It seems my assessment was a little off; I had some things to deal with this weekend that pushed the date back a day. Work is continuing on the next chapters, and I'm hoping to have 54 out by next Sunday.

Begin!

Book I, Part IV: Mortal Conflict - Dissension in the Ranks

Chapter IV—Precautions

[July 7, 2152 | Trabia Garden, Third Floor, Hallway | 9:50 AM]

The sound of my uniform's shoes clacking on the tiled floor of the Garden's hallway seems to match the elevated pounding of my heart as I head towards the Commander's office here on the third floor. I barely slept any last night, so worried was I about what had happened earlier yesterday evening, which means that I probably look terrible, even though I can't find much reason to care about that at the moment. I wracked my brain trying to find an explanation for why it might have happened, but the only one that occurred to me was that somehow, when Will gave me his power and then took it back, it affected me in some form. The worst part about it, to me, is that the idea of Will's power harming me might be one of the better outcomes; I spent a lot of the night worrying that I might be showing symptoms of some crippling neurological disease or some such.

"Do you need something?" Ein says, shaking me out of my thoughts suddenly. I'd gotten caught up again and didn't realize I was already nearly at Katanas' office, it seems.

"I need to talk to Katanas," I say, as calmly as I can manage. "It's…important."

"Is it something I can help you with?" he asks, giving me a quizzical and innocent look. For someone who could be as nosy as they wanted with good reason, Ein seems to avoid doing that – he honestly seems like he wants to help with whatever he can.

"I…maybe," I say, deciding to see what he thinks. "Can you take me off the active duty roster? For…I don't know…a week or two?"

"Well, usually we do have people talk to the Commander about that, unless it's really important," he replies after a moment, nodding lightly. "Is something wrong?"

"I don't know, and that's the problem," I remark, sighing. "I could just wait to speak to Katanas. It has to do with…Will, and maybe Destine. I don't really know," I continue, lowering my voice a bit.

"Oh…" Ein starts, nodding understandingly. "I'll let him know you want to see him, if you want to wait?"

"Yeah…that'll work. Thanks, Ein."

Quietly, I walk over towards one of the chairs outside in this part of the hallway and sit down, suddenly feeling like a patient sitting in a doctor's office. I hadn't realized until now how much trouble could come from being a Planeswalker, and not just of the "threat to the world or universe" kind, either. It's hard to not have anyone to talk to about things because either they can't know, or because you would have to spend hours explaining before you could even bother talking to them for real. Add that on to the fact that I haven't seen Yuna or the others much lately at all, and I'm almost starting to feel a bit lonely despite being in a Garden with close to eight thousand people.

I suddenly have to suppress a groan as something comes back to me – when I left Tetsuya yesterday, I didn't just leave, I Planeswalked, which means that he's almost certainly going to find me and start asking questions about that. Probably today, if I know him, and I'm not sure I'm going to feel like answering anything about my station if or when he does. Burying my face in an Alchemy book and not coming out of my quarters for a week is starting to sound more and more like a good idea. Instead, I settle for a frustrated sigh that doesn't seem too out of place given my general mood before leaning back in the chair and closing my eyes, deciding to at least try to relax while I wait.

"Lieutenant?"

The sound of Ein's voice causes me to dazedly open my eyes again, realizing in the process that I fell asleep in the chair – not surprising, given my total lack of sleep last night. I also don't wear a watch, and don't see a clock around anywhere, so I don't know how long I've been asleep.

"…Yeah?" I reply, still trying to shake myself awake and focus fully.

"The Commander said that he'll see you now," Ein says, motioning towards the door to Katanas' office. Nodding, I stand up from the chair and stretch for a moment before walking towards Katanas' door, only to have it open before I arrive.

"Pleasure to see you," I hear Katanas say from inside, right before a man of average build with short, black hair and a blue sweater exits the room, nodding politely to Ein before stepping around me and continuing on down the hall. Strangely, he's holding one arm across his stomach, like he injured himself on the way here or such.

'Must be another client,' I think to myself, stifling a yawn with my free hand as I step inside the door to Katanas' office.

"Commander?" I ask, not wanting to enter without saying something.

"Lieutenant," he says, looking up for a moment from his computer's screen to acknowledge my entry. "Please, have a seat."

Quickly, I shut the door behind me, both out of habit and for privacy's sake before stepping over and taking a seat in front of Katanas' desk.

"Ein tells me that you have a bit of a problem," Katanas continues, giving me his full attention. I'm sure Ein already told him exactly what the issue was – likely while I was asleep – so I decide not to waste any more of Katanas' time than necessary.

"I…want to be taken off active duty for a while," I reply, nodding. "Two weeks, maybe – not long, but…there's something wrong with me, and I don't know what it is."

"Elaborate."

"I think that taking Will's power might have…done something to me," I continue, noticing Katanas' switch in tone from casual to commanding and businesslike. "Yesterday, I had a sparring match with Tetsuya Kurabasa in the training center downstairs. Soon after it started, I used a Guardian Force to attack him, and…I started hallucinating, I think. I wasn't fighting Tetsuya any more, I was fighting your brother, Revolver, and…I just remember fighting, most of it a blur, and then just…waking up, almost, and finding myself standing over him, not really knowing how I got there."

Only when I stop do I notice that my voice was trembling faintly while I was speaking – talking about this really scares me, and I really don't want to think about what it might be. Katanas, like any other time I've seen him, appears merely thoughtful about the situation, the calm persona he seems to present as the SeeD Commander never wavering.

"Well, normally, I would ask someone from the Ethereal Plane for assistance with this, given your suspicions," he begins, "but, as I'm sure you know, they have issues of their own right now."

"Destine," I state, earning a nod. "Almost makes me wonder when Will's going to go crazy and turn on Freya."

"I highly doubt that," Katanas remarks, chuckling. "Will has always been the most loyal of Freya's Pillars, in my understanding."

"One less thing to worry about, then," I mutter, deciding to get back to the topic at hand. "So…what should I do, then, if we can't really rely on the Ethereal Plane right now?"

"Well, I wouldn't worry so much about it, to start," Katanas says with a smile. "I'll take you off the duty roster while I look into some things. I know some people who might be able to help, so I'll make some calls and see what I can turn up."

My only immediate response is to nod stiffly; I'm so used to Katanas having all the answers that I'm a little unnerved that he doesn't have one.

"Thanks," I manage, wondering to myself just who Katanas might know that could lend a hand. "I'm just a little freaked out about this, you know? I…don't want it to happen during a mission, or anything."

"Understandable," he responds. "It's good that you came sooner, rather than later, after something happened." I nod again, having to stifle another yawn in the process; my body wants nothing more than to just collapse and sleep for a few hours, and it's getting harder and harder to resist the urge, especially after my momentary nap in the hallway.

"I'll let you get back to work, then," I say, standing up from my chair and starting to walk towards the door. "I think I'm going to go back to my quarters and sleep. Didn't do much of that last night."

"Just be careful," Katanas says, amidst the sounds of typing now coming from the desk behind me. "I'd still go to your classes, but I'd stay away from combat for now until we know what's wrong."

"Don't worry, I plan to," I mutter, pulling the door open and stepping back out into the hall, intent on heading back to my room and getting some much-needed rest.

[July 7, 2152 | Trabia Garden, Third Floor, Headmaster's Office | 10:12 AM]

The Headmaster's eyes focused carefully on the illuminated screen before him, reading over the information listed there and making sure it was suitable for the mission ahead. He'd spent the better part of the evening reviewing personnel files that were deemed potentially useful for the mission he had in mind, and after several hours of searching, he had finally decided on a team of three SeeD officers. He would normally have liked to send more on a mission of such importance, but the nature of the mission itself demanded subtlety and finesse rather than force, and any more would just increase the likelihood of blowing the entire mission.

A mission into Vector's First R&D Division could not afford to be blown, no matter what. If that meant sending in fewer SeeD than he was normally comfortable with, then that was what it meant and that is what he would do.

Senior looked up from his examination of his data as the door to his office opened suddenly, letting in the three SeeD he'd chosen personally for the mission. He only hoped that they were capable of pulling the mission off; however, he didn't intend to leave anything to chance. Already, he had a plan in mind in case things went wrong, but first he had to deal with the here and now of the situation.

"Morning, Dad," Darius DeValle said, the red-haired Lightning Alchemist holding up a hand in a jaunty wave. The other two SeeD gave him a look of mild disbelief, but his father's stern expression made him reconsider his flippancy. "I mean, Headmaster," he amended, turning his wave into a salute a moment later. The other two SeeD beside him followed suit in the salute, only to have the Senior wave it off after a moment of consideration.

"Punctuality," he commented, nodding approvingly. "Pleasing, I'll admit," he continued, directing a look towards Darius especially.

"Now that's just mean," Darius muttered, putting one hand on his hip while the other two SeeD officers with him sat down in chairs before the Headmaster's desk.

"How can we help you, sir?" Naoki Ishida asked, his voice holding a calm and professional tone. The Senior's reply wasn't verbal, but instead consisted of picking up a series of papers on the desk, some stapled neatly to others, and handing a separate group to each of the three SeeD.

"A new mission?" Sumiko Remiere asked, looking back up towards the Headmaster after examining the papers briefly.

"That's correct. The full details of the mission, as well as your objective, are enclosed in those documents, so I'll make this brief. I selected each of you because this mission is to be carried out without confrontation, if possible, and your skills were deemed suitable for the task. Garden received a mission request at approximately 1630 hours yesterday asking for investigative help regarding Esthar's Vector Industries."

"Vector? You mean that big robotics company in the business district?" Darius asked, also looking up from the papers. As a member of Merchant's Alley, he'd been aware of Vector's growing position in the economic market for quite some time, and anything with their name in it was big news more often than not.

"Yes," Senior confirmed. "Apparently, they've been engaging in some less-than-legal activities, or at least that's the suspicion. A request was made for information to be gathered on Vector's First R&D Division, specifically, an ongoing project with the designation 'KP-X.'"

"What's so special about this division that Garden resources would be needed to investigate?" Sumiko asked, curious. "This goes beyond just corporate secrets, then?"

"Vector's First R&D Division handles extremely secretive and experimental projects. Information on any of these projects almost never leaves the division, let alone the Vector Industries grounds."

"So, similar to top-secret military projects, then?" Naoki asked, earning a nod from Senior.

"As Vector handles military contracts, it's an apt comparison. Your mission is to infiltrate Vector and retrieve whatever information you can about First R&D's KP-X project."

Naoki and Sumiko shared glances at each other – infiltrate a company like Vector? Both thought that such a mission would be left to higher-ranking individuals with more skill, but the Headmaster must have reason to believe that they could get the job done.

"So, you want us to break into a company renowned for its ability to keep information in?" Darius asked, a curious expression sliding across his features. "Reminds me of an Estharian video game company I know. I'm game," he said, shrugging lightly as he watched his father.

"Good. You'll be leading the team, Captain. You all have two hours to prepare; an airship will be waiting for you at the hangar at 1230 hours. Is your objective clear?"

"Got it."

"Yes, sir."

"Understood."

The Headmaster nodded, clasping his hands atop the desk in front of him. "Very well. You are dismissed."

Each of the three SeeD officers snapped off another salute, with Naoki and Sumiko standing up from their chairs before swiftly following Darius out of the room. The Headmaster reached for another set of papers, beginning to resume his previous work, but found himself interrupted once again by the door to his office.

"Sir?" a female voice asked, footsteps falling softly on the carpet. "You sent for me?"

"I did, Ellie."

Ellie Night stepped further into the room, nodding quietly as she did so. Her hair was pulled back into a long ponytail, the dark green coloration near enough to black to appear so in the light, and unlike most female SeeD, she wore a uniform that was closer to the male SeeD uniform, a black uniform with teal accents that consisted of a shirt, jacket, and slacks instead of the female uniform's dress skirt. Two rank insignias were present on her jacket as well, both above the left breast. The upper insignia consisted of the Trabia Garden SeeD symbol on the right side, flanked on the left by five vertical yellow bars which were crossed by two horizontal bars at the middle and bottom, denoting her status as a Paladin of the Sphere. The lower insignia was a large contrast to the bright symbolism of the upper one, however – an all-black background featuring two gray lines that crossed diagonally through the middle and horizontally through the upper third, with four diagonal gray bars in the bottom-left and a black-and-white version of the SeeD insignia in the bottom right.

That insignia denoted Ellie Night's position as the head of Special Operations at Trabia Garden, and was the reason why the Headmaster had brought her into his office.

"I received a mission request from the head of Executive Outcomes in Esthar yesterday, asking for Garden's help in investigating claims of unjust activity within Vector Industries. As such, I am sending a team into Esthar to infiltrate Vector's First R&D Division to obtain information on a project designated KP-X, starting two hours from now. I want you to take Delta Squad and leave immediately for Esthar, to act as backup for this mission. You are not to alert the Esthar team to your team's presence unless the team and the mission are in jeopardy. However, this information is too valuable to risk losing – your secondary objective will be to retrieve the information at any cost should the primary team fail."

"I understand, sir," Ellie replied. "I'll prep Delta Squad for immediate departure." Some part of Ellie's mind wondered just how important such a company's project could really be if it merited backup from a Special Operations unit, but she left the question unsaid – if the Headmaster wanted them to ensure the mission succeeded, then that was what they would do, regardless of perceived importance. There was no room for failure in SeeD.

"Excellent," Senior stated, smiling. He had always been able to count on Ellie to handle missions of extreme importance, and she and her teams had never failed to perform to his highest expectations. The dark-haired woman saluted the Headmaster quickly before turning on her heel and stepping out of the room, leaving Darius DeValle Sr. alone with his work once more. There was nothing to worry about, now; one way or another, Alnon would have his information, and Senior would know whether a new player had truly emerged on the world stage.

[July 7, 2152 | Trabia Garden, Third Floor, SeeD Commander's Office | 11:50 AM]

"Yes, I'll hold."

Katanas sighed, watching as the video screen shifted once again to blank gray overlaid with the Garden insignia as he was put on hold…again. This made no less than the third time, and while he understood that the process took time, he couldn't help but feel like he was simply being given a run-around through the building's different divisions. So far, he'd talked to two secretaries and one supervisor only to find out that he'd been directed to the wrong branch by mistake, which meant that he had to be redirected for a third time. Needless to say, it was beginning to faintly irritate even the normally-collected SeeD Commander.

"Estharian Science and Technology Institute, Paramagical Studies. May I help you?"

Katanas' attention refocused as a male figure with short, messy black hair appeared on screen, his red jacket and black shirt prominently displaying an I.D. badge for the institute that wasn't quite clear enough for Katanas to read.

"Yes. My name is Katanas DeValle, SeeD Commander of Trabia Garden. I was wondering if there was any chance that I could have an investigative study conducted on a member of our organization by your department."

"Hm…" The man turned away from the screen as the sounds of typing filtered through the audiovisual connection, looking thoughtfully off screen for several seconds before returning to the display. "What would be the nature of the study?"

"The aforementioned member came to me this morning stating that he had experienced hallucinations yesterday during a training exercise. Both he and I have strong reason to believe that the causes behind it are magical in nature, but our medical technicians are not equipped to properly diagnose mental disorders."

Again, the institute worker turned away from the display, typing on an off-screen terminal. There was a pause of several seconds as he finished typing before he spoke again, not looking in Katanas' direction but apparently at another display.

"It looks like…Dr. Mizrahi and Dr. Odine are currently available," he stated, finally looking back towards Katanas. "What time would you like to begin the study?"

"I should be able to send him down this evening, provided nothing comes up," Katanas replied. Odine was one of the best, if not the best at magical research, whether paramagical or Sorceress-based in origin, and he knew that if anyone could figure out what could be causing hallucinations, it would be Odine. Anyone who worked with Odine, by extension, had to be competent, and was likely above-average in their own right; Katanas had heard rumors that Odine was notoriously unforgiving of incompetence and held his staff to remarkable, even unreasonably high, standards.

"We'll be awaiting his arrival, then. What is his name, for our records?" the man asked, again turning back towards his off-screen computer.

"Benji Powell."

"Okay," the worker affirmed, turning back to Katanas with a nod. "Once he signs in at the front desk, we'll have him directed to this wing to begin the study. I'll say now that we can't make any guarantees on the length of time that the study will take, mister DeValle."

"Understandable," the SeeD Commander said. "We're not worried about time constraints, so you needn't worry about that."

"Alright, then. Is that everything, mister DeValle?"

"I believe so, yes."

"Very well. Thank you for calling – we'll do our best to help."

[July 7, 2152 | Trabia Garden, First Floor, Andréa Beoulve's Quarters | 12:01 PM]

"Come in."

The stiff metal door to Andréa Beoulve's personal quarters slid open as Tetsuya Kurabasa walked into the room. The recently-minted Major sat easily on the couch, her cloth-covered eyes seeming to follow Tetsuya even through the dark fabric as he moved towards her place, electing instead to stand near one side of the furnishing.

"Personal visit, Tetsuya?" she asked, turning to 'look' at him. "I'm touched."

"Yeah, well…don't get too flattered," he joked, shifting to lean on the couch with his back facing Andréa. "Don't think I ever got to say congratulations on that promotion of yours."

"Why, I never knew you cared," Andréa remarked, mirth evident in her voice. "Surely you didn't come all this way to tell me something you could say in a hallway somewhere."

Tetsuya shifted uncomfortably, but nodded. "Something…happened yesterday. I can't really make sense of it, and I thought you could."

"Oh?"

"I was sparring in the Training Center – with Ben, like we normally do now," Tetsuya began, trying to phrase things the way he wanted in his mind. "Anyway, things went fine for a minute or two, but then…he just kinda lost it, like he wasn't really there…"

"Zoned out, you mean?" Andréa queried, receiving a shake of the head for her efforts.

"It wasn't like he wasn't paying attention, just…it looked like he forgot we were sparring and weren't in an actual fight," he clarified. "He knocked me down, and that was about the time he seemed to come to his senses, but…sis, if you'd seen the look on his face, you'd have swore he just saw a whole herd of Behemoth charging at him. Looked like he'd fall over on the spot, he was so scared."

Andréa smiled faintly at the use of Tetsuya's nickname for her – for the few years he'd spent in their home of Arias, he'd considered Andréa a sort of older sister figure, and the nickname had stuck years later when they met up again in Esthar. "Alright – so he got a bit carried away and freaked out over it. Why are you telling me?"

"Context, mostly," Tetsuya said with a shrug. "What happened after that is why I came. He freaked out, yeah – that's definitely true. But, when he was leaving, he did…something. I can't really describe it any other way than saying he teleported – one moment, he was there, then the next, he took a step and just wasn't there anymore." He glanced over at Andréa again, wishing he could read her expression better through the eye-concealing cloth she wore. "And before you say 'invisibility spell,' I already thought about that. I've had the same training you have in detecting basic magical enchantments, and I didn't feel any of that. He honestly just wasn't there anymore."

Andréa's smile dimmed a bit into a more neutral expression. "And you want advice on what he might've done – is that it? Wouldn't it be better to ask one of the instructors?"

"No, that's not it. I want you to tell me what he did."

The female SeeD's features shifted into a slight frown as Tetsuya looked straight at her, his expression calm and focused. "What makes you think–"

"Please, Andréa," Tetsuya interrupted. "Just…look. You've been edgy around me ever since I got here, and you've been nothing but evasive every time I've asked you about why you've been so edgy. There's been a lot of weird stuff going on here in Garden lately, and a whole lot of it seems to involve him – and now, all of a sudden, you get a promotion that lets you have a squad and he's in it? I know I'm not the fastest chocobo in the flock sometimes, but I'm not stupid, sis. It just doesn't add up, and it hurts that you won't level with me."

Andréa had to admit that she was at least a little impressed by his heartfelt moment of honesty and forwardness. The frown on her face slowly moved back into a whisper of a smile as Tetsuya waited expectantly for the next words from her lips.

"Well, it's nice to know you finally grew out of that naïve streak you had when we were back in Arias," she commented good-naturedly, gesturing for Tetsuya to sit down. "Alright, I'll be honest with you provided you're absolutely sure you want to know. Once you do, it's not just something you can turn away from – this stays with you, no matter what happens."

Tetsuya nodded, taking a seat on the couch beside Andréa. "I'm positive. I don't want there to be any secrets between us, sis."

"And don't go spreading this around, either," she added, almost as an afterthought. "It's not secret, per se, but it's not something we broadcast freely around Garden, either."

"Got it."

"I'll start slow, then. I assume that you think there are other planets besides the one we live on, whether they have life on them or not?" Andréa asked, earning a nod from Tetsuya. "Well, that principle can be applied in a more…liberal sense. This planet, as well as any of those presumably-existing planets you imagine, exists on a dimensional plane – a bit like objects on a table. This plane is part of a bigger whole, and it is not the only plane within that whole – that realm."

"Just like the Garden Network," Tetsuya stated. "Three Gardens that make up the whole organization."

"Exactly. In this case, there are four planes that comprise this realm – this one, the mortal plane; the Ethereal Plane, a plane primarily for intellectually-driven beings; the Nether Plane, a plane mostly made up of instinct-driven beings; and Soul Society, a plane where the souls of the deceased reside after death."

"So…it's the afterlife?" the trenchcoat-clad SeeD asked the woman beside him.

"In the strictest sense," she remarked. "But to keep this simple, you can think of it that way. Each of these planes is governed by a being known as an Ancient – essentially, what we might think of as gods. Just as our presidents and governors appoint officials to handle many of their duties, these beings appoint others as their special chosen, beings that have come to be known as Planeswalkers."

She looked towards Tetsuya again, making sure that he seemed to be keeping up with all the information. To his credit, he seemed to be doing an admirable job of paying attention; Andréa knew all too well how prone he was to joking around and zoning out sometimes.

"I, myself, am a Planeswalker of Soul Society, and have been for some time now. There are others in Garden who are also chosen of these beings – the youngest DeValle, Darius, is a chosen of Soul Society as well, and our very own SeeD Commander is a chosen of the Nether Plane. The Powell boy, as you may already suspect, is also a Planeswalker – his plane is the Ethereal Plane."

"So…what do you do once you're chosen? And how did you get wrapped up in all of this, anyhow?"

"What do we do?" Andréa repeated, smiling and looking up at the ceiling of her room as she leaned back. "Why, whatever our patron asks of us, of course. As for how I became involved…that's a story I'll have to tell some other time, once your mind has digested all of this."

"…What about Instructor Bayloh? Does he know anything about this?" Tetsuya asked tentatively – it was a guess on his part, but after what Andréa had just said, he felt it was more of an educated one than he first believed.

"He is another chosen of the Ethereal Plane. Older than our dear Benji to a large degree, as I understand it."

"Knew it…!" Tetsuya said suddenly, a triumphant smile spreading across his face. "I told Naoki and Sumiko that something wasn't right about that situation with Bayloh!"

"Congratulations," Andréa deadpanned, looking back at Tetsuya. "You've found it out. Was it worth it?"

"Har har," Tetsuya said, equally deadpan. "You're too smug about all this, you know? You didn't feel like you could trust me with this at all?"

"It wasn't that I didn't feel like you could be trusted, but simply that I had other obligations to deal with. Telling you about my secret double life as a Planeswalker didn't rank too highly among them."

"You sound like a character out of a bad spy novel," Tetsuya commented, prompting Andréa to simply roll her eyes in response.

"Can't be serious for five minutes, I tell you," she said, the smile on her face betraying the exasperated tone in his voice. "Well, now you know the basis of our little extraplanar secret. Sure you'll be okay after your whole worldview was just shattered?"

"I can't imagine how I'll survive the day," he countered mockingly, pausing again as a thought again came to the forefront of his mind. "Wait – you didn't explain what any of this had to do with Ben's little disappearing act."

"It's what makes us what we are – in fact, it's why we have the name Planeswalkers," Andréa said. "We can use the power given to us by our patron to skip in and out of planes at will with a form of nearly-instantaneous travel called, appropriately enough, Planeswalking. Of course, it takes some getting used to and is extremely difficult to do with anyone else along for the ride, but it's certainly an invaluable gift. Only other Planeswalkers can really tell what it is when someone does it, which is why you didn't have an idea of what happened when Ben used it."

"…So, it really is teleportation," he said after a moment's thought. "Or something like that, right?"

"When we Planeswalk, we actually move along an intermediary plane known as the Crystal Path, but I suppose it's a close-enough comparison for simplicity's sake."

"I'm not even going to try and think about the mechanics behind all of that. I'll just be satisfied with the simple explanation," Tetsuya said with a nod, causing Andréa to smirk.

"Yuki would be better at it, wouldn't she?" she asked with a self-satisfied tone.

"Hey, just because I'm not the model student she is doesn't mean I'm not smart, you know!" Tetsuya replied with mock-indignation. It felt good to be bantering with Andréa and not treading carefully around every word he said, almost like he was back in his childhood years again. Andréa, for her part, looked almost relieved, like what she had told Tetsuya was a weight on her chest that she couldn't remove until now.

"Clearly."

"Sure there aren't any other deep, dark secrets you want to get off your chest?" Tetsuya asked amiably, which earned him what he was certain was a piercing glare from the woman beside him underneath the cloth she wore. "Okay, forget I asked!" he said with a laugh, leaning back into the couch comfortably.

"That's what I thought," Andréa stated, sighing. "I don't even know why I put up with you sometimes."

"Because no matter what, I'd be there for you if you needed it?"

"Must be it."

I enjoyed writing the last piece of this chapter most of all, owing greatly to the banter between Tetsuya and Andréa - his "conspiracy theories" have a little more weight to them than most are aware, at least for the time being. As stated, I'll attempt to have the next chapter up by next Sunday, though that may change a bit if the job leads I'm looking into now turn out fruitful. As always, please read and review.