The SSS had just finished relaying the situation to Arios and Michel. In the end, they agreed to join forces to combat the looming threat of the cult.
"Okay, please call everyone here. Let's try and cover any important locations before the day is over," Arios asked the receptionist.
"You got it. I'll go and contact them now."
When Michel was busy calling everyone, Elie couldn't help but be amazed by how easily Arios and Michel were handling the situation. "Your coordination never ceases to amaze me..."
"It's the strongest asset us bracers have. Being powerful is more than just a numbers game," Arios answered. "Come to think of it, have you briefed Chief Sergei on the situation?"
"Yeah. He's already granted us permission to cooperate with you. He offered his thanks to you, too, Arios," Lloyd answered, accompanied by a nod of his head.
"Is that so?"
Excuse me, Arios," Lloyd broke the silence. "Weren't you working under the chief when you were still in the force? ...Alongside my brother."
"I was. It was Sergei, Guy, and myself," Arios started to explain. "The three of us were considered the most successful team in the history of the force. We accomplished more than any other group, including the First Division. However, I quit the force five years ago due to personal reasons. And with that, we were no more. Sergei went back to the academy, and Guy was transferred into the First Division."
Arios closed his eyes and exhaled.
"And then, two years later...Guy was killed in the line of duty."
"Naturally, I don't intend to speculate what would have happened if I never quit the force. I had my reasons to leave. I left with the determination to achieve my own goals," Arios continued with a smile. "But... Even so, I still reminisce about them. Those were the glory days. I spent the best years of my life working with an eccentric boss and a passionate partner."
He then shook his head, "Haha, look at me rambling like an old man. To be honest, I'm jealous of your group."
"Didn't think I'd ever hear the Divine Blade of Wind say that in my lifetime," Randy whistled in amazement.
"If anything, I'd say we're the ones who should be jealous of the guild's open atmosphere," Elie said with a smile.
"The police have their own duties to perform, just as the Guild has theirs. If it's the Guild's role to pursue justice outside the scope of political authority... Then it's the police's job to seek that same justice, all while burdened with said authority's many contradictions," said Arios with a nod. "Surely, you've noticed the presence of a number of contradictions and unreasonable circumstances placed upon you. You're not alone. It's something I grappled with in the past. Bad as it is now, you might learn much from it, just as I did."
"Hmm.. Pursuing justice while confronting the contradictions of authority," Tio remarked with interest.
"Do you think my brother pursued justice this same way, too?" Lloyd asked the older man who knew more about his brother at his work.
"Yes, I truly believe that. That's precisely why Sergei worked hard to establish the SSS," Arios confirmed before shaking his head. "But that's enough lecturing from me for one day. You should work hard to find your own answers. That's probably what Guy would have wanted, too."
"Right..." Lloyd nodded in agreement.
"Man, that's one hell of an assignment," Randy sighed playfully at Arios' words."
"Um, Arios. Do you know where Juna is? I didn't see her anywhere," Elie suddenly asked the Bracer. Good timing. Lloyd was just about to ask that before she did.
"Shizuku was supposed to be out today, but a sudden health assessment held her back, so I asked Juna to accompany her for the day in the hospital. I believe she could go out tomorrow after the assessment is finished."
"I see..." Elie answered. "Tio and I wanted to ask her something, but if she's busy, we can shelve that for later."
After that, the other Bracers came, and Arios and Michel explained the situation. Everyone agreed to help once they realized how serious the situation could be. They divided their work, and the SSS left the Guild to go home.
However...
On their way home, Lloyd stopped walking, catching everyone's attention.
"Lloyd?"
"What happened?"
Both Tio and Elie asked. Lloyd bit his lip. Before he could say anything, Randy put a hand on his shoulder.
"No need to say it, Lloyd. You're worried about Juna, Shizuku, and Cecile, right?"
Lloyd nodded. "Yeah..."
The three of them were the closest people Lloyd knew who were currently in the hospital. With their suspicions about Joachim, Lloyd just couldn't stop worrying about them. With the situation in Crossbell right now, they couldn't make any assumption about what the member of the cult would do.
He then turned towards Elie, "That was a nice excuse. I don't think I can lie with a straight face to Arios like that."
Elie just gave him a smile. "Thank my Grandfather for providing me lessons on keeping a poker face."
"Still, now that you said it, I also couldn't help but worry," Tio chimed in.
"What do you say we report to the chief and then go check on them? We've split the coverage with the Bracers, after all," Randy offered.
Lloyd looked at the watch in his hand. It was already noon. With their suspicion of Joachim, they assumed that Joachim wouldn't give any clues about the drugs' composition. Of course, he could've misled them like he tried yesterday, but Lloyd doubted it.
"Alright. We'll report to Chief Sergei and KeA first. After that, we'll catch a bus to the hospital," Lloyd laid out his plan. Everyone voiced their agreement before they continued their way home to report to Sergei.
Working at the hospital was something Cecile felt was fulfilling. Mostly because she could help lots of people even if she was just a nurse. A long time ago, she thought that this was a way to connect herself with Guy, who also helped lots of people. To understand why he wanted to join a dangerous profession like a police officer. It took her a long time, but she finally understood that helping others felt fulfilling. But that was just her self-satisfaction speaking. If she disregarded that, she'd still love her job because seeing the smile on the patient's face was the greatest payment she could receive.
Of course, it wasn't all sunshine. For one patient being treated into recovery, another couldn't be saved by the doctors. The sight of the tearful crying faces of the patient's relatives always made Cecile empathize with them like how she felt when she lost Guy. But nonetheless, Cecile Neues was happy that she worked at St. Ursula Hospital.
Cecile sighed as she walked with a tray of food. She didn't even know why she suddenly thought about why she became a nurse. Maybe the work was getting to her. She took a deep breath to regain her focus and continued walking towards room 301 to give food.
Once she finished, Cecile headed towards the stairs to the second floor.
"Oh, Cecile, Good Afternoon!"
"Afternoon, Juna. What are you doing here?" Cecile replied to her neighbor. Juna formerly interned at the hospital at her recommendation, but after the fiasco with Dr. Guenter, Juna resigned from her internship and turned away from the path of healer to a protector. Nothing wrong with that. It was just that Cecile regretted that Juna felt disappointed at the hospital's handling of that incident. Juna was a prodigy; she would've had a bright career if she had continued her way to become a doctor at the hospital. But she guessed some things were just not meant to be.
"Arios asked me to cheer Shizuku and accompany her for the day," Juna answered her question.
Shizuku? Cecile frowned. "Wasn't Shizuku supposed to be released today?"
She remembered hearing the doctor saying it three days ago.
"Turns out it's delayed for tomorrow. Apparently, Dr. Mark told Arios last night that he'd like to do one last checkup for Shizuku, and it's supposed to be later today, so she can't be released today," Juna explained to Cecile.
But that was weird, Cecile hummed. Mark took a leave for the day. Cecile overheard a relative who wanted to ask for the progress of one of the patients who couldn't meet him this morning.
"Are you sure it's Dr. Mark? He's on leave today."
"Eeh? Really? But I remember Arios said it was Dr. Mark."
Cecile nodded at Juna's question. "Let's check on his status to Sera."
The two descended to the first floor and went to Sera, the receptionist.
"Hey, Sera!"
"Juna? Didn't you say that you're visiting Shizuku?" Sera asked the younger girl.
"Sera. I think there might be some miss in the scheduling," Cecile started. She then explained the situation to the receptionist, who nodded and moved to check the schedule.
"Cecile is correct. Dr. Mark is on leave today. In fact, he's been on leave since two days ago," Sera clarified.
"Hmm..." Juna frowned, deep in thought. "Arios said it was Dr. Mark who called him. Why would he call Arios when he's on leave?"
After Juna said that, Cecile and Sera looked at each other. Indeed, it was strange. It was really unlike Dr. Mark to bother a relative of the patient when he was away.
"Is it really Dr. Mark? I mean, is it really his voice that Arios heard?" Cecile tried to look at the matter rationally.
Juna shrugged. "I dunno, but I believe Arios is telling the truth. This is a matter concerning Shizuku, after all."
Cecile was not close enough to the Divine Blade of Wind to guess his thoughts. She mostly knew him through her late fiancee, but Juna was his student, so she had to take her word on it.
"Who's the one substituting for Dr. Mark?" Cecile turned from Juna to Sera. If he was taking a leave, there was usually a name written on the request leave form concerning the one who substituted him.
"Let's see..." Sera checked some files before she found the one she wanted. "Here it is. The one substituting for Dr. Mark is... Dr. Joachim Guenter."
Dr. Guenter?
"Tch," Cecile heard Juna click her tongue in frustration. "What does that guy know about Shizuku's condition? Bet you he's just gonna leave her for his fishing trip."
Cecile and Sera could only wince at Juna's accusation of the blue-haired doctor.
"Anyway, is that guy even here in the first place?" Juna asked Sera, who looked at the attendance sheet.
"He clocked in this morning. But..." Sera winced before she gave Juna a pitying smile. "I don't know where he is after the lunch break."
"Ugh! Whatever! I'm going to Shizuku's room!"
Juna left for the stairs.
But there was still one thing hanging on Cecile's mind.
Why did Dr. Mark call Arios yesterday if he was on leave? Was it really Dr. Mark? Nobody knew for sure unless she asked the doctor in question.
Cecile gripped her other arm.
She had a bad feeling about this.
Two hours later, Cecile opened the door to Shizuku's room. There, she saw Juna talking animatedly with the calm Shizuku. She couldn't help but smile at the sight.
"Excuse me, Shizuku, Juna," Cecile greeted them, turning their attention to her.
"Oh, Cecile. What's the matter?"
"Dr. Guenter is still uncontactable, so we had to postpone Shizuku's checkup for tomorrow," she informed them of the situation before turning to Juna. "Juna, I know you're angry, but going out and dragging him back now wouldn't do anything as it's been scheduled for tomorrow."
She saw how angry Juna was at the news. The worst thing, in Cecile's opinion, was that Juna was entirely correct in her accusation two hours ago. Dr. Guenter really didn't help himself, always doing things like this...
Cecile sighed.
"Fine," Juna said, holding back her growl.
"It's okay, Juna. I can hold on for another day," Shizuku assured Juna. Cecile smiled at how mature Shizuku was. Though... her smile turned into a frown. That maturity was partially because of her circumstances. Cecile would love for Shizuku to be as childish as possible.
"But Shizuku! It's one less day you can spend outside with your father!" Juna grasped the younger girl's arms.
"Like I said, it's okay, Juna."
"Shizukuuuu!" Juna launched herself to embrace the kind-hearted girl. "You're too precious for this world!"
The warm atmosphere was very much infectious because Cecile's hand moved on its own to pat Shizuku's head.
"Ah..." Cecile exclaimed when she realized what she had done unconsciously. "Sorry, Shizuku."
Shizuku let out a small laugh. "It's fine, Miss Cecile."
"Shizuku! Keep being your precious self, okay!"
After three minutes of Shizuku's attempt to release herself from Juna's hold, she finally did it.
"Juna," Shizuku started. "Is my father still..." she trailed off, not sure how to ask with Cecile being there.
Juna shrugged before she realized that Shizuku couldn't see her. "Oh, I don't know, actually. I mean, Arios is still teaching me when he has free time, but..."
Juna sighed.
"I missed the time when I could just joke around with him."
"Please forgive Father," Shizuku followed with a sigh, too.
"Oh no, no, I understand. Arios spends even less time in the Guild, so I know how busy he is. I think that's partially why Arios isn't as involved as he was before about my training," Juna shook her head. "Next year, I will officially be instated as a Junior Bracer. I think Arios just wanted me to be independent and responsible for my own self."
"I see... thank you, Juna."
"For what?"
Shizuku gave her a smile. "For filling the gap in my father's heart when I couldn't. I... I remember Father always smiling when he was still in the police with Mr. Guy. But after the accident..."
Cecile, who was tidying up the empty bed near Shizuku's, perked up when she heard the name of her late fiancee.
"After the accident, I always thought that a piece of Father was gone alongside Mother's life and my ability to see. I constantly worried about him until you found me, and we began to talk," Shizuku continued. The accident she mentioned was the one that sent her to the hospital care for the last five years and the one that took her mother's life.
"Ehehe..." Juna only laughed sheepishly.
"It doesn't stop on just that. Whenever I missed Father, you somehow always knew. You even went all the way to force Father to visit me." Shizuku grasped Juna's hand. "I was so happy, you know? But it didn't end with just that. Father also sounded more alive after you forced him to visit me. So, really, Juna. Thank you."
"Shizuku..."
Cecile wiped a tear from her eyes. Somehow, hearing Shizuku's heartfelt thanks to Juna made her teared up.
Shizuku's smile turned into a frown. "Which is why what he's doing to you now is bothering me. The next time I meet Father, I'll ask him about you."
"Ah, you honestly don't need to do that, Shizuku! Arios training me is enough," Juna tried to reassure the younger girl. But Shizuku was not having it.
Shaking her head, Shizuku continued. "No. From the sound of it, it feels like Father regressed back to the self before you came into our lives. There must be something in his mind, and I want this solved as soon as possible so we can return to how we were."
She finished by putting Juna's hand together in her grasp.
Cecile couldn't hold her smile when she saw Juna trying in vain to hold back her tears.
In a sense, considering their circumstances, couldn't Juna be considered Shizuku's big sister? With how much Juna entered the life of the MacLaines and how they, in turn, affect Juna's life themselves, Cecile felt like her estimation was correct, especially when Juna herself was a natural big sister. By natural big sister, Cecile didn't just mean Juna was a real big sister, but her demeanor when she was in the vicinity of children was always to care for them. In fact, didn't Lloyd say something about Juna being KeA's caretaker when they were out investigating things?
"Thank you, Shizuku," Juna said in between her sobs.
Unfortunately, the serene situation they were in was breached by multiple screams of horror from outside the room. Seconds later, the sound of breaking glass echoed through the hospital.
"What was that?" Juna quickly wiped her tears and focused.
"...It came from outside the room," Cecile also tried to assess the situation.
Suddenly, the orbal power went out.
"Juna? What happened?" Oh yeah, Shizuku couldn't notice the lamp being turned off or cut from the orbal power.
"I'm going outside to check," Cecile decided. "Juna, keep an eye on Shizuku here."
It was what she thought was the best move for the situation.
"No," Juna denied, shaking her head. "You're a healer, Cecile. I'm the one who can defend myself. It's better if I'm the one going outside and you're the one keeping an eye on Shizuku."
Cecile bit her lip. What Juna said was correct, but was it too presumptuous for her to prioritize Shizuku and Juna's safety? It was the reason why she made the decision, after all.
More screams followed, and Juna quickly grabbed the tachi she had placed beside the drawer.
"No time. Please keep an eye on her, Cecile. I'll try to assess the situation first before committing to anything. Also, Lloyd and the SSS will definitely come. No need to risk your safety by trying to reach for a phone or something. They will come and save us. I'm sure of it. So, just reinforce the door with the drawer or something. Also, lock the window and close the curtain. I'm out."
And with that, Juna left the room to brave the unknown situation. Cecile put a hand on her chest, praying to Aidios and St. Ursula that Juna would be okay and nothing serious happened in the hospital.
A/N: Mark is a new NPC because I don't remember who handles Shizuku before Seiland did in Azure. And besides, I need someone to be sacrificed anyway so I'll just make a new doctor. And I decided to explore Cecile's headspace because, I'm sorry but, Shizuku is blind and I can't write from that kind of perspective.
That Shizuku's dialogue, oh man, it'd be heart wrenching when Azure happens.