The seat of power, Loegres looked as beautiful as it did before. The walls that protected the inner villages shone like black obsidian. Banners of the Asgard Royal Family hung against the entrance, gently blowing in the wind.

Knights and guards watched as Velvet, Amelia, and Lailah stepped through. Unlike the Abbey's heavily regimented rules, they followed whatever rules came before. Crowds of peasants came in packs with travelling caravans. The usual smell and stink ran across her nose as Velvet sneezed.

"Ugh. At least there're no cats."

Amelia laughed. "Didn't know that. Maybe we'll find a nice little pet shop."

"Don't you dare."

Passed the gates and people were just as lively as they were before. Despite the new Abbey's downfall, it seemed that people would go on with their lives.

Going through the major hub of the city, Amelia chuckled. She hadn't known where these Bloodwing Butterfly people were, and it was probably for the best. How knows how many tabs they've got on people. The familiar people and sounds of the capital city, it was so much different than any port.

For in these walls rested the seats of power that ruled over the lands.

Following right behind Velvet, Amelia blinked. Wasn't this just another one of those taverns? Wait, was the Bloodwing Butterflies using this place like a secret society?

As they stepped through, the brunette's eyes widened. There was an all too familiar tall oriental man with twin nodachis.

"ROKUROU RANGETSU!"

He looked up, smiling as casual as usual. "Oh! It's you again! The other twn-blader. Milly, right?"

"That's not my name!" She stomped over to him and continuously poked at his chest. The samurai laughed it off with a grin.

"Alrighty Ema."

Reduced to incoherent words and sounds, she backed off, flashing hot glares at him. There was just something that rubbed her the wrong way about him. And it had nothing to do with him dating Eleanor in the beginning. No, nothing like that.

At all.

Velvet raised an eyebrow, brushing passed the legate. "Rokurou. I see you've taken Shigure's sword too."

"Ahaha, Velvet! You look good for somebody that's supposed to be dead."

"I was not dead."

"Close enough." The samurai leaned back in his seat, taking a small sip of his drink. Alcoholic by the smell. "You're old enough now, right?"

"I'd rather not."

Shrugging, Rokurou leaned forward. "Did the Bloodwings call you?"

"That we did."

The three turned their heads to the steps. An older man in a simple uniform. Around his neck, a red scarf for the Bloodwings. "My name is Peter Baskerville. Tabatha is my mother. And we've been looking for you Ms. Velvet Crowe."

Stepping down and coming behind the counter, he looked over at Amelia, gesturing a seat. The legate refused. Velvet took his offer.

"You came earlier than we expected."

"When did you learn?"

"After Ms. Le'Blanc returned from Aball, we noticed her gathering many foods. We then followed her back. You arriving in Port Zekson confirmed our suspicion."

"Why not ask Amelia herself?"

"We have dialogues with Shepherd Hume, but with the rest of the Abbey, not so much."

"You acted as Eleanor's shadow hand?" Velvet crossed her arms.

"Ooh perish the thought. Never. But, we do help her if she provides us some service."

The therion remained unconvinced, turning an eye to Amelia and Rokurou again, seeing them bash heads again. Lailah turned to some of the remaining Bloodwing agents. Small passes of glad exchanged hands.

Is she betting on them? Velvet's attention went back to Peter. "You looking for jobs to be done?"

"Just one for now. Rokurou just came back from another." He nodded at some as they hurried into the kitchen. "For today, rest up. We'll be giving you the assignment tomorrow."

"… Alright."

"But before anything, would you like something to eat? My mother said that you couldn't taste anything before, but you still need food."

Velvet thought for a moment. "Mapo curry."

"An excellent choice."

As he turned to the kitchen and regular business returned, she took a seat across from Rokurou, flanked by Amelia.

"Still don't want a drink?"

"No thank you."

"Suit yourself."

Watching him pour another cup, she leaned forward. The yaksha daemon grew a little more over the past seven years. Hair a bit longer but tied loosely behind his head. He even looked a bit bigger than last time.

"Seven years did a lot of good for you." She chuckled.

"Comes with fighting any and everything."

"Did you ever find a rival?"

Amelia raised her hand, waving it like a banner.

"Not really."

She scowled, turning away.

"So you're gonna keep fighting, huh?"

"Always. The world's a helluva place, but if I'm aiming for the top. That means passages to the other continent. Or the outlining lands." He took a sip. "Just a small taste of those blades and it makes a helluva difference. Did you know that there are swords that are shaped like hooks? And other's, bent so they could get passed shields…"

Velvet blinked, seeing him babble on like a child. In that case, those seven years only matured the things he wanted.

"But how'd you find it? The way out of Midgand."

"A few favors with these guys and hanging around with the Aifread Pirates of course! But they did want some treasure I found. So I did. You know, the not-pointy stuff."

"Uh huh. Sure."

Rokurou rubbed his chin, pouring himself some more as the mabo curry came Velvet's way. The smell was just as rich as she remembered it. Spoon in hand, she scooped up and took a bite. It started dull, like how food always tasted after she became a therion. Then came the sauce. A small bite to it that made her want it more. Tofu and pork blending together as she dug in.

Amelia smiled, beaming with pride. "And it was I that helped her find her taste again."

Lailah giggled. "All she really needed was a Map-o curry then!"

Velvet nearly choked on her food while Rokurou and Amelia held their collective sighs.

There's something they can agree. The raven-haired woman smirked, munching through her food again.

"Velvet, you're eating too fast." Amelia warned. "You're gonna get yourself a stomach ache."

Rokurou waved his hand in front of the legate, waving her off. "Let her. You know, when you don't have a good drink after awhile?"

"Not really, ya drunkard."

"Ooh! Biting words."

"Can you two can it?!" Velvet pounded her hand against the table. "I'm trying to enjoy my food. And you Rokurou, I want to talk to you later. Privately."

The yaksha blinked. Was it something he said?

-.-.-

Lailah floated about the strange guild's dinning area. Despite being the center for an illicit side of society, these humans got along with each other well. Barely a trace of malevolence. A happy, if sometimes sober, air between people.

Yawning, she leaned back in a seat, seeing that one of the members took a seat opposite of her.

"Ya know, I thought I remember Shepherd Hume saying that malakhim were slowly disappearing in the world."

"You heard correctly yes."

"And I've heard that a lot of you just left the Exorcists bound to them."

"Also true."

"And… that's it?"

The maiden of flame tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

"I mean exactly what I mean. You guys just left and that's it? Hell, some of you even came back because Hume's asked." He rubbed his chin. "If we were talking about people like us, we would've attacked them back. Maybe even kill them."

Despite her carefree demeanor, Lailah took his words seriously. "I don't see how your wrong. Humans are very emotionally creatures."

"So the malakhim aren't?"

"Oh heaven's no." She shook her head. "Maybe it's because a few of them are pacifists or just not wanting to be a part of human society, but they'd rather just leave each other alone."

"But is something like that possible? I mean… How can people just let slavery like that just… go?"

"Because it's not all of humanity. Just a few." Another voice answered. Amelia took her seat, making the table of two, three.

"Kinda hard to think of something like that went a bunch of stuff made in three years were because of malakhim." He pointed out.

"One person's benefit may be another's sacrifice. That's why we have a Shepherd now. A person that can bridge between both races."

"I though the Shepherd was supposed to turn daemons back into humans?"

"Yes, but not all of her duties. Or the new Exorcists." Amelia pulled herself out a wine sack, taking a swig. "Sometimes I wonder if we're just repeating our old mistakes."

"And if it affects us humans, then it'll affect the malakhim too."

The fire dimmed, and Lailah hummed. "True. We aren't a-part of humans, but we can watch and see."

-.-.-

Velvet closed the door behind her, locking it as she looked at Rokurou sitting on the bed. The Yaksha looked back at her, curious as to what she was thinking.

"It's been seven years Velvet." He leaned back, getting one leg over the other. "Lot's changed. And lot's the same."

"I know. Amelia's been telling me." She walked to the other side of the room, propping herself up. "More daemons coming around?"

"A few here and there. Nothing out of the ordinary, but you know. Still looking for a rival."

The therion hummed, crossing her arms. "Never knew you and Eleanor dated."

He turned to her, the same usual smile and laugh reflected. "Yeah, that was a thing. But we ended going our separate ways. You know, remaking the Abbey and having a daemon as a boyfriend doesn't exactly seem like a good combination, you know?"

Velvet looked unconvinced. "You two seemed to be going off last time I was awake."

Rokurou raised an eyebrow. "Never thought you'd be so interested in another person's life."

"Touché." She pushed off the wall. "But then again, I never thought I'd be back here."

"How did you come back anyways?"

"The Bloodwings never told you?"

"Never asked."

"Figures." She scoffed. Then grew silent. "All I remember is a bright light and now I'm here."

"Strange stuff." He leaned back. "But then again, I've had my fair share of strange happening to me too."

"Like what?"

"Ooh you know. Travelling all about. Learning everything from the tip of the blade."

"You're such a combat freak."

"Hey, hey." He waved his hand off. "You know how I am but… Well, that's how I've been learning. It's a greater world out there and I'm just a single person. But this." He paused, reaching around to this twin-nodachis and setting them on his lap. "These are forever."

"Your swords?"

"Well, kinda but not just that." Rokurou gently placed his hands on the hilts. Stroking his finger against the etch work, he looked like a young father cradling a newborn. Despite the harsh and sometimes childish demeanor, it was one of the few times Velvet saw him without a trace of his daemonic nature.

"The Rangetsu-style has been something passed down from generation to generation. That comes with my family being assassin servants for the Capalus's." he paused, setting the blades to his side. "Unlike Shigure, I'm willing to give people a shot at learning the Rangetsu-style."

"You would do that?" Velvet's eyes widened.

"Yup. I would." He sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Going from swordsmen to swordsmen, travelling the seas, I learned a lot but there's always one thing between us. These things are weapons and learning to use them is nothing but killing. And Eleanor… Well, let's say she's got another idea about what using these things are.

"It's all play-talk. A sword can be used for self-defense, a 'tool of justice' but it's meant to kill. People that won't kill will always be at the mercy of those that can."

"So you decided to take that so she won't burden herself with killing? Wasn't that what happened before?"

"Yeah but… You know, being a Shepherd and all, she knows what daemons are. What dragons are. And with all this infighting between the Midgand Empire's nobles, what people are. One day she'll have to make that decision to kill. To fight. Just to live. Contradicting, ain't it?"

Velvet's eyes furrowed. Had so much changed in the last seven years?

"You've… grown. And I guess Eleanor's done the same."

"Yes and no." He covered the daemonic half of his face with his hands, brushing back the hair. The same black and red markings covered. If resonance was slowly reducing in the world, nobody would've even saw it.

"Then why… aren't you there. With her, I mean."

Rokurou leaned forward, staring into the blank space between them. Fixed eyes trained on the floorboards before closing. "We got into an argument."

"It couldn't be that bad." Velvet blinked. "Was it?"

The yaksha looked to the side, eyes and face blank as he pushed his blades to the side. "It was."

Velvet scowled. She hated this dance around the issue. "Damn it, Rokurou… You two were happy last time I was here. How the hell did you fuck that up?"

He frowned, looking defensively at her. "Me? What makes you think it wasn't her?"

"Because it wouldn't be her. Miss perfect exorcist."

"You're putting people on a pedestal." He fired back. "This isn't exactly that dreamscape of yours."

Her eyes narrowed. "When did you learn about that?"

"What? You think Laphicet wouldn't tell us?" He stood back up, walking to the other side of the room. Frustrated, like hot peppers on the tip of his tongue, he finally threw his hands down and looked back at her. "I don't recall you being so nosy about other people's issues."

"That… that's changed."

He tossed his hands in the air. "Well there you go." Exasperated, he leaned against the wall. "We were all united against Artorious. And after all, we went our separate ways. We all had our different dreams. And like that, it meant that we'd fight one another. Especially in Eizen's case."

"The Van Aifread pirates. Do they still have a warrant for them?"

"Eleanor was turning a blind-eye to their activities, but somebody snitched the nobles." He sighed. "And then they went after Eleanor."

"Aren't you an assassin? Just… silent them?"

"Yeah, and then what?" He snorted. "Make the traitor Exorcist look even more guilty. And she'd take responsibility for it. Those rumors spread fast."

"She's taking too much responsibility for taking that role in the first place." Velvet growled. It was her decision to reform the Abbey and make it better. And yet…

And yet, she wasn't one to talk otherwise. The Lord of Calamity was her title and her title alone.

"So you left her, in her time of need." She looked at him in pity. "You're the worst."

Collapsing on the bed, he stared into the ceiling. "You're not one to talk either, Velvet. Nobody knew what you were planning to do. Did it even do anything? And if it did, why are you here now? We all thought you'd be there for eternity."

"That…" Silent fell between the two daemons.

"You got your revenge, didn't you?" He looked up. For the first time she saw him, not as a battle-ready daemon, but as a young man. Maybe just as confused as she was.

"So, what happens now?"

Staring at one another, they slowly turned away. Each other's words deeply unsatisfying to another's answer.

"It's getting late." Rokurou opened the door for her. "I'll be leaving tomorrow early on that mission for the Bloodwings. You and Amelia more than welcome to come."

"I'll… think about it."

Velvet turned to the door. Unlike the earthpulse at Titania, and the dragons that swarmed the Heavenly Steppes, these weren't answers that could easily be swatted away by the blade. As much as she met those words to Zui Fuu, it still wouldn't solve the problem at hand.

The action of doing so was in the right direction.

But now, she's lost.

They were still here when I was gone… How did this all happen?

We'll be here… When you're gone. The smallest push, the smallest person, the smallest echo can change the world.

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