely had Mayu managed to leave her classroom or already she could see them in the hallway, making their way past the others students were Yuzuka and Azusa and they seemed to be in a hurry or at least gave of that impression.

"Isuzu-senpai?! Isuzu-senpai?! How's Saekorin doing?! She wasn't in class today!"

Finally they came to a halt, needing a moment to catch their breath Mayu was feeling elated that they had come and from the look of it they both appeared to be worried. Had she jumped to a wrong conclusion too soon? "Kayano-san, Ichinose-san. Good morning to you two and how can I help you? If it is about Saeko-san she wasn't feeling well and for her own sake it was decided for her to stay at home for a day or two."

Both of them were clearly relieved when they heard that answer. "Thank God, we were already getting worried as Isuzu-san didn't show up in class. Sensei did tell us that her parents had called in but we wanted to hear it from you senpai," Azusa mentioned as she had regained her breath.

Mayu nodded her head and smiled. "You heard right, I'm sorry about not having come over to tell you this sooner and made you worry needlessly. My apologies for that, sorry." Mayu made a quick bow.

"So if we may ask, how is she doing? Will we see her back soon? Is it alright if we come over and pay her a visit? Do you think she'd like that?" Yuzuka kept asking one question after another, not seeming to stop just there or for that matter allow Mayu to give her an answer in return.. "Oh that's right senpai where do you live? Can we walk with you after school? Could you give us your address? Is there anything we should bring with us for her? Does she like sweets? Or maybe something else-."

She was finally silenced as Azusa placed one of her hands in front of Yuzuru's mouth. "My apologies, sometimes she gets a little too enthusiastic," she said as her eyes turned to look at Yuzuka and made it clear that her friend needed to be quiet for a moment.

Her hand in front of her own mouth Mayu found it hard to hide her smile, somehow she found it to be reassuring not to mention pretty funny as well. "I'll need to talk about this back at home. Would be it alright with the two of you if I were to give you an answer tomorrow?"

She couldn't just give them a straight answer even if she wanted to; this was something that just had to be discussed first with Kouta and Yuka. The same rule had applied as well as when Mei had first come to visit the inn, back then they had been fortunate enough that at that time Saori had still been in kind of coma but not this time.

It was even more troublesome now that she stuck to Saeko all the time so the chances of getting her away from Saeko so that these girls wouldn't notice her was close to nothing. Mayu prayed that it wouldn't have to come to that, that tomorrow or the day after Saeko would be able to come back to school on her own. That way they could at least avoid having these girls coming over for the time being, it wasn't that they didn't want them to come but it was dangerous.

"That's fine with us, could you also give our best wishes to Isuzu-san. We'll pray for a fast recovery and hope that we can see her again soon." Making a gracious bow Azusa turned around and left with Yuzuka following her.

"Tell Saekorin we miss her! Isuzu-senpai! Be sure to tell her that!" She kept on shouting as they disappeared at the end of the hallway, Mayu wasn't sure what to make of it but the doubt she had experienced this morning had simply vanished. She was certain now that these girls were honest about their friendship to Saeko, she felt glad for her sister to have made such kind friends.

Speaking of friends she needed to go if she wanted to meet up with Mei at the canteen, they had a lot of catching up to do. Well that was alright as now two matters that had been plaguing her were resolved, already she was looking forward to have a good conversation with her again like they always used to.

"A shame though that I didn't find out earlier," Mayu remarked as she suddenly realized that she had still left her lunchbox in the classroom, a shame really as she didn't have the time to make a second portion that she could share with Mei. Ah well the single portion she had would have to do, likely Mei would also want to shares her's as well.

Knocking on the door Dai was feeling quite anxious; he still had this uneasy guilty feeling about having saddled up Kouta and the others with having to look after the girls and Sei for the night on such a short notice. Plenty of people would have rejected his request.

He was grateful for how they had responded, honestly having such people was a blessing in itself and he was glad that they were good acquaintances of him and Mako.

He didn't know what he would have done if such people didn't exist, well it was done so no further need to get worked up about it. Still one matter did weigh on him now, a suitable way to show the gratitude of him and Mako for the effort that Kouta and Yuka had made. Perhaps an offer for a nice trip would be appreciated, a reward was in order, and there was no mistake about that.

Waiting for somebody to answer the door he wondered what other kind of present would be appreciated by them? For him it was a little hard to come up as they were not exactly in the same age category, he didn't really understand teens that well these days.

Well first things first and that meant picking up the kids, going home and then reporting back for duty, to think he actually had to take of half a day just to be able to pick them up. Damn that acting supervisor for having forced him to attend that late meeting, God not a single thing of what had been discussed had been urgent enough in his opinion to have warranted him staying there. Honestly it had been simply a waste of time that could have been spent better.

"Good morning Dai-san," Nana remarked as she opened the door and noticed him standing there. "They're already busy with getting their belongings packed, Do you want to come in or should I call them for you?"

He waved his hand. "Oh no need for that, I'll just wait outside then. I don't expect them to take too long given they likely didn't bring all that much with them," he mentioned before he scratched the back of his head. "Listen Nana-san, I just want to say that Mako and I are very grateful for you having taken them in. It really means alot to us."

Nana giggled. "It's alright besides you have also taken in Saeko-san from time to time so I'd rather say that we're even. I did enjoy having them over again, we had a lot of fun in the bathroom. Oh before I forget to mention, Ryou-san had a little accident at the pond."

Dai had to swallow at hearing that, oh dear he hoped that neither of them hadn't caused any more mischief on their part. He likely could expect a phone call later today when Kouta and Yuka would come home, as if he didn't have already enough concerns on his mind.

"It's nothing serious," Nana reassured him as she noticed the concerned look that was forming on his face. "They actually behaved themselves well this time, even Kyou-san. As for Ryou-san she merely slipped and fell into the pool, right now she's wearing some clothes of mine." She added to that. "Her clothes should be dry later, if it's all right I'll bring them over then."

He nodded as he let out a sigh of relief. "If you say so, well with that said then how are you doing Nana-san?"

Raising one of her eyebrows Nana looked at him in confusion; well that was new one for her. "Well I'm doing fine but why are you asking me this all of a sudden? Did something happen? Are you even feeling alright?"

And then Dai started to explain to her about something that he and Mako had been discussing late into the night, with the girls not being present it seemed like a good moment and they were both wondering if Nana herself would also feel up for it. The twins were likely going to attend high school next year; it was an opportunity that Mako wants them to have at the very least.

"So what do you say? Would you like to go with them as well? I know it won't be easy but it's a chance we at least want you to have. Off course we'd like to discuss it with Kouta-san and Yuka-san first but your opinion is also appreciated."

She was left speechless, Nana didn't know or was even sure on what to say to that. Honestly she had mixed feeling about going to school and after seeing how it was for Saeko thus far it made her be cautious about the whole idea but she did have to admit that it felt kind of lonely during the day.

"Take some time to think about it, you have a good eight months to decide about it. It's a big step to take for all of you I can imagine, it won't be easy but you do deserve it." Dai filled her in when he noticed that she was having some reservations about it.

Nana nodded, she was aware of that but she would need some time to think about it and also she wanted to talk about this with all the others, most of all she didn't want to go to school alone. Going all on her own didn't feel right to her, she also wanted to go to the same school as the others, the same school as Mayu, Saeko and Mei. That was what she wanted the most, that was what she desired the most.

Sitting on the terrace of the restaurant Bando kept thinking about the trip he had made yesterday and what occupied his mind even more was that bastard known as the Seventh. "Just where are you hiding you coward," he grumbled as he reached out for the cup of coffee, a newspaper folded next to it.

"Just what exactly were you bastards planning to do with those children? Why were there only girls there? Just what the hell is going on here?" Questions to which at this time he didn't have answers too, not even vague hints or ideas that were useful.

Leaning back he took off his glasses as he emptied what remained in the cup in one big tug followed quickly by him ordering another one. He was going to need it if he wanted to salvage anything useful as right now he was back to where he had started; at nothing.

"Mind if I take this seat?" Bando didn't even need to look up to know who it was this time, the same person he had met here earlier to discuss various matters. Not even bothering to look the man in the eyes he waited for him to have sat down before starting their little discussion.

"I have heard quite an interesting story, something to do with an abandoned factory complex about two miles north of Koshigaya. Turned out that some shady deal was going on there but things went sour there alright and not in a small way."

Not saying a word Bando just kept listening to what the man had to say, that said it was all old news to him but for now he couldn't let others find out that he had been involved with what had happened there. Hell he could likely be facing serious charges here or possibly even serious manslaughter given how many people he had killed there already, as if he could even care to shed a single tear for those bastards.

"You might have been right, amongst the death we found a number of bodies that we have been able to confirm as being teenage girls though we have no idea about their identities due to the bodies being too severely burned. We are still waiting for the lab to finish their analysis based on the DNA samples we were able to recover."

Bando whistled. "You don't say Sakai, now who exactly was jumping to fucking conclusions here?" he mocked the man, as he felt that he had every right to in his mind as he had been right from the start. That said he would need to bite back his resentment for the time being as he would need this man and his department to get more clues.

"Yes I am aware of that. Maybe there is an element of truth to what Takagi-san was telling after all, still there is no hard evidence to support it but it can no longer be ignored that human trafficking is being enacted within our country,." Sakai admitted to that before he sighed as he leaned back in the seat as well, an almost forlorn expression on his face.

"Did your people find out anything else? Sounds to me more like you guys have found another dead end." Well they and him both for that matter, he didn't have any solid leads that would help him any further and those leads he did have were as vague as they could get.

"Not much else that what we haven't seen already although this time whoever it was that got to them first made one hell of a mess, God there were bodies all over the place and I cannot even begin to describe how most of them looked. Damn place was more of a slaughterhouse."

Bando didn't need to be told, he had seen first-hand what that thing had been capable of and with that knowledge all of the previous incidents were making more sense to him. Normal people didn't stand a change when that thing came for them.

"This case is starting to attract way too much attention, the media has already getting wind that something happened there and once they find out what is going on, it is going to be become a feeding frenzy. You know what that will do for the investigation?" Sakai mentioned to him, every now and then risking a glance to make sure that nobody was listening in on their little conversation.

Accepting a second cup Bando made a small gesture but it was enough for him to figure out that all the extra attention was going to be a death sentence. With too many people noising around it was going to become impossible to keep tracks of the real leads. "Fucking sensation journalists, assholes like that should be confined to a cell or something!"

"I can agree with that. Unfortunately that isn't really option. Instead I would like to hire you."

Sakai smirked. "You are not affiliated to anybody, you work outside of the official channels and few people are actually aware of you. Off course I cannot provide any kind of official support but I will see what I can do. If you refuse I have ways to convince you."

Having finished this cup as well Bando grimaced as he heard that. "So you do want me to shackle myself again to you fucks! As if! I have my own goals and like hell that I'll throw myself in with you lot again! I might be working with you but I sure as hell won't be working for you!"

"Bando!" The man cursed underneath his breath as she slammed his hands on the table, causing his own cup to topple and spill its content across the table. "Damn you! You selfish bastard! You only think about your own sorry ass! You egoistical maniac!" They were stirring up quite a scene within the restaurant, enough that just about everybody inside had their eyes trained on them.

With a wide grin Bando took to enjoy the moment, he relished getting underneath this bastard's skin, it felt even better when he basically had to do nothing at all. "Oh?" He asked as in a blur of movement he was up on his feet, grabbed the man's arm before he could even had time to react and twisted it hard as he folded it across the man's back.

Sakai was slammed face first onto the table. "The next time you want me to do a job for you Sakai, you really need to reconsider your words. The next time you forget I'll break that fucking arm of yours. Now be a good sport and pay the bill, I'll let you know when I made up my mind," he said as he picked up the folder the man had been holding tightly ever since he had walked inside. "Also I'll hold onto this one. Just to be on the safe side. Later you you idiot." He released his hold on the man's arm, picked up his crutch and with that simply left. He was done here anyway.

Mei let out a quick giggle as she took a bite from Mayu's bento, savoring the flavor that she tasted. "Oh wow, this tastes really good Mayu-chan. Oh I really missed this you know, sharing bento's with each other. Your ahem mother really makes the best."

"So if I may ask where's your sister? You know the one with the pink hair? I haven't seen her yet," Mei asked as she started to look around as if searching if she could spot Saeko, it seemed that it hadn't gone unnoticed that Saeko wasn't with them today.

"She isn't here, she wasn't feeling so well so we decided that it would be better if she stayed at home for today." Mayu mentioned though for some reason the same words she had repeated earlier now sounded so bitter to her.

"Sorry to hear about it, shame as I like her too. She's a little shy but other than that she's really nice to have around, she's a very kind person," Mei mentioned as she quickly grabbed a few more pieces from Mayu's bento.

"It's nothing serious I hope? She should also start to be a little more careful as she seems to be absent a lot lately. She might get herself into trouble with that later you know," Mei pointed out as students were only allowed a certain amount of days that any student could be absent without it endangering their right to pass on to the next year.

She was right, to think that Mayu hadn't even thought about that. She needed to tell this to both Kouta and Yuka in case they had forgotten about it, well they had given their reasons and explanations though it remained to be seen if that was acceptable to the school.

"Well your sister will likely be alright, so how are things going for you? Any news changes with the romances?" A mischievous smile emerged on her face as Mei asked that question. "We can go and investigate who sent that letter, you know? Doesn't that sound exciting to you?"

Mayu got all red in the face at hearing that. "O-Oh… ahem, well… I… I don't think… that will be necessary." As if she wanted to go on such a wild goose chase right now, besides she was more interested in how Mei was doing herself. Other than the sort explanation she had gotten this morning Mei had kept rather quiet about her injuries and her time spent at the hospital.

"Mei-san if I can ask?" Mayu pointed towards the eye patch that her friend was wearing. "Are you sure that it's alright to walk around with that? What exactly happened as I know that you're not a clumsy person? How did it happen?" She blurted a number of questions, she just wanted to know. Hoping though that her questions wouldn't be taken as offensive to Mei.

"Ah Mayu-chan," Mei giggled in response as she put down her chopsticks. "You're such a worrywart you know that. I'm fine really. I was just a little tired so I didn't watch my steps and I just slipped, it's nothing really and the bruises will be gone in a couple of days."

Mei took a quick sip of the soda can. "Trust me, I'll be fine so you don't have to worry about me any longer. Just believe in your good friend Mei-chan, alright."

Picking something from Mei's bento Mayu nodded. "You're right, I'll trust you on this Mei-san. Just you promise me to tell me if anything happens, alright? I don't want to see you get hurt again."

Mei held up her pinky. "A pinky promise then?" She asked, slightly tilting her head as she brought forward her hand. "What do you say about that then, Mayu-chan?"

Oh right now Mayu knew that Mei was just teasing her, still seeing her like this meant more to Mayu than a little tease. "You're being such a tease Mei-san, you only pretend to make a pinky promise when you want to tease people. I've known you for a long time now and I know your little antics. Please take this a little more serious as I don't want to see one of my friends get hurt again."

Pulling back her arm Mei just looked at her, not saying a word for the moment. Was she feeling guilty about something that she hadn't told her before? If it was really troubling her then wouldn't it better for her to just say it out loud? Keeping it within herself was only going to make it more painful but Mayu couldn't bring herself to press her friend any further.

Even despite the words of assurance by Mei she remained doubtful that what she had said about her accident was true but with no way to proof the opposite she would have to take Mei's word for now. She did believe that at some point Mei would come towards her and tell her what had really happened, she knew this in her heart.

Opening her eyes slowly Saori rose up from her futon, still a little drowsy she turned her head around in order to get a better view of the room. Being careful so as not to irritate her scars she moved with considerable care.

"… O-Onee-sama…?" She whispered cautiously, not sure where she was for now. Her eyes still a little hazy, and trying to adjust to the darkness of the room, she found it hard to find her big sister. "… O-O-Onee-sama…?" She called out again but there was no reply. "… O-Onee-sama… where are you… onee-sama…?"

Saori didn't understand why she didn't get an answer back from her. Crawling further on her hands and knees she went further trying to find her, making sure that at all time one of her hands was in front of her so as not to bump into anything, her eyes still adjusting she found it hard to know in which direction she needed to go.

Why was the room so dark to begin with? How long had she been asleep? Why didn't her big sister answer her when she was calling for her? Had she been left alone by the others? She didn't like being alone, she got scared when she was alone.

"… O-Onee-sama… onee-sama… onee-sama… where are you… onee-sama…?" She just wanted for her to respond, to let her know that she wasn't alone in this house. Craning her neck a little she looked from left to right trying to get an idea on where exactly she was in the room, what remained of her sanity struggled to get herself orientated.

"… O-Onee-sama… onee-sama… onee-sama… where are you… onee-sama… onee-sama… please… please don't leave me… I want to be… with onee-sama… onee-sama…?" she whimpered, the trembling of her voice betraying her fright.

Only now did her eyes finally start to adjust as her vision became clearer, already she could make out the edges of the room and with that gained a sense of where exactly she was. And just ahead of her she see could see Saeko lying there on the futon, the blankets rolled around her.

Overcome with joy Saori crawled and snuggled herself in between her arms. "… Onee-sama… are you alright… are you feeling well… onee-sama… want me to get something for you…?" She asked, curious as to why her big sister seemed to be so quiet and sad.

With her eyes only halfway open Saeko didn't say a word, she could only weep in response.

Author's note: Well here it is like promised, the next chapter of this story. I hope you all enjoy it and I'll be looking forward to your thoughts. Have a good weekend and I'll see you soon.

Take care.