"Sibling relationships outlast marriages, survive the death of parents, resurface after quarrels that would sink any friendship. They flourish in a thousand incarnations of closeness and distance, warmth, loyalty and distrust."

― Erica E. Goode

"I made a deal with Hornsby."

"What?" Magna didn't turn around, gaze wholly focused on the pan, lest she risk sending another omelette to its grave.

Yumiko drew a breath. Repeated the words. "I made a deal."

"A deal?"

"With Lance Hornsby."

Unaware at the time that Eugene had made his own deal. Though, that still would have solved only one of her problems.

Slowly, Magna set down her spatula, switching the heat off and turning to face her. She didn't say anything, only waited - but Yumiko could see the apprehension mixed with confusion in her eyes.

"Tomi got into trouble shortly after we arrived here. Eugene, Ezekiel, and Princess as well. I made a deal with Lance to get them out of it."

Or, rather, she'd agreed to the unspoken rule that if her brother was returned to her promptly and her friends were let off, she'd owe him a favor.

As it turned out, that favor was never-ending.

Apprehension gave way to comprehension. "And that deal includes getting people to sign NDAs?"

Yumiko nodded.

A chaos of emotions fought their way across Magna's face, none rising to the surface for more than a moment - until finally she seemed to settle on disbelief. "Jesus, Miko. Does he know?"

She shook her head. "It was my fault he got into trouble in the first place. During interrogation, I used Tomi to help fast-track us through the process. I mentioned that I had a brother who used to be a thoracic surgeon and that I suspected that he was now a member of the Commonwealth - granting us expedited citizenship . . . They must have put two and two together, realized he'd been lying to them all this time."

Or at least, Lance had.

Magna shook her head, pushing off the counter and walking towards her. She reached out for Yumiko's hand the second she was close enough, wrapping it tightly in her hold. A part of Yumiko thought she didn't deserve the comfort but that didn't stop her from accepting it. Accepting it greedily, without hesitation. "That wasn't your fault. Not like you knew he'd spent the last ten years living it up as a baker."

"I'm not sure he sees it that way." Knew he didn't, in fact. Especially since it had resulted in him returning to work as a doctor. The one thing she now knew that he'd never wanted to do. And which had no doubt been the catalyst for his possible drinking problem. A problem she had no bloody clue how to fix. "Things were good for him before I got here."

Magna gripped her hand. "You're his sister, Miko. The sister he never thought he'd see again. That's worth more than some job."

It wasn't just a job. It was an entire life.

It was the peace and contentment he'd found after so long of living without either - and which she'd thoughtlessly wrenched away.

Her brother had been happy. She'd seen it in his eyes. His smile. The lightness with which he carried himself. He'd been happy and now he wasn't.

(Yumiko didn't know what to do with the understanding that Tomi had been happier back when she was no longer in his life. When he'd believed her dead)

"Well, we were never that close."

The exact opposite in fact.

She steadfastly ignored the moments from tonight, the scattered conversations, the moments when she'd started to think maybe, just maybe. . . they could be.

(also ignored that there was a time when they had been close. A time when Yumiko had been closer to him than anyone else in her life.

That time was over.

Gone.

Along with so much else.

They weren't those children anymore. Would never be them again)

"Neither were Morgan and I." Magna's voice was firm. Unwavering. "But if he was to walk through those gates right now, none of that shit would matter."

Yumiko remembered the boy who'd shown up in her office one day, equal parts pleading and determined to save the sister he hadn't spoken to in years.

(would never speak to again, as it turned out)

She clenched Magna's hand at the thought. "I know."

But still, she hadn't ruined her brother's life like Yumiko had Tomi's. Hadn't forced him into a role that he hated, that ate at him from the inside out. And Morgan had done nothing of the sort to her, either.

Their relationship had been strained but, from what Yumiko had seen, there hadn't existed the kind of hurt and resentment that encompassed the entirety of her own relationship with Tomi.

Nor had Magna or Morgan made a decision about the other's life, a decision they'd had no say in.

Because at the end of the day it wasn't just the interview. It was what she'd done after the interview, after it had made its way back to Hornsby. Her actions after her brother's secret had been exposed.

Exposed only partially.

Not all the way.

Not until Yumiko had intervened.

"Come on, he can't just be angry that you spilled the beans during interrogation," Magna said. "Not when you couldn't have known he was trying to keep that under lock and key."

"He's not. Because that's not the only thing I did."

"Yeah, but you just said that he doesn't know about Lance. He doesn't know you made that deal with him. So what the fuck else is he angry about?"

Yumiko bit her lip.

"I. . . told Pamela Milton that Tomi was a surgeon."

That part he did know.

That was the part he was angry about. What he saw as a betrayal. The ultimate consequence of her need to control everything, to intervene even when her intervention wasn't wanted.

"So that it wouldn't be so easy for Hornsby to use him against you again," Magna guessed slowly. Yumiko's shoulders sagged, relieved that she'd understood. That she hadn't even had to explain. "You made him indispensable."

"I did. And it's . . . not something I think he's ever going to forgive me for. Not completely."

Perhaps wasn't even something that she deserved to be forgiven for.

That interview had gotten back to Hornsby. But not Pamela. Her brother might still have been able to continue his life as a baker. Lance had even presented her with that option.

But she'd known that offer came with strings.

Traps.

More favors.

Which she might even have been willing to agree to. But Yumiko knew men like Lance. She'd worked alongside them. Gone to law school with them. And she'd known that he'd just found himself a valuable bargaining chip in her brother.

One that he wouldn't be afraid to use. Again and again and again.

So she'd taken that bargaining chip away.

Gone to Pamela. Unmasked her brother's secret. Truly and completely.

Told her so Tomi would become valuable. To Pamela. To the Commonwealth.

Valuable enough that he could no longer be so easily used by the likes of Lance Hornsby.

A man who'd had him dragged away. Arrested. Locked up in some cell until she'd ceded to his deal.

Yumiko knew it had been a power play. An example of just what could be done at any moment, if Lance ever got the urge.

Ever said the word.

It wasn't a power she wanted anyone to have over her or her brother.

She'd made a vow, after Nicole, that she would never let anyone have that kind of power over her again. And she wasn't going to break that vow for someone who saw her as nothing more than a pawn in his own petty game.

So Yumiko had gambled. Taken a risk. Hoping that the Commonwealth's need for another surgeon would outweigh whatever power Lance Hornsby possessed. Would keep her brother from being dragged away again in broad daylight.

She'd gambled.

Couldn't decide yet if she'd won or lost.

Only that. . . Tomi was right. It hadn't been her choice to make.

These days, Hornsby no longer had any real power over her. But Yumiko still pretended that he did. Still did what he asked. Because as long as he continued to think of her as a pawn - an asset - then he wouldn't see her as a threat. As long as he thought he could use her, he'd keep her close.

And as long as she was close, she might actually stand a chance at finding out what was really going on in this place.

Might even be able to do something about it.

Subtly. Safely.

Without risking harm to the people she cared about.

Or to this place.

"The truth is, I didn't just make that deal for him. The Miltons are powerful, Magna. And Lance. . . honestly I think he's more of a threat than Pamela."

Pamela was. . . calculated, even cold. But so far, she hadn't set off nearly as many warning bells as Lance. Maybe because she appeared content with the state of things, the world as it currently operated - whilst Lance. . .

Well, in Yumiko's experience, it was the people who were dissatisfied, who hungered for change, that posed the biggest risk to stability. And for all the Commonwealth's faults, at least it was stable.

(or had seemed to be, before tonight)

Yumiko still didn't trust her. Would likely never trust her.

But she trusted Lance even less.

Something flickered in Magna's eyes, like she didn't quite agree with that assessment, didn't trust it. But if she did have her doubts, she didn't voice them. "So you're trying to stay on his good side."

Yumiko nodded. "For now, at least. I'm also just trying to figure out just what the hell is going on in this place."

"And being in Lance's pocket helps you do that?"

She resented the phrasing but couldn't altogether deny its accuracy. Or the fact that she'd also manoeuvred herself into Pamela's as well. Time would tell which compartment would prove to be most beneficial. "I'm hoping so. I'd say I'm certainly better placed for that than anyone else right now. And it's already worked to our benefit."

"What do you mean?"

"I asked him to fast-track everyone getting here. When we were going through orientation, we saw people who had been there months, possibly years. Waiting. I knew that our people needed help far sooner than that. . . so I pushed things along."

And she didn't regret it. Especially not after seeing Hilltop and Alexandria's kids all dressed up for Halloween, darting from stall to stall, unbridled joy in their every action and word. For the first time in their lives, they were getting a taste of a world that was safe. A world that was peaceful. A world without monsters.

(even if those monsters still existed just outside the walls of that world)

Silence met her words. Magna's expression was unreadable, shrouded to her. It increased the tight feeling in Yumiko's chest, only serving to make her more on edge. "What are you thinking?"

"Just that I'm not all that sure I like the idea of you throwing yourself into the belly of the beast." Magna drew closer, taking her hands. "I know you like this place, Yumiko, but it's dangerous. You've gotta be fucking careful."

Somehow, Yumiko doubted that she was the one who needed to tread carefully, who was currently most at risk. Not after some of the conversations they'd had tonight.

Not after what had just happened with Tyler.

Whether or not Magna was involved with something right now, Yumiko knew her well enough to doubt her ability to stay out of it. To stay safe.

"Only if you are too."

Magna hesitated - just a moment too long - before stepping forward and wrapping her arms around her. Drawing her into a hug.

Yumiko closed her eyes, unable to stop herself from giving in to the hold.

"I'm always fucking careful."

She gripped Magna's back. Just a little. "Liar."

For once, she meant the word with all the affection she had in her. All the love. (the fear). And Magna seemed to hear it: held her just that little bit tighter.

After too long a beat - and not long enough - Yumiko forced herself to let go. To pull back. Extricating herself from the security of her arms.

There was a crease to Magna's mouth as she watched her, eyes heavy. "I wish you'd told me."

Resentment sparked in her chest, the comfort of the hug receding. "You said I couldn't handle myself."

"No, I said that you needed to be careful."

Yumiko crossed her arms and looked away, jaw clenching tight. "And it hurt. That you didn't give me the benefit of the doubt. That you didn't trust me enough to know that I would have a good reason for doing what I was doing. That you didn't trust me."

She expected an argument, a defensive retort. A justification for Magna's earlier accusation, her doubt. Despite Yumiko's words, a part of her felt that she might even deserve it. Deserve it for expecting Magna to fit here, for not realizing - not considering - that she couldn't; not predicting just how much this place would rattle her.

But still. It stung. Her lack of faith. It had stung hours ago in that kitchen, and it stung now. In the fading memory of it.

"Yeah. . . I can see how that would hurt," Magna agreed softly, surprising her. "I should have trusted you."

Yumiko clenched her jaw, not quite ready to be mollified, to cave. "You should have. You've known me for thirteen years, Magna. You know I'm not like that."

"You're right. . . I do." Magna's gaze was firm, but it faltered in the next moment. "I just. . . this place. I can't explain it. The way it makes me feel. Think. And when I found out about the NDAs. . ." She shook her head. "It just seemed to confirm everything I had already been thinking. Everything I'd thought back then. When we first became friends. I know it's not fair. But that's the truth."

Yumiko wavered, the strength of her arms against her chest weakening. Though she didn't let them fall. Not just yet.

"I'm sorry," Magna said softly.

And that - that made her cave.

Releasing a breath, Yumiko allowed her arms to fall, hurt and defensiveness falling with them. "I get it. And. . . I should have been more open with you."

Should have let her in.

Instead of keeping her at a distance that had hurt them both.

Magna's mouth quirked. "Might have helped."

Yumiko snorted and nodded. "Probably." But she'd never been good at asking for help. Or revealing the mess of a web she'd spun for herself and ended up trapped in. But since she had spun it, she knew its pitfalls - and its advantages.

"You know, I wrote those NDAs. Which means I wrote what went into them. Including certain loopholes."

Magna raised a brow. "You're sneaky as fuck, you know that?"

"Well," Yumiko reached out, locking her hands behind Magna's neck, "I think you've rubbed off on me."

"Oh, I have. Many times."

Narrowing her eyes, she reached for a spot behind Magna's ear where she knew she was ticklish.

"Okay, okay! Stop!"

Yumiko smirked, ceasing the attack. She settled her hand on Magna's waist instead, under the defense of her shirt, smoothing a thumb across the warm skin beneath.

Magna reached out, trailing her fingers over the side of her face. The touch was so light, so tender, that Yumiko knew if she hadn't already been in love - in love for years - she would have fallen right then. Fallen into Magna's hold.

"Always the fixer," Magna murmured.

"Always." Yumiko's smile weakened and she felt her thumb brush her cheek.

Magna's eyes were dark and pensive - but also filled with a love that she'd ached for these last months. "Don't ever change."

Yumiko blinked, surprised by the comment.

"Don't look so shocked," Magna grinned, teasingly - and Yumiko suspected she got a kick out of throwing that line back at her, "It's a part of you. It's been a part of you for as long as I've known you. So even if it frustrates me to no end sometimes, I'd never want you to lose it. Lose you."

"Even if it means helping Hornsby?"

Magna hesitated. "I trust you. And I'm sorry that I forgot that somewhere along the way. But I trust you. And I trust that you'll always do the right thing. Or as right as you can make it. Even if it doesn't look that way from where I'm standing."

"Thankyou," Yumiko murmured.

"But if you get in too deep, then you have to promise that you'll bring me in too."

"Magna-"

"Promise."

She hesitated. Just for a moment too long. But the vulnerability - and even faint traces of desperation in Magna's eyes, the plea - called to her. Made it impossible not to cave. "Okay."

"You gotta say the words."

Yumiko's mouth twitched, before slowly rising. "I promise."

The tension in her features disappeared, her mouth relaxing into a smile. "I'm going to hold you to that."

"I know."

She was counting on it.

Yumiko's mind drifted back to Tomi. To the mess she'd created in an attempt to fix the one that had been at his feet.

(Her biggest fear had been that Lance might one day reveal her brother's secret to Pamela himself. Weeks, months, years down the line. And do so in a way that cast Tomi in an even worse light.

But if they came clean themselves - if Yumiko came clean - and made up some bullshit story about how her brother had been fired for malpractice shortly before the world ended, and that it hadn't occurred to him that the Commonwealth might want his services with such a black spot on his record, then they could at least control the narrative.

There was a chance, even, that the story would actually prove correct. That the Commonwealth wouldn't want his services, after all. But of course they did. Surgeons weren't exactly falling out of the skies these days.

They'd put him to work right away. Only with the added bonus of a watcher to ensure he didn't get up to any of his 'old tricks'.

(Tomi was particularly thrilled about that little outcome to her plan)

"Hey, what are you thinking about?" Magna's eyes were dark with concern, a sure sign Yumiko hadn't been able to hide her feelings.

"Tomi."

"Miko. . ."

She'd always been able to be vulnerable with Magna. Vulnerable in a way she could never be with anyone else.

Vulnerable in a way she never even was with herself. When she was alone. In the privacy of her own thoughts.

There was something about being with Magna that allowed her walls to come down. A comfort and safety that loosened the tight grip on her control.

It was okay to be vulnerable with Magna.

It was okay to let go.

So she did.

"I ruined his life."

"No. You didn't." Magna stepped forward, gripping her upper arms. "You fucked things up for him. Which is shit. But you didn't ruin his life. I know careers are pretty important in the Okomura clan but at the end of the day, they're not everything. He still has a life. A pretty fucking good one. And that life includes you."

Only, Yumiko hadn't just been talking about the Commonwealth. Her latest mistake.

She'd ruined her brother's life when she was three years old. Unintentionally. Childishly.

Unaware of the disastrous power of the butterfly effect. The consequences of her unassuming actions.

Magna read her expression and gave a reassuring squeeze. "Look, sibling relationships. . . they can be complicated. Really fucking complicated. When Morgan was little, I adored the hell out of him. But I also resented him. Because he was small and fragile and I loved him so much. So he became something that I had to protect. And, I don't know, maybe I protected him too well-" she paused, then shook her head. "No, not too well. Just right. At least back then. . . But it came at a cost. Put a wedge between us. Because he didn't know. He didn't know about all the shit our dad did. What he was really like. I shielded him from it - or as much of it as I could, anyway." Yumiko pursed her lips, knowing exactly what that shielding must have entailed. "And after Mum got taken away. . . he didn't see things the way I did. Didn't understand why she did it. Couldn't. He fucking loved our dad. Whenever I tried to talk to him about it, about what things were like, he didn't believe me. Because most of the memories he had of Dad were good. But he could remember that night. He could remember the bang. And the blood. The police. Mum getting taken away and us getting taken away too. And no more Dad. For Morgan. . . our dad was the victim. The one who didn't deserve what happened. . . and our mum was the villain. So he fit right on in with everyone else who thought the same. Our aunt and uncle, especially. . . He never got angry about how wrong everybody was, how unfair it was - what happened - he never got angry because he didn't think there was anything to be angry about."

God. Yumiko couldn't imagine. Couldn't imagine how difficult that must have been. How isolating. The only person in your life who might understand what you were going through, what you'd been through, denying the reality of it, siding with the person who'd hurt you.

"And I hated him for that. Hated that everyone liked him, the way they never liked me. That he was good - and I couldn't be. Better. He was better. . . Because I gave him the chance to be. I gave him that chance - and I resented him for having it. And for judging me in the process. Judging all the shit I did. The way I never measured up. Not to him. Not to anyone."

"Magna-"

"But none of that matters. Because at the end of the day he was still my brother and I fucking loved him. And if I could just see him again, one more time-" she broke off. Had to take a breath. "But I can't. You and Tomi have issues, Yumiko. And, yeah, that sucks but you have one thing that Morgan and I never did. You know what it's like to lose each other. You've been grieving him for ten years. And he's been grieving you. But that's over now. You've got each other back. Got a second chance. No way is Tomi going to waste it."

Maybe.

Maybe not.

Okumuras were stubborn. Often to their own detriment.

Magna must have sensed her doubt because she tightened her grip. "Right now he's pissed. Well, speaking as someone who's been pissed off at one thing or another since the day they were born. . . it'll pass. You've just gotta give it time."

Yumiko wanted to be swayed by her words. She really, really wanted to be. But in the end all she felt was defeat.

She could remember the hurt and anger in Tomi's eyes earlier tonight. When he'd called her out. Could remember even clearer, a wine glass in his hand, trembling as he drained it dry.

How did she even begin to fix all that she'd broken?

"I messed up," Yumiko sighed, touching her forehead. "I made a mistake and when I tried to fix it. . . I just made things worse."

"Maybe." Magna squeezed her arm "Maybe not. We don't know how things would have turned out if you hadn't acted. Maybe better, maybe worse. The mistake was not letting Tomi decide for himself."

"I know."

And if she could take it back she would.

(would you, though? Would you really give Lance that power back? Power over you?)

"Hey. You're talking to the queen of messing things up." Magna smirked a little. "This is like. . . small potatoes in comparison. I mean, if you knew even half the shit I'd done. . ."

"I'd like to," Yumiko murmured.

Magna stilled, looking suddenly uncomfortable.

So Yumiko made her lips attempt to rise, to curve into a weak smile. A teasing one. "Hey, I'm not asking for all of them. But half seems like a workable amount."

"Maybe," she said after a pause. "One day. Not today."

Yumiko nodded, understanding. "Okay."

"You already know about one. A pretty big one, actually." Lawson. The lie. "I'd like to say it's the biggest but. . ."

Maisie.

Trusting Lawson.

Getting herself arrested and taken away from her brother.

Yumiko didn't need her to say it. She'd known Magna long enough to work all three things out for herself. "I know."

"It certainly ranks up there, though."

"Top four?"

"Top five." She lifted a shoulder at her look. "What? When it comes to fucking things up, I'm an overachiever."

Right. She'd forgotten that Magna also blamed herself for her mother going to prison.

Yumiko would bet good money that almost all of those 'fuck up's had been far from Magna's fault.

Her lie about Lawson was one of the few that had been.

For that reason, in Yumiko's mind, its rank was much higher.

The highest.

"I wouldn't say that," she said softly, squeezing her hand.

"I would."

"Magna-"

"So is this everything?" she asked, deftly changing the subject. "No more secrets?"

"This is everything," Yumiko confirmed, allowing the escape manoeuvre. Knowing better than to follow when it wasn't wanted. "But I still have secrets. You know that. Just not about the Commonwealth or my time here."

"I know." Magna smiled, though it was weak. "Those weren't the kind of secrets I was talking about. I'm just relieved to have the full story. To know what's been going on. With you. . . We always used to know what was going on with each other. Mostly because we were always doing it together."

Yumiko raised a brow. "What would you call the stash?"

Magna lifted her shoulders. "I said mostly."

(magnanimously, she decided to let that slide)

"You're right. We did do everything together." And then I left. She hesitated. "I never planned to stay here permanently, Magna. I was always going to come back. Tomi or no Tomi." As much as she loved him, Yumiko knew her life was with Magna. With Connie and Kelly. Luke. They were as much her family as Tomi. These days even moreso. And she was nowhere near ready to give them up. Yumiko had just hoped that she'd be able to have all of her family, rather than only one part. That the family she'd made outside of blood would find themselves at home in the Commonwealth. She'd been prepared, though, if that wasn't to be. If she had to make a choice. Had said she had no intention of staying to Pamela at the beginning of her arrival here, the day Tomi was taken. "But the aid to our community was conditional on my help. A help that hasn't ended yet. And now. . ."

"Now you like it here."

There was no judgment in the words, just a sad understanding. Magna's smile was heavy.

Yumiko nodded. "I feel like I can finally breathe again."

Magna's mouth twisted wryly, an amused glint to her eyes.

"What?"

"Nothing, it's just. . . the opposite for me. I feel like I haven't been able to breathe since I got here." She took a breath now, before squeezing her hand. "I'm glad this place gives you that."

Yumiko didn't say that it no longer did. That ever since Magna had arrived, shattering the illusion, she'd barely breathed at all.

She looked down at their hands. "So what do we do? How do we meet in the middle of something like this? Find a 'healthy balance'?"

"I don't know." Magna reached up, threading some hair behind Yumiko's ear. "But I'm willing to try. If you are."

"I'm always willing to try."

Always had been.

From that very first moment she'd stepped into that visiting room - and had her help rejected by the young woman inside.

Magna smiled, stronger, fingers pressing into her scalp. The firmness of the hold reassuring. "Then I think we'll be okay."